Here is some video of Louisiana prep catcher Stryker Trahan, who ranks No. 12 in Baseball America's Overall Top 100 list. We profiled Trahan at the Area Code Games this summer and this video is from USA Baseball's Tournament of Stars. Check out Baseball America's YouTube channel for several other videos of players.

With his beautiful lefthanded stroke and five-tool potential, Dahl earned comparisons to Colby Rasmus this summer. He shows excellent balance with a wide stance and his bat speed is evident in his fluid, compact swing. He consistently squares the ball up and projects to hit for both average and power. Dahl has a keen eye at the plate, showing good patience in his at-bats and quiet takes on pitches narrowly out of the strike zone. He's an above-average runner who is smart on the bases, though he's not a burner and it's possible he may wind up fitting better in a corner outfield spot, but he'll at least get the chance to stick in center field. Right field would be an option, as he has a strong arm. Dahl is committed to Auburn.

The second-youngest player in Baseball America's High School Top 100, Correa won't turn 18 until September after the signing deadline. That makes his physical build and present tools even more impressive. Correa has a pro body at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds with a high waist and room to fill out. Despite his large frame, he's light on his feet and shows fluid actions at shortstop with soft hands and above-average arm strength. Correa is a little raw at the plate and is currently a free swinger, but has some strength and hits the ball hard when he makes contact. He's an above-average runner now but may slow down as he fills out. Being a first-round pick this June could keep him away from his Miami commitment.

Smoral has an imposing presence on the mound, standing 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds. His height along with his low three-quarter arm slot from the left side makes him tough to pick up. His stuff doesn't make it any easier for hitters. Smoral throws a fastball in the 89-92 mph range and tops out at 94. Smoral also throws a slider in the 81-84 mph range and a changeup with similar velocity. His low arm slot causes him to sometimes get around his slider, but when he stays on top of it, it's a tight pitch with late break. Like many big pitchers, Smoral is still growing into his frame and learning how to control his delivery. He currently lands a little open and a little stiff, sometimes stumbling off the mound in his follow through. This causes his control to come and go, but when he's on, his stuff is dominating. Smoral has the athleticism to smooth things out. His father, Steve, was a basketball player at North Carolina State, but Matt is committed to North Carolina.

Kolby Copeland has a muscular, athletic build at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. Because he's a fringy runner, Copeland profiles best in right field. His bat should play there, as he has good whip to his swing and some power potential. Copeland uses a big leg kick, but still frequently squares the ball up because his swing is smooth and it stays through the zone a long time. Copeland is uncommitted, but said he is looking for a school that will allow him to play both football and baseball.

Major League Baseball has informed teams that Cuban lefthander Onelkis Garcia will be subject to the 2012 draft.

Two days before the 2011 draft, MLB sent teams scrambling when it distributed a letter to clubs saying that Garcia, who was expected to become a free agent, would be eligible for the draft. Moments before the draft, MLB issued another announcement, this time saying that Garcia would not be eligible for the 2011 draft. Now, it appears his situation has finally been resolved.

Garcia, 22, projects to go somewhere around the third round, with most scouts reporting that he profiles as a reliever due to his control issues and lack of a reliable third pitch. Most recently Garcia has been pitching for the Leones del Ponce in the Puerto Rican League, where between the regular season and the playoffs he has an ERA of 0.57 in 15 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts and four walks.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Garcia has shown solid stuff for Ponce, with an 89-93 mph fastball that has touched 94, though it doesn't have great life and he struggles to command it because he has trouble repeating his delivery. Garcia's curveball flashes above-average occasionally when he's able to stay on top of it, but it's an inconsistent pitch. He throws a changeup as well but hasn't used it much in winter ball.

While in Cuba, Garcia pitched for Guantanamo in Serie Nacional in 2009-2010, when in 15 starts he had a 3.40 ERA, 74 strikeouts and 51 walks in 84 2/3 innings. He ranked 16th in the league in both strikeouts and ERA and tied for seventh in walks.

The Cardinals have hired Dan Kantrovitz as amateur scouting director to replace Jeff Luhnow, who was named Astros general manager in December.

Kantrovitz, 33, returns to the Cardinals organization after spending the past three years with the Athletics, most recently as director of international scouting. Kantrovitz was drafted by the Cardinals in the 25th round of the 2001 draft out of Brown, where he led the '01 Bruins in the triple crown categories, batting .417-5-41. But his professional career was quickly limited to three at-bats (including one hit) in the Rookie-level Appalachian League due to a shoulder injury, and he went to work for an investment banking company before getting back into baseball.

First, he worked for a company that offered baseball software tools to major league teams. One of the teams the company worked with was the Cardinals, and general manager John Mozeliak hired him for the Cardinals' front office. Before going to Oakland, Kantrovitz was director of college scouting for the Cardinals, working under Luhnow. [...] Continue Reading »

More details about draft changes resulting from baseball's new collective bargaining agreement continue to trickle out. Some highlights:

• The draft has been reduced from 50 to 40 rounds.
• The draft caps for all 30 teams for the first 10 rounds will total approximately $185 million in 2012, varying depending on the number of supplemental picks created by free-agent compensation and failure to sign 2011 draftees from the first three rounds. The competitive-balance lottery selections don't come into play until 2013.
• Any attempt to circumvent the draft cap, such as an under-the-table agreement, is expressly prohibited.
• The most significant new detail: If a team fails to sign a player in the first 10 rounds, its draft cap is reduced by the assigned value of his pick. It can't reallocate that value to sign other players. However, it can reallocate the difference between a player's bonus and the value of his choice.
• If a player fails a physical and the team fails to offer him 40 percent of the assigned value of his pick, he becomes a free agent. In that case, the club's draft cap would be reduced by the value of his selection.
• Not only has the signing deadline moved from Aug. 15 to mid-July, it will be at 5 p.m. rather than midnight ET. The 2012 deadline is July 13.
• MLB has eliminated its draft-support program, which served as a clearinghouse for offers and was used to strong-arm teams into not disclosing over-slot deals until shortly before the deadline. This means clubs actually can announce signings as they happen rather than pretend that they haven't occurred.
• Competitive-balance lottery picks (and only those picks) can be traded. They can only be dealt by the original team that held the choice, and they can't be exchanged for cash (unless it's cash to offset the salary of players included in the trade, subject to MLB approval). Lottery-pick deals can occur only during a regular season and not during an offseason.
• Teams get an extra year of protection for compensation picks for failure to sign draftees from the first three rounds. For example, the Blue Jays get the 22nd pick in 2012 after not signing No. 21 overall choice Tyler Beede in 2011. If Toronto can't come to terms with the compensation selection, it would get another one in 2013.
• Teams no longer are required to physically tender a contract to draftees within 15 days of the draft, eliminating the rule that infamously led to the four loophole free agents of 1996.
• The logistics for a proposed predraft medical combine still are being worked out.

The Orioles have hired Gary Rajsich (pronounced Ray-sitch) as the team's director of amateur scouting. Rajsich takes the place of Joe Jordan, who left the club in October to become farm director for the Phillies.

"I'm looking forward to the new challenge," Rajsich said. "This is something I always wanted to do. The last nine years I've been looking at pro players that belong to someone else and now I have the chance to go out and evaluate players for the draft and players you can actually get. In that sense, it's very exciting. To me, scouting is scouting no matter what level and just to recognize talent, bring those kids into the system, watch them develop and watch them compete and win for you at the major league level is very satisfying."

Rajsich, 57, spent four years in the big leagues (1982-1985) as an outfielder for the Mets, Cardinals and Giants after being an 11th-round pick by the Astros out of Arizona State in 1976, where he was college teammates with another scouting director, R.J. Harrison of the Rays. Rajsich played for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan from 1986-1988.
[...] Continue Reading »

The Type A/Type B free-agent compensation system will be eliminated under baseball's new collective bargaining agreement. In the final offseason of the old system, MLB and the MLB Players Association made some modifications.

The compensation for Type A free agents remains the same: A first-round pick from the signing team, as well as a supplemental first-round choice. Clubs that finished in the bottom half of the major league standings have their first-rounders protected from compensation, and teams can't lose consolation picks for failure to sign players from the previous draft. If a club signs multiple Type A free agents, the team that lost the higher-ranking player gets the better choice.

Six Type A free agents (Heath Bell, Michael Cuddyer, Kelly Johnson, Ryan Madson, Francisco Rodriguez, Josh Willingham) were designated as modified Type A free agents. Rather then getting a pick from the signing team, the former club will get a a choice immediately preceding that pick along with the normal supplemental first-rounder.

[...] Continue Reading »

In my previous Draft Blog post, I explained why the new Collective Bargaining Agreement's penalties for what is deemed to be excessive draft spending may not be as harsh as initially feared. Here's some analysis on various draft-related provisions of the new CBA:

Draft cap: Teams that exceed the "aggregate signing bonus pool" assigned to them for the first 10 rounds of the draft are subject to a tax on the overage and a loss of draft picks. A 0-5 percent overage would result in a 75 percent tax; a 5-10 percent overage would result in a 75 percent tax and the loss of a first-round pick; a 10-15 percent overage would result in a 100 percent tax and the loss of first- and second-rounders; and a 15 percent or higher overage would result in a 100 percent tax and the loss of two first-rounders.

If the overall bonus pool is approximately $200 million as has been reported, up from MLB's $133 million in slot recommendations in 2011, clubs still can be aggressive but not as much at the top end. I think the end result will be that the top picks in the draft still will sign, though the high-end bonuses will come down a little so teams don't blow most of their cap on one player. The top high school players still will sign, as seven-figure bonuses still will be alluring.

More second-tier prep players will wind up in college, however. Guys who previously would have gotten $250,000 to $750,000 will be harder to fit into a club's draft budget, especially those after the 10th round (if they sign for more than $100,000, the difference counts against the pool). Teams squeezed college juniors in 2011, figuring they didn't have much leverage unless they were willing to return for their senior years and have no leverage in the next draft, and they may tighten the clamps further in the future to free up more cap space.

[...] Continue Reading »

When Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced a new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement today, including several changes to the draft, reaction from club executives and player agents was as swift as a Justin Verlander fastball. Most contacted by Baseball America or quoted elsewhere believed new penalties for exceeding bonus recommendations were so harsh that they would drastically alter the landscape of the draft.

That may not be the case. Until we learn exactly what those recommendations are, it's impossible to make an accurate judgment.

Under the new CBA, teams that exceed the "aggregate signing bonus pool" assigned to them for the first 10 rounds of the draft are subject to a tax on the overage and a loss of draft picks. A 0-5 percent overage would result in a 75 percent tax; a 5-10 percent overage would result in a 75 percent tax and the loss of a first-round pick; a 10-15 percent overage would result in a 100 percent tax and the loss of first- and second-rounders; and a 15 percent or higher overage would result in a 100 percent tax and the loss of two first-rounders.

That's a dramatic difference from the informal slotting system MLB had employed since 2000. The commissioner's office recommended specific bonuses for every pick in the first five rounds and a maximum for all subsequent choices, but couldn't really punish teams that decided to ignore those guidelines. In 2011, clubs spent a record $228 million on draft bonuses, and 20 of them exceeded their aggregate slot totals for the first 10 rounds by at least 15 percent.

However, the initial assumption that the new penalties would be based on something near the old slots doesn't appear to be correct. Last year, MLB valued the total worth of the 331 picks in the first 10 rounds at $133 million. Those slot numbers were less that MLB's guidelines from five years earlier, however, and were 44 percent lower than the $192 million teams paid to sign 303 of those players.

MLB won't get to unilaterally decide the worth of draft picks going forward, though. It negotiated the values with the union, and they reportedly (and not surprisingly) will be much higher. Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman and CBS Sports' Danny Knobler tweeted that the aggregate pools would range from $4.5 million to $11.5 million, depending on how many picks a team had and where they fell. Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweeted that the total pool for all 30 teams would be around $200 million.

If you use MLB's 2011 slot recommendations, 20 of the 30 teams would have paid a 100 percent tax on their overage and forfeited two first-round picks. If the total for the first 10 rounds rises from last year's $133 million to the reported $200 million, that's a 50 percent increase. Extrapolating the 2011 numbers, just six clubs would have received the maximum penalty.

The limits on draft spending will restrict teams such as the Pirates (who spent a draft-record $17 million on bonuses in 2011) and Royals ($14 million), who are aggressive in the draft but can't go toe to toe with baseball's big spenders for major league free agents. But if the reports from Heyman, Knobler and Passan are correct, the draft cap isn't as devastating a blow as initially feared.

The fifth-annual Jesse Flores Memorial All Star Game was set to take place Nov. 12, but the game was canceled due to rain and will not be rescheduled.

The annual Southern California high school all star game is played as a tribute to the late Jesse Flores, a longtime Southern California scout, and the players are selected by the Professional Baseball Scouts of Southern California.

During Flores' scouting career—most of which was spent with the Twins—Flores signed several big leaguers, including Bert Blyleven, Lyman Bostock, Reggie Smith, Rick Dempsey, Craig Nettles and Jesse Orosco. For more on Flores, check out this excellent feature written by Gustavo Arellano for the OC Weekly in 2007.

Even though the game was canceled, here are the players that were voted to the two teams. . .

[...] Continue Reading »

With new openings in the Padres' front office, new general manager Josh Byrnes has hired Chad MacDonald as the team's vice president and assistant general manager of player personnel.

MacDonald is essentially taking the place of Jason McLeod, who left to reunite with Theo Epstein in Boston, and Chris Gwynn, who was recently hired as the Mariners farm director.

"It's a great opportunity that was almost impossible to turn down," MacDonald said. "Any time you get a chance to have added responsibility and you have a chance to impact a major league organization, it's exciting and challenging and to be able to work with Josh (Byrnes), I'm excited about that. I think the world of Josh and that's something I'm excited to do is help him build a winner in San Diego." [...] Continue Reading »

JUPITER, Fla. — Marucci Elite made history by winning the 2011 World Wood Bat Association World Championship. The team beat the tournament's Cinderella story, the Central FL PG Royal team, 4-3

Marucci Elite became the first team to win both the WWBA World Championship and the WWBA Underclass World Championship in the same year. Marucci Elite won the Underclass World Championship last year as well.

"The level of play at this thing, I mean it's the best players in the country," Marucci Elite program director and head coach Chad Raley said. "So to win this thing is absolutely huge. It's special to win this thing because there's some extremely talented players at this event."

Infielder Chase Nyman from Pascagoula (Miss.) High plays shortstop and second base for his high school team, but had to move off those positions for a pair of talented juniors: shortstop Oscar Mercado from Gaither High in Tampa and second baseman Chris Rivera from El Dorado High in Placentia, Calif. Nyman, a Mississippi recruit, has a sweet lefthanded stroke and came up clutch for Marucci Elite today, getting the eventual game-winning hit in both of the team's games. [...] Continue Reading »

JUPITER, Fla.—The surprise of Sunday's action at the World Wood Bat Association World Championship was the Central FL PG Royal team knocking the FTB Mizuno/Cardinals Scout Team out of the playoffs.

It was a regular David and Goliath game, as the always-loaded Cardinals Scout Team featured a handful of top prospects for the 2012 draft.

The playoffs will pick back up Monday morning with the semi-finals in which Midwest Reds Scout Team takes on Marucci Elite and the Central FL PG Royal team facing off against the Texas Sun Devils.

Even though the event is a tournament, instead of strictly a showcase, the hundreds of scouts and coaches in attendance are more concerned with individual performances and tools rather than the results of the games.

One player that continued to make a name for himself today was FTB Mizuno/Cardinals Scout Team outfielder Jamal Martin from Forest Hill High in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Martin hit a home run in the team's clinching game before the playoffs.

"I was 0-2, so I just wanted to get good wood on the ball," Martin said after the game. "I let it get deep and I just drove it. I knew it was out because I hit it into the wind. It probably would have been a double, but I squared it up pretty good." [...] Continue Reading »

JUPITER, Fla.—The World Wood Bat Association World Championship has long been a place where high school prospects can establish themselves as elite players against high-level competition. Matt Smoral, a lefthander from Solon (Ohio) High has always been considered to be among the top pitchers in the country, but he may have solidified himself as the top southpaw with an impressive outing on Friday.

Smoral took the hill for the Midland Redskins/Royals Scout Team and lit up radar guns immediately, sitting 90-92 mph and touching 94 twice in the first inning. He remained in the low 90s for the first three innings before settling in at 88-91 in his final inning. He throws from a three-quarter arm slot and has a fairly easily delivery. His second-best pitch is a hard tilting slider in the low 80s.

"I felt great, I really wanted to come down here and show my stuff," Smoral said. "Show I've been working hard. My arm felt great. I had a little trouble commanding the fastball at times, but I tried to battle through it and get the team a W."

Smoral's command did come and go, and he occasionally got around his slider, making it more slurvy. He also flashed a changeup at 82. [...] Continue Reading »

JUPITER, Fla. — Texas Sun Devils catcher Peter Pizarro has a muscular 5-foot-11, 190-pound frame. The senior from Byrd High in Shreveport, La. has a strong arm behind the plate, recording a 1.83-second pop time to second base in Friday night's game at the World Wood Bat Association World Championship event.

But Pizarro also likely has something no other high school baseball player has. . . a wife.

Pizarro said he moved from San Juan, P.R. about two and a half years ago for a better education and more baseball exposure. After meeting at his new high school, Pizarro got married this summer to Brittany Lafitte, who played softball at Centenary in 2011.

"Everything started in high school," Pizarro said. "I went to Calvary Baptist Academy and that first look, you know, I fell in love with her. And she's also a catcher. She played softball at Centenary and she was amazing. She threw from her knees and threw runners out and I said, 'Wow! Who is that girl?' So, I liked the way she played and we became close friends and then after that I started feeling something for her."

The couple now lives together—with a baby on the way—in a house that Pizarro helped build as an after-school employee at his father-in-law's construction company.

Pizarro is hoping that playing in this event will get his name out there among scouts and coaches.

"One thing that I learned is that no matter what happens in my life, I just have to stay positive," Pizarro said. "Right now it's a challenge to be married and being in high school. It probably seems really hard for a 17-year-old, but it's going to work and I'm working hard to become a better baseball player."

JUPITER, Fla.—Several marquee pitchers drew large masses of scouts to their games today, as the World Wood Bat Association World Championship kicked off with an abbreviated schedule.

One standout pitcher, however, was relatively new to the scene: lefthander Anthony Seise from West Orange High in Winter Garden, Fla.

Seise, who is currently uncommitted, is a bit of a pop-up since he didn't pitch at many other big events this summer. He also missed all of last summer with shoulder soreness, but said everything feels fine now.

With an athletic, 6-foot-3, 185-pound build, Seise sat in the 89-91 mph range with his fastball and mixed in a 12-6 curveball that showed sharp break at times. He also threw a couple changeups, though he admitted after the game that it's his third-best pitch.

Seise showed a nice line to the plate, threw his fastball for strikes to both sides and was aggressive with pitching inside.

"I felt good, I felt really good, I felt like I controlled everything," Seise said. "The first couple innings my curveball wasn't working, but then I calmed myself and my curveball was working good."

Despite his athletic build, Seise has always been focused only on baseball—a sport he's loved since he was 5 years old.

"If I'm not playing baseball, I like to help little kids develop and become a little better," Seise said. "My high school has some camps during the week, so I just help with them. It feels good." [...] Continue Reading »

PEORIA, Ariz.—Many players give up football to focus on baseball. Some, like Matt Kemp, give up basketball. Tom Glavine chose pitching over a professional hockey career and Twins prospect Aaron Hicks was a talented golfer before he starred on the diamond.

Chris Shaw from Holy Trinity High in Calgary, Alberta, gave up curling to focus full-time on baseball.

"It's always been on the back burner to baseball, but it's something I do with my friends," Shaw said. "It was two times a week in the winter to just keep me busy because we get all the snow in Manitoba, but my dream has always been to become a professional baseball player."

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound catcher stood out over the past few days at the Arizona Senior Fall Classic with his strong hands behind the plate and a quick righthanded bat.

Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Shaw moved to Okotoks, Alberta, last month to train at the Okotoks Dawgs training complex under former California catcher Brett Thomas. [...] Continue Reading »