colbyjack

Is this the all-time longest thread??? Wow. There is no way I'm going to go back and read all 35 pages of this sucker, but good for the crew today, to put it mildly. Always nice to sock it to the Cubs. Do you think Jim Hendry regrets not addressing their need for a closer this past offseason? Suckers http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

That's good timing since the MJS people are always cruising the parking lots selling papers on opening day. I might just buy a stack.

A minor league box score!!!??? Pratt's pitching angry. 7 Ks and only 2 hits allowed & zero walks, yet 3 wild pitches & 2 hit batters. I love being able to solve all of life's problems through a box score http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

Here are this week's TV games. Get ready for a whole lot of Nebraska games coming up, including everyone's chance to watch Alex Gordon this coming weekend on ESPN. Wednesday, April 6 6:00 pm: CSTV Iowa @ Nebraksa Check out Alex Gordon, and who knows, maybe we'll get a peek at DFE Dustin Timm. Friday, April 8 6:30 pm: ESPNU Texas @ Nebraska Don't hold me to this game, since it isn't officially listed within my TV schedule, but then again I don't think ESPNU is offered yet. ESPN listings for this weekend for me include a 11:00 am Saturday game on ESPN and a 8:00 pm Saturday game on ESPN2, with team's listed as TBA. Saturday, April 9 Noon: FCSA NC State @ Virginia I strongly enourage any college/draft fans to check this game out to see 3B Ryan Zimmerman in action. I was extremely impressed with him last weekend. 1:00 pm: ESPN Texas @ Nebraska Again, don't hold me to this time. This game is supposed to be aired on ESPN, but my current TV listings don't agree. 3:00 pm: FCSA Auburn @ Mississippi State DFE Jon Mungle attends Mississippi State, but he hasn't been playing at all this year. Brad Corley highlights the Mississippi State OF, while Josh Bell highlights the Auburn squad behind the dish. 4:00 pm: FCSP UCLA @ USC Another chance to check out catcher Jeff Clement. Sunday, April 10 Noon: FCSC Auburn @ Mississippi State 1:30 pm: ESPN Texas @ Nebraska Unsure of game, time, etc. See above. 3:00 pm: FCSP UCLA @ USC Another cool pic of Alex Gordon on BA's website: http://ftp.baseballamerica.com/images2005/agordon450310.jpg BA's college weekend preview 4/8-4/10

Hardy opens his Miller Park career with a triple. And Gwynn Jr. opens his Miller Park career with a double. Had to throw that in there, as Gwynn received a very nice ovation from the crowd. Of course almost everyone was talking to their signicant others and/or children about how he was the of the son of a soon-to-be Hall of Famer, but he still looked good at the plate and in the field (another reason why not to make a strong judgement based on one appearance). Doug Davis is pitching just like he was last year, which is a good sign. Carlos Lee is huge. J.J. Hardy is smooth. Dana Eveland was up throwing twice in the Brewers bullpen, once when Jorge de la Rosa was in (in the 7th I believe), and he was called up at the end of the game when Turnbow was struggling. You can tell Yost was playing this game to win, bringing in the righty Davis followed by Turnbow to face a right-handed lineup in the late-innings (not to mention the squeeze bunt by Cirillo, another example of how much this game meant to Yost). I was impressed with Rottino's baseball body. He actually looked just like Aaron Rowand of the ChiSox. Tommy Phelps has good stuff, especially for a lefty. I think it was a good move to bring him in the 5th, as Davis was laboring a little, and bringing in a lefty that brought heat to a lineup that was used to watching a control southpaw had to be tough to adjust to in limited action. Jorge dialed his fastball up to 97 at one point. He looked to be throwing a pretty good curve as well. The only thing holding him back is command (not so much control, he needs confidence out there). Of course I say "only" like that is easy to overcome. My wife thinks Russell Branyan is cute, or hot, or whatever she said. I suppose that puts in her the 3TO crowd http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . I was funny to see all of the White Sox fans with "Cubs Suck" t-shirts on. It's like they were reaching out to the Brewers fans after years of animosity when we were in the AL. Good game, but I was disappointed Eveland didn't make it in. I hope he finds his way into tomorrow's game. He better.

According to the notes, "IN THE PEN: Following Davis to the mound today will be RHP Ricky Bottalico (#52), LHP Tommy Phelps (#41), LHP Jorge De La Rosa (#47) and LHP Dana Eveland (#50)." That's great news, thanks for sharing SBS. Just so people in the area know, seats are really cheap, as no seat in the house is more than $15. I'm sitting in the third row on the OF side of the Brewers dugout, hoping to have a chance to chat with Dana and whomever else strolls by. For $15, I'll be able to upgrade my parking so I don't have to walk through the rain as much. It's funny, I tell people I'm going to the game tonight and they ask, "Bucks?," having no clue about the Brewers in town. Why weren't these games promoted more than what they were? Oh well. I'll be there, and I hope to share some pictures early next week.

Player updates for the week of 3/28 - 4/3 USC catcher Jeff Clement continues his hot hitting with a 3 for 4 performance against Loyola Marymount the other night. He added a double, a HR and a BB to his night, and has bumped his line up to .364/.515/.714 in 77 AB. Remember that Clement and USC will face off against Washington on FCSP (Fox College Sports Pacific) this Saturday. I watched Clement and USC face Washington today. I've seen video of Clement before during his stints with Team USA the past summers, but never in game action with USC, where I believe players can perform differently. He definitely has chiseled his body somewhat, which isn't to say he's a physical freak or anything like that, but he's built strong and compact. He had a few nice hustle plays, stretching a single into a double on a flare, and scoring from 2B on a shallow hit to RF. Behind the plate, he doesn't have the moxie that Taylor Teagarden does, but I didn't see anything today that would suggest he's not an everyday catcher. He went 2-4 on the day, with the double as mentioned, a walk and 2 RBIs. Yesterday he went 1 for 1 with 4 walks (yes, 4 walks), as the Washington team clearly was pitching around him. He definitely handles the strike zone well. ????????????????????????? I also watched 3B Ryan Zimmerman of Virginia today, at least before the game was postponed by rain. I am extremely impressed with Zimmerman's overall game, and I hope to see him again this spring to make sure I didn't just catch him at a high peak. The way he's hitting, and has hit, I don't think I did, but I always warn myself (and others) about making judgements with limited observations. I have seen Zimmerman defensively, so I knew how smooth he was on the field. He confirmed that again today, as every ball hit to him seemed to be quickly absorbed. At the plate he showed very good discipline against UNC's Daniel Bard, one of the very top '06 prospects. Bard wasn't missing the strike zone much, but Zimmerman wasn't offering in his first AB. He worked Bard until he got a fastball down the pipe, that Zimmerman smoke to LF. In his next AB, Zimmerman drove the first pitch he saw from Bard (a fastball) to LCF for a 2-run HR. He has very good bat speed, and make very good contact in both ABs. He seems to be very disciplined at the plate, and did even budget on pitches outside of the strike zone. There is a definite sense of confidence in his game which isn't to be confused with cockiness. On the day he went 3 for 4 with 2 runs, 3 RBI a HR and a 3B. On Friday (against UNC's LHP Andrew Miller, possibly the favorite to go #1 overall in next year's draft), Zimmerman went 5 for 6 with 3 runs, 1 RBI and 2 BBs. He is definitely surging right now, and in my mind erases any concerns about whether or not he's worthy of the #5 overall pick. Which presses me to comment about the 2 concerns I had about him before seeing him today: His power and his relatively low walk totals. He definitely has a line drive swing, but since I got to see him hit a HR, you can tell the power is there. He just seems to be an incredibly good, pure hitter. As for the walks, it's not a matter of him being anxious, because he clearly showed plate discipline, but when offered a strike he is not going to let it go by. His ability to make contact will allow him not to strike out too much. He is probably the most impressive hitter I have seen this year (I haven't seen Gordon swing the bat yet this season). I also was impressed with his size and presence. I will be sure to update the hitting lines of Clement, Zimmerman and others when the weekend action is complete. ????????????????????????? LHP Ricky Romero faced Chris Nichol and UC Irvine last night. Romero ran into some trouble in the 6th, and gave up 5 ER in just over 7 innings: 7.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 8 K, 0 BB One concern I have with Romero is that he seems to fall victim to the big inning. If you look at his pitching line, giving up 9 hits and no walks in over 7 innings of work isn't really that bad, and definitely wouldn't automatically lead to 5 runs crossing the plate. When he's on, he's on, where hits and runs are hard to come by. But all of the sudden, he'll give up a quick 3 runs in an inning on a flare, a double, and another hit all in succession. I'm not sure if it's a matter of focus, if he doesn't pitch well out of the stretch or what, but the big, or even modest, inning has gotten to him a little bit this spring. RHP Mike Pelfrey tossed a pretty good game against Evansville: 8.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 13 K, 1 BB Pelfrey is starting to K a lot more batters in recent outings, and he's walking less too. Similar to Romero, 3 ER on only 5 H & 1 BB leads me to believe he too suffered from one big(ger) inning. Tennesse was rained out both Friday and Saturday, so Hochevar hasn't taken the mound yet this weekend. Luke Hochevar finally took the mound Sunday. The line looks good except for the walk totals. Since this game was played as a double-header, the 7 innings constituted a complete game, as Tennessee freshman LHP James Adkins (a name to watch for '07) also threw a CG in the 2nd game for the Volunteers. 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 4 BB College hitters update, 4/4/05 Alex Gordon .417/.576/.865 in 96 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 29:14 BB:K, 15 for 15 SBs, 4 Es Stay on target... Jeff Clement .378/.540/.720 in 82 AB, 10 2B, 6 HR, 24:14 BB:K, 3 Es Sunday's USC/Washington game was rained out, and it will be played today. As detailed above, Clement continues to hit well, and his numbers are creeping up towards Gordon's. Ryan Zimmerman .420/.485/.652 in 112 ABs, 8 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 13:6 BB:K, 11 for 12 SBs, 4 Es Zimmerman will be added to all weekly updates from now on. Tyler Greene .347/.426/.581 in 124 ABs, 7 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 14:28 BB:K, 13 for 14 SBs, 9 Es Greene with a huge day on Sunday: 3 for 5 with 3 runs, 8 RBIs, with a grand slam counting for one of his hits and 4 of the ribbies.

David of course was referring to Tony Gwynn Jr., but I think he would even agree that it's good to have Prince Fielder in our system. Justin Upton and John Mayberry Jr. are the most notable relatives of current/former MLB players. Drew could play 3B just fine, but I'd rather keep him at SS for a while or move him to 2B. While he doesn't have true corner IF power, he has the potential to hit 10-15 dingers relatively soon, and he could be a 20-25 HR guy within a few years, plus he should hit for a high average and he knows how to draw his fair share of walks. He might even be closer to MLB ready than Gordon, but Gordon IMO is the better player just because he's going to be one heck of a true slugger. But then again, the Boras factor plays in, and he still could be signed by the Diamondbacks.

Bjkrauktk, your reasoning is solid, but I don't think you're truly keeping in mind who you're talking about. Do you really think a Boras client is going to sign for somewhere in between $2.2 and $1.6 million this year, when they have a lot more on the table right now? Boras is a smart guy, and you rarely, if ever, see him getting burned. The decision to re-enter the draft won't be made unless he's 100% sure he can get a better deal. When Drew returned to the '97 draft, he did so knowing full well that the cards were sitting at #5, with the Phils (who could not redraft without permission), two small-market teams (Oakland and KC), and the Cubs ahead of them. Boras had done a successful deal with the Cards the previous year for Ankiel ($2.5M, a record for a 2nd round pick at the time). As it turned out, Drew signed quickly...there was an agreement in place sure as shooting. Well stated SoCal. J.D. Drew did sign really quickly, so it's no surprise that there already was a deal on the table. Who knows how long that deal had been worked on. Sure, there are some tampering issues, but who is to know if everyone keeps their mouth shut? These players don't just magically "fall" in the draft. They fall for a reason, and Boras clients don't just sign for slot value, or a fair amount, because they fear what they may make the next year. Weaver may not end up making Prior money, and Drew may not make Weeks or Teixeira money, but they're not going to settle either just because they seemingly have little to no leverage left.

First of all, Townsend isn't a Boras client. He may end up getting less than what the Orioles were offering last year, and his plan to return to school while giving up his athletic eligibility back-fired on him. If he were advised by Boras he wouldn't have made such a mistake, at least not without knowing the ramifications beforehand. Basically, he turned pro while returning to school hoping to slip through some kind of loop-hole, but MLB has specific rules about drafted players that return to school, regardless if they retain their athletic eligibility. As for Drew & Weaver, as SoCal and I pointed out, why would they even return to the draft, when they already have very generous offers on the table (much more than $3 million) and end up signing for less, regardless of their status as college seniors? It's just not going to happen. Do you think leverage really plays as big of a factor with Scott Boras clients? I guarantee you the only reason J.D. Drew went into the draft after being drafted by the Phillies was because the Cardinals ended up giving him more than what the Phillies were offering. The only reason Stephen Drew or Weaver will re-enter the draft is if another team is offering more than what is currently on the table. They wouldn't take such a risk otherwise, and it's a sign that pre-draft deals, or at least the foundation for such deals, are a lot more prevalent than people think. And without citing specifics, because I'm unable to reveal my sources, I can assure you that is a fact, not speculation.

A guy like Tuiasosopop is kind of who I was targeting in the 3rd round bjkrautk. Someone like him or maybe a Mark Trumbo, Nick Adenhart, or using our own draftees, a Sean Morgan or Drew Bowman. I pointed out that the savings wouldn't be that big of a difference, possibly only $100,000-200,000, so people may not even notice. And how much is Mark A. going to get involved with the draft? It's not like they would be spending less just for the sake of being cheap, or cutting corners as you put it. They would be spending less to spend more later, while still getting a very good player with their first-round pick. If they pitched the whole notion to Mark A., he may even be all over that. They only have so much money to work with, so trying to maximize the number of high-level players they are able to sign could be particularly advantageous, especially when first-round caliber players have a much greater chance of sticking in the big leagues than draftees from any other round. I can tell you for a fact that neither Stephen Drew nor Jered Weaver is going to sign for anything close to $3 million dollars, much less slot value at #5 (probably around $2.3 million). They would take the current deals on the table with the D-Backs and Angels respectively before doing that.

Darn it. MassBrew beat me to it http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Anyway, I was going to suggest that this would be a good time to try out the chat room if you're itching to talk about Brewers baseball.

The most recent HS POY watch: www.baseballamerica.com/t...05poy.html Arizona prep RHP Brett Jacobson with the spotlight this week.

DFE player updates as of 3/29/05 Let's start with a nice game story on LHP Derek Miller after his dominant performance over Dartmouth last week: www.uvm.edu/athletics/bas...oryID=6173 Lorenzo Cain .319 BA in 116 AB, 3 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 26 RBI in 35 G, 10 SB Nice to see a stat line on Cain finally. Dustin Timm 1-0, 3.12 ERA, 9 games (all relief), 1 save, 17.1 IP, 13 H, 8 K, 4 BB Stephen Barnes 4-2, 2.91 ERA, 10 games (8 starts), 53 IP, 42 H, 36 K, 20 BB, 2 HR, .208 BAA He seems to be getting more control as the season wears on, although he is giving up more hits in the process.[/b] Brandon Jasper .350/.327/.396 in 48 AB, 3 2B, 2 3B, 5:16 BB:K, 6 Es His numbers are dwindling as his playing time is redu Deik Scram .455 BA in 66 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 5 SB in 20 games One of my picks to watch this spring, Scram is off to another great start playing RF full-time.[/b] Derek Miller 1-0, 1.06 ERA, 3 games (all starts), 1 CG SHO, 17 IP, 10 H, 16 K, 6 BB What's not to l Shane Buriff 3-1, 2.56 ERA, 10 games (6 starts), 2 saves, 31.2 IP, 19 H, 20 K, 18 BB, 0 HR He's still walking far too many batters. Chad Miller .327/.339/.465 in 101 AB, 5 2B, 3 HR, 3:11 BB:K The batting average looks good, and he's not striking out much for a big fella, but he's not walking much either, and there's not as much power as you would like to see. Jon Mungle still only has 2 AB on the season. I haven't looked in greater detail, but you have to wonder if there are lingering injury issues with him.

With more and more TV games expected to be on TV in coming weeks, I'll try to provide a listing of those games week to week as my schedule allows. This weekend there are six games to be televised, at least in the Milwaukee area for those that have the Time Warner Cable digital cable sports package. Saturday, April 2nd Noon: FCSA (Fox College Sports Atlantic) Virginia @ North Carolina This would be a great opportunity to check out Virginia 3B Ryan Zimmerman. UNC has plenty of interesting draft eligible players for '06, including LHP Andrew Miller and RHP Daniel Bard. If this is indeed a Saturday game, it likely will be Bard on the mound (if it's a replay from Friday night, it could be Miller). 3:00 PM: FCSA Georgia @ South Carolina Not a ton of draft eligible prospects, at least none of great interest. I covered a lot of South Carolina players in a column I wrote for Perfect Game taking in a SC/Pepperdine game at the Metrodome as part of the DQ Classic a couple of weeks ago. Georgia has sophomore slugging 1B Josh Smith. And maybe we'll see pogokat in the stands. 3:00 PM: FCSP (Fox College Sports Pacific) USC @ Washington Here's your chance to determine if Jeff Clement is worthy of staying behind the plate, and to see if his bat is legit. Washington has a few interesting draft eligible players, including SS Brent Lillibridge and RHP Tim Linecum. Sunday, April 3rd Noon: FCSA Clemson @ Florida State Neither team is loaded with intriguing draft eligible prospects, but FSU's dynamic offense is spark by leadoff man Shane Robinson, who is putting up some insane numbers for the Seminoles this season. Clemson's Andy D'Alessio is a talented hitter and is considered a top prospect for '06. 1:00 PM: FCSC (Fox College Sports Central) Michigan @ Minnesota Michigan is turning some heads so far this season, and Minnesota has a few interesting guys to watch, including 1B Andy Hunter. Look for Katuluu in the stands. He likes lemurs. 4:00 PM: FCSA Central Florida @ Stetson Central Florida's Drew Butera is one of the more intriguing draft eligible catchers. He's known as more of a catcher & throw guy at this point in time, but he has some potential in his bat. Looking at the TV schedule for next week, there will be a lot more games to follow on TV, particularly on ESPN and CSTV (College Sports TV). More updates to come later this week, but there doesn't appear to be many intriguing matchups among the top 25 ranked teams. Here's Baseball America's College weekend preview: BA College weekend preview: April 1-3

Every year I propose that the Brewers should "reach" a little bit for a player, save a little bonus money that could be used elsewhere, and select a player that is a little more proven, or at least what is perceived as a safer pick, while filling an area of need. Last year I suggested Blake DeWitt given his hitting prowess and ability to play 3B, and given the recent conversations involving Taylor Teagarden and Ryan Zimmerman, both may be candidates to fit that role this year. My fave lefty Ricky Romero could also be a candidate, and all three could move relatively quickly given their polish. While they don't have the upside Jack Z. typically looks for with his first-rounders, they seem to be fairly good locks to be productive big-leaguers. Given the high number of supplemental picks this June, our second actual pick (in the third round) won't take place until the 88th overall pick (assuming Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver don't sign with the D-Backs and Angels respectively). Last year we took Josh Wahpepah with the 76th overall selection, and our 4th round pick and beyond will end up beng 12 slots lower than last year given the amount of supplemental picks. Naturally, the talent is going to fall as far, and while the team doesn't have a 2nd round pick this year, that doesn't automatically mean the team will have an extra $725,000 (the bonus Yovani Gallardo received) or so to play with later. If the value for the #5 overall pick still is in the $2.2 million dollar neighborhood, the team could save some bonus money for later by reaching for a player and offering them $1.8-2 million dollars, fill a need, and attempt to sign a high potential player later that has dropped. By using in theory about $200,000-400,000 plus about $700,000 from the lack of a 2nd rounder, the usual $450,000 or so that could be spent on the third rounder could be as much as $1.5 million. Unfortunately, this could be perceived as a similar tactic that was used under the watch of Sal Bando, although he didn't take the money that was "saved" and use it on a player that had fallen elsewhere. I do know that the Brewers have at least thought about this at one point in time, as it was rumored in 2002 that Jack Z. and his staff had focused on Khalil Greene briefly after signing Manny Parra so that two larger signings wouldn't effect the rest of their draft as much as it did. Or, in theory you could roll the 2nd round money into your first-round bonus and throw a $3 million dollar bonus at a player with your first-round pick. Neither Upton nor Gordon would sign for that kind of money even if they did fall, but it could be the difference of being in a position to not only draft but sign someone like Luke Hochevar.

Is Clement considered to be very close to ML ready? Like could he start out like Prior did, maybe in high A? Obviously they are completely different, as Prior was a pitcher, but if he were able to start out fairly high in the system and thus be relatively close to the bigs he'd be worth drafting that high. Clement probably is going to need a few years in the minors. Where he starts depends on how quickly he signs. The team showed with both Weeks and Gwynn from two years ago that they weren't opposed to starting them both at low-A, so Clement, or any college player, might start their career there. If Clement signed quickly enough, like within two weeks of the draft, I would be tempted to have him play at Helena to begin the season, and after 100-150 ABs bump him up to low-A (assuming he hits well). Then, next year you would start him at high-A, or even AA depending on how well he responds. But I think he will need at least two full seasons in the minors. Another thing I like about Clement is that he hits with wood in batting practice, so there shouldn't be a huge adjustment period because of that. I still think they should have taken Sowers last year, BTW. You an me both Bill http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . I might have taken Chris Nelson before both Sowers & Rogers.

Are you advocating taking Teagarden at #5? That seems like a reach to me, especially if Clement is on the board. If both were there, which I believe they will, I'd take Clement without thinking twice. I've seen both play a little bit now, and while I think Teagarden could be a stud behind the plate for years, and could get to the big leagues quickly, you just can't pass on Clement's offensive potential, which is much greater than Teagarden's. I don't see the Brewers taking Teagarden for his defense alone, I just brought up that scenario to point out that Teagarden's affiliation with Boras may not be bad for someone that wishes to take him higher than where many expect him to be selected. And while I compared Clement to Munson, that has more to do with the fact that they're both from USC and they both hit left-handed. I didn't necessarily mean that Clement will follow a similar career path, and in fact the more I learn about Clement the more I believe he'll be able to stay behind the plate. Clement gets high marks for character too, and he does a very good job throwing out base-runners. I guess the biggest question for me is the margin for error with catchers. Catchers, from both HS & college, have a tougher time making it to the big leagues than HS right-handed pitchers IIRC. And since even the best ones only seem to play 70-80% of the time, do you spend a high first-round pick on a catcher?

You're right SoCal, that Zimmerman blurb came in Callis' 2008 wildcard playoff prediction. Callis also had us taking Ian Kennedy in the 2006 draft (meaning we will suck again this year to be in a position to take Kennedy). Zimmerman's power is a big question, but whenever it's brought up, people keeping pointing back to last summer during his time with Team USA. From yesterday's chat: Q: Steve from Herndon, VA asks: About how many home runs must Ryan Zimmerman hit to ensure an early first round selection? A: Will Kimmey: He probably doesn't need to hit another, though he likely will. Enough teams were sold on his bat last summer when he hit four HRs with wood. He's a gold glover at 3B. He's a first-rounder, and a possibility to sneak pretty high up the draft board if a team nabs him with signability in mind, paying him a bit less than slot for his spot. And not only does he have the D' to stick at 3B, I've seen it mentioned several times that he could handle SS in a pinch. His profile is very similar to Jeff Cirillo's.

Teagarden being represented by Boras may not be as bad as one of his other players since Teagarden at this point in time really isn't considered a top 5-10 overall pick. That means he's not going to price himself out of our range because he currently isn't in our range. I would guess his range is in the $1.5-1.8 million dollar range right now as projected 10-15 overall selection. Boras values slot value, and if the Brewers were to approach them and offer $2.2 million for instance at the 5th overall selection, they may jump all over it.

BA has posted their midseason college updates and rankings (all free for everyone to enjoy): www.baseballamerica.com/t...llege.html There isn't a whole lot of movement, and no real surprises at this point in time. I don't see how Troy Tulowitzki can move up since he's been injured for more than a month, and I don't see how Cliff Pennington can fall (even if it is two spots) the way he has been playing. Jeremy Slayden is the most notable player that has soared up, but he's far from an unknown commodity. He should have been a first-rounder last year as a sweet-swinging corner outfielder. He injured his shoulder, and missed most of the '04 season, and I must say I'm happy to see him playing so well this season. Here's the most recent edition of BA's draft notebook: www.baseballamerica.com/t...ebook.html Included are the top 10 middle infield prospects for the draft. And chalk one more talented player to the Boras list: Taylor Teagarden (sorry Bill). And finally, a nice story on Cal State Fullerton LHP Ricky Romero: www.baseballamerica.com/o...omero.html

In today's weekly college BA chat, Will Kimmey revealed that St. John's RHP Craig Hansen is also advised by Boras. EDIT: Add Texas catcher Taylor Teagarden to the list as well.

I wanted to add this picture of Long Beach State's Cesar Ramos, who tossed a 2-hit complete game against Cal State Fullerton & Ricky Romero last Friday night: http://ftp.baseballamerica.com/images2005/cramos450.jpg Ramos doesn't get as much buzz as Romero since he doesn't have the same kind of stuff, but he's a control pitcher similar to Jeremy Sowers from a year ago that carves up hitters with his control and by changing speeds. maisel4me, feel free to post comments in these threads. I think as we get closer to the draft more & more people will participate. Greene also has the added concern of being advised by Scott Boras. He was one of my favorites for the draft until I found out about that, since I feel he is one of the most complete players and also one of the safest picks (he can run, steal bases, hit for average, hit for power, he has proven to hit with wood, he has shown that he can play good defense, he has a strong arm, etc.). I forgot to mention that Long Beach State SS Troy Tulowitzki returned to action this past weekend against Cal State Fullerton. BA's chat pointed out that he went 1-12 over the series, but hopefully he'll start to get back on track.

Player updates for the week of 3/21/05-3/27/05 Since I was out of town over the weekend, I'll keep the updates brief. Georgia Tech is really surging with an unstoppable offense. Luke Hochevar Friday: 8 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 6 K, 2 BB Season: 6-1, 1.76 ERA, 7 games (all starts), 2 CG, 51 IP, 32 H, 60 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, .180 BAA Mike Pelfrey Friday: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 11 K, 1 BB Season: 4-2, 1.73 ERA, 8 games (all starts), 52 IP, 36 H, 53 K, 13 BB, 2 HR, .203 BAA Ricky Romero Friday: 7.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 6 K, 1 BB Season: 5-2, 1.98 ERA, 7 games (all starts), 50 IP, 32 H, 57 K, 15 BB, 0 HR, .183 BAA Statistically, Hochevar, Pelfrey and Romero are all amazingly close. Season updates on the top hitters: Alex Gordon .429/.579/.905 in 84 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 27:12 BB:K, 12 for 12 SBs, 3 Es Jeff Clement .342/.505/.658 in 73 AB, 8 2B, 5 HR, 18:13 BB:K, 3 Es Tyler Greene .343/.425/.581 in 105 AB, 6 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 13:24 BB:K, 11 for 12 SBs, 9 Es Clement continues to hit the ball better, Gordon remains on fire, and Greene continues to hit pretty much at the same pace he has all spring. Greene is 7th on his own team in batting, a tribute to the Yellow Jackets offense so far this season. Greene's strikeout and errors totals are a little too high for my taste.

BA has released ESPN's increased college baseball TV schedule with the addition of ESPN U: www.baseballamerica.com/t...4espn.html There are a bunch of great games to check out within that schedule, which include games on ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U and CSTV (college sports TV). Not included are all of the games to be shown on FCS (Fox College Sports) Pacific, Central and Atlantic, which will cover a lot of SEC games that ESPN won't be covering (follow the link to read more about that). It's great to see. Not just to be able to watch some of the more intriguing MLB players of tomorrow, but just for baseball in general. With the popularity at the MLB & MiLB levels, it's great to see that popularity carry over to the college side as well. With increased efforts to televise the AFLAC All-American Classic, which is the baseball version of the McDonald's all-star game for HS basketball (and produced by the same people), there aren't too many aspects of baseball that aren't covered anymore.