Today is the second day of the draft, and will cover up to 45 rounds worth of picks, though it’s thought that a lot of teams will drop out before the end of the 50th round, mainly because the draft and follow option is no longer an option. I will be gone for most of the day today, as I’m moving into a new apartment, but I’ll check back in tonight and give my thoughts on how things transpired. Feel free to share any information you have on any of the guys taken in the comments section, and it will be passed along in my recap of day 2.

Here is a compilation of the remaining players from BA’s Top 200. The list is long, so read below the fold.

Continue reading The best of the rest →

I called my friend on the drive home, and waited for a minute or two till it got to the Phillies. When she told me we took Mattair, I almost swerved off the road. That takes most of the sting out of our previous pick for me.

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I’ll have a full writeup on all of our picks later this evening. Time to catch my breath.

The Phillies, drafting at #37 in the compensation round, take Travis d’Arnaud, a high school catcher out of Lakewood High School in California. More analysis later, but to be honest, I don’t like it.

Profile.

That’s all from me for now, work is about to end, I’m about to head home and ponder this some more. First thought, like the Savery pick, hate the d’Arnaud pick. More later.

There it is. More analysis later, but for now, here is the video and profile of Savery.

Profile.

I also want to clear something up, because I know a lot of people will read snippets and panic. Savery did not have labrum surgery. He had minor surgery to remove a bone growth near his labrum, it was preventative surgery, he did not have a torn labrum, and I don’t even think he has a frayed labrum. I understand the panic that sets in when you hear that word, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Rice pitchers have a bad reputation in the big leagues, but at some point, someone has to buck the trend.

By the way, the above is based on everything I’ve read on Savery, if it’s incorrect, I’ll get the full report later.

Today is the day we’ve been waiting for. The rumors continue to circulate. Will we take a Boras guy if he drops? Will we go above slot at 19? Will it be a bat or an arm? So many questions, so few answers at this point, but that’s what makes this so exciting. I’ll post the complete draft order for the first round and the supplemental round, and I’ll update it as the picks come off the board. If you’ve got a rumor, or just any thought you’d like to share, put it here, we’ll use this post to discuss all of today’s action. Here is a recap of all of the pre-draft writings, and here is today’s draft order:

01. Tampa Bay –
02. Kansas City –
03. Chicago Cubs –
04. Pittsburgh –
05. Baltimore –
06. Washington –
07. Milwaukee –
08. Colorado –
09. Arizona –
10. San Francisco –
11. Seattle  –
12. Florida –
13. Cleveland –
14. Atlanta –
15. Cincinnati –
16. Toronto-
17. Texas –
18. St Louis –
19. Philadelphia –
20. Los Angeles Dodgers –
21. Toronto –
22. San Francisco –
23. San Diego –
24. Texas –
25. Chicago White Sox –
26. Oakland –
27. Detroit –
28. Minnesota –
29. San Francisco –
30. New York Yankees –

31. Washington –
32. San Francisco –
33. Atlanta –
34. Cincinnati –
35. Texas –
36. St Louis –
37. Philadelphia –

I’ll admit, it’s 11:20 PM Eastern, and I’m really giddy about tomorrow’s draft. That said, I wanted to do a roundup of all the mock drafts in the last day or so, and put together the collection of players who have been linked to us in the last few days. Study them one last time, then we’ll hold our breath and see what happens. The first 6 picks of the draft will probably directly impact who we take at 19. So, here are the guys we’ve been linked to over the last week or so. If I’ve forgotten anyone, let me know.

Phillipe Amount, RHP (Ecole Du Versant, Gatineau, Quebec)

Julio Borbon, OF (Tennessee)

Madison Bumgarner, LHP (South Caldwell H.S., Hudson, NC)

Michael Burgess, OF (Hillsborough High School, Florida)

Michael Main, RHP/OF (DeLand HS, DeLand, Fla)

Devin Mesoraco, C (Punxsatawney HS, Pa)

Chris Withrow, RHP (Midland Christian HS, Midland, Texas) (Scroll Down for video)

Jason Heyward, OF (Henry County HS, McDonough, Ga)

Also, how about this for a last minute rumor…the D-Rays are considering taking Matt Wieters over David Price. If that happens, I might be more surprised than if the Phillies take Porcello.

At this point, you probably just want the Phillies to pick so you can stop thinking about it, right? Well, here’s Kevin’s latest guess. I’m assuming this is his last mock, but of course, lots can change tomorrow. Blurbs for a few guys in here as well

01. Tampa Bay – David Price
02. Kansas City – Josh Vitters
03. Chicago Cubs – Jarrod Parker
04. Pittsburgh – Devin Mesoraco

The Pirates would like to take Wieters here, but a request submitted to ownership to spend big money was quickly denied. That had the team turning to college pitching, with Detwiler their number one target. Unfortunately, the Pirates have been taking college pitchers in the first round for years, with each one requiring surgery and making the Pirates feel like they are stuck in the movie Groundhog Day. Which brings us to Devin Mesoraco. The catcher from Punxsutawney is the fastest rising player in the draft, thanks to outstanding private workouts, including one in front of Pittsburgh decision makers on Sunday in which he sprayed balls all over the field hitting with a wood bat. His combination of offensive and defensive skills rank with anyone around at this point and the local product angle makes for some much-needed good PR for a team that desperately needs it.

05. Baltimore – Ross Detwiler
06. Washington – Matt Wieters

Are the Nats making a big splash, as many have rumored? Right now, the answer looks like yes. Washington has money to spend, and they’ve made no secret of their desire to invest heavily in their scouting and player development system. They’ll have their choice of Boras’ two top clients in Porcello and Wieters, but with pressure to improve the big league team as soon as possible, they’ll opt for Wieters, the powerful switch-hitting catcher who could move through the minors quickly. Early indications are that Wieters will require a deal similar to the one that the Rangers gave to fellow Boras client Mark Teixeira six years ago, which means a big league deal approaching $10 million. Washington is ready to pony up.

07. Milwaukee – Mike Moustakas
08. Colorado – Matt Dominguez
09. Arizona – Daniel Moskos
10. San Francisco – Casey Weathers
11. Seattle – Nick Schmidt
12. Florida – Jason Heyward
13. Cleveland – Blake Beaven
14. Atlanta – Josh Smoker
15. Cincinnati – Phillippe Amount
16. Toronto – JP Arencibia

Looking for a quick and easy sign while also looking to address an organizational need, Toronto is reportedly all over college catcher J.P. Arencibia with one of their two first-round picks. Arencibia went into the spring as a possible top ten pick, but a nagging back injury kept him from playing at his best. If he can get healthy, he’s a solid pick here, and the team is suddenly worried that he won’t be around at 21.

17. Texas – Matt Harvey

The Rangers have a pair of first-round picks, and seemingly no budget concerns with the first of the duo. They have a positive relationship with Boras, and have been on Matt Harvey all year. Harvey entered the year as the second-best high school pitcher in the draft, but his stock dropped a bit due to inconsistent performances. Texas is still trying to gage his signability, and if it’s considered even halfway reasonable, they feel the power righty would be a steal this low.

18. St Louis – Julio Borbon (please let this be true)
19. Philadelphia – Michael Main

The Phillies love athletes with high ceilings, and conveniently enough, there will be a couple of options for them at this stage. Tampa-area high school outfielder Michael Burgess fits the bill, but he might be too raw for even Philadelphia’s taste, and there should still be some high-ceiling pitchers to choose from. In that case, Florida high school star Michael Main makes sense for Philly, as he’s a supreme physical specimen, with second- to third-round talent as a center fielder, although they’ll put him on the mound.

20. Los Angeles Dodgers – Madison Bumgarner
21. Toronto – James Simmons
22. San Francisco – Beau Mills
23. San Diego – Joe Savery
24. Texas – Kevin Ahrens
25. Chicago Whitesox – Tim Alderson
26. Oakland – Aaron Poreda
27. Detroit – Rick Porcello

The Tigers are laying in wait, seeing which talent falls in their lap because of signability concerns. It worked last year with Andrew Miller at number six overall, and will work again this year. Porcello is the perfect fit here, and an absolute steal this low. Scouting director David Chadd loves tall pitchers who throw hard, and could be willing to open the checkbook for a talent like Porcello.

28. Minnesota – Will Middlebrooks
29. San Francisco – Todd Frazier
30. New York Yankees – Matt LaPorta

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Now, read pick #27, especially the last line, and remember how good it is to be a Phillies fan

We’ve been talking about it a lot for the past couple weeks, but the day is almost here. Tomorrow, the draft will begin at 2:30 on ESPN2, and will last till around 8:30, which will probably cover 5-6 rounds worth of picks. The Phillies have 7 picks in the first 5 rounds, so they have a good shot to add some high ceiling talent to a weak system, generally speaking. I’ll probably just write one main post tomorrow, like this one, and then just update the post with the first round selections and give my thoughts in the comments section. So, settle in tomorrow, enjoy the picks, and share your opinions. Some things on my mind as we get ready….
Continue reading The 2007 draft…one day away →

One more draft update for today. Some interesting movement on the draft tracker. The () represents where the player was on the last version, bolding is my own emphasis.

01. David Price (01)
02. Matt Wieters (03)
03. Rick Porcello (02)
04. Mike Moustakas (04)
05. Josh Vitters (05)
06. Jarrod Parker (09)
07. Jason Heyward (06)
08. Ross Detwiler (07)
09. Daniel Moskos (08)
10. Beau Mills (10)
11. Blake Beaven (11)
12. Madison Bumgarner (12)
13. Matt Dominguez (13)
14. Devin Mesoraco (16)
15. Matt Harvey (14)
16. Julio Borbon (15)
17. Michael Main (17)
18. Casey Weathers (18)
19. Phillippe Amount (19)
20. Josh Smoker (20)
21. Matt LaPorta (21)
22. Kevin Ahrens (22)
23. Nick Schmidt (23)
24. Pete Kozma (26)
25. Todd Frazier (24)
26. JP Arencibia (25)
27. Will Middlebrooks (NR)
28. James Simmons (30)
29. Andrew Brackman (28)
30. Brett Cecil (NR)

Out of the Top 30

Jack McGeary (27)

Some interesting stuff here. Porcello could very well go from the projected #2 slot in the draft out of the first round. If he wants a $10 million dollar deal, I find it hard to believe a team is going to give it to him, unless it’s Boston or the Yankees. If we end up with the 19th best talent, we’d end up with Amount, a guy the Phillies have been connected to. Amount has HUGE upside, literally and figuratively, as he’s already 6’7, 225 lbs. He’s going to need some work, but his ceiling is a true #1 starter. Will Middlebrooks, a guy I highlighted last week as a possible guy to look at in the compensation round, now might sneak into the back of the first round, and Brett Cecil is popping up on the radar again as a potential first round pick.

After watching Jarrod Parker’s scouting video a few times, if you could sign him for half the money Porcello wants, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I love his mechanics and his arm. For those excited about the possibility of a Boras guy like Porcello or Wieters falling to the Phillies and us getting lucky, you can put those hopes to bed, as the ownership has mandated not paying over slot. Harvey was once in the same group as those two, but at this point, he might be more affordable and a viable option. We’ll see.