2007 MLB Draft:

Players signed indicated in Bold

Round Overall Player Position School State Bonus
1 7 Matthew LaPorta 1b Florida FL $2,000,000
LaPorta led the nation in home runs as a sophomore in 2005, slugging 26 to set a school record. His power binge continued during that summer, when he anchored the heart of the order for Team USA's college national squad. His junior season was another story. He strained an oblique muscle in February, missed 13 games and never got untracked. The Red Sox drafted him in the 14th round last June, but he stuck to his bonus demands, reportedly $1 million, and returned to Gainesville for his senior season, with outstanding results. His .579 on-base percentage led the nation, as did his 1.432 on-base plus slugging. He has improved his approach and kept his hands inside the ball better this year, making better contact, and his plus-plus raw power remains a game-changing tool. When he gets his arms extended, he can launch balls out to all parts of the park. He's a below-average defensive player who is relegated to first base as a professional, but could be taken in the top half of the first round this year nonetheless. His adviser is Scott Boras, which can always be a factor in where a player goes.
3 101 Jonathan Lucroy c Louisiana-Lafayette LA $340,000
Teams seeking an offensive-minded catcher will consider taking Lucroy in the second round. He has hit since he arrived at Louisiana-Lafayette, batting .379 as a freshman and increasing his annual home run totals from five to 12 to 15 and counting. He has strong hands and showed prowess with wood bats last summer, when he ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Florida Collegiate Summer League. Though he has worked hard to improve behind the plate, Lucroy is still just adequate at best. He has slightly below-average arm strength and his throws to second base tend to tail. He's a decent receiver and has strong leadership skills. Like most catchers, he's a below-average runner.
4 131 Eric Farris 2b/ss Loyola Marymount CA $207,000
Lightly regarded out of high school in Arizona, Farris has had a solid career at Loyola Marymount and should have a chance to reach the majors either as an everyday second baseman or as a utility infielder. He has increased his visibility the last 12 months, first by hitting .298 in the Cape Cod League (the league average was .244) and by playing plenty of shortstop for the Lions this spring. He lacks pure middle-infield actions, and his arm and hands are short to be an everyday shortstop, but he'll fit fine at second, where his athleticism serves him well. Farris has good bat control and has improved his ability to make contact, though he still needs to walk more to be a true No. 2 hitter. He's a slightly above-average runner who has solid instincts on the basepaths.
5 161 Caleb Gindl of/lhp Pace HS, Milton, Fla. FL $144,900
Caleb Gindl benefited from the heavy scouting attention Pace High received in the Panhandle because of teammate Drew Cumberland. Gindl doesn't offer much projection, but his best tool is arm strength and he can command two pitches from the left side. He also hits, and has shown raw power and a penchant for making hard contact. His swing has holes, however, and there were a couple of teams that might take a chance on his 88-90 mph fastball and impressive feel for pitching in the seventh to ninth round.
6 191 Dan Merklinger lhp Seton Hall NJ $123,300
Although Dan Merklinger has flashed brilliance, he has been inconsistent and most teams had him in the fifth- to seventh-round range on their boards. His fastball has been up to 91 mph, while he doesn't show much feel for pitching or ability to locate his stuff. His curveball is below-average, and he has not been able to develop much feel for his changeup. He pitched much better in the Cape Cod League last summer than he did this spring, so if a team believes it can rekindle that form, it could jump up and take Merklinger as high as the fourth round.
7 221 Efrain Nieves lhp Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Guaynabo, P.R. PR $115,000
Nieves shows a controlled delivery with tempo and rhythm. His fastball was clocked at 86-88 mph during an impressive outing in May that raised his stock. He has a slider that shows occasional plus break and a usable changeup.
8 251 David Fonseca ss Pierce (Calif.) JC CA $80,000
9 281 Kristian Bueno lhp Calallen HS, Corpus Christi, Texas TX $100,000
10 311 Eric Fryer c Ohio State OH $67,500
Eric Fryer is one of the most athletic catchers in college baseball, a 6-foot-2, 215-pounder with average speed and arm strength to go with solid gap power. He also has the leadership skills teams want in a catcher. The biggest question with Fryer is his bat. He has a short swing, but he also employs a toe tap and needs a better trigger for his load. A club that believes he can make the necessary adjustments could pop him as early as the fifth round.
11 341 Cody Scarpetta rhp Guilford HS, Rockford, Ill. IL $125,000
Scarpetta's father Dan was a third-round pick by the Brewers out of an Illinois high school in June 1982, and Cody could match him if a late injury doesn't hurt his stock too much. Scarpetta tore the flexor tendon in his right index finger while pitching in late April, an injury similar to the one that has sidelined the Tigers' Joel Zumaya (who tore the same tendon in his middle finger). Scarpetta had surgery in mid-May and will be out until at least July. A team that takes him with plans to evaluate him this summer may not see him at full strength before the Aug. 15 signing deadline. Scarpetta, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, worked hard to get in the best shape of his life during the offseason, and his efforts paid off. Before he got hurt, he showed a plus fastball every time out this spring, usually sitting around 92-94 mph. In addition to increasing his velocity, he also turned his breaking ball into a true power curveball and added a changeup. One scout compared him to John Wetteland, though Scarpetta has enough stuff to stick in a rotation. If he doesn't sign, he'll attend Creighton.

Editor's note: Scarpetta agreed to a $350,000 bonus, but his original deal later was voided. He re-signed almost immediately with the Brewers for $125,000.
12 371 Wes Etheridge rhp UC Irvine CA
13 401 Christopher Dennis of St. Thomas of Villanova SS, LaSalle, Ont. ON
14 431 Donovan Hand rhp Jacksonville State AL
15 461 Joey Paciorek 3b Blaine (Wash.) HS WA
16 491 Joel Morales rhp Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Guaynabo, P.R. PR
17 521 Erik Miller of Scottsdale (Ariz.) CC AZ
18 551 Bobby Bramhall lhp Rice TX
19 581 Zealous Wheeler 3b Wallace State (Ala.) CC AL
20 611 Cameron Robulack 1b Silverthorn Collegiate Institute, Toronto ON
Cameron Robulack is a strong, physical, 6-foot-3 first baseman with a feel for hitting and the makings of average power. He has committed to Nebraska, and should wind up in school where he could develop into a middle-of-the-order run producer for the Cornhuskers.
21 641 Connor Hoehn rhp St. John's HS, Washington, D.C. DC
Hoehn has an aggressive approach and two solid-average pitches in his fastball and slider. He works from a low three-quarters arm slot, which helps him get good sink on his fastball, but he also tends to drop his arm too low, getting underneath his slider. He profiles as a set-up man.
22 671 Matthew Cline ss Long Beach State CA
23 701 William Hawn 3b South-Doyle HS, Knoxville, Tenn. TN
Cody Hawn is another good hitter. He mashed 17 home runs as a junior, but was derailed by a knee injury he sustained while playing basketball before the season.
24 731 Jonathan White of Vanderbilt TN
He broke the hamate bone in his right wrist last summer while playing in the New England Collegiate League, and rust from the time off carried over into the spring. White has turned in times under 6.5 seconds in the 60-yard-dash, making him a 65 runner on the 20-80 scale. He's raw at the plate, but has good bat speed and solid-average raw power. White's approach is unrefined. He's susceptible to offspeed pitches and doesn't make consistent hard contact. White was planning to return to the NECBL this summer and was a candidate to be drafted late on the first day and followed leading up to the August 15 signing deadline.
25 761 Chadwick Bell lhp South-Doyle HS, Knoxville, Tenn. TN
Chad Bell has made strides since his junior season. He was bumping 90 mph with his fastball and has some feel for his breaking ball.
26 791 Ben Feltner of Texas A&M TX
Outfielder Ben Feltner is a plus-plus runner who could be a decent draft pick if a team buys into his hitting ability. Feltner has improved significantly since high school, when he wasn't good enough to start even as a senior.
27 821 Joshua Trejo lhp Logan HS, Union City, Calif. CA
28 851 Steffan Wilson 3b Harvard MA
After winning Ivy League rookie of the year honors in 2005, Wilson ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the New England Collegiate League (one spot behind Doyle). Scouts were intrigued by his developing power and his strong arm, but he has failed to build upon that momentum. He batted just .241 with no homers in the Cape last summer, and a broken hamate bone in the fall sapped his power this spring--he batted .331/.416/.484 with three homers and 17 RBIs. He still shows above-average raw power in batting practice at times, but he gets out in front of breaking balls and saw few fastballs to hit in the Ivy League. He lacks range at third base, and some scouts like the idea of moving him behind the plate.
29 881 Travis Nevakshonoff of Humphries SS, Castlegar, B.C. BC
30 911 Corey Frerichs rhp Temple (Texas) JC TX
31 941 Jonathan Clarence lhp Colombus North (Ind.) HS IN
32 970 Miguel Vasquez ss Seminole (Fla.) CC FL
33 999 Ryan Jensen of Langley, B.C. (no school) BC
34 1028 Casey Baron lhp Maryland MD
35 1057 Curtis Rindal 1b Washington WA
36 1086 Curtis Pasma lhp Pacific CA
37 1114 Rick Hague ss Klein Collins HS, Spring, Texas TX
Preparing for the expected loss of Brian Friday to the draft, Rice got commitments from not one, but two blue-chip shortstop recruits in Hague and Louisiana high schooler Carmen Angelini. Scouts like Hague's potential both offensively and defensively, as well as the intangibles he brings to the table. He currently uses a line-drive approach and could grow into power as he adds strength to his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame. He plays under control and shows smooth action at shortstop. His speed and arm strength are average tools. Some teams might consider Hague as early as the second or third round if not for the fact that he's considered to be virtually unsignable. After three years at Rice, he could become a premium pick in the 2010 draft.
38 1142 Richard Crowell of Cal State Los Angeles CA
39 1170 Joseph Scott ss Cal State Fullerton CA
40 1198 Jordan Tanner rhp Neshannock (Pa.) HS PA
41 1224 Adam Arnold rhp Thompson Rivers (B.C.) ON
42 1250 Michael Reid rhp Carroll HS, Southlake, Texas TX
Righthander Chase Reid probably isn't signable away from Vanderbilt, especially because his fastball sits in the mid-80s right now. But he's projectable at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, has arguably the best curveball in the state and knows how to pitch. He threw a perfect game in the American Legion regional semifinals last summer.
43 1276 Cullen Sexton rhp Stevens Point (Wis.) HS WI
Stevens Point has a talented pitcher on its high school scene as well. Righthander Cullen Sexton is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound athlete who led his football team to the state Division 1 semifinals as a quarterback. He sustained a concussion and a pinched nerve in his shoulder playing football, so he got off to a slow start this spring. But he's still projectable and owns an 86-88 mph fastball that touches 90. He'll be a tough sign because he's the top student in his high school class and has a scholarship from Minnesota.
44 1302 Shawn Zarraga c/3b Trinity Christian HS, Boynton Beach, Fla. FL $230,000
45 1328 Matt Sergey rhp South Plantation HS, Plantation, Fla. FL
46 1352 Stewart Ijames of Owensboro (Ky.) Catholic HS KY
47 1375 Aaron Tullo rhp St. Petersburg (Fla.) JC FL
Tullo, a 17th-rounder last year, was still trying to recover the form he showed in high school before Tommy John surgery derailed his progress. He's been up to 94 mph this spring, and his delivery is clean and easy.

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