Unlike past years, this is the only mock draft I’m doing, mainly because the Phillies don’t have a pick until #75, but also because of the strangeness of this draft. At the top you’ve got arguably the best pitching prospect of all time, then a great college hitter, and then about 20 guys who seem like they could go anywhere from 3 to 22. Instead of just throwing out random names, I’ve spent some time compiling a database of the past 5 years of picks in the first three rounds. I’m a believer in teams going with what they know, meaning that they develop a trust with crosscheckers in certain states, or they target the same type of prospect and will lean that way when in doubt. So you’ll get lots of information here. If you don’t care about the draft, that’s fine, but I know there are those that do. Please keep the discussion on topic, thanks. Lets get started…

Continue reading 2009 Mock Draft →

As everyone knows, the Phillies took a late round flier on Kyle Gibson 3 years ago before he went to Missouri, where his career blossomed, including a dynamite showing in the Cape Cod league. Prior to his junior year, he was being viewed as a surefire Top 10 pick, but his velocity reportedly dipped into the mid 80’s in his last start, and its now being reported by BA that he has a stress fracture in his arm and won’t throw for 6 weeks. Last year, if you remember, Tanner Scheppers suffered a similar fate with a stress fracture in his shoulder that eventually saw him slip from a Top 10 pick out of the first round, eventually being taken by the Pirates and going unsigned. Scheppers has come back healthy and is now again being talked about as a top 10 pick, with many teams still waiting to get clearance from their doctors on him.

I’ll have more on Gibson when I finish my mock draft, but at this point I’ll probably drop him out of the top 32. Ideally, I’d love the Phillies to take him at 75 if he gets there, follow him this summer, and if he’s able to throw before the deadline, hopefully sign him for first round money.

From his latest blog entry

The Rays, Royals and Phillies are all heavy on Rocky Mountain outfielder Jake Stewart, either in the second or third rounds.

BA has Stewart ranked 74th overall. Hes a freakish two way athlete with a questionable hit tool. Sounds like a Phillies pick 😦

I’ve decided that I am actually going to do a mock draft this year, even though the Phillies don’t pick until the back part of the second round. I just love the draft and all that comes with it too much, so I’m gonna spend some time working on that, and I’ll post it sometime next week. But watching Rick Porcello today, I wanted to make a quick note on this, a topic we’ve discussed before, mainly because the Phillies are going to have to be creative with this draft because they don’t have a first round pick or sandwich round pick. My stance on the draft is well known, I’m very much in the “spend more, invest more, and you’ll get more out of it camp”, while others have argued that you’re best served by not breaking slot and keeping costs down. The bottom line with the draft is, there are no sure things. But in sports, there are no sure things. The best teams don’t always win the World Series, the ace is often times defeated by the 4A pitcher, and we know anything can happen. But at the end of the day, its the job of the GM and everyone associated with the decision making of a team to best use its resources and make every effort possible to invest as much talent as possible.

Continue reading A note on draft risk →

Since I’m not planning on doing a mock draft this year (I don’t think), my draft thoughts will come at random more than likely, and so get used to more of this quick posts for consideration. I’ve kind of come up with my initial thought on a guy the Phillies might target. Last week I wrote a quick post throwing 5 random names out there, based on Keith Law’s initial Top 100. Looking more at this list, one guy jumped out at me; Slade Heathcott, a prep outfielder from Texas. You can check out his bio/scouting report from milb.com right here. He ticks off a number of boxes; athletic, toolsy, from Texas (they place a lot of faith in the Texas area guy), and is lauded for his energy/work ethic on the field. He’s had a number of injuries, but looks to be recovered and none of them are long term concerns. This was the line that jumped out at me in his report

He’s an intense competitor who’s only question is about some character issues off the field. The team that gets those questions answered could be the one to take him on Draft Day.

I spoke to one of the people I know, who said that he wasn’t aware of any issues. So I don’t know where this came from. I’m sure Baseball America will have more on him, my PG Crosschecker account expired, so I don’t know where they have him ranked. But he’s a definite name to consider. I mentioned Matt Purke last time as a possible signability guy, and there’s another name to consider along those lines in Jacob Turner, a prep righthander from Missouri. You can read about Purke here, and Turner here.

Stay tuned…

The draft is less than a month away, and I suppose its time to start considering what the Phillies will do. As we all know, the Phillies do not have a first round pick, and this year the sandwich round contains 17 picks, meaning the Phillies first pick will not come until the 2nd round, #75 overall, with their second pick coming at #106. This takes some of the fun out of the draft buildup for me, since its tough to project the first 30 picks, let alone the first 80 picks. Its going to be impossible to peg one guy, or even a handful of guys. There are a number of teams (Yankees, Red Sox) who will take a guy with a large price tag that falls, so that is one potential road block. This year’s draft is very pitching heavy, there are very few impact bats available, even those that could fall to us in the 2nd round. Check below the fold for more…

Continue reading What will the 2009 draft approach be? →