We’ll do this one with bullet points, just some general thoughts. Tomorrow I’ll post my final mock draft as well as some thoughts on the Phillies 7 early picks, and then on Thursday we’ll follow the draft as it happens and discuss the Phillies picks as well as other picks of note.

* Jim Salisbury, the only Phillies beat writer who really gives service to the draft, had some interesting notes in this article, which you may have seen by now. This is the money quote from Arbuckle;

“Can we take a kid who is worth $300,000 and give him $1.5 million? No,” Arbuckle said. “Can we take a kid who might be worth $350,000 and give him $600,000? If we see value and it’s the kid we want and that’s what it will take to sign him, then yeah, we might do that.”

There is some promise there, but of course “might” is the operative word. My stance on taking the best talent is well known. I don’t expect the Phillies to go crazy and sign every unsignable kid to a huge bonus, I just don’t want to see guys taken and given well below slot bonuses just to keep the draft budget down.

* Keith Law did a rough mock draft for the first round a few days ago, and he came up with Zach Collier, a toolsy OF from California at #24. This was his blurb

The Phillies also have been linked to various college relievers, including Cashner, Schlereth and Weatherford, and they also are heavy on two Northeast products, Hewitt and Jason Knapp, with Knapp likely to be their pick in the sandwich round.

While I wouldn’t love it, of all the players mentioned in the blurb, I’d take Collier over anyone else. I still don’t get the Knapp thing, unless he’s the “safe” pick in the comp round to save money. He’s not in the BA Top 200, which makes me wonder why we’d need to take him at 34 overall unless it was to save money for the extra picks. This is what BA has to say about Collier, who is ranked #22 overall;

Collier was not selected to participate in the 2007 Area Code Games or the Aflac Classic, but he’s had a high profile nonetheless. He started to generate buzz during the local Connie Mack summer season as a teammate of Isaac Galloway and Aaron Hicks. Rave reviews from parents and youth coaches began to filter down to scouts, and Collier helped his cause with strong showings in two showcase events held at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton. He continued gaining ground this spring, and then moved into first-round consideration when he took a Hicks 93 mph fastball deep during a tournament game in Fullerton. To make sure the 40-plus scouts in attendance were paying attention, Collier ripped two more hits. Lefthanded all the way, Collier has an athletic and projectable 6-foot-2, 195-pound outfielder’s frame. His above-average speed makes him a threat as a baserunner and permits him to patrol center field for now. As he slows down and matures physically, he’ll play an outfield corner, and his average arm makes right field a possibility. Collier had a surgical procedure to improve blood flow to his heart, performed in May 2006, which may be a concern for some clubs, but he’s been medically cleared for two years and has had no problems. Collier’s hitting ability and solid all-around game had him moving up boards, possibly in the middle of the first round.

* I participated in a mock draft along with guys who run prospect sites for other teams. The goal of the mock draft was to pick like the scouting director of your team might pick. I ended up taking Tanner Scheppers at 24 and David Cooper at 34. The story on Scheppers is now well publicized, he has trouble with his arm, but no one is 100% sure what the problem is. I took him thinking that it was only a minor issue, and knowing that the Phillies have been willing to roll the dice in the past on guys who fall due to injury. However, Kevin Goldstein yesterday mentioned that the latest rumor is a labrum issue for Scheppers, which obviously would eliminate him from my draft board. I’ve written about Cooper before, but for those who don’t know, he’s basically an all hit/little glove 1B, with an excellent eye and great raw power, but only average to below average defense. I think at 34, he’d be a great fit considering the lack of true power prospects in the system, especially at 1B. You can find more info on Cooper here.

For everything I’ve written on the 2008 draft, click here. As I said, I’ll be back tomorrow with my final mock draft.