templeUsox

This is moot now, but I just heard it from a pretty reliable source: The Brewers called Anthony Ranaudo 3 days before the draft and offered him 250K; he rejected it. The night before the draft the Brewers called him again and asked him if he would accept 350K in the 3rd round; he rejected it. He told them he wouldn't sign for less than 500K. He was later drafted by the Rangers in the 11th round. I'm sorry if this has been already talked about, but I just heard it from a source pretty close to the situation.

Draft-eligible sophomore Miles Morgan will miss the remainder of the season with a torn rotator cuff.

Some notes on some draft-eligibles from tonight: Brad Meyers (LMU): 7 IP, 3 H, ER, 7/1 K/BB (vs. UC Irvine) He hasn't really put it together like people thought he would. But we've seen players catapult good junior years into lucrative draft spots, so hope is certainly not lost for Mr. Meyers. Trey Barham (VMI): 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 6/1 K/BB (vs. Florida) If Barham compiles very good numbers against the rest of VMI's schedule, teams might look to this game as a sign of credibility for his statistics. Mickey Storey (FAU): 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 8/2 K/BB (vs. Cincinnati) A projected 4th to 6th rounder coming into the season, if Storey puts up a strong statistical season, he could sneak up into the 2nd or 3rd. Kind of a poor man's Lance Broadway, Storey's uses a very good curveball to rack up K's. Wes Roemer (Fullerton): 7 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 6/0 K/BB (vs. UNLV) A very respectable start by Roemer. Ideally the hit numbers would come down a little. Brian Matuuuusz (San Diego): 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 13/3 K/BB (vs. USC) 3 games against good teams and 3 very good starts by the pitcher who is looking like a top 5 2008 pick right now. Scott Maine (The U): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5/1 K/BB (vs. UCLA) If he can stay injury-free I see him getting picked in the 1st. Supp. Nick Schmidt 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 6/2 K/BB Two of the top relief prospects in the draft got roughed up tonight: Brett Cecil (Maryland)- IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1/0 K/BB Joshua Fields (Georgia)- IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 0/3 K/BB

Sorry CJ. That part was supposed to be a joke. On a totally different note, I recently subscribed to PGcrosschecker, and I don't know if you contributed or not to the JuCo preview, but it was a real treat to read. Everything on that site is very thought out and informative. But I was blown away by the JuCo coverage; mainly because it's very easy to gloss over that subject matter because of the general lack of interest. However losers like me who actually enjoy that stuff greatly appreciate it. On Jared Prince, this is certainly extremely premature, but how about an early Jason Bay comp? He's got the northwest collegiate roots, the size and athleticism, the patience/power combo, and the general pasty look. Thoughts? Edit: Sorry, I didn't even see your post about the PGCC JuCo content in the draft resource thread until now. Any thoughts on any Sox DFE's, particularly Brandon Belt?

The early favorite for POY has to be Brian Matusz after his performance today. 6 IP, 2 H, ER, 13/1 K/BB, 1 HRA

I am seeing a lot of glitches too. I was going to register yesterday, btu when the package descriptions were being dissected by what was supposed to be the bottom border of the page, I decided to hold off.

CJ, I have sever high school questions. Any response is appreciated. First, are there any prospects that teams already know will slip in the draft because of signability issues? Who would the best of these prospects be? Second, Clayton Kershaw seems like he has been dominating this season. Actually it doesn't seem like it, he has. Have you heard any talk of him gaining helium? He plays against good competition and the anecdotes about him on PG seem to match the numbers he is putting up. Do you see him as a potential pick in the first 2 rounds? Third, what kind of committment does Billy Rowell have to Alabama and how high can you see him going?

Personally, I think he has shown enough consistency to warrant the selection. But even if you disagree, just the general lack of depth in the draft and the down seasons by some of the top prospects, make him a worthy risk to take. Lets say you have the 20th pick of the 1st round, would you really take Daniel Bard over Tim Lincecum? Even some of the teams who will be able to draft Scherzer or Kennedy might pass because of their bonus demands. I think Lincecum has become an attractive option because of a). his performance and b). the lack of performance by many of his peers.

David Price, what can you say? Depending on who his agent is, we could be seeing one of the biggest major league contracts ever given out in the amateur draft. I'm assuming he makes a progression in his junior season of course. Which isn't always the case, (i.e. Ian Kennedy). But if he can make the transcendent leap that Prior and Weaver made, don't be surprised to see him land a bigger contract than Prior (if for no other reason than the inflation adjustment). Unless I am missing something, he is the complete package. 3 plus pitches, left-handed, a great frame, off-the-charts make-up, polish, and you can go on and on. He should be very exciting to track over the next 1+ years. I just hope he doesn't drop for financial reasons. I would like to see a small-market, low payroll team land a stud like him. Tim Lincecum keeps on chugging on, doesn't he? Into the 1st round at least, that's for sure. Is there any reason for the disappointing season of Justin Bristow? I understand he is only a freshman, but he might have been the best player not to sign with a professional team (Jordan Danks certainly has an argument). I have to think that Auburn expected more than a .246/.321/.297 line. Hopefully he will rebound in the next two years so he can regain the draft status he once had.

I shouldn't have used the word "warranted." What I meant to say was that under normal circumstances his stats correlate with a higher selection than he received. So I was asking if you could reconcile the disconnect between his numbers and when he was drafted. Which you did, and I appreciate it.

CJ, is there any legitimacy to not drafting Rice pitchers? Are they overused or taught mechanics that don't translate at a higher level? They recently have had the reputation of being "tarnished goods" upon their arrival into the pros. Would this scare you in the future for St. Clair? I imagined it already scared off some scouts last year with Degerman, who had stats that warranted a much better draft selection.

And Tim Lincecum outdoes them all... 9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 18/1 K/BB When he is actually controlling the K zone, there is no more dominant pitcher in the country. In some sad news tonight, Wes Roemer walked his first batter of the year.

David Price says, "I see your game, and raise you complete domination." 8 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 13/0 K/BB Wow X 2.

Can I add Jersey native Sean Doolittle to that list of LHP's? He's had a very good year up to this point as well. I know for the first part of the year he was a mid-week pitcher. So that might mitigate some of his numbers. But he still has a good pedigree to attach to his resume. As far as Price goes; well I'm just about convinced he is the best pitcher in the country. I know its a toss-up between Miller and him, but if you tracked Miller's sophomore numbers against Price's, its not even close. I would have to say he is far and away the #1 college pick in next year's draft as of today.

CJ, I know he isn't draft-eligible, but I can't help but be impressed with Wes Roemer so far this year. In fact, I think you have to give him a legitimate shot as a POY candidate. His ability to freakishly control the K-zone (O BB's in 60.1 IP), yet not allow many hard hit balls (O HRA) is very impressive to me. Does he work on deception, or is his stuff that good? What are his draft prospects for next year? Another thing about him, he might have faced the best competition in the country (Stanford, UNLV, UC Irvine, UCLA, Rice, East Carolina, Arizona State, and Long Beach State). So, as if there was any doubt, his numbers aren't compiled against weak comp. IRT to another soph. pitcher, what are your impressions of Cole St. Clair? I have become wary of Rice pitchers, but his K and hits against numbers are outstanding. One of the frustrating things about college baseball is the lack of readily available scouting reports. Does he work on deception similar to his teammate Eddie Degerman, or does he have an overpowering southpaw arsenal?