colbyjack

And it's this point right here that gives me pause. Notice there are no pitchers in that group. Now, I realize there are variables that go into it but clearly it's much easier to "hit" on a position player at the top of the draft. With the Crew absolutely needing to hit next year, there is no reason to go into that draft dead set on drafting pitching as we need impact players regardless of position. I agree with this point 100%. I'm not sure why people are so hell-bent on the Brewers drafting a pitcher with their early pick. It's not like the Brewers system has a can't-miss position prospect in their system, and as this season has proved, the offense can go sour pretty quick without a handful of impact hitters to turn to. The Brewers do have a knack for drafting/developing impact hitters when they have taken such players with their early picks, so why not play to that advantage? I'm not saying the team should avoid a pitcher, but it's not like their season has fallen simply because of a failed pitching staff. They need to re-stock the farm system with everything. Eye Black at Night: the only reason "others" are slow to warm on Hoffman is because he's the new guy. I guarantee you that scouts have taken full notice of Hoffman's emergence this summer, much like they did with Jonathan Gray's last spring. And the only reason Peter Gammons and others are writing about Rodon as the No. 1 pick is because he's the guy people have already been talking about. And there's nothing wrong with having a Sean Manaea-esque rise to the top. Manaea would have been a premium top 3-5 overall selection, if not affirmed his status as a candidate for the No. 1 overall pick, if he hadn't had serious, lingering injury issues this spring. I'm a big Manaea fan, and really liked what the Royals did to add him to their system. Very creative, and even if he doesn't pan out, they shouldn't be blamed for that. They took a risk, and if it pans out, they're going to reap the rewards. As for Rodon, I'm not too concerned about his progression thus far, I just think that people don't recognize how deep the 2014 draft class is stacking up to be, which includes Hoffman and a few of the prep bats I've already mentioned. My biggest concerns with Rodon focus on his inconsistency, but he's been plenty good plenty of times for him to have a more consistent junior year to cement his status as the No. 1 overall pick next June. He misses bats, his slider (as proven by the video you provided) is a nasty pitch in the mid/upper 80s, and at his best he peaks at 97/98 while pitching in the low- to mid-90s with his fastball. He hasn't needed his changeup much, but it's another potential plus pitch. The size doesn't concern me, neither does the stature, even if he is a little pear-ish, as there's not much projection left, but when you throw as well as he does as a college arm you don't really need projection. The times I've seen him pitch he's never been hit hard, although he was to open the 2013 college season. My point of contention is not to take away from what he is or what he can become, but to point out that he's not the slam-dunk No. 1 choice that far too many people are making him out to be. I may be biased, but I lean toward Alex Jackson and Jacob Gatewood from the prep side, and Braxton Davidson is another prep hitter that I don't think has been brought up that could move quickly toward the big leagues given his prowess as a hitter. Regardless of what you believe the Brewers should take, with what looks to be like having the top 3-5 overall selection, along with a comp pick just after the first round, the Brewers are in an excellent position to add 3 impact players next year (factoring in their early 2nd round pick as well) in the draft if they play their cards right without getting too cute. And remember these names among a few of my other favorite players for next year's draft: Luis Ortiz and Kodi Medeiros. Ortiz is a RHP from CA whose profile is incredibly similar to Gallardo's, while Medeiros is a very good overall athlete with an easy, repeatable low 3/4 delivery that creates difficult angles to pick up his 92-94 FB and low-80s slider.

Does anybody have any thoughts on East Carolina RHP Jeff Hoffman? I've seen quite a bit of hype on this guy for the 2014 Draft - some talk of him being a potential candidate for the 1st overall pick. But when I went and checked his stats so far in college, I guess I expected better K/9 numbers. Obviously he must have some nice upside and a lot can change from now until the Draft - just wondering what people think of him... My PG cohort Frankie Piliere has seen every one of Hoffman's starts and swears he's by far the top prospect for next year's draft. I'm not going to link it/them as I know people can find it if they're that inclined to see it, but we have video and reports of him up on our site as part of our summer collegiate coverage. Rodon is very good, as I just saw him 2 weeks ago and he was 90-94/96 against Team Cuba, and I know someone that saw him hit 96 every inning he pitched in the CWS in a CG effort over UNC. However, his FB velo has been up and down this spring/summer, which makes some scout wonder what is causing that inconsistency. Basically, he's not a slam dunk for the No. 1 pick and pretty much proved this spring that it may have been premature for people to jump on him during/after his freshman year and proclaim him as such so quickly. He was good, but not as consistently dynamic. And there will be a few prep hitters (Alex Jackson, Jacob Gatewood) that could/should be in the conversation for the No. 1 pick as well. As it stands right now, the Brewers would pick No. 4, and if they get one of the 4 aforementioned players they're adding one heck of a talent into the system.

It's never too early too look ahead . I hope they take a prep bat: Alex Jackson. Ridiculous talent with unfair (yet somewhat appropriate) comparisons to Bryce Harper. The ball flies off his bat like no other player I've seen eligible for the 2014 draft. Jake Gatewood would be good too, but he has a hitch in his swing he needs to iron out (not a major concern as it's correctable, but it's there). Nick Gordon, another prep player, would be a first-rounder as a pitcher if he wasn't so good as a LH hitting SS. Son of Tom, brother of Dee, so the pedigree is also there. But I'd go with the big bat in Jackson, move him to RF and see how quickly his bat carries him to the big leagues. Like Harper (and Rodon I think), he's a Boras guy.

Tucker Neuhaus has signed with the Brewers for $771,000.

I mentioned this on Twitter, but I like the Brewers picks. I don't love them, but they took two high ceiling players that could really soar as pros. Both have questions marks (Williams needs to develop his slider, Neuhaus needs to stay healthy and prove he's legit), but the upside is considerable, a solid effort for a team without a true first round pick. Here are the PG scouting reports on both: 1. DEVIN WILLIAMS, rhp, Hazelwood West HS, Florissant Williams has been steadily moving up draft boards all spring and will be talked about by many clubs in the later parts of the first round. He is the epitome of projectable with a fast, loose arm and an athletic 6-foot-4, 190-pound build that has plenty of room to add strength. Williams pitches with a fringy plus fastball that will reach 95 mph now with the anticipation that it will be comfortably a true plus velocity pitch in the near future. His ascension on the draft boards actually stems more from his continued flashing of a potential plus changeup and the improvement in his slider, which he just started throwing in the last year. For more on Williams, read his Perfect Game Draft Focus profile here. Here's that Draft Focus profile: Devin Williams Perfect Game profile Position: RHP Height: 6-4 Weight: 190 Bats/Throws: R-R Birthdate: Sept. 21, 1994 High School: Hazelwood West City, State: Florissant, Mo. Travel Team: St. Louis Pirates Commitment: Missouri Projected Draft Round: 1S-2 Missouri high school right hander Devin Williams, currently No. 27 in the PG Class of 2013 rankings, provides a great topic for a “Baseball Scouting 101” conversation because there exists an almost perfect and symmetrical series of notes on him since the first time I saw him pitch at the 2012 Perfect Game Pitcher/Catcher Indoor Showcase about 15 months ago. Before pitching in Cedar Rapids that February, Williams had pitched for the St. Louis Pirates at the 2011 WWBA 17u National Championship and at the 2011 WWBA World Underclass Championship, pitching in the mid-80s and topping out at 87-88 mph to go with a 71 mph curveball. There is a history of Missouri high school pitchers taking big steps forward at the Pitcher/Catcher Indoor dating back to Jacob Turner, who went on to become the Tigers first round pick in 2009, and Williams generated immediate buzz at the Perfect Game building between his very athletic and projectable build and his very live 91 mph fastball. Here are my full notes from his appearance. Very long, slender Dominican type build, full hand drop delivery, gets turned and swings the gate, full arm circle, good rhythm, FB heavy at times, loose fast arm, gets leverage at release, tends to lean/fall off, can improve direction, big drop/sink on Chg at times, good pitch, gets under CB with poor release at times, rare CB to hitters, snapped off 75 CB with bite once when on top, occ slider, got tired (dr) FB 88-91, CB 71-75, SL 79, Chg 80. The major components that stick out here in a junior pitcher were a) his body and athleticism, b) the easy velocity that projected very well, Williams being 6-foot-3, 170-pounds at the time, c) the amount of life on his both his fastball and changeup, and d) his lack of consistency and feel for a curveball. The next time Williams appeared on the Perfect Game stage was at the 2012 PG National Showcase in mid-June. Here are my notes from that outing at the Metrodome. Fast paced, side step delivery, drifts sideways, lands open, some effort, will struggle with consistency, some feel for CH, doubles up on CH, occasionally plus CH sink/fade, very hard to spin ball with his mechanics and he didn't try, maintained velo well, had horizontal leverage, FB aggressive (dr) FB 88-91, CB 75, Chg 78. What I gained from this outing were that a) Williams stuff hadn’t improved and that his mechanics had gone backward during the intervening four month high school season, b) his changeup was still an impressive secondary pitch he had confidence in, and c) the curveball was becoming a bigger issue due to his digressing mechanics and his lack of confidence in even throwing it to hitters. The next time I saw Williams was in late October in Jupiter at the WWBA World Championships pitching for the Mets Scout Team. Williams threw twice and was dominant both times. I didn’t take notes but the most impressive things were a) his velocity had taken a bump up, now consistently in the 90s and topping out at 93-94 mph, b) his delivery had firmed up and he was throwing strikes with all his pitches and pretty much overmatching hitters working ahead in counts, and c) he was throwing a slider instead of a curveball anywhere from 77 to 83 mph and the slider flashed some potential. Just as important, Williams was using it properly and without fear. He had clearly taken a big step as a pitching prospect and he shot way up in the Perfect Game 2013 class rankings. The full year cycle was completed when Williams returned to Cedar Rapids for the 2013 Pitcher/Catcher Indoor. Below are my notes from that event. Long loose athletic build, starting to fill in, looks 6-4/190 now, slow paced side step delivery, leans back in delivery, needs better body angle, long clean deep arm action, nice arm speed on Chg, Chg has life, works downhill, some effort on 93-94’s's but still commands, velo comes pretty easy, twisty SL, shortens arm arch on SL, occ + FB sink down, doesn't mix, consistent FB life and velo, command suffers from stretch, couldn't command off speed, did not throw SL for a strikes but did flash spin (dr) FB 91-94, SL 83, Chg 84. Keeping with the pattern here, this is what I took away from Williams outing, a) he was getting stronger and more mature physically and that was reflected in a plus fastball pretty much any time he wanted it, b) he still had the one delivery flaw, the upper body lean, that in context of his arm action and release causes his problem, in my opinion, with spinning the ball consistently, c) the slider spun hard and was the proper velocity but whether because of the time of year or some other factor, he couldn’t throw it for strikes, d) the body/arm, present stuff and projection definitely made Williams at top three round pick but the breaking ball would likely prevent him from being at first round consideration if not changed by June. I had the opportunity to recently ask a scout for some thoughts on how Williams has thrown this spring and as you’ll see, they cleanly and clearly continue the progression of scouting information that has already been built up on Williams. Here are his paraphrased remarks: Devin has the makings of two average to plus pitches. Right now he has a 5-6 fastball with a chance for a 6-7 in the future. Four-seamer is straight but touches 94-95 and he tends to overthrow it. Two-seamer is 89-92 with tremendous life. Changeup is a big league quality pitch right now, throws two different types for strikes, including one with split-like drop. Everyone wants to see his slider but he is very shy about throwing it, which could hurt him. It has the makings of a power pitch but neither he nor the scouts have a feel for it. I can see top 50 picks for him, though, and a bright future. So there we have Baseball Scouting 101, the anatomy of Missouri high school RHP Devin Williams as a prospect. As the reader/student in this lesson, where would you put him on your draft list? 69. TUCKER NEUHAUS, 3b/ss, Wharton HS, Tampa (Fla.) Neuhaus established his prospect credentials at the Florida Diamond Club event last October, a showcase type event organized by the Florida Scouts Association. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound left handed hitter blasted a long home run and a double in the game and put on a similar display in batting practice. Unfortunately, Neuhaus has had nothing but adversity since, beginning when his older brother, Ty, a catcher at Hillsborough CC, was tragically killed in car accident in December. This spring has seen Neuhaus miss time with an illness, a head injury caused by a ground ball and a quad muscle issue, giving him few chances to show his full range of tools in game situations. Scouts who like Neuhaus the most feel his bat is worthy of first round consideration, although that is not a unanimous opinion due to how infrequently he has been evaluated. Neuhaus currently plays shortstop, and signed with Louisville in part because he was told he could continue to play that position in college, but scouts agree that he will likely move immediately to third base as a professional. (From FL HS All-Star Game) 3B Tucker Neuhaus, L/R, 6-3/190, (Louisville): On Thursday he showed all the tools necessary to be a top five round pick in this year's draft. He has nice, compact, and controlled swing that he uses to hit line drives to all-fields. Has great range, good footwork, and plus arm strength at third base. Due to limited at-bats during the season because of illness and injury, he struggled to adjust to top-quality pitching during game situations. He projects to gain significant strength as he matures.

Starting pitcher Damien Magnifico lit up the stadium’s radar gun to the tune of 99 miles per hour on one pitch during his five-inning stint. It’s widely recognized that the gun is generally two miles per hour slow because of its location in the press box. As noted in my tweet, the highest I saw was 94, in both the 1st and 2nd innings. I'm curious if that was a ball off the bat, as radar guns pick up the highest velo, whether it be out of the pitchers hand or off the bat of the hitter. The ball Adam Brett Walker hit off of Magnifico very well may have been 99 off the bat. Magnifico is a reliever. Everything is fast for him. Fast paced delivery, fast arm, big fastball, fast breaking ball, fast tempo, etc. There's no sense of changing speeds or setting up the next hitter, it's all about power, and there's no way he can sustain that approach for a sustained career as a starter without arm problems. I understand letting him start to hone his game and gain experience, but at some point you simply have to move him to the bullpen, let him do his thing and push him up as quickly as he lets you. Arcia and Taylor really are good looking ballplayers. Both lean, wiry athletes with a lot of room to add strength. I didn't see Taylor's HR as I had to leave after the 7th, but he showed a nice approach at the plate, doing a nice job going with the pitch in the 1st for a soft flare to RF. Arcia physically looks like a SS (he reminded me of 2013 prep SS Oscar Mercado), and showed very good range at the position. He did not almost hit a ball over Buxton's head as noted above. The ball sounded hard off the bat, and Buxton was playing shallow, but the ball was hit well short of the warning track. That said, he hit the ball hard in a couple of ABs, showed very good speed down the 1B line, and when he fills out his frame he's going to be able to handle better stuff. Coulter really looked lost against offspeed stuff, and he got a steady diet of it. I didn't see what he hit his double off, although that should have been a single anyway (not trying to be negative, just sayin'). Chris McFarland is also a very good athlete, and I'm glad the Brewers aren't trying to see if he can play SS. He's a 2B/3B with good speed as noted (although I'm not so sure he's still a 6.4 runner), and some pop, hitting his triple deep to the RCF gap. Michael Reed is the best looking athlete of the bunch. A really good approach and he hit the ball hard a couple of times. Unfortunately I couldn't get out to tonight's game, but I know some of my co-workers did. I'll try to get their thoughts on the team, in particular, Jorge Lopez. Otherwise, make it a point to get up to see this team play.

Thanks for the nice, detailed plug TheCrew07, it is greatly appreciated, and I'm glad you take the time to check out our site. Since it was brought up, keep an eye on the site the next 2 days as we update our top 100 draft prospects tomorrow while offering a PG staff collaborative mock draft through the supplemental first rounds (unfortunately no picks for the Brewers) followed by a draft chat on Thursday. Remember when we brought up Jake Brentz in a different thread? He's been pitching in our Spring League this year and was up to 97 two weekends ago. That's the highest velocity ever recorded at one of our events by a LHP. That includes guys like Kazmir, Bumgarner and Kershaw. It's safe to say he no longer will be available anywhere near where the Brewers pick. Both he and AJ Puk will pitching at our local showcase on Sunday. I'm going to try and get some video.

MLB seems hell-bent to conduct an international draft, but I just don't think the logistics make much sense. For instance, I think it will be next to impossible to make it truly worldwide, as how do you include the Japanese players? I can almost guarantee that would squash that entire process, as the money will be much more limited, making it much less appealing for Japanese players to come play in the states. Keep in mind, when Puerto Rican players were subjected to the draft, meaning they couldn't get the same ridiculous payday like a Dominican or Venezuelan player, it almost destroyed the dedicated baseball talent pool on the island and most don't believe that is just a coincidence. It's only been the past couple of years that we're seeing new life from Puerto Rico (and Carlos Correa going No. 1 overall last year should help that given his $4.8 million payday). I would like to see MLB be creative with these signing pools. As TheCrew07 noted, despite the Brewers increased attention in Latin America, they don't have many (or any) big money signings. That's fine, as long as you're doing your job state-side. I'll be curious how these teams use their allotted pools to sign players, as I think there will be a much greater disparity between this process and how teams use their allotted pools for the MLB Draft. What I'd like to see is a combined draft pool for both the domestic draft and international free agent signings (which wouldn't include the likes of Aoki, Darvish, etc.). Meaning, instead of having $3 million for the MLB draft and $3 million for international players (just pulling up approximate numbers), give the Brewers $6 million to sign all such players. One thing is for sure, the worst teams definitely have an obvious advantage to improve the talent in their system with this process. I'm curious if the Astros will use all of the money they have allotted towards them. They should given their MLB payroll.

I think you answered it yourself with your example of Prince Fielder Souptown in regards to the team's curious selections. Yes, Rogers vs. Bailey was debated frequently at the time, and for quite some time after the pick. But like you said, Prince Fielder wasn't projected to go as high as he was. Neither was Ryan Braun. Of course for every Fielder and Braun pick there are ones like Mark Rogers and even Matt LaPorta. The LaPorta pick is somewhat given a pass since he was the main cog that acquired Sabathia, otherwise we may just have someone like Jason Heyward playing RF for us right now. I disagree that their talent evaluation isn't working out right now. The scouting dep't is the reason that the Brewers have been in contention, and even made the playoffs, the last several years. Of course there was a long road of miserable seasons that netted the team some high draft picks that allowed the team to secure some key pieces to their success. But even then, they still went on to nail picks like Hardy, Hart and Gallardo. The most recent years are under scrutiny, but Jack Z's first couple of years drafting were under great scrutiny as well (Dave Krynzel and Mike Jones). It's no secret that the Brewers switched up their drafting tendencies in recent years, not only to be able to cultivate talent more quickly, but also to use that more quickly developed talent in trades, as they have done quite a few times the past several years. I remain skeptical, but as others have noted in the minor league link reports so far this season, the Wisconsin team offers hope that the system may be showing signs of turning around.

Jed Bradley wasn't a conservative pick. He entered the year as a projected top 10 overall pick, and even earned some buzz to go as high as 3 overall early in the spring. He was lights out the summer before on the Cape, and we can only hope that he re-finds whatever it was that allowed him to be successful during that time. He still has among the highest upside of any pitcher in the system.

"But this recent attitude of 'let us have a system will all mediocre guys, but if they pan out, we may be a .500 MLB team' has to change IMO." I think you're projecting what the "attitude" is. That's your perception, as I don't think any scouting department is going to draft players with the idea that they'll take some mediocre players with a chance to be a .500 MLB team. I can guarantee you that the Brewers are drafting guys that they believe can be significant contributors at the MLB level. We may not agree with the picks, and in hindsight some of them have been questionable, but it's not because of a philosophy to be content with mediocrity as the ceiling. It's important to note that the Brewers did take a risk with Tyrone Taylor last year. He wasn't that well known of a commodity, and while all he has to stand by is a few very good months in rookie ball, so far that pick has looked very astute.

The Brewers can be creative with that signing pool. If they wanted to, they could allot most of the money to one player they felt really strongly about and then targeted a bunch of guys willing to sign for low 6-figures. I do wish they would combine the two pools between the international signing budget and the draft one. They can find some creative ways to allocate money to make it more even. The system's not perfect, but I still do believe it helped level the playing field since players are still making their money.

Thanks for supplying the updates as they occur, Mass. The T-Rats come across the street where I work in 2 weeks so I'm pretty excited to see so many aggressive promotions/placements. I might just have to go to all 3 games. And the Twins affiliate here in Cedar Rapids should have some impressive names as well (like Byron Buxton).

I'm not so sure Wesely is on the same level as Kaminsky, or even Clarkin for that matter, but he's a little different as a pitcher so it's hard for me to compare. Gonsalves unfortunately has regressed the past year, as he was spotting 90-92 a year ago and now he's having trouble spotting 87-90. Wesely may have the best full, 4-pitch repertoire of the bunch, throwing both a true curveball and slider, and when he's at his best he's sitting in the low-90s peaking around 94. I've heard he hasn't been quite as sharp this spring, but that could have changed by now. Hard to get reports this early out of NorCal.

EDR, I've emailed a few people about that picture you posted, both within my own staff and outside, and have yet to come up with an answer for that mystery player you photographed. The reaction is almost immediate, and similar to yours, and the only thing we can deduce is that it's got to be a college guy, or a minor league free agent, since there's no way any high school kid could be that big. As for the Brewers losing a pick, it sucks. The compensation system is still messed up if Kyle Lohse is effectively the same as a Type A free agent. However, the Cardinals astutely gambled by making the initial qualifying offer, Lohse declined, and eventually the Brewers bit. It's not that Lohse's contract is that out of hand of what pitchers like him make these days, but it is still incredibly worrisome. That said, if the Brewers are in the playoff conversation come August I don't think I'll care, and will tip my cap to both the Brewers and Lohse if he's a significant contributor to a postseason push. Alright, to the 54th (not 53rd, here's the order: http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=8213) pick -- it's important to note that at least with the new rules the team's 2nd round pick is in the 50s and not in the 70s. AJ Puk, as discussed above, could still be in play, if he can be signed here (and keep in mind, losing the first round pick also loses a huge chunk of the allotted draft signing pool). Prep LHPs like Garrett Williams and Jonah Wesely could also be around here. There's a chance a few northern prep pitchers like Jake Brentz and Devin Williams were also available. College arms such as Kent Emanuel and Jeff Thompson could also be had here. It doesn't take much creativity to think of some prep bats of value here. OFs Terry McClure and Anfernee Grier offer plenty of tools, as do college OFs Michael O'Neil and Jacob May. A variety of reasons will (or at least should/could) likely keep these players from sneaking into the 1st round. Catcher Chris Okey and Brian Navarreto could also be available in this area. Puerto Rican SS Edwin Diaz is another name to remember, as is another prep OF with upside, William Abreu. Dustin Peterson, brother of one of the top prospects available, DJ Peterson of the U of New Mexico, could also go in this range, as could a player frequently compared to Brett Lawrie, Tyler O'Neill. UC Santa Barbara SS Brandon Trinkwon reminds me a lot of Joe Panik every time I see him play, and could be a sleeper pick that may not be a household name to draftniks that carries significant value on draft day.

Glad you liked that story. It was written by Jeff Dahn, although I'm not sure why/how you found it on that site as that's one of our features (not to mention the picture, which I admit isn't the greatest, was taken by yours truly). He's athletic and fluid as noted in that story, just slow.

Hiram Burgos looked really sharp for Team Puerto Rico this evening in their come from behind win over Team Italy. I was really impressed with Burgos' composure on mound, FB command and the movement on the pitch. He made me more of a believer tonight.

nate82, Puk's profile was broken down in great detail in our Draft Focus feature on Friday. Interesting comparison to CC Sabathia was made by David Rawnsley who wrote the piece: http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=8103 I brought up New Mexico 3B/1B DJ Peterson earlier in this thread. He is absolutely tearing the cover off the ball right now. See for yourself: http://www.golobos.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2012-2013/teamcume.html On the flip side, Carlos Rodon is looking more and more human this year. While there's still plenty of time until the 2014 draft, some people are starting to say we jumped the gun on calling him a no-brainer No. 1 overall pick for next year. His teammate, Trea Turner, also eligible in 2014, was looking electric before suffering a severe ankle sprain this weekend. He'll be out for a while.

I just want to add some friendly perspective that the Cardinals farm system in recent years has typically been rated toward the bottom of all teams. That's obviously different this year, but the point being that they still managed to develop talent from within even if that talent wasn't viewed as can't-miss in the minor leagues. I agree that the Brewers system is in rough shape, and that last year's draft class needs to step forward this year, but there are enough players in the system that will be looked upon to contribute this year and next. Since the playoffs are still on the Brewers radar, they're going to be turning to quite a few of these kids along the way to shoulder some of the load. We got a little taste of that late last year.

I'm obviously in the minority, as I really enjoy watching all of the teams and different style of play. I don't think it's a surprise the Japanese team has taken the last 2 times (I think, I didn't double-check) because their teams always play so consistently well together as a unit. They will bunt, nibble and scratch their way to victories. I watched Brazil/Cuba last night and Chinese Tapei/Australia the night before that. It's just great to have Olympic-style baseball on TV to watch late at night. I do agree that it's not a great setup for USA baseball. There just isn't a good time of year to do this to get the very best players involved. However, I'm not just watching it for the US to kick everyone else's tails. Even the DR and Venezuela, who have had some loaded squads, haven't lived up to lofty pre-WBC expectations. We'll see if that changes this year.

The times we (PG) have seen Bostic it's as a primary pitcher. He didn't even take BP at our National Showcase last summer. And his secondary position often is what he inputs into our system. He's ranked where he is because of his promise on the mound. If you're saying he's a better hitter/positional prospect than pitcher, that's something I'll definitely look into. Ryder Ryan is a pretty amazing prospect, so what you're saying is pretty lofty praise. The same goes for Richie Shaffer, who was one of the best hitters in the nation last year at the college level. If Shaffer was considered a mid- to late-first round pick and Ryan is already considered a top 10-15 overall pick for 2014, you're basically saying Bostic should go in the first half of the first round this year (although you did say you'd take him among the top 40 overall picks). Time will tell, but we'll see if you're assessment is accurate (or biased ). splitter, I've never seen Ryan Thompson in person, but he was rated our 19th best prospect at the D2 level entering the spring (I'm not sure I've ever seen a D2 player in person, that is while they were actually playing for a D2 program). Of course, the D2 level isn't exactly brimming with talent. The one note we have in our system on him is that he was throwing in the low-90s last summer on the Cape, but so were a lot of other guys as he didn't crack out league's top 100 prospects.

TheCrew07, we'll have video of Dunlap pitching on his PG player profile once the videos are all edited. I'll try to remember to remind you of that when those are up. What you'll see is a max effort delivery that you're used to seeing from shorter, stockier guys that go 1-2 innings at a time. He's not exactly that tall, projectable, smooth and repeatable pitcher that you envision when thinking of a future starter. The secondary stuff is raw, but it isn't even really about that. When you see, and meet him (he's wired like a closer), you just think future short role and there's nothing wrong with that. It will effect his draft ceiling, especially as a high school kid, but again the Craig Kimbrell comparisons were used early and often in watching him pitch. Here's the top prospect reports from the event: http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=8020

Brentz was at one of our (Perfect Game) events yesterday. He was up to 94, sat easily 90-92. He is a very good athlete and repeats his delivery very well. Very smooth, ball explodes, and it's a 2-seamer at 94, so there's a little late dip to it. He has only pitched something like 14 innings competitively, so his arm is about as fresh as they come. His secondary stuff expectedly needs a lot of work. I tweeted (@PGPatrickEbert) this last night, but here's some video of him pitching yesterday. Sorry about the quality, and while you can't seem much of Brentz, you do get a good luck at his fastball: http://baseballwebtv.com/Video.aspx?videoID=78429#ooid=l1MG44OTrNHJonDKnr8rVrENS8FtX2EZ Clinton Hollon and Devin Williams were also up to 94 yesterday, while Andrew Dunlap peaked at 96. Dunlap is 100% future closer, while Williams had the most impressive pure pitching performance with very impressive movement on his fastball.

The Pirates I'm sure are far more envy in what the Brewers have accomplished through their scouting and player development systems, and probably learned a lot over the years, than vice versa. If the Pirates are successful, just the like the Brewers have been, it will be because they nailed their early picks such as Cole and Taillon just like the Brewers did with Prince and Braun. I know you were speaking more to their international efforts, but it's not like those signings are the ones pushing the Pirates on the brink of snapping 20 years of losing. As for Rodon, yes it's frustrating that the Brewers drafted him only to see his velocity spike and have the pieces fall into place so quickly. However, keep in mind that they took Rodon in the 16th round. It's not like he's a true candidate for the ones labelled "the ones that got away," and any criticism the Brewers receive for that in my opinion is unfair. I do agree with the Brewers being too conservative with their pick of Jungmann. Not of Bradley, though, at least not to the same extent. I'm still confident in Bradley's arm, the pieces just need to be pulled together after a disappointing debut season. If he doesn't work out it's not because the Brewers were conservative. Jungmann on the other hand never profiled to be more than a 3/4 starter. One could argue that there's nothing wrong with that, but with 2 first-round picks in the teens, I agree that you have to go for the home run.

Touki Toussaint is the main name to remember among the 2014 class of prep pitchers. Very loose, live arm with a quick-twitch frame reminiscent of Doc Gooden. He was up to 97 down in Florida for our big tourney in Jupiter last October with an equally nasty curveball. It's easy to see him throwing harder, more consistently, which is scary to think. Nicholas Gordon, son of Tom and brother of Dee, is ranked high given his bat and actions at SS, but he can pitch too, with a similar impressive 1-2 punch as his father. FB has been up to 94-95 and curve is a hammer. He will start his career as a SS as it stands now, but has the arm to fall back on if all else fails. LHP Justus Sheffield is the younger brother of Jordan who is eligible this year. Not quite the same lithe, live frame, but I saw him up to 93 last October and he shows a pretty good sense for pitching for his age. RHP Bryce Montes De Oca is a monster at 6-7, 265. He was up to 95 in Jupiter, but didn't show good command or feel for offspeed stuff.