Junior College baseball kicked off today and all eyes (and ears) were on Henderson, Nev., home of the College of Southern Nevada, where Bryce Harper is making his collegiate debut against Arizona Western JC.

The most interesting news about today is that Harper is in the lineup at third base. CSN coach Tim Chambers indicated in the fall that Harper would be splitting time 50-50 between outfield and catcher. But, he also took some groundballs in the infield during fall practice and the Coyotes have a lot of talented sophomores to squeeze into the lineup. For scouts that believe Harper will outgrow catcher or need to play a different position to get the bat to the big leagues more quickly, this will give them a look at Harper at another position in a live-game situation.

Harper drew a walk on five pitches in his first collegiate at-bat. In his second trip to the plate, he hit a groundball RBI single to right field. After the hit, Chambers walked out to the mound to take the baseball out of play, presumably to save it for Harper. Harper then stole second base. [...] Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS — America’s playground was the site of the second-annual Four Corners Scout Day during MLK Day weekend, January 16th and 17th. While not as spectacular as Cirque De Soleil or as flashy as the Strip at night, the talent in attendance is a much better bet to succeed than most poker hands or roulette wheel spins.

The wood bat high school showcase is capably organized and enthusiastically run by Buck Thomas, a local high school coach and part time scout for the Los Angeles Angels. In scouting parlance, “Four Corners” refers not only to the Vegas area but to the four large Southwestern states: Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

Initial activity in the showcase occurred on Saturday night, January 16, inside the cavernous “Bat-R-Up” batting cage facility in Las Vegas. Pitchers were on display first, with each tossing a five minute bullpen session in front of the assembled scouts and college coaches.

Two hurlers, both Area Code Game alumni, distinguished themselves. First was Nick Kingham (Sierra Vista HS, Las Vegas), a physically imposing 6-foot-5, 220-pound righthander. Kingham fired a heavy 90-94 mph fastball, adding a sharp 79 mph slider and an inconsistent but promising 82 mph changeup, which flashed late arm side movement.
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Below are the latest Draft Report Card grades for each team from 2005-08, which are explained in detail in the 2010 Prospect Handbook. Grades are based solely on the quality of the draftees signed, and not on the number of picks added/lost through free-agent compensation, the amount of money spent, whom the players may have been traded for or unsigned players who became prominent.