Tracking the Draft

[Frayed Knot]

One month to go until draft time.

Baseball America published their latest tracking poll.
I make no claims of knowing anything about these guys except for what's written here. Note also that this list makes no attempt to try to match a player's slot to the particular needs and tendencies of the teams and their drafting order, it's merely trying to note whose stock is rising or falling in the eyes of scouts as the HS & college seasons wind towards a conclusion.

Mets own the 18th, 22nd, and 33rd picks this year.
Their 2nd rounder would then be around #70 somewhere and then approx every 30 picks after that.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Let's get oone of them kollege first basemen and put 'em on the Super Fast Track.

I could get behind a hitter called Justin Smoak, or Yonder Alonso, that's for sure.

Rickie Weeks' little brother, also a 2B. And a pitcher from Ga. named Zeke. Wonder if he winds up on the Braves...

[Guest AG/DC]

That's a nice crop of new names. Two Beckhams from Georgia, both shortstops, but are not related.

Watch Atlanta get them both.

[Benjamin Grimm]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Let's get oone of them kollege first basemen and put 'em on the Super Fast Track.

I like that idea.

[Farmer Ted]

We need Shooter Hunt NOW!!

[Theoldmole]

]That's a nice crop of new names. Two Beckhams from Georgia, both shortstops, but are not related.

I'd draft one of them if he'd bring Posh Spice along with him.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm always excited to see these lists of ballplayer names I'd never imagined before and know that somewhere on that list are a few that will be household names in a matter of years; names you won't ever imagine not knowing.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is Casey Hodges in the draft this year?

[bmfc1]

I heard a 20 minute interview with Tim Beckham on XM's Baseball Channel. I was with my son, a JV freshman player, and three of his teammates. It was amazing to think that they are only three years younger than Beckham who is on the verge of becoming a pro. The host asked him about going to college and he said "12 years of school is enough."

[Willets Point]

bmfc1 wrote: 12 years of school is enough."

Kid's got a point there.

[metirish]

TheOldMole wrote: ]That's a nice crop of new names. Two Beckhams from Georgia, both shortstops, but are not related. I'd draft one of them if he'd bring Posh Spice along with him.

They are sure to be overrated .

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Is Casey Hodges in the draft this year?

He's a senior so I think he's eligible. And he's a senior so he has no leverage. I'd say he's got an excellent chance to be drafted in the 54th round.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Well then the Mets, for sentimental reasons, should snap him up in the 53rd round!

[Valadius]

And I have no doubt that they will.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I still have to build up some faith in your Nanny and the Professor skills.

[Frayed Knot]

The problem with drafting 1st basemen is that if they don't turn into mashers they've generally got few secondary skills to fall back on making them even more hit-or-miss than your usual draft pick. From the little I've heard on these guys none of them are athletic enough to play elsewhere.
And, as usual, you need to resist the temptation of drafting for immediate need.

The rep of this year's crop is that it's lacking in can't-miss blue-chippers but is reasonably deep otherwise which, theoretically at least, is good for a team with 3 picks in the mid/late 1st round.

[Benjamin Grimm]

One of those guys was a 1b/3b.

[Willets Point]

Is Casey Hodges related to Gil or do we just like him because he's has the names of two Mets managers?

[Guest Triple Dee]

Frayed Knot wrote: Mets own the 18th, 22nd, and 33rd picks this year.

I presume the 22nd is the sandwich pick for Glavine. I'd like to see the Mets abandon their "machine gun" approach of drafting exclusively pitchers in early rounds.

Pity there aren't any good catchers available. The farm system is pretty much devoid of any catching prospects, especially after the loss of Jesus Flores.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Willets Point wrote: Is Casey Hodges related to Gil or do we just like him because he's has the names of two Mets managers?

Not related to Gil, but the son of Ron.

[Guest AG/DC]

I thik they've had ample time time to move on from Flores. Our best catching prospects look like Jason Jacobs and Jordan Abruzzo (kollege kids) and Francisco Peña (stll quite young)

[bmfc1]

18 is compensation for Glavine. There's a good draft chart within this article. We can use it for our MLB draft parties.

http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2159&Itemid=1

[Guest Triple Dee]

Willets Point wrote: Is Casey Hodges related to Gil or do we just like him because he's has the names of two Mets managers?

Discussed in this thread.

[Willets Point]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ="Willets Point"]Is Casey Hodges related to Gil or do we just like him because he's has the names of two Mets managers? Not related to Gil, but the son of Ron.

Ah, wrong Hodges. So he's the son of an English accounting professor.

[Frayed Knot]

]I presume the 22nd is the sandwich pick for Glavine

#22 was our own pick -- iow, we finished 2007 with the 9th best record

#18 was the Braves' 1st round pick (they finished with the 13th best record) which they cede to us for signing Glavine

#33 is the so called "sandwich" pick, the name deriving from the fact that they're extra picks stuffed in between the 1st and 2nd rounds. It's an extra pick because Glavine qualified as a 'Type A' FA so it's a pick we gain but the Braves don't lose.

There's around 15 sandwich picks so the first pick of round 2 is not #31 overall but somewhere in the mid-40s. There's also a handful of extra picks "sandwiched" between rounds 2 and 3
After that it gets back to normal and your team goes every 30 picks.

[Frayed Knot]

For those who want to pick up a 1st basemen, BA takes looks at those near the top of this 1B-heavy draft:

... this year's crop of first basemen is exceptional. Though teams prefer players who offer more well-rounded skills than first basemen usually do, six guys who project to play that position in the majors have a chance to go in the first round:
* American Heritage High's (Cooper City, Fla.) Eric Hosmer,
* South Carolina's Justin Smoak,
* Miami's Yonder Alonso,
* Arizona State's Brett Wallace and Ike Davis,
* California's David Cooper.
Also, Wake Forest's Allan Dykstra (no, not THAT Dykstra) could crack the sandwich round.

All of these players owe their draft status to what they can do at the plate, but it's an interesting idea to look at them from the defensive angle.
- Smoak isn't an exceptional athlete, but he's a smooth fielder whom scouts hail as a potential Gold Glover.
- Both Hosmer and Davis have very strong arms for first basemen—they both pitch in the 90s with their fastballs—and have enough athleticism to possibly warrant a look in the outfield.
- Alonso is an average defender at first base.
- Wallace and Dykstra both have played third base this spring, and the 6-foot-1, 245-pound Wallace has exceeded expectations at the hot corner. He's still going to be a first baseman, however, and is the fifth-best defender in this group.
- Cooper and Dykstra are adequate at best with a first baseman's mitt.
- Alonso is the third-best prospect, behind Hosmer and Smoak, but I think he can beat them both to the major leagues [as] Hosmer is a high school player (who may wind up attending Arizona State), and Alonso is more of a polished hitter than Smoak.

[bmfc1]

BA mocks the first round... and, in a surprise, has the Mets drafting Jason Castro, the guy that kept forgetting the lyrics on American Idol!

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/mock-draft/2008/266117.html

Wait, not that Jason Castro? Oh, this guy:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/draft_report/y2008/index.jsp?mc=castro
http://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/castro_jason00.html
http://stanford.scout.com/a.z?s=18&p=8&c=1&nid=2830843

This season, he's started all 50 games, and is hitting .366 with 11 HR, 52 RBI and 4 SB. Throws righty, hits lefty, big guy.

[Frayed Knot]

Matching those projected picks with the thumbnail descriptions posted earlier from BA

- Jason Castro - Catcher, Stanford
Third-string catcher last summer in Cape Cod, Castro has plenty of bat and enough ability to stay behind the plate

- Ethan Martin - RHP/3B, HS Georgia
More evidence that Martin's pitching skills have moved to the fore—he threw a complete-game no-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a start April 23

[Frayed Knot]

More musings about drafting 1st basemen in a recent BA Q&A:

Jason from Trumbull, CT asks:
Can the Mets pick up one of [1B-men] Eric Hosmer, Justin Smoak or Yonder Alonso with the 18th pick?
Also with the 22nd will Andrew Cashner [RHP - Texas Christian] still be available?

A: Matt Blood (BA):
There is a chance that Alonso would be available at that pick, and if Hosmer slides—due to signing bonus demands—he might be there too. I don't see Smoak lasting that long. With Delgado's production declining, Alonso might be just what the Mets need. He is an advanced hitter with solid defense—it won't take him long to reach the big leagues.
Cashner has been a hot-topic as of late, and we have him projected to be taken right around pick 22.



Among those 1Bs mentioned, Hosmer is a HS kid who might have the most upside but will probably scare some teams near the top of the draft with threats of high bonus demands and/or taking a college scholarship, meaning he could range anywhere from being long gone by the time we draft to remaining untouched for a while afterward. Alonso and Smoak are college players (U Miami & S. Carolina)

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'd like a college guy on the fast track.

And if it turns out that the Mets have Teixiera next year, then the kid would be a good trading chip.