colbyjack

someone said on minorleagueball.com that clay buchholz did the same thing when he was in school. is this true? No clue, it clearly didn't hit the mainstream media as the Gamecocks situation did. Not saying that a story with more national clout would affect the scouting communities opinion any more, but I quesiton how severe Buchholz' offenses were if they didn't become common knowledge. Although he was a JC draftee, not a member of a perennial CWS participant. I had the chance to catch up with some college baseball recordings from last weekend, most notably the Mississippi State vs. Florida contest. I've seen Florida so many times over the last two years, as they clearly have a pretty good TV deal in place. I didn't pay too much attention to the Florida players, as I've seen the draft-eligible ones several times before, and the next wave of talent including RHP Billy Bullock (who I watched for the third time) and SS/2B Cole Figueroa are only freshman. I will say that Figueroa continues to remind me of Delino DeSheilds. Matt LaPorta of course is the most notable Gator. He continues to do a good job controlling the strike zone, although possibly at the expense of losing a little bit of his aggressiveness. A more patient approach is better than an overly aggressive one, and should help him find a happy medium. While he did strikeout in the game, on an outside breaking ball, he did show a much better job laying off the outside breaking balls, which is clearly his biggest weakness. Mitch Moreland of MSU his a three-run home run in the first, batting cleanup for the Bulldogs. That hit with any less of a bat or any less of a wind would never have carried further than where the right-fielder would usually stand. Still, a HR is a HR, and it put MSU on the board in a big-time way early. I'm not sure what to think of Moreland. He has a sturdy, stocky build, with sloped shoulders and decent proportions, and kind of reminded me of a smaller Travis Hafner given his wide-legged, open stance (which he closed significantly as the pitch arrived to the plate). He showed a lot of power at the Cape All-Star Game last summer, I believe winning the HR derby, but I'm not sure if I see that power in his swing. I was more impressed with Moreland on the mound as he came on in the 9th to close the game out. He's not overpowering, but he throws a ton of strikes, and I'm guessing works in the mid-80s as a LHP. He throws a good curveball, not tight, but effective, that complements his fastball pretty well, especially since he throws that pitch for strikes as well. He came right after the Gator batters, and even if he doesn't have the velocity to be a prototypical closer, I could see him thriving as a short-inning specialist. Ed Easley was the main reason I watched the game. I've like Easley quite a bit since high school, since I'm usually a fan of good hitting catchers with promising catching skills. I've had the chance to see Easley play during his first two years in college, and now as a junior it is clear that he has added significant muscle mass. While I'm impressed with his increased size, which should lead to more extra-base hits, it does look as though it has taken away some of his ranginess, as I always felt if catching didn't work for him he could move to third base or even second. Third base is still an option, but I doubt second base is. He had a great game at the plate. He hit an RBI single straight back up the box on an inside breaking ball. He scored on Moreland's 3-run HR. In the 2nd inning he ripped the 1st pitch he saw, a low fastball, to straight away CF for a 3-run HR of his own. In the 4th he hit an IF single, chopping an outside fastball (that was probably ball four) deep to the hole at SS. From there on he walked in the fifth and seventh innings, both on four pitches, and was intentionally walked in the ninth as Florida clearly wanted nothing to do with the guy. He went 3 for 3 with 3 walks and 4 RBI on the day (which BTW was Sunday's contest). Easley still has work to do defensively. I always like watching catchers and how they react to how they throw the ball back to the pitcher. Maybe I've made this up, but it seems to be the better defensive catchers just have a little added cockiness to their throws, as they make it a point to show off their arms. You can definitely see this more in person, and it isn't as fair as me to make these assessments by watching a televised game. His arm seems average to me, and his release is a little long, From two stolen base attempts that I saw, he was really late on the first attempt, and while he threw out the second runner, the throw one-hopped to second base, and even on that one-hop it's not like the throw had a lot of carry to it. He also didn't block the plate very well during a play in the 4th inning. He had only one foot on the 3B line, with the rest of his body shading to the 1B side in front of home plate. You're not going to prevent many runners from scoring by positioning yourself like that. He did move well behind the plate, and seemed to handle his staff well. Offensively he has really quick and strong hands, that should allow him to always hit for a relatively higher average as a catcher. With his increased strength, the power could come as well. He reminded me of Cole Gillespie physically, as he wasn't the biggest of guys, but he was well put together, and had pronounced sloped shoulder as his chin seemed to stand 2' above the top of his shoulder tips. He reminded me a lot of Michael Barrett, more like Barrett of the Expos a few years ago when he was still a little leaner and rangier. Like Barrett he probably will never be a defensive stalwart, but he should have no problem hitting. Another name that popped to mind was Brian Harper, who played for the Brewers one year after a string of solid hitting seasons with the Twins (and Harper really had no throwing arm). It will be interesting to see where Easley is taken in the draft. While he doesn't have Jeff Clement's power potential, nowhere close really, he is a similar prospect in that he's a catcher that can hit, and all it takes is one team that believes in his bat and accepts his defense for what it is to take him earlier than expected.

Here is some more info on Winthrow from PG's site: www.perfectgame.org/stori...Fnational/

I'm guessing you're reading PGCC, which is a very good thing, as both players have been mentioned in recent weeks. I can't add anything more on either of them of what has already been shared. Smith in particular is drawing a lot of interest for his overall athleticism, and could sneak into the top 2-3 rounds of the draft. Winthrow is throwing hard and is soaring up follow lists.

This is an interesting story: www.baseballamerica.com/b...lege/?p=61 South Carolina freshman Lonnie Chisenhall and Nick Fuller have been dismissed from the baseball team by Head Coach Ray Tanner for what is being reported as multiple cases of burglary and grand larceny. Wow. I'm sure more details will surface on this, but that is a shocker. These two guys are two of the more talented freshman in the entire nation. Aside for the legal and character issues, it does spring to mind about what happens if they are draft-eligible because of this? Here is the story BA got their info from: www.wltx.com/news/story.a...ryid=47953 Forget about the draft. Given how high character issues are for scouts, I doubt any team is going to want to give a chance to a convicted criminal.

do you really think arrieta is good enough to go 7th overall? Nope, I was only responding to bradyo's post in which Arrieta was brought up. I'm with you fewgoodcards in that I would prefer Detwiler to Arrieta. Detwiler's present day stuff is already as good as Arrieta's, and he's a lefty as you point out, and he could add velocity as you also pointed out. I'm not positive Detwiler is or isn't worth the 7th overall pick, but if I had to choose between him, Arrieta and a bunch of the bats out there, I would take one of the bats. You're also right in that the prep arms may actually be of good value for the 7th overall pick should Porcello and/or Harvey be available. Even if they were the best players available, I would have to pass on them. And another good point on Vitters. You don't take or not take someone based on who is already in your system. If Vitters offers an impact bat, which I think he does, you take him without blinking if he's the best available player.

Do you really think that numbers matter as much to scouts as they do to "stuff"? For this reason, even though Arrieta has been inconsistent, he still has the right stuff. No, but the numbers reflect the command, which the scouts are watching. It takes more than just the right stuff, as the pitchers in question also have to be able to show that they can throw their pitches for strikes. Keep in mind, Jack Z. has drafted Arrieta once before, and thought he would be a DFE candidate before he transferred to TCU.

So far this spring, I still think the pick will be a bat. Of course saying that the team will do something it hasn't done with Jack Z. as scouting director and take a college arm, but the college arms just haven't been that impressive this year collectively. Price of course has been a stud, as he has been his entire college career. Savery could still get up there if he continues to stretch out his arm, but Brackman has been up and down, Arrieta has been inconsistent, Doolittle probably isn't a first-rounder based on his arm, Schmidt's velocity is in the 87-90 range and Augenstein has been touched up. Detwiler is good, but I'm not sure he's good enough to go 7th overall, and I don't see Jack Z. taking a college closer. I think Auburn's Josh Donaldson may have replaced Tennessee's J.P. Arencibia as a legitimate catching candidate to go 7th overall, while both Corey Brown and Beau Mills have hit the ball all over the place so far. And that doesn't even factor in the preps, of which the news is just now starting to leak out. Josh Vitters would be an awesome pick if he fell to the 7th overall pick. I'm a big Jason Heyward fan, and Michael Burgess' power would be hard to pass up. PGCC reported that Kentrail Davis is expected to miss a few weeks due to an injury.

Good point on Russell. I got to see his swing several times last year and a couple of times already this year, and his swing is huge. The guy makes Geoff Jenkins' swing early in his career look like Tony Gwynn's. That is going to lead to a lot of big home runs, and a lot of big Ks. It will be interesting to see if that power potential leads to him being selected early enough for a team to draft him as a draft-eligible sophomore. My guess is that it won't, as draft-eligible sophomores just aren't treated the same as the "normal" players that are draft-eligible. Speaking of draft-eligible sophomores, Jared Prince is having a disappointing season so far.

For the most part, the new guys always interest me the most because obviously those are the guys we know the least about. Robert Hinton I'm curious to see how the Brewers continue to use Hinton this season, if the starting experiment continues or if he remains in the bullpen. If he remains in the bullpen, with his stuff, he could soar up to the big-leagues with another big year. Mat Gamel I am always impressed with players that improve from one year to the next as they move up, and Gamel's BB:K ratio worried me after his pro debut. It's going to be hard to gauge his performance playing for BC, but if the peripheral numbers are there it will be hard not to be legitimately excited about his future. Cole Gillespie The entire BC OF is going to be a blast to watch. How quickly can Gillespie's bat carry him? Lorenzo Cain I think Cain could be the team's #1 prospect at this time next year, as he has just done so much so fast and his tools are legit. Brent Brewer We've heard some pretty glowing things out of instructional camp last spring on Brewer, and it sounds as though there is a good chance he opens at WV. No player in the Brewers system matches Brewer's athletic ability.

Take a peak at Corey Brown's week: 9-21, 12 R, 15 RBI, 5 HR, 7 BB, 6 K, 5 SB (0 CS), 1 HBP, 1 assist, 2 SF Which creates a line that looks like this: .429/.548/1.143 He played two marginal opponents in Western Illinois and Hartford, but 5 HRs in one week is an impressive feat. Here's his season line, the Ks still bug me: .393/.530/.929, 84 AB, 5 2B, 5 3B, 10 HR, 23:24 BB:K, 5 HBP, 11-12 SBs, 2 Es My other favorite hitter to follow this spring, Beau Mills, also continues to rake: .425/.511/.849, 73 AB, 7 2B, 8 HR, 7 BB, 7 K, 7 HBP, 3 Es Julio Borbon saw some action this weekend for Tennessee, and J.P. Arencibia is also back. Borbon has only pinch hit so far this year, while Arencibia is seeing action at both first base and behind the plate. Tennessee is having a tough year, as the Vols really need those two back healthy and producing to salvage their disappointing season so far. LHP James Adkins has been healthy, and productive, despite giving up 9 ER on Saturday. Josh Donaldson has really helped himself so far this spring with a very strong start to the season at the plate. He has committed 7 errors defensively, and has thrown out only 28% of opposing baserunners, but he does have a strong throwing arm is relatively raw to catching. Here's hit line on the year: .402/.509/.783, 92 AB, 11 2B, 8 HR, 19 BB, 9 K, 3 HBP, 7 for 9 SBs

That's what I want to see. If he can carry a high OBP this season, he'll shoot up the prospect boards, IMO. Ford already has carried a high OBP relative to his BA his first two seasons as a pro. in '05 he walked 33 tmies in 236 ABs, good for a .365 OBP and last year he walked 56 times in 491 ABs, good for a .361 OBP. The problem for him are the Ks (203 during that time).

Results for the weekend of 3/16/07 David Price 10 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 14 K, 2 BB vs. Mississippi Price out-dueled Ole Miss ace Will Kline with a 10-inning, CG effort. Jake Arrieta 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 11 K, 4 BB vs. Air Force Arrieta threw 117 pitches in this game, and he still hasn't had that one, can't-miss dominant game. Ross Detwiler 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 5 K, 3 BB vs. South Dakota State Not the most imposing of opponents, but Detwiler still is very hard to hit. Andrew Brackman 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 K, 2 BB vs. Virginia Tech 78 pitches for Brackman who hasn't been particularly sharp his last three outings. Nick Schmidt 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 4 BB vs. Kentucky Schmidt is starting to string together a couple of solid starts, although he did throw 101 pitches over 5 innings. David Newmann 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 K, 4 BB vs. Kansas The first rough start for Newmann this year against a tough Kansas squad. Joe Savery 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 1 BB vs. Cal Poly By far Savery's best start of the season, although I believe it is the first outing in which he went longer than 5 innings. Sean Doolittle 4 IP, 9 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 K, 1 BB vs. UNC Doolittle has been roughed up since ACC play started. BA reported that scouts are starting to prefer him as a hitter.

Here's my story detailing Ross Detwiler's start from last Friday at the Metrodome now up on PGCC: www.pgcrosschecker.com/20...31507.aspx Here's BA's weekend preview: www.baseballamerica.com/t...63540.html And here's a picture of Arkansas LHP Nick Schmidt which was on BA's homepage earlier today: http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/nschmidt07428309dh.jpg

PG Crosschecker has a pretty cool day-to-day top 10 feature list, in which a new top 10 list is shared each and every day. Today's top 10 list offers the top 10 college pitchers drafted the earliest since 1997. The top 10 picks offer pitchers that were taken within the top three selections, and as David Rawnsley points out, aside from Justin Verlander, the returns of these pitchers hasn't been all that great. Even Mark Prior, who is considered by many to be the greatest college pitcher ever, has had an injury-plaqued career. www.pgcrosschecker.com/20...week6.aspx Mark Mulder has had a very nice career, even if it may be cut short by his own recent injury troubles. It is still very good evidence that no matter how talented the pitching prospect, no matter if they're from college or high school, you just don't know how their career is going to look 3-5 years down the road.

Francoeur's skills do not far outweigh those of Prince Fielder. His overall athleticism and defensive tools may outweigh Fielder's, but his bat does not. I guarantee you that Fielder will out-hit, out-slug, out-walk, out-homer Francoeur almost every single year that they are in the game together. And while I agree that getting a hit is more important than drawing a walk, I could not disagree more with you on your view about how patience is overrated. It isn't the only thing I use to judge a player, but if a guy can't work the count and doesn't get on base a fair amount of times via the base on balls, more often than not that player is going to struggle in other facets of his offensive game. OBP as many will tell you on the MLB forum is all about NOT making outs, which really is the key of the game offensively (just like creating outs is the key of the ptiching staff and defense). I would agree that teaching patience is easier than teaching someone how to hit. I too would take the better pure hitter 10 times out of 10 over the guy that can kind of hit but draws a mean walk. And I disagree that the first pitch is the best pitch to hit. Sometimes it is, but not most times, not by a long shot. The Brewers preach patience, at all levels, teaching their hitters that they will be more successful as hitters if they do work the count and put themselves in better hitting counts. The "see ball hit ball" mentality is part of the reason the Lopes/Royster regime failed miserably. Good luck trying to make any of these points on a forum that is more frequently read than this one.

Almost a month since the last update. Again, its hard to get a good read on the DFEs, since the stats of course never tell the entire story, and not all of the teams provide stats. Terrell Alliman still isn't listed under CCSN's stats (he never appeared to have made it there) and Todd Fitzgerald is nowhere to be found for San Jose's stats. Chad Robinson 0-1, 2.84 ERA, 6 games (3 starts), 3 saves, 19 IP, 20 H, 24 K, 9 BB, 0 HR, .267 BAA Last stat update on 3/3, so these are somewhat old, and while Robinson's ERA went up, he has been harder to hit during that time. Aaron Tullo 1-1, 3.38 ERA, 6 games, 24 IP, 16 H, 24 K, 25 BB Scratch the injury concern, but strike up the concern about those walks. How can his ERA be under 6.00? T.J. Macy 3-1, 1.43 ERA, 6 games, 37.2 IP, 19 H, 41 K, 14 BB Based on the numbers, Macy is clearly a power arm to keep an eye on. Unless the stats are wrong, Macy has averaged over 8 innings in his last 3 appearances. Rob Bryson 2-1, 1.75 ERA, 4 games (all starts), 25.2 IP, 14 H, 29 K, 8 BB, 0 HR, .151 BAA Bryson continues to be one of the more impressive DFEs to follow, although his stats haven't been updated since 3/7. In his last two starts his line is: 13.1 IP, 9 H, 13 K, 4 BB. Nick Tyson 3-2, 5.40 ERA, 11 games (8 starts), 45 IP, 57 H, 40 K, 11 BB, 13 2B, 3 HR Tyson is still giving up way too many hits, but at least he is starting to give up fewer big hits and the ERA is dropping. Bryan Crosby .293/.442/.293, 58 AB, 16:15 BB:K, 3 for 4 SBs, 6 E Still no XBH for Crosby, but his average is starting to creep up. Matt Coburn 2-1, 2.30 ERA, 6 games, 15.2 IP, 10 H, 13 K, 7 BB Pretty much the same line since the last update. Nick Spears .262/.340/.286, 42 AB, 1 2B, 5:3 BB:K Nice to see Spears get his average up, but he only has one XBH. Ricky Alvernaz .310/.383/.429, 42 AB, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0:5 BB:K Clearly hitting better with a few doubles mixed in. Mehdi Djebbar 12 IP, 9 K Incomplete stats from the inconsistent NJCAA pages. Brandon Owens 1 game, 1 IP, 1 K, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB One perfect inning for Owens so far this year as he bounces back from arm injury.

I reported a week or two ago that Weathers previously had not allowed a single hit on the season. He has now allowed two. Slacker. USC closer Paul Koss is having a huge bounceback season as a senior after disappointing as a junior. He already has 10 saves under his belt in 13 appearances. UNC closer Andrew Carignan recorded a save in each of the three wins over Miami last weekend in UNC's ACC openining series. UC Irvine closer Blair Erickson broke the Big West record for career saves over the weekend, and just needs three more to take over the top spot for the NCAA career saves lead, which would knock off former Brewers farmhand Jack Krawczyk (PGCC noted in yesterday's top 10 list that Dave Bush is also among the NCAA's top 10 all-time saves leaders with 38) . One name that I haven't mentioned before that BA has on numerous occasions is Mercer's Cory Gearrin, who is nearly perfect in 12 relief apperances so far this year. He has only allowed one hit in 17.1 innings, although he has allowed 11 walks. 31 Ks in that span gives you a good idea of his stuff, and how well he controls it. A few TV games to look forward to this weekend... Friday FCSP, 5:00 PM ? Wake Forest @ Florida State So. Brad Kledzik is likely to face Sr. Bryan Henry in this one. Henry is having another very good year after putting up big numbers a year ago. He certainly knows how to pitch, but his upper-80s fastball makes him an iffy pro. Saturday FCSP, 3:00 PM ? Virginia @ UNC So. Jacob Thompson likely will face Fr. Alex White, so Dodgers fans tune in. Thompson is one of the top prospects available for the '08 draft, and White is having a huge freshman year so far, among the NCAA leaders in ERA. You also get to check out some good hitters from both teams, including Reid Fronk and Josh Horton of North Carolina and David Adams and Sean Doolittle of Virginia. There are plenty of good reasons to watch this game. Sunday FCSA, Noon ? Mississippi State @ Florida Florida once again gets a ton of TV time. Not the best of matchups, despite being a SEC conference game, as Sr. Josh Johnson faces Fr. Billy Bullock. Check out the Bulldogs catcher Ed Easley, a favorite of mine, who is hitting to the tune of .510 so far this year.

The curveball/slider is pretty much a personal choice as to what to call it. If you only throw one of them, you can call it whatever you want. Usually a curve is a big, slow pitch; while the slider is a harder pitch that bites downward. Turnbow's looks like the classic curve, but it is called a slider, because that's what he calls it. I remember you saying something like this in the past, and its simply not true. At least not in all cases. As TC already mentioned, the slider and curveball have two distinct grips (and arm motions, as curveballs typically work better from more of an overhand motion while sliders work better from more of a low-3/4s delivery), and many teams prefer that their pitchers throw curveballs instead of sliders because a traditional slider puts more strain on the pitching elbow. There are of course a lot of breaking pitches that act and are thrown somewhat like both pitches, which is where the "slurve" label is thrown in, and where it may depend on personal preference of those that watch it and those that throw it as Al suggests. However, Ben Sheets curveball and Tim Hudson's slider are two very different pitches. Sheets curve is so unique in that he is one of very few pitchers that can throw his in the low-80s. Anyway, here's a nice picture from BA's homepage from a friend of Brewerfan.net, Bill Mitchell, that I figured this would be the best place to share it: http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/rbraun_friends07428309bm.jpg

Man, I'm jealous. I won't be able to join you, as I have a job interview tomorrow afternoon followed by a Dr. app't. for my son. Getting out and tossing (and hitting) the ball around would be a perfect way to cap my stressful day, but unforutnately it won't work out. Have a good time fellas.

Here are the stats from the weekend: David Price 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 16 K, 1 BB vs. UIC I believe this is Price's 2nd consecutive CG, who now has a 57:7 K:BB ratio in 35.2 innings this season. Sean Doolittle 6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 K, 0 BB vs. Wake Forest Not a great start to ACC play for Doolittle, who has excelled in conference play the past couple of years. Jake Arrieta 4.2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 8 K, 5 BB vs. Rice A rough start for Arrieta, who tossed 118 pitches in this game a week after I praised TCU for only letting him throw 100. Joe Savery 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 K, 3 BB vs. TX A&M Corpus Christi Savery still appears to be on a very strict pitch count. Ross Detwiler 7.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R (2 ER), 6 K, 3 BB vs. Minnesota I'll let you know when my first-hand account of Detwiler is up on PGCC. Andrew Brackman 9 IP, 6 H, 6 R (5 ER), 9 K, 1 BB vs. Maryland I'm guessing there was some shaky defense behind Brackman, as 6 hits allowed and only one walk usually doesn't lead to 6 runs in a CG effort. Wes Roemer 6 IP, 10 H, 6 R (4 ER), 5 K, 2 BB vs. ECU The Pirates swept Fullerton this weekend. Roemer only tossed 90 pitches in this game, and accounts from BA had him throwing in the 86-89 range. Bryan Augenstein 7.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 5 K, 2 BB vs. Texas A&M Similar to Brackman, 7 hits and 2 walks usually don't lead to 6 runs in over 7 innings of work. Augenstein has been worked hard this year, and tossed 110 pitches in this game. David Newmann 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Florida Newmann's arm seems to be completely back, as he was allowed to throw 121 pitches in this CG effort. Watch his name soar up draft charts. Nick Schmidt 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 8 K, 3 BB vs. Kansas The 2nd consecutive solid start for Schmidt, who was starting to draw some scrutiny after a shaky start. Arkansas swept a tough Kansas team this weekend. A few season total lines for the more notable hitters: Beau Mills .429/.519/.810, 63 AB, 6 2B, 6 HR, 7:5 BB:K, 6 HBP, 3 E Corey Brown .381/.524/.857, 63 AB, 5 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 16:18 BB:K, 4 HBP, 6 for 7 SBs, 2 E Matt Mangini .439/.506/.697, 66 AB, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11:13 BB:K, 6 E Matt Wieters .370/.453/.658, 73 AB, 6 2B, 5 HR, 12:13 BB:K, 1 E Josh Donaldson .408/.522/.859, 71 AB, 11 2B, 7 HR, 16:6 BB:K, 3 HBP, 4 for 5 SBs, 6 E

I'll try to provide a few updates in the next couple of days on the more interesting draft-eligible college prospects. While my "life" has been taking a lot of my time lately, I was able to see Ross Detwiler pitch on Friday at the Metrodome. My report on Detwiler should be posted on PG Crosschecker at some point this week. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of him mid-delivery. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/detwiler2-2.jpg

I can't really offer anything new on Beaven, who already was a legitimate potential first-round pick entering the spring. He was named BA's youth player of the year, and he had an incredibly impressive performance against Cuba last summer for Team USA after he participated in the Aflac All-American Classic. When watching that game, he didn't really stand out to me more than other pitchers in attendance, and I've heard the same from others, but it is always important to remember not to judge a player by one performance. In my notes from the Aflac game I wrote down that I liked his pure stuff, particularly his changeup (which is always big in my book, as high schoolers throwing an advanced changeup isn't easy to find) and that he worked quickly. The only negative that I wrote down was that he landed rather stiff on his lead leg, which is correctable, although something of greater concern to me given my reluctance for skyscraper pitchers.

You summed it up really well Chris. Zduriencik definitely is looking to hit a home run with his early picks, and that is why it is all about the tools.

I think I am more like the "good face" type of scout from Moneyball. I also believe that you can teach things like power and fielding and arm strength and can also teach a guy with a straight 100 mph pitcher to throw a cutter. And as I have this argument with my dad/coach (not my coach, but a coach), that I would rather take the guy with the pure talent and teach him the things he does not possess vs. taking the guy who you need to wait on or mess with their mechanics. That's an interesting comment, because I think for the most part your stated philosophy is very similar to Jack Zduriencik's. He too would rather take the guy that is high on tools believing that the player development department can teach these players the finer aspects of the game. The only difference you state there is the mechanical issue, and few pitchers enter pro ball without having to work on something significantly wrong with their delivery. While I agree that you can teach fielding, I disagree that you can teach power (hitting) and arm strength. You can help a player recognize what they need to do to hit for more power, but if a player doesn't have natural, raw power potential, it isn't very likely that player is going to develop usable power down the road. And you can have players work on their arm strength through long toss and other methods until you're blue in the face, but some players just have a ceiling for how hard they can throw, and that actually somewhat contradicts what you're saying about tools. You have obviously done more research on the draft in the last 10 years or so, but I like the college rightie vs. the HS rightie any day of the week. Hes proven that he can withstand many more innings against better competition and is that much more mature. Trust me, I'm not trying to defend the picks of HS righties. I am on record more than 100 times I'm sure expressing how much I didn't care for the Rogers selection given the other players available. Jeffress didn't bug me because I felt the team got a terrific value in him at the 16th slot (as opposed to the 5th), but if that pick were up to me I would have taken someone else. Jones bugged me because Casey Kotchman was still available at a time when the Brewers really need some impact bats in their system. However, college arms aren't exactly indestructable. Look no further than Wade Townsend, Phillip Humber and Brad Lincoln, all three whose careers have been and/or currently are side-tracked due to arm problems. Just because a pitcher has tossed more innings in college and gotten past the so-called "injury nexus" doesn't mean they're any less likely to fall to injury. All things even, without a doubt I take the college arm. As for the DQ Classic, I didn't make it this year due to the weather. The Citadel didn't make it, so the Gophers had to re-schedule the weekend, playing two against Ole Miss on Saturday and two against Arkansas on Sunday. The Gophers went 2-2 on the weekend, splitting both double-headers. Arkansas LHP had the best performance of the weekend, tossing a one-run CG agaist the Gophers on Sunday.

Then it just goes back to the results. While you can argue that the scouting department has missed on guys like Kazmir, Weaver, Drew and Bard, they have hit on so many other players. The strength from the farm has already worked its way up, and there is a lot more talent on the way. While it's a subjective ranking, the Brewers have been ranked one of the top 5-7 organizations overall the past several years when it comes to talent, and since the team isn't active in Latin America or anywhere else, that talent has come almost entirely through the draft. Looking big picture, and not at individual hits and misses, Zduriencik deserves an incredible amount of credit for that. And every single team out there has their hits and misses. The Braves and the Twins, who in my mind have two of the most consistent player development departments over the last 10+ years, both have had their fair share of draft busts. If Attanasio would have brought in a completely new team of scouts and player development staff he would basically have been saying that the previous group had failed, which they haven't at all. And really that is more of Doug Melvin's call than Attanasio's. If Attanasio is hiring those people the franchise is doomed. It should be pointed out that Zduriencik and his team was the only guy (and dep't.) that Melvin did retain upon replacing Dean Taylor. And for the record I'm glad the team didn't take Bard. Way too inconsistent, and his fastball, while powerful, was about as straight as they come.