colbyjack

Brewerfan.net's top 30 rankings and draft notes have been updated, as of today, 3/21/06. Please check out Brewerfan.net's default draft page to view these updates. www.brewerfan.net/ViewDra...?draftId=4

I think I may have a couple of old shirts left. Jamie, I think I told you before, but one of these days I'll go through my old collection and see if I have anything to donate.

Just so you know, since it's in your signature, "Cincinatti" is spelled Cincinnati.

For those that weren't aware, Bard got bumped up to the Friday starter this week, with Miller moving to Saturday and Robert Woodard getting knocked back to Sunday. Here's BA's weekend preview: www.baseballamerica.com/t...eview.html And onto a few other pitching lines... Alabama LHP Wade LeBlanc matched up against Georgia's RHP Brooks Brown today as conference play opened up almost everywhere. Both pitched well, but LeBlanc had a masterful game carving up the Bulldogs. A solo HR was the only run he allowed: LeBlanc: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 0 BB Brown: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 9 K, 2 BB Cal's Brandon Morrow continues to deal. He walks a few too many, but he hardly allows any hits: 8.1 IP, 4 H< 1 ER, 10 K, 3 BB Houston's Brad Lincoln probably shouldn't have been allowed to enter the 8th inning given his pitch count (one thing I don't like how Houston has handled their pitchers in recent years, most notably Brad Sullivan), but with a little better defense Lincoln likely would have notched another CG under his belt. Instead they're in extra innings with San Diego (Josh Butler to go Saturday night). Lincoln: 8.1 IP, 11 H, 4 R (2 ER), 9 K, 1 BB The Pac 10 had a mighty good pitching matchup to offer this evening as well, as USC's Ian Kennedy squared off against Oregon State's Dallas Buck. Buck keeps on pitching well, despite extremely ugly walk totals. Kennedy has not been sharp as of late, even though he didn't pitch poorly today: Kennedy: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R (1 ER), 5 K, 5 BB Buck: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 K, 6 BB LBSU RHP Jared Hughes continues his up & down ways against Wichita State. Again, not a terrible line, but not great either: 7 IP, 8 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 K, 1 BB The fate of RHP Daniel Bard and LHP Andrew Miller has seemed to be linked ever since they decided to step onto UNC's campus. They have gone through similar ups & downs, arriving as UNC as highly-touted prep stars, having strong freshman years, starting strong as sophomores before slumping, dominating the Cape during the summer of '05 on their way to being named the 1-2 prospects in the league and now being roughed up for the first time in '06 at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins. templeUsox already provided Bard's line above, here's Miller's: 5IP, 9 H, 6 R (5 ER), 6 K, 1 BB Josh Butler threw an absolute gem vs. Houston. His pitch count was in the 125 range, but he was painting the corners with a 92-93 mph fastball in the 9th inning to close out the game. Butler's fastball showed a lot of life tonight, and impressed the throng of scouts that were in attendance. I'm telling you, this guy's a legit first-rounder. Here's his line: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 9 K, 3 BB David Huff bounced back yesterday after getting knocked around a little bit the past couple of weeks. Against San Diego St.: 8 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 0 BB I forgot to mention it before, but USC vs. Oregon State is this weekend's college TV game. Check it out at 3pm CST (among multiple replays during the week) on FCSP.

DFE update as of 3/13/06 Keep in mind, it's not easy finding stats on all of these guys, and the ones provided by NJCAA's site are a little more basic. Tim Smith Hitting .444 in 18 ABs with two doubles (I'm guessing these stats aren't up to date) Taylor Green .272/.366/.469 in 81 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 BB, 6 K Patrick Murray .340/.389/.500 in 50 AB, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 BB, 5 K Spencer Pennington .270/.372/.270 in 37 AB, 5 BB, 6 K Sebastien Vendette 7.59 ERA, 10.2 IP, 11 H, 12 K, 9 BB Stephen Barnes 2-4, 2.91 ERA, 11 games (7 starts), 43 IP, 42 H, 27 K, 17 BB Jordan Lennerton .405/.526/.486 in 74 AB, 3 2B, 1 HR, 20 BB, 13 K, 4 for 5 SBs 3-2, 1.95 ERA, 5 games (all starts), 27.2 IP, 23 H, 17 K, 16 BB, .217 BAA Kyle Eveland .298/.355/.368 in 57 AB, 4 2B, 5 BB, 14 K

Season statistics for notable draft-eligible prospects, as of games through 3/12/06: PITCHERS Andrew Miller-LHP-UNC 4-0, 0.64 ERA, 4 games (all starts), 28 IP, 14 H, 33 K, 7 BB, 0 HR, .152 BAA Miller is solidifying his status as the favorite to go first overall Daniel Bard-RHP-UNC 3-0, 1.93 ERA, 4 games (all starts), 28 IP, 15 H, 35 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, .153 BAA Nearly identical stats for draft-eligible teammates Miller & Bard Ian Kennedy-RHP-USC 2-3, 3.02 ERA, 6 games (all starts), 41.2 IP, 34 H, 48 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, .228 BAA Has been roughed up more than usual in a couple of starts Max Scherzer-RHP-Mizzou 3-1, 2.88 ERA, 4 games (all starts), 25 IP, 18 H, 31 K, 7 BB, 1 HR, .209 BAA Scherzer has come out firing this season, changeup is reportedly looking very good Jared Hughes-RHP-LBSU 4-0, 3.40 ERA, 6 games (all starts), 39.2 IP, 31 H, 28 K, 13 BB, 2 HR, .212 BAA A little inconsistent, but Hughes has looked better his last few starts Andrew Carpenter-RHP-LBSU 3-1, 2.28 ERA, 6 games (all starts), 43.1 IP, 32 H, 30 K, 8 BB, 2 HR, .209 BAA Carpenter has been a pleasant surprise this season, very good slider & splitter Greg Reynolds-RHP-Stanford 1-1, 3.11 ERA, 6 games (all starts), 37.2 IP, 38 H, 35 K, 8 BB, 1 HR, .266 BAA Still pitching inconsistently, but the best season so far of his college career Brandon Morrow-RHP-Cal 3-0, 1.34 ERA, 5 games (all starts), 33.2 IP, 22 H, 36 K, 17 BB, 0 HR, .195 BAA Morrow has continued his success from last summer into this spring Josh Butler-RHP-San Diego 3-2, 1.07 ERA, 6 games (5 starts), 33.2 IP, 20 H, 27 K, 10 BB, 0 HR, .171 BAA A very nice start for Butler, as stats show, he should be better than 3-2 Brad Lincoln-RHP-Houston 4-1, 2.18 ERA, 6 games (all starts), 41.1 IP, 28 H, 54 K, 10 BB, 3 HR, .189 BAA Not only enjoying a very good season on the mound, Lincoln is UH's best hitter Joba Chamberlain-RHP-Nebraska 2-1, 1.29 ERA, 3 games (all starts), 21 IP, 11 H, 28 K, 6 BB, 1 HR, .157 BAA Missed his last start, but is following up a fine soph. season very well Kyle McCulloch-RHP-Texas 1-3, 4.37 ERA, 7 games (6 starts), 35 IP, 35 H, 29 K, 14 BB, 1 HR, .265 BAA Has been getting hit around quite a bit for a player that is a potential 1st-round pick David Huff-LHP-UCLA 2-2, 3.00 ERA, 6 games (all starts), 45 IP, 42 H, 45 K, 14 BB, 5 HR, .255 BAA Roughed up last start, but soft stuff could be better as a pro Wade LeBlanc-LHP-Alabama 3-0, 1.75 ERA, 5 games (all starts), 36 IP, 20 H, 44 K, 6 BB, 3 HR, .161 BAA Bouncing back after a disappointing soph. year which followed a great frosh. season Tim Lincecum-RHP-Washington 3-1, 3.72 ERA, 5 games (all starts), 29 IP, 22 H, 49 K, 18 BB, 3 HR, .208 BAA Shorter righty still blowing batters away despite walking too many Dallas Buck-RHP-Oregon St. 4-0, 2.40 ERA, 5 games (all starts), 30 IP, 18 H, 30 K, 16 BB, 3 HR, .176 BAA Fastball has lost a tick, but he's still racking up the W's Brooks Brown-RHP-Georgia 2-0, 2.62 ERA, 4 games (all starts), 24 IP, 18 H, 28 K, 9 BB, 0 HR, .209 BAA A solid start for a solid pitcher proving his worth as a Friday starter Steven Wright-RHP-Hawaii 4-1, 2.40 ERA, 6 games (all starts), 45 IP, 29 H, 49 K, 8 BB, 0 HR, .182 BAA Wright has beaten some pretty good opponents in a breakout season Chris Perez-RHP-Miami 0-0, 1.59 ERA, 11 games (all in relief), 4 saves, 17 IP, 10 H, 20 K, 7 BB, 0 HR, .172 BAA Very good numbers for one of the nation's best closers Blair Erickson-RHP-UC Irvine 1-0, 2.25 ERA, 10 games (all in relief), 6 saves, 12 IP, 9 H, 14 K, 5 BB, 0 HR, .225 BAA Has been a saves machine since his freshman year HITTERS Evan Longoria-SS/3B/2B-LBSU .382/.527/.588 in 68 AB, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 19 BB, 5 K, 3 for 4 SBs, 1 E Has supplanted Drew Stubbs as the top college hitter Drew Stubbs-CF-Texas .338/.449/.563 in 80 AB, 5 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 16 BB, 21 K, 9 for 11 SBs, 3 Es Still strikes out way too much, but is an amazing athlete Matt LaPorta-1B-Florida .308/.513/.638 in 26 AB, 2 HR, 10 BB, 5 K, 2 Es Has missed the last two weeks with a strained oblique muscle, pitched around when healthy Wes Hodges-3B-Georgia Tech .375/.481/.516 in 64 AB, 3 2B, 2 HR, 11 BB, 17 K, 4 Es Great natural hitter in a lethal lineup Matt Antonelli-3B-Wake Forest .314/.435/.600 in 70 AB, 2 2B, 6 HR, 15 BB, 10 K, 6 for 6 SBs, 1 E Off to a quick start in the HR dep't., still showing patient eye & speed Shane Robinson-CF-Florida State .438/.533/.635 in 73 AB, 7 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 16 BB, 6 K, 11 for 12 SBs, 1 E Another good start for Robinson, my preseason fave for POY Jon Jay-CF-Miami .319/.457/.528 in 72 AB, 6 2B, 3 HR, 11 BB, 6 K, 4 for 6 SBs, 1 E Jay keeps on hitting, although you'd like to see his BA higher Chad Tracy-C-Pepperdine .326/.390/.438 in 89 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 BB, 9 K, 3 for 3 SBs, 2 Es Has started to heat up, is a consistent contact hitter

I was going to provide the season stats for both of those guys once the weekend was over. I don't mean to upset you, and I can say it's not a bias against the Northwest, but I'm not a big fan of either pitcher. Both of them walk to much, and both have extremely unconventional deliveries. Lincecum is a pure fire-baller, without a doubt, with a wicked curve, but I fear he just puts way too much pressure on his throwing shoulder. Buck's delivery is more herky-jerky, and speaking of jerky, I've heard his character is in question, and I wasn't a big fan of the way he carried himself in the CWS last year when he got roughed up. To say he lost his composure is an understatement. And now reports are that his velocity has dipped into the 88-90 mph range. That dip in velocity amidst character questions despite having success are quite similar to Wade Townsend at Rice during his junior year. Unless they slide to a later pick, I wouldn't nab either one in the first round, and even immediately after that is questionable.

Thanks nate, I saw that as well today on Perfect Game's message board. Not the greatest of news, but fortunately more and more young pitchers are recovering successfully, if not improving, after undergoing TJ surgery. Tolleson is almost a sure bet to honor his commitment to Baylor.

College player updates for the weekend of 3/10/06 As noted just above by Gagne, Nebraska RHP Joba Chamberlain is being rested this weekend as a precautionary measure. Purdue RHP Jay Buente got the better of Missouri and RHP Max Scherzer today. Buente: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 9 K, 4 BB Scherzer: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 8 K, 2 BB Long Beach State RHP Jared Hughes pitched a dandy against Texas at Austin, and pitched into the 9th until Texas just tied up the score at 3 a piece. Hughes' final line: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 9 K, 3 BB One of the walks and earned runs came as Hughes started the ninth, walked the first batter, and was pulled from the game. It's a shame the Dirtbags' bullpen couldn't hold onto the lead to get Hughes the W. Hughes also had a 10 to 5 groundout to flyout ratio, something that is always something to consider when weighing his effectiveness. Houston RHP Brad Lincoln got fired up after his manager got tossed from Houston's game vs. UC Irvine. After the ejection, Lincoln struck out the side in the 7th, led off the 8th with a absolute moon-shot that gave the Cougars a 1-run lead, and then struck out the side again in the bottom of the 8th. He's at about 105 pitches, so hopefully the Cougars think twice about sending him out to pitch the 9th. It should be noted that Brad Lincoln is not only Houston's Friday starter, but also their cleanup hitter, which includes nights he pitches. He was throwing darts in the 7th & 8th innings with both his low to mid-90s heater and wicked curve. Lincoln pitched himself into some trouble in the 9th, and had runners at 1st & 2nd with no outs, but managed to work himself out of it for the CG victory. His final line: 9 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 12 K, 3 BB He could really use a day off after that performance, as his pitch count had to be in the 120-125 range at least. The opposing pitcher, Justin Cassel, pitched pretty well for UC Irvine: 9 IP, 11 H, 3 R (2 ER), 12 K, 0 BB USC's Ian Kennedy and Stanford's Greg Reynolds are facing off this evening, in what profiles as a battle between potential first-round picks. Stats to come later. You mention one of the better matchups of the weekend, and the two pitchers provide a stinker. Kennedy started strong through two innings, while Reynolds started poorly through the first two and got mildly better. Kennedy: 6.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 K, 1 BB Reynolds: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 4 BB Kennedy has been touched a few times this season now, seemingly more as of late. A couple of names I haven't brought up this year had good starts today. Wade LeBlanc, a lefty at Alabama (and the player I asked Jim Callis about AskBA that led to some kind comments from him about Brewerfan.net), is having a fine season, rebounding from a tough sophomore year. His line against Nebraska (too bad Chamberlain didn't pitch, as this would have been a stellar matchup): 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 1 BB Brooks Brown is a RHP for Georgia with good stuff and a strong build. Here's his line from today: 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 8 K, 1 BB Cal RHP Brandon Morrow with a rather good outing against UNLV. The 8 and 9 inning affairs are piling up tonight: 9 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 3 BB UNC RHP Daniel Bard with another absolutely stellar outing, today against Wake Forest. He certainly is proving his worth so far this season: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 8 K, 2 BB Andrew Miller probably goes Sunday.

Let's not bring the "Sheets isn't an ace on a good team" conversation to this forum. First, that has been debated plenty on the MLB forum, and personally I think it is a ludicrous statement to begin with.

While you're following Purdue JohnBriggs, keep an eye on RHP Jay Buente, who should already be playing pro ball. He's another extremely overlooked prospect. Here's a few games/series/tourneys to follow over the weekend in college baseball... Speaking of Purdue, they travel to Missouri, and if you have been following the Boilermakers, be sure to see how they fare against Max Scherzer, the Tigers' Friday starter. Scherzer vs. Buente on Friday at 6:30 pm CST will be a well-scouted affair. Here's Mizzou's local ESPN channel that carries the baseball games on the net: www.ktgr.com/ Be sure to tune in as Long Beach State travels to Texas. As always, Long Beach's online broadcasts are free of charge. Follow this schedule to tune in this weekend: www.longbeachstate.com/gen/thisweek.html Nebraska's online broadcasts should also be available free of charge, and their Friday tilt vs. Alabama should offer an intriguing pitching matchup between RHP Joba Chamberlain and LHP Wade LeBlanc. Game time is 2:05 pm CST. The link to Nebraska's audio page: www.huskersnside.com/live...OEM_ID=100 Another interesting non-conference matchup has Houston facing UC Irvine, who has recently snuck into BA's top 25. Again, the Friday matchup (8:00 pm CST) is the game to tune into here, with RHP Brad Lincoln facing the Anteaters. Link to Houston's audio page (I can't tell if it's free of charge or not): uhcougars.collegesports.c...media.html TV Alert Sunday's game of the Florida State/Maryland weekend series will be televised on FCSA at 11am. Sunday games don't always offer the greatest pitching matchups, but FSU has a couple of players to keep an eye on, including CF Shane Robinson and 2B/IF Ryne Malone.

Unfortunately for Russell County, Monsignor Pace has taken over the top spot of BA's rankings with RC falling to 17th: www.baseballamerica.com/t...top25.html A nice picture of Chris Marrero of Monsignor Pace, one of the top prospects available for this June's draft. I love those old Phillies uniforms! http://www.baseballamerica.com/images2005/cmarrero450350.jpg

I don't think they will. We've wondered this before the past few years if the Brewers would take a chance on players like Weaver, Drew, Hochevar and Pelfrey, and they have passed despite having the opportunity to draft all four of those players. One thing Jack Z. and the entire organizaiton definitely values is getting a newly drafted player into the system quickly, as Weeks is the only first-round that took more than a couple of weeks to sign. With any Boras client when it comes to signing you're not talking about weeks or months, but the rest of the 2006 calendar year if not beyond.

Thanks foamboy. I think the pick will be a pitcher, and I think that pitcher is going to come from the college ranks, although I think there could be very good value from the prep arms at the 16th spot. I just sense that the organizaiton knows they are getting closer and closer to winning, and I think they are going to want more pieces that are closer and closer to helping that cause. I've liked Long Beach State RHP Jared Hughes for over three years now. He has transformed himself into an eractic power pitcher to a cerebral groundball pitcher at the college level. He pitches to contact, has good enough stuff to strike batters out, and induces a ton of weakly hit ground balls as the opponents use an aluminum bat. He is one of my favorites for the 16th pick. Other college pitchers that will factor into that range include Houston's Brad Lincoln, Cal's Brandon Morrow, Nebraska's Joba Chamberlain, San Diego's Josh Butler, Stanford's Greg Reynolds and Texas' Kyle McCulloch. I like Lincoln because he has two very good pitches in a fastball and a curveball that has been compared to Sheets', plus he's a great hitter and would be a perfect fit in the NL. Chamberlain doesn't have a picture-perfect frame, but he competes, works hard and has good stuff. Don't rule out a college closer, as Jack Z. spent an entire weekend last month checking out the Miami-Florida season, and was behind the screen clocking Miami's Chris Perez. Arizona's Mark Melancon and UC Irvine's Blair Erickson are the other college closers worth mentioning with the 16th pick. It could be interesting to follow, as drafting closers is a growing trend, and if the Brewers are in the thick of a playoff race come June (although that is still early), they may go with an arm they think they can have up by September. The prep arms include projectable/power guys like Dellin Betances, Matt Latos, Jason Stoffel, Colton Willems, Josh Thrailkill and Chris Tillman. Possibly Kyle Drabek if he falls.

Sorry, no updates for this last week. I'm basking in the glow of my new baby boy http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . I hope to provide season stats after this weekend's action.

Andrew Miller is probably the closest thing to a "can't-miss" prospect, but I really don't think he's "can't miss." This year's draft is lacking in this category, which includes players such as Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Delmon Young, Rickie Weeks, B.J. Upton, Mark Prior, Mark Teixeira, Joe Mauer, etc. This year's crop is similar to that of 2004 and 2002, where there really isn't a sure-fire first overall pick, and many of the players available at the top may fall in the draft due to their affiliation with Scott Boras. I do think there is some nice depth, particularly with the pitchers. The college arms that were expected to compete so far are performing very well, and there are also several other players that are stepping up this spring to make names for themselves (see my Crack of the Bat column from last week at Perfect Game to familiarize yourself with some of these arms on the rise). The high school level also has a lot of intriguing arms, and I think you could find some very good value in this area in the middle of the first round. With so many teams focusing on college arms, the 2nd or 3rd best prep arm might just slide to the 16th pick.

Whoops, I should have checked all of the forums before posting my own in the off-topic one. I'm a lefty, and so is my wife (along with her entire family), so hopefully that recessive trait passes down to Hank. Thanks for your thoughts & congrats. He did come a little over a week past his due date, making a once thought Aquarius into a Pisces. Here's pic of the little bugger: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/henryjamesebert1.jpg

Do you think I have good justification in having concern about Daniel Bard's future? Sorry, I missed this comment/question before. I think you have plenty of reason to be concern, as Daniel Bard is probably the one guy that I have in my top 10 that I just don't have that feeling for. I've seen him pitch three or four times, and I agree that his breaking ball is very inconsistent. When watching the Cape All-Star Game last year, I have in my notes that I didn't see a single impressive slider thrown, and on top of that his fastball looked rather straight. He has a very smooth delivery and a live arm, but something about him just doesn't sit right with me.

Colby, do you know what the restrictions are put into place Serviceman? Is it the same as football? Cause if there isn't then that Jared Munde kid is a draftable kid. I'm pretty sure that they have a two-year commitment once they graduate college, and I believe that commitment has to be spent once they do indeed graduate. There was a draft-eligible player coming out of Navy (I think) two years ago or so in which the same questions arised. There was some debate that the Naval Academy may waive (or delay) the service time to give that player the opportunity to pursue a baseball career, but I don't think that ever came to fruition. Having to honor that commitment is tough because a two-year layoff isn't good for any young baseball player. It's worse for a hitter than a pitcher. More and more people are going to talk about Samardzija this spring. He's one heck of an athlete, especially is baseball. I didn't hear that he was leaning towards baseball, but it would be nice to steal one away from the NFL. I'm surprised Lincecum hasn't had a serious shoulder injury yet. I hate to say it, and I hope I'm wrong, but I believe it's waiting to happen, and according to him he's able to generate the velocity he does because of his unique delivery. I talked briefly about him in a Crack of the Bat column from a year ago, in which I agree that he will best be suited in a bullpen at the pro level: www.perfectgame.org/2005/...losers.cfm If you've never seen him pitch, he has a violent delivery in which he puts a tremendous amount of torque on his pitching shoulder. I just can't see him sustaining a long and healthy career, and I think most scouts agree with that prognosis. His stuff is explosive, but even then, he's still walking way to many batters in his third year at Washington. His bonus demands have been high which doesn't make him any more appealing.

I already noted Scherzer's performance above. LaPorta did not play this weekend due to a strained oblique. That shouldn't keep him out long, but Florida's lineup takes a much different look when he's not playing. Scherzer isn't a max effort pitcher. He's a lot like Justin Verlander in that the ball explodes out of his hand. Like Verlander, Scherzer also has an explosive breaking pitch (a slider) that is also a plus-pitch when it's on. There have been some rumblings that Scherzer could wind up in the bullpen depending on the progression of his changeup, but I don't see why that is a decision that has to be made anytime soon. He commands his fastball so well that there's no reason to see why he couldn't have success as a starter. As for McBryde, I really don't know too much about him, and he hasn't played much this year (and overall he really hasn't pitched that much), but given the interest in college closers in recent years I suppose I could see him sneaking into the 2nd round. After all, it only takes one team to like a player, and as you note there isn't any reason to think he couldn't develop at least one more pitch. His athleticism gives him an interesting package of tools, as a more creative team could use him as a late-inning reliever as well as a pinch runner and possibly even a pinch-hitter. Kevin Whelan now with the Tigers got drafted pretty high last year (4th round) based almost entirely off of the success of his fastball (not to mention his overall athleticism as a converted catcher), and I would project that would be approximate where McBryde would go at this point in time. I will say that because he hasn't been used too much as a pitcher scouts will favor him because his arm is relatively fresh. I know that appealed to the Brewers in particular when they selected Steve Hammond last June (who quickly vaulted up three levels and is now considered a top-20 prospect in a deep Brewers system). BTW, thanks for the first-hand reports Madtown.

Welcome templeUsox, we're glad you found us. Greg Reynolds just missed my top 30 when I made it last October. I agree that he could be sneaking into the first round, and he's one of several players that were previously unheralded that turned a lot of heads on the Cape last year. These same players have carried that success over to this season, which is always good to see. Reynolds is joined by Evan Longoria, Brad Lincoln, Brandon Morrow and Chris Errecart, none of whom had enjoyed success for their respective teams the year before (I should exclude Lincoln, who has always been a threat as a hitter, and wasn't bad as a pitcher, but really burst out last summer). I always felt last summer's Cape class was interesting in that regard, as it definitely brought a lot more stories to follow this spring. So far, so good, as Longoria is tearing it up, Errecart is showing more power at Cal while Lincoln, Morrow and Reynolds are mowing 'em down.

It's hard not seeing Andrew Miller going first overall to the Royals (if they do open up their checkbook that is). Of course, UNC's first two opponents haven't exactly been the most opposing, and Miller did start strong last year before fading as the spring progressed. I still would like to see him pitch on Fridays against the opposing team's best starters, regardless of the strength of their opponents.

The reason this was changed was so people didn't feel there was any need to post for no other reason than just to get their posting total up. There is no class system here, as someone with 3 posts has just as much clout as someone with 3,000, and there are no prizes or pats on the back for reaching certain totals.

Nope, no Wisconsin teams. I forget where I saw it, I think on the Wisconsin Baseball site, but Oak Creek isn't even the #1 summer team at this point in time. I'll have to try and find that link later.

Baseball America has started their Draft notebooks again, as well as their draft positional rankings, starting with 1B and C (both links for subscribers only). Draft notebook: www.baseballamerica.com/o...ebook.html Top draft-eligible 1B & C: www.baseballamerica.com/o...kings.html I disagree completely with their notion that Parmelee is strictly a LF in the OF because of his lack of speed and arm. As I noted in another thread, while he's not a burner, he has good running instincts and has a very strong arm. Not sure where Allan Simpson (whom I respect tremendously) got his information on that one.