ATHENS, Ga.—Five games, four days, three nights on a couch and two premier college conferences all in one weekend. At this time of year, with a month to go until the draft, so is the life of a major league scout (substitute the couch for a queen size bed in a Courtyard Marriott), and in an attempt to get a better grip on some players in the Southeast, I hit the road as well.

The first three games featured a Southeastern Conference showdown as Georgia hosted Mississippi at Foley Field. Five of the six starting pitchers that took the mound in the series are draft eligible and expected to be drafted in the top 10 rounds come June. However, the top two pitchers in the park were the closers from each respective school—Georgia’s Joshua Fields and Mississippi’s Scott Bittle–both potential first-rounders.

Also on display were Georgia shortstop and top 10 overall prospect Gordon Beckham, and top 200 player Mississippi third baseman Cody Overbeck.

On Sunday, after Georgia wrapped up a 2-1 series victory over the Rebels at just past 5 p.m., I hopped in my car and headed to Clemson, South Carolina to catch the second game of an ACC series between the Tigers and Florida State, beginning at 7 p.m. Florida State’s starter on the mound was Elih Villanueva who has continued to increase his draft stock into the top 10 rounds with solid outings over the past month.

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There have been twists and turns with Colby Shreve, the CC of Southern Nevada righthander who entered the year as the top junior-college pitcher in the country. The unsigned eighth-round pick of the Braves in 2007 has been sidelined of late with elbow problems, and after getting a second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum that said he should be able to try the rehabilitation route, Shreve now has been diagnosed with enough ligament damage to require Tommy John surgery. His advisors at Sosnick-Cobbe confirmed the latest diagnosis.

Shreve’s draft status takes a significant hit, as his 2009 season is essentially a wash now as well. He’s committed to play college ball at Arkansas, but Shreve now has had consecutive seasons where he couldn’t make it through a full junior-college season, against hitters using wood bats.

MLB has announced two minor rules interpretations that will affect this and future drafts. The Braves and Red Sox saw the position of their compensation picks drop 18 spots each, and fifth-year college seniors no longer can sign as free agents before the draft. [...] Continue Reading »

Tennessee’s top high school prospect Sonny Gray is wearing a boot and on crutches. The righthander and Vanderbilt recruit suffered an avulsion fracture and a third degree sprain to his right ankle running out a ground ball during a game on April 16.

"I hit a ground ball to second base and was running to beat out the throw," Gray said. "The pitcher came over to cover first, and I stepped on his foot and the bag at the same time."

Gray is going back to see the doctor on April 29, but odds are he will not be healed in time to pitch again this season as the Tennessee district tournaments start at the end of next week on May 2. While Gray’s high school career may be finished, his pitching career certainly is not, and focus is now shifted to the draft.

"I’m normally a fast healer," Gray said. "Hopefully, I’ll be well so I can throw a little before (the draft)."

Although he’s only 5-foot-10, Gray is currently the No. 23 draft prospect. Due to his size, max effort delivery and superb two pitch mix of a mid-90s fastball and arguably the country’s best curveball, the question of whether Gray will be a starter or a closer in the pros is often debated—as is the question of durability. Now that he will not be able to pitch down the stretch of the season because of an injury, Gray’s draft stock may begin to slide.

Gray was a preseason All-American and was pitching up to that accolade before the injury. In six starts, Gray was 5-0 with an ERA below 1.00. He also had 84 strikeouts on the season, averaging 14 a game.

An avulsion fracture occurs when a tendon or ligament pulls off a piece of bone. This type of injury is typically do not need surgery, as is the case with Gray.

TOWSON, Md.—Thursday featured a game between the top two high schools in the Metro DC-Baltimore area. St. John’s College High had traveled from Washington to face Calvert Hall College High, located just north of Baltimore. Both teams have been ranked within Baseball America’s top 10 high school teams at one point this season. Calvert Hall was actually our No.1 at one point while St. John’s was the feature story in our high school preview issue back in February.

If you’ve never been to the area, it’s a place dominated by the color red and the Under Armour insignia. When arriving to the stadium (a brand new $1 million Astroturf facility), both teams were warming up indistinguishably on the field decked out in red hats, cleats and warm up pullovers–all Under Armour apparel. (The owner of Under Armour himself, Kevin Plank was on the field, going back and forth between dugouts, conversing with the coaches, as he graduated from St. John’s in 1990).

The schools similarities don’t stop there. Both are private, all boys, schools in the Christian Brothers school conference. Both would compare more to a semi-pro baseball club than a high school in terms of talent and both play fundamentally sound baseball.

Calvert Hall’s pregame warmups may have been the most impressive thing I saw all evening. With three coaches hitting balls in three different directions, almost every player was engaged on every fungo swing. While balls were being hit to the outfield and returned to the infield, first basemen fielded grounders. All at the same time catchers were fielding fake bunts, practicing pickoffs and chasing mock passed balls to the backstop.

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CC of Southern Nevada righthander Colby Shreve got good news after seeking a second opinion on his injured right elbow. BA’s preseason No. 2 junior college prospect visited Angels medical director Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles on Tuesday, and the prognosis is much improved. Instead of a tear in a ligament in his elbow, Shreve has a strain, and Yocum recommended six weeks of rest and rehabilitation, rather than surgery.

So, Shreve’s draft stock is down but not damaged as significantly as it would have been had he required Tommy John surgery. He should be healthy enough to throw for clubs just prior to the 2008 draft, scheduled for June 5-6, and could still be a high pick and summer follow.

Shreve is an Arkansas signee, and the injury could help drive him to the four-year college route, though that seems less likely now that he doesn’t need surgery. Another Arkansas signee, Colorado prep righthander Tyler Sample, was starting to play his way out of the Razorbacks’ range. Sample, at Mullen High in Denver, debuted in mid-March and was hammered by perennial power Cherry Creek High, but his fastball touched 93 mph that night, and he’s been excellent since then. He has a 17-strikeouts game to his credit and has held his above-average velocity deep into games, showing he’s all the way back from Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss his sophomore season in high school.

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More significant changes to Major League Baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy were announced today by MLB and the union, and for the most part they confirmed what numerous media outlets already have reported: the program will have an independent administrator, will conduct significantly more tests each year, and will issue an annual report on the results of the testing.

Of particular interest to Baseball America readers, however, is a new provision that says MLB’s testing program will expand to include the top 200 prospects in the draft each year. MLB will notify each club about which players test positive, though those players will remain eligible for the draft. Players who refuse to take the test, however, will not be eligible for the draft.

Employers obviously have the right to test prospective employees, but this provision creates more questions than answers at this point. Who will determine the top 200 prospects? (We recommend Baseball America’s list.) When will the test be administered? And what exactly happens to the players who become ineligible for the draft because they decline to be tested? Somewhere we know Scott Boras has lawyers working on that very question. We’ll do the same and report the details and implications as we get them.

A couple of top pitching prospects for the upcoming draft each had recent scares—one of which could be season ending and the other not even a black eye.

Colby Shreve, arguably the nation’s top junior college pitching prospect, has missed his last two starts with an elbow injury, and rumblings in the scouting community were that he is going to need Tommy John surgery. Shreve is seeking a second opinion from Los Angeles Angels medical director Dr. Lewis Yocum.

For the second year in a row, Shreve started the season out strong only to be set back. This season, Shreve had compiled a record of 5-1, 2.30 in eight starts, including three complete games. He had held opposing batters to a .146 batting averaging and struck out 43 in 47 innings pitched.

Shreve’s last start on March 21 may have been an indicator of his elbow problems. His normally low 90’s velocity was noticeably lower as Shreve allowed seven earned runs in three innings pitched. He also walked four and only struck out two in his only loss of the season.

An unsigned eighth-round draft pick by the Braves last year, Shreve is signed to play baseball at Arkansas in ‘09. Before this injury, it was improbable Shreve would make it to the four year school as he was more than likely to be selected in the first 50 picks of this year’s draft. However, with elbow surgery looming, his draft stock is inevitably going to fall.

The nation’s No. 1 high school pitching prospect had a little better luck in his visit to the local physicians. While playing floor hockey in gym class on Monday, righthander Tim Melville was hit in the right eye with a stray puck, sending him to the doctor’s office. Melville was forced to miss his start that evening.

"It’s a very small bruised retina," Melville said. "I played yesterday and everything is normal. It’s just one of those things you have to get checked out."

The incident might not have grabbed as much attention as it did had Melville’s team not been playing Howell High, a highly touted and undefeated team from St. Charles, Mo. Melville is now scheduled to make his next start on Saturday.

After starting slow, Melville has shown increased arm strength and command. In his last start, Melville took a no-hitter to the last strike of the game in which he hung a curveball, allowing a single. His fastball velocity peaked at 94 and never dipped below 90.

Melville is committed to the University of North Carolina and is projected to be a first-round draft pick come June.

Contributing: John Manuel.

Prospects whose stock is increasing or decreasing significantly two months before the June 5-6 draft:

• Ethan Martin, rhp/3b, Stephens County HS, Toccoa, Ga. Considered a power-hitting third baseman coming into the season, he showed that his future will be on the mound when he struck out slugger Eric Hosmer in a head-to-head meeting. Few high school pitchers have been as impressive as Martin this spring.

• Joshua Fields, rhp, Georgia. After leading the Bulldogs to the College World Series and dominating in the Cape Cod League in 2006, he slipped a notch last year, fell to the second round and didn’t sign with the Braves. Now he’s back to blowing away hitters with a mid-90s fastball and a power breaking ball, with a 0.00 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 15 innings. He once again looks like the first-rounder he initially projected as a year ago.

• Brett Wallace, 3b/1b, Arizona State. No one doubted his hitting ability coming into the year, but his power was in question. With nine homers in 31 games, he looks like he can be more than a Mark Grace. He also has moved to third base for the Sun Devils and hasn’t looked bad, though he’ll almost certainly be a first baseman again when he reaches the majors. [...] Continue Reading »

By Dave Perkin

Having previously spent his high school career as a middle infielder, Cutter Dykstra of Westlake (Calif.) High has now made the switch to center field, emulating his dad, Lenny Dykstra.

Cutter Dykstra is attempting to get accustomed to center. Between pitches, Dykstra pantomimes catching and throwing the ball, as if to remind himself of the different mechanics between the infield and outfield.

His first few throws in the pregame were less than stellar. To his credit, Dykstra understood that he needed to adjust and later fired some nice pegs in practice and the game to home plate from short and medium center. [...] Continue Reading »