Post#12 » by TSC25 » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:43 pm
This is the rest I got from baseballamerica.
2 90 OAK Josh Horton ss North Carolina NC
Among the second tier of college position players, Horton has the best combination of performance and tools. He was a second-team All-American as a sophomore, when he won the Atlantic Coast Conference batting title with a .395 mark and helped carry North Carolina to the College World Series. He struggled in the Cape Cod League last summer, however, and has an unorthodox approach at the plate. What he does best as a hitter is use his hands to square balls on the barrel and use the whole field. He has excellent strike-zone awareness and lets balls travel deep in the hitting zone. He's an average runner and an adequate defender with a chance to stay at shortstop, though his range will never be a plus. He has a solid-average arm, though he struggles with accuracy occasionally. Scouts who like him compare him to Adam Kennedy as an offensive-minded doubles machine who can stay in the middle of the field. Other teams have little interest in drafting him in the top five rounds.
3 120 OAK Sam Demel rhp Texas Christian TX
Demel broke Josh Beckett's single-season strikeout record with 188 at Spring (Texas) High, and he has set the career saves mark at Texas Christian. He also has enjoyed success as a starter for the Horned Frogs, but pro teams project him as a reliever because he's small (6 feet, 185 pounds) and has a lot of violence in his delivery. That max-effort approach does produce nasty stuff, however. Demel has a 92-94 mph fastball that can touch 96, and it has armside run. His slider may be his best pitch, though at times he'll rely on it too much. He also has a changeup that drops off at the plate, giving him a weapon against lefthanders. While his mechanics make scouts cringe, Demel never has had arm problems. He figures to go between the second and fourth rounds, and a team coveting a nearly ready reliever could make him a supplemental first-rounder.
4 150 OAK Travis Banwart rhp Wichita State KS
Banwart doesn't have the wow stuff of former Wichita State studs Darren Dreifort, Braden Looper or Mike Pelfrey, but his feel for pitching is among the best in the draft. His changeup is his lone plus pitch, but his ability to locate four pitches where he wants makes him effective against lefthanded and righthanded hitters. Strong and durable at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, he maintains his 88-91 mph velocity throughout a game. He also uses both a curveball and a slider. Banwart has performed well in front of scouts, earning all-star honors in the Cape Cod League last summer and outdueling likely top-five pick Ross Detwiler with seven shutout innings in mid-April. Banwart won't ever be more than a mid-rotation starter in the big leagues, but he could get there quickly and likely won't last past the third round.
5 180 OAK Andrew Carignan rhp North Carolina NC
Leads were typically safe for Carolina when Andrew Carignan came in as the team's closer. He has a 92-94 mph fastball, but it's quick as opposed to heavy velocity. At 5-foot-11, he has a tough time creating a downward plane on his pitches, and his fastball lacks movement, especially when it's up in the zone. But he does have some deception, and his fastball tends to get on hitters before they're expecting it, leading to swings and misses. He effectively pitches to both sides of the plate, and he shows aggressiveness and guts, challenging hitters and working ahead in counts. He throws a couple of varieties of breaking balls, neither of which shows much of a defined shape, and mixes in a cutter that comes in at 86-87 mph and has good running action away from righthanded hitters. His changeup is below-average, and he tends to tip it by slowing his arm speed. Clubs have seen plenty of Carignan, and he's been a consistent performer at the back of the bullpen for a prominent college program, factors that enhance his value. He could be taken as high as the fourth round.
6 210 OAK Scott Hodsdon rhp Azusa Pacific (Calif.) CA
Third baseman Scott Hodsdon hit 26 homers and had 100 RBIs as Azusa Pacific went 51-10 and made the NAIA World Series. Scouts liked him better on the mound, where he sat at 89-90 mph with his fastball and had good run on the pitch thanks to a low three-quarters arm slot. He worked as both a starter and reliever at Asuza this spring, going 10-1, 3.17 with seven saves. He was considered a good senior sign.
7 240 OAK Lance Sewell lhp San Diego State CA
Sophomore-eligible lefthander Lance Sewell stepped in as San Diego State's No. 1 starter, and the former Arizona redshirt had impressed with an over-the-top delivery that helps him spin true 12-to-6 curveballs. When he stays on top of his arm slot, Sewell can work up in the strike zone with an 86-89 mph fastball with natural cutting action, then down with his curve. His changeup is solid and can be effective against righthanded hitters.
8 270 OAK Daniel Schlereth lhp Arizona AZ
The son of former NFL lineman Mark Schlereth--now an ESPN football and, at times, college baseball analyst--bears little physical resemblance to his behemoth father. While Daniel was a good prep quarterback who broke his school's rushing record and was Colorado's offensive player of the year in 2003, he chose baseball as his primary sport, perhaps in reaction to the 20 surgeries his father had. At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, the younger Schlereth is an athletic, shorter lefty with a quick arm, good velocity and a football demeanor that helps him excel as a college reliever. Schlereth began his college career at Nevada-Las Vegas and sat out his freshman season after having Tommy John surgery. His velocity has come back since his surgery, as he hits 94 mph regularly and has touched higher with his heater, which also has some life. Schlereth's breaking ball is short, but he's shown feel for a changeup, which should help him get righties out when he becomes a pro closer. His biggest issues are fastball command (he had 24 walks in 29 innings this spring) and health (he'd missed some time with biceps tendinitis).
9 300 OAK Eric Berger lhp Arizona AZ
Berger had Tommy John surgery days after last year's draft. Berger has been up to 92-93 mph from a high arm slot that costs him movement but allows him to throw a good, hard curveball and a deceptive changeup. While 12 months out from surgery on draft day, Berger was expected to take his rehab slowly. He would be an ideal candidate for the "new" draft-and-follow process
