http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ The Home For Baseball Insiders Fri, 25 May 2012 18:10:23 EST en-us http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/baonlinelogo4.gif http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ 96 9 1 http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613429.html Content: One streak ended and another continued Sunday at Double-A Frisco. RoughRiders shortstop Jurickson Profar was held hitless for the first time in 30 games, while righthander Barret Loux won for the ninth time in nine starts. Low Class A Delmarva righthander Dylan Bundy has had the most spectacular performance in the minors thus far, not allowing an earned run in his first 30 innings while permitting just five hits and two walks while striking out 40. Profar presents Bundy's biggest challenge to winning our Minor League Player of the Year award and ranking atop our Top 100 Prospects list next spring. Profar has handled the jump from low Class A to Double-A at age 19 with ease, batting .291/.351/.497. Don't be surprised if he claims a spot in the Rangers' lineup before season's end. He doesn't get the same fanfare that Profar does, but Loux is now 9-0, 2.50 and sports a 48-15 K-BB ratio in 50 innings. Drafted sixth overall by the Diamondbacks in 2010, in part because he accepted a below-market $2 million bonus, Loux saw that deal evaporate when he failed a physical. After MLB made him a free agent, he signed with Texas for $312,000. He . . . Sun, 20 May 2012 23:59:40 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613429.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613403.html Content: The draft is just three weeks away, and we'll have an avalanche of preview material both now and then. We unveiled our initial first-round projection on Friday and we'll have three more in the future: May 25, June 1 and early on the morning of June 4. With less certainty than usual and new rules, the first round promises to be more volatile than ever, so stay tuned. Why wouldn't Lucas Giolito get taken in the top 10 picks? If you can't sign him, you get the extra dollars in your bonus pool and a compensation pick next year in a better draft. If he does sign, you get one of the best talents in the draft. Austin Champagne Amherst, Mass. Giolito is the biggest wild card in the draft right now. The Harvard-Westlake High (Studio City, Calif.) product entered the year with a chance to become the first prep righthander ever drafted No. 1 overall. Giolito hit 100 mph with his fastball in late February, then sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow a week later. Now his health and signability are significant worries. Giolito hasn't required surgery, though some teams wonder if he might down the line. . . . Mon, 14 May 2012 15:52:35 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613403.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613351.html Content: In the first game in which both teams used a position player to pitch in 87 years, the Orioles beat the Red Sox 9-6 in 17 innings yesterday. While both Chris Davis and Darnell McDonald are clearly hitters these days, both showed enticing talent on the mound back in high school. Both were University of Texas recruits as well, though neither made it to Austin. Davis, who earned the victory with two scoreless innings, was a legitimate two-way prospect at Longview (Texas) High in 2004. His lefthanded power was (and still is) his calling card, though scouts also noted a fastball that reached 93 mph. Davis was drafted three times before signing with the Rangers as a fifth-rounder out of Navarro (Texas) JC in 2006, when he still showed a 90-92 mph fastball and a decent breaking ball. Though McDonald hit 95 mph with his fastball at Greenwood Village's Cherry Creek High, his pitching skills ranked behind his prowess as a running back and an outfielder. He set the Colorado high school career rushing record, earning a football scholarship from the Longhorns, and scouts regarded him as the top prep position player in the 1997 draft. Perhaps the best athlete . . . Mon, 07 May 2012 03:10:34 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613351.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613337.html Content: I've written several times that I won't believe an international draft will happen until I see it, including as recently as last September in Ask BA. The logistical hurdles just seemed too big to clear. But the changes to the international signing process in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement clearly were designed to lead toward a worldwide draft in the near future. As Ben Badler reports, there's now a registration process for signing international players that parallels how clubs register potential amateur draft picks. MLB still has to figure out a lot of the details and strike agreements with baseball governing bodies in foreign nations, but I now could envision an international draft as early as 2014. Who should the Royals draft with the fifth overall pick if Stanford righthander Mark Appel, Georgia high school outfielder Byron Buxton, San Francisco righthander Kyle Zimmer and Florida catcher Mike Zunino are the first four picks? John Hochunk St. Louis Teams shouldn't pick for need at the top of the draft, though need is a legitimate separator when deciding between prospects of similar quality. However, the Royals' impressive rebuilding process won't be complete until they find some more pitching, so I'll be very . . . Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:42:30 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613337.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613291.html Content: The NFL draft begins Thursday, and as usual, there are several prospects with baseball connections. The most prominent is Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden, who projects to go in the first two rounds. As an Oklahoma high school righthander, he was the Yankees' top choice (second round) in the 2002 draft. Though he ultimately never got past high Class A, Weeden was part of the December 2003 trade that sent Kevin Brown from the Dodgers to New York. Two other potential NFL draftees were picked in baseball. Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson signed with the Rockies as a fourth-rounder in 2010 and spent that summer in the minors before putting baseball on hold. He figures to go in the same range in the football draft. Georgia Tech wide receiver Roddy Jones went in the 39th round to the White Sox as a Georgia prep outfielder in 2007 but didn't sign. UCLA tight end Cory Harkey wasn't drafted in baseball, but his father Mike was the fourth overall pick by the Cubs in 1987 and won 36 games over eight major league seasons. J.J. Cooper's Scout's View on Pedro Alvarez confirmed Pirates fans' worst fears, which are that Alvarez might be an . . . Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:43:35 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613291.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613271.html Content: Eleven days into the minor league season, three of the top four strikeout pitchers in the minors are prominent picks from the 2011 draft. Garrett Richards of the Angels leads the way with 21 whiffs in as many innings, followed by three of the first 43 choices last June: Diamondbacks first-rounder Trevor Bauer (20 in 16) and sandwich pick Andrew Chafin (18 in 11), and Marlins first-rounder Jose Fernandez (18 in 11). Bauer and Archie Bradley, two of the top seven overall picks, grab most of the attention from Arizona's 2011 draft, but Chafin could prove to be a steal. He lasted until No. 43 because he had Tommy John surgery in 2009 and faded a bit late last spring, but Chafin is a lefty with a low-90s fastball that peaks at 95 mph and a slider that can be devastating. He has the potential to be a frontline starter or a closer. If Georgia high school outfielder Byron Buxton and Stanford righthander Mark Appel were available in last year's draft, where would they have been selected? David Nowlan Houston Last year's draft was considerably stronger than the current crop, starting with the fact that 2011 had seven players (Gerrit . . . Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:15:32 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613271.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613237.html Content: For the first time this year, a team other than Florida sits atop our College Top 25 rankings. Florida State won its eighth straight weekend series to displace the Gators, who had held their preseason No. 1 ranking through the first seven weeks of play. That's the longest season-opening streak at No. 1 since Stanford did the same in 2002, en route to a third-place finish at the College World Series. The Cardinal also hold the all-time record of ranking No. 1 for the first 14 weeks of a season in 1998, a year in which they amazingly didn't even advance to the NCAA regional finals. Hall of Famer and Orioles announcer Jim Palmer said he'd be surprised if righthander Dylan Bundy isn't in Baltimore by the end of the year. Is that realistic? Joe Campitelli Towson, Md. It's not realistic, because there's absolutely no reason for the Orioles to rush Bundy all the way to the majors in his first pro season. He's on the 40-man roster after signing a $6.225 million big league contract as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 draft, but he'll probably reach the organization's innings limit for 2012 (believed to be about . . . Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:34:23 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613237.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613212.html Content: A year ago in this space, I picked the Red Sox to defeat the Reds in the 2011 World Series, and both teams went on to miss the playoffs. So take the 2012 prognostications below with more than a grain of salt: There's a sharp contrast in the number of contenders in the two leagues. In the AL, seven teams (everyone in the AL East but the Orioles, plus the Tigers, Rangers and Angels) have a realistic chance at the five playoff spots. In the NL, everyone but the bottom half of the NL Central plus the Mets and Padres has a shot. With the Yankees' signing of Dominican righthander Jose Rafael DePaula finally becoming official this week, where does he rank among Yankees prospects? What BA Grade would he have gotten in the 2012 Prospect Handbook?   Ryan Hall Abingdon, Md. DePaula originally presented himself to MLB as Rafael DePaula Figueroa and with a birthdate of April 1, 1992, which would have made him eligible to sign on July 2, 2008. He only threw in mid- to high 80s at the time and went unsigned that summer, though the following spring he drew significant attention by working in the . . . Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:45:37 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613212.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613137.html Content: The Indianapolis Colts are expected to take quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Righthander Mark Appel opened the year as Baseball America's top-rated draft prospect and still is on the short list to go No. 1 to the Astros. If both Luck and Appel headline their respective drafts, Stanford would become the first college ever to produce the top picks in baseball and football in the same year. Since the baseball draft began in 1965, only six times has a college had a top-five baseball and football pick in the same year. The last time it happened was five years ago, when both Clemson and Georgia Tech accomplished the feat: Ask BA will take next week off before returning on April 2. I'm looking forward to answering your questions again in two weeks. Following up on last week's Ask BA question about the prospects with the best individual hitting, power and speed tools, who makes your top five list of those who grade as above average in both power and speed? Royals outfielder Bubba Starling is one guy who jumps to mind. Does Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper have that kind of speed? Steve . . . Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:33:26 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613137.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613102.html Content: This morning I spoke with a scouting director whose team owns a top-10 pick in the draft, and he said if he had the No. 1 overall selection, there's no question whom he would take. He'd choose Georgia high school outfielder Byron Buxton, giving him at least 70s on the 20-80 scouting scale for raw power, speed, center-field defense and arm strength, as well as 70 potential as hitter. The director likes him more than Bubba Starling, the best athlete in the 2011 draft, saying that Buxton has a better package of tools, a better swing and better ability to recognize breaking pitches. As for pitchers, the director raved about San Francisco righthander Kyle Zimmer, particularly the athleticism in his delivery—which he likes more than Stanford righty Mark Appel's. Zimmer has been flying up draft boards with his performance this spring, and he could join Appel and Buxton in the discussion for the No. 1 overall pick. Zimmer had blister issues in a Friday loss to Fresno State, but the former infielder has posted 25-1 K-BB ratio while pushing his fastball into the upper 90s and backing it up with a sharp curveball. I love the new format with the . . . Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:09:09 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2012/2613102.html