White Sox Season Over; Time to Talk Draft - Part 2

Here is a look at my current draft board. THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION OR PROJECTION OF THE FIRST ROUND. This is my current personal opinion of these players. This will continue to change as we approach draft day and some players are already ranked differently compared to the lists I’ve been doing this past week.

1) Buster Posey, C, Florida State: Great bat, has proven to be solid defender.
2) Tim Beckham, SS, Georgia HS: Overall tools package.
3) Kyle Skipworth, C, California HS: Hits, fields, and intuition loves him.
4) Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia: Love him almost as much as Posey.
5) Justin Smoak, 1B, South Carolina: Best college bat but not as valuable defensively as Posey and Beckham.
6) Aaron Crow, RHP, Missouri: Stock has dropped just a hair but still looks great to me.
7) Brian Matusz, LHP, San Diego: Could easily flip with Crow.
8) Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt: Injury knocks him back a couple of notches but still elite.
9) Eric Hosmer, 1B, Florida HS: All reports look great. Signability?
10) Yonder Alonso, 1B, Miami: Another bat impossible not to love.

I don’t want to see Kenny draft another pitcher with the #8 pick.

Talked to a lot of folks today and news of the Scheppers injury was topic No. 1. The reaction pretty much came in one of two ways:

1. I’ve never heard of an injury like this. Not from pitching, anyway.
2. I wonder if this is the whole story.

Now, the scouting industry is skeptical by nature, and for good reason. As one scout told me, he’s seen a player sit out with a reported groin strain only to need elbow surgery a week later (who knew the groin and elbow were connected like that???). The point is that people don’t always tell the truth about injuries. Is the “stress fracture” just masking something else, like a torn labrum or rotator cuff? I don’t know if that’s true, but there is some concern out there that there’s more going on here.

Another worry was if Scheppers hurt the shoulder doing something off the field. No one, and I mean no one, had ever heard of a pitcher getting a stress fracture in the shoulder from pitching. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen - you’ll hear about elbow stress fractures from hard throwers like Bobby Jenks from time to time - but this would mark the first time many baseball lifers had ever seen anything like this. So even if it is just a stress fracture, there has to be concern over how a guy manages to do that while pitching. ...

since we’re running the show, i’d like to see where you’re at so we can get towards a consensus for us.

I’m not knowledgeable about amateur ball. I’ve never seen any of these guys play, nor have I really studied the various scouting sources. However, its seems from reading the extensive stuff that you guys have posted (and thanks for all your work), that at least some of the “experts” rate old Beckham higher than you do. You guys apparently see him as the worst you could do in your mock draft while other writers seem to view him more highly.

Sickels seems to be Beckham’s biggest fan:

#3 College hitter: Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia: Hitting .412/.524/.874, OPS is about +79 percent better than context. Has also stolen 16 bases in 17 attempts, producing power, plate discipline, etc., and he can play shortstop. Some people compare him to Khalil Greene, others say he’ll hit better than that. Again, this might be controversial ranking him ahead of Smoak and maybe I’ll change my mind.

#4 Overall Pick: Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia: Love him almost as much as Posey.

MiLB.com’s scouting report is a little more measured:

Hitting Ability: Beckham is a line-drive hitter who consistently squares up on the ball and works the count to his advantage.
Power: He’s got suprising power considering his size, with average to a tick above-average pop.
Running Speed: He has average speed and is better once underway.
Base Running: He’s got good instincts and is an excellent baserunner.
Arm Strength: His arm grades out as average to a tick above and plays fine from shortstop.
Fielding: He’s a very natural defender, but he’s fighting his size a bit at short and might profile better as a second baseman.
Range: He has above-average range.
Physical Description: Beckham is not an imposing figure, nor does he look particularly imposing at first glance.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: His bat. He’s got outstanding hitting skills and more than a little power. He plays the game the right way.
Weaknesses: While he’s fine at short for now, it might not be the best long-term defensive home for him.
Summary: At first glance, he doesn’t stand out. But then you watch him play for a little and can’t help but be impressed. Beckham has quality at-bats and some pretty good pop, surprising considering his size. He’s capable of being an excellent defender, but might be better suited at second as a pro. He’s the kind of college infielder who should come off the board quickly.

Johnathan Mayo on MLB.com likes G. Beckham going at #8 to the Sox:

Every once in a while, there’s a rumor so strong, one repeated from numerous sources, that you almost can’t believe it to be true. At every turn, word was that the White Sox really liked Wallace. While most consider him to be an outstanding hitter, something about it just didn’t seem to be right. That’s not to say that if things fall differently, they wouldn’t look in his direction, but in the scenario laid out here, with Gordon Beckham available, they’ll go with who most would consider to be the better overall player.

Along with Posey, no hitter has helped his cause more with his performance than the Georgia shortstop. He’s been among the NCAA leaders in just about every offensive category, showing a lot more power. He could get to the bigs quickly and how often does a possible impact bat in the middle infield come along?

Now, I’ve seen in a few of your threads some concern that G. Beckham is not a ML shortstop or that his ungodly offensive production this year is not a fair estimate of his true hitting ability. My question is, what is the basis for those reservations? What is it that you’ve seen or read or deduced that pushes your assessment of Beckham below Sickels and, to a lesser extent, some other observers?

college bats:

http://metalbatbaseball.blogspot.com/2008/05/first-5-college-bats.html

college arms:

http://metalbatbaseball.blogspot.com/2008/05/first-five-rounds-college-pitchers.html

HS bats:

http://metalbatbaseball.blogspot.com/2008/05/hs-pos-players-beckhamhosmerskipworthhi.html

HS arms:

http://metalbatbaseball.blogspot.com/2008/05/first-five-hs-arms.html

Are ya smokin’ yet?

Me wants.

Yonder Alonso, 1B, University of Miami

The Hurricanes’ regular season ended with the series of the year, as top-ranking Miami played host over the weekend to No. 2 North Carolina. While the Tar Heels took two of three and are likely now the new No. 1, Alonso certainly did his part for the ‘Canes in the series, going deep in all three games. The first baseman enters the ACC Tourney with averages of .380/.548/.797 in 50 games, having slugged 18 home runs in 158 at-bats and drawing 61 walks against just 22 strikeouts. He’s been a bit of a creeper in this year’s draft, moving up slowly but continuously, and rumors have him going as high as sixth overall to Florida. That seems to be based on more of Alonso’s status as a Cuban immigrant and Miami native more than anything else, but he’s firmly put himself into the mix for several teams drafting in the latter portions of the top ten.

a lot, but assuming Smoak is gone, I have to wonder if he’s better than Brett Wallace. If I was put in a situation where both Crow and Alonso are unpicked, I would have to take Crow. In fact, that’s what I did in a mock… I really don’t think Crow would fall that far though.

I think that Alonso or Wallace is a worst case scenario. Which is really a good thing when you put it in perspective.

the season is NOT OVA!

It was almost two full decades ago when the White Sox last had a top 10 selection in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft.

At that time, in 1990, the South Siders used the fourth overall pick on a right-handed pitcher out of Miami Dade South Community College named Alex Fernandez. He turned out to be more than a moderate Major League success, winning 107 games over a 10-year career for the White Sox and Marlins. He pitched in the playoffs for Chicago in 1993 and with Florida in ‘97.

So, it seems only fitting that the White Sox would bring back Fernandez as one of their 2008 representatives at the Draft table, with the team holding the eighth pick overall after last year’s 72-90 showing. The 38-year-old Fernandez retired after the 2000 campaign.

MLB.com will carry every pick of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, which takes place June 5-6 at The Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. Day 1 coverage on BaseballChannel.TV begins at noon CT with a special ceremonial draft of former Negro Leaguers who will be on hand at The Milk House. The First-Year Player Draft follows at 1 p.m. with a simulcast of ESPN2’s broadcast of the first round and compensation picks. The remaining rounds on Day 1 will be shown exclusively on BaseballChannel.TV, with live analysis on site from MLB.com Draft guru Jonathan Mayo and David Rawnsley of Perfect Game USA.

Article in today’s Orlando Slantinel:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-posey2008may20,0,4103380.story

Pirates Likely To Draft Pedro Alvarez

MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel hears the Royals are leaning toward an impact bat in the June draft. Baseball America predicted catcher Buster Posey, while Jonathan Mayo went with first baseman Eric Hosmer. First baseman Justin Smoak is another possibility.

Giants Aiming For Position Player In Draft

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008_amateur_draft/index.html

pirates are at #2, royals 3, giant 5

First, there are certain guys that are going to be gone by the time the White Sox are picking. Posey, for better or for worse, will be gone. I thought he could fall to the Sox earlier but it’s palpable at this point that he is too much of a premium commodity to fall that far. Alvarez will be gone. Tim Beckham will be gone. Skipworth will go to the Marlins if no one else takes him first. Matusz will be gone, in all likeliness. Smoak is a wild-card, and a big one. There won’t be a high-school player, because that’s not what the Sox do. This knocks out Hosmer whether he’s there or not, that and Boras. I thought that Crow would go to the Royals at 3 but it seems they have other plans, and teams before us want hitters. Plus, Crow has high signing demands apparently.

So far, who we will not (be able to) pick of who has been speculated here:
Tim Beckham, Buster Posey, Pedro Alvarez, Brian Matusz, Kyle Skipworth

There are two teams that I can easily predict the picks of. The first is the Rays, who want a hitter. They will probably go for Posey, maybe T-Beck. If they went for Beckham, it would transversely be very good for the White Sox, because it is one more college bat to add into the mix if they don’t take Posey. Any team looking at Smoak would probably take Posey or Alvarez. But I digress… the Rays will probably take Posey. Another easy target is the Marlins, who are in love with Kyle Skipworth. Assuming that happens, there are five potential, let me just call them “Smoak Hazards”. The first potential Smoak Hazard would be the Pirates. They really want a bat this year, and I can’t blame them. I have a hunch they’ll rub their nuts together and pick Alvarez, but T-Beck is a reasonable choice too. The fact that they want an impact bat can’t rule Smoak out of their plans, though. One down.

The next is the Royals, who also want a bat. It’s a strong class for hitters. I see Smoak as a very viable target of the Roys, because they have a bit more of a need for offense right now than pitching. And there are only guys like Ross Gload and Ryan Shealy blocking him. Blocking him about as much as a yamaka blocks the sun. In a perfect world, they would go for hometown stud Aaron Crow to be their future ace. It doesn’t look like that will happen. Will they go for Hosmer or T-Beck? Just as likely as they take Smoak. I have a hunch they’ll go for Beckham.

The next is the Orioles. The Orioles, I think, will go for Matusz. But they have every reason to go for Smoak, too. The Giants are an interesting one. The only way they could take him is if they LaPorta him, or put him in the outfield. I don’t think that’s much of an option, but that won’t stop a club from drafting him. The Giants are kind of in a bad situation here. They have the fifth pick, and they need a fast moving bat desperately but they would be blocking their best prospect if they took advantage of the first basemen available. If Alvarez or Tim Beckham fell to them, consider them Giants property. One thing they could do is screw up the Marlins and take Skipworth, or go for Gordon Beckham. That seems viable. That could open the door for the Marlins to get Smoak, but I’m not worried about that. Consider the Giants a Smoak Hazard, regardless of Villalona.

If Skipworth is undrafted, he will go to the Marlins. That leaves the Reds. The Reds have their first basemen of the future in Votto, but this represents a similar situation to the Giants. I don’t think they will go for Smoak. I think, according to Jocketty’s philosophy, that they will go for either a high upside high-schooler or a college pitcher. If Gordon Beckham is still here, that may change things. But if Crow is available, he has a good shot of going to the Reds.

This leaves these players who have a feasible shot of going to the White Sox:
Smoak, Crow, G. Beckham, Alonso, Wallace

This is the five guys I would be making a draft board of. I like Crow over all the hitters except Smoak. The White Sox love Wallace, he is a very good hitter and is by no means a bad pick at 8, in my opinion. If and when it comes down to Crow vs. Alonso/Wallace/Beckham, I have to take Crow. At the same time, I wouldn’t be upset if we got one of those hitters because they have high floors and will move quickly to the majors. If Smoak is available and they don’t take him, I will be legitimately upset. I think there’s a 30-50% chance Smoak is available. Maybe higher, but I don’t want to get your hopes up or mine.

does anyone have thoughts on #86?

I don’t know enough about the next tier to talk about it much, but look out for Tim Murphy, a college lefty. The Sox could take a flyer on Brandon Crawford if he’s there, his stock has fallen a lot. I don’t know much about the high-school ranks, Williams and Co. seem to like to take a high-schooler with the second pick they have. Maybe Anthony Gose.

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt

3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.

4. Baltimore Orioles: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego

5. San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, C, Florida State

6. Florida Marlins: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.

7. Cincinnati Reds: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri

8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia

There’s still some mention of ASU’s Brett Wallace, and Skipworth could be a possibility if he were to slip a bit, but G-Beck really makes a whole lot of sense here, both from a best player available and need in the organization standpoint. I know, you don’t draft for need this high, but it’s a nice bonus when it happens.

9. Washington Nationals: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina

10. Houston Astros: Yonder Alonso, 1B, University of Miami

last week:

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Buster Posey, C, Florida State

2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt

3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.

4. Baltimore Orioles: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego

5. San Francisco Giants: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.

6. Florida Marlins: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.

7. Cincinnati Reds: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri

8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia

9. Washington Nationals: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina

10. Houston Astros: Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Fresno State

When asked to assess the state of the White Sox Minor League system, Regier stated how there was no doubt in his mind that some talented young hurlers now practicing their craft at lower levels eventually will make the jump to Chicago. He added that if the system needed a specific upgrade, it would focus in on adding dynamic or impact position players.

“For me, it would be nice to have that hang-your-hat player position-player wise,” Regier said. “I think we are on solid ground with some of the good arms we have.”

thought I’d add this to the draft diary too

http://www.baseball-intellect.com/Articles/college-draft-brian-matusz.html

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
1. Buster Posey C Jr. R-R 6-2 200 Florida State Leesburg, Ga. Angels ‘05 (50) 3-27-87
It’s been the Spring of Dreams for the Seminoles catcher, as he’s been arguably college baseball’s top hitter, furthered his defensive abilities behind the plate and put himself in position to be the No. 1 overall pick.

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
2. Pedro Alvarez 3B Jr. L-R 6-2 225 Vanderbilt New York, N.Y. Red Sox ‘05 (14) 2-6-87
Alvarez’s resume was so strong going into the spring that his understandable drop in power after a broken hamate bone can be overlooked, and has.

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
3. Brian Matusz LHP Jr. L-L 6-4 200 San Diego Cave Creek, Ariz. Angels ‘05 (4) 2-11-87
Matusz has separated himself from the other top college pitchers by showing three plus pitches every time out, the kind of consistency that scouts crave.

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT High School Hometown Commitment B’date
4. Tim Beckham SS Sr. R-R 6-2 191 Griffin Griffin, Ga. So. California 1-27-90
Beckham has done nothing particularly special this spring, just reaffirm that he’s a true shortstop and the best athlete in the 2008 HS class.

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
5. Aaron Crow RHP Jr. R-R 6-1 195 Missouri Wakarusa, Kan. Never drafted 11-11-86
Crow is 11-0, 2.82 on the season, but has been merely mortal the past month after a blistering start.

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT High School Hometown Commitment B’date
6. Kyle Skipworth C Sr. L-R 6-3 195 Patriot Riverside, Calif. Arizona State 3-1-90
There has been no better high school hitter this spring anywhere in the country than Skipworth (.580-13-47, including 18 straight hits at one point).

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
7. Gordon Beckham SS Jr. B-R 6-0 180 Georgia Atlanta Never drafted 9-16-86
It will likely be either Beckham, the NCAA home run leader most of the year and a flashy defender at shortstop, or Buster Posey as the college player of the year.

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
8. Justin Smoak 1B Jr. B-L 6-4 215 South Carolina Goose Creek, S.C. Athletics ‘05 (16) 12-5-86
The South Carolina switch-hitter slumped through last summer and early spring, but has been the hottest hitter in college baseball the last month.

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT High School Hometown Commitment B’date
9. Eric Hosmer 1B Sr. L-L 6-4 210 American Heritage Cooper City, Fla. Arizona State 10-24-89
Hosmer has been every bit as good as advertised this spring under tremendous scrutiny as the top prep power hitter, and has touched 98 mph on the mound as well.

Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
10. Tanner Scheppers RHP Jr. R-R 6-4 200 Fresno State Laguna Niguel, Calif. Orioles ‘05 (29) 1-17-87
Originally recruited to Fresno State as a lanky shortstop, Scheppers has filled out and become a dominant pitcher who may still have some projection left.

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/draft/2008/top_prospects/top50_51208.aspx

8. Chicago White Sox. A recent embarrassing shake-up in the White Sox scouting department shouldn’t have much of an effect on their drafting philosophy, but the talent available almost dictates a college bat at a non-premium position. The White Sox could generat the first real surprise of the draft by taking Arizona State’s Brett Wallace. At six-foot-one and 245 pounds, he’s not much in the tools department; some scouts have nicknamed him “The Walrus.” Nonetheless, he might have the best chance of being a consistent .400+ on-base player in the big leagues, and he’s shown enough of a power improvement this year to merit a mid-first-round selection. Even so, the word remains that the White Sox want him here, because as one scouting director joked, “If Wallace doesn’t hit in the big leagues, I don’t know who does.”

Wallace over someone with higher upside. That may include Smoak.

Out of high school, Smoak was drafted in the 16th round by the A’s. He wanted $1 million to sign, and the rumor was that the A’s held firm at $950,000 (ouch Oakland).

also from the same link,

I think the Marlins and the White Sox are the two teams in play here though. Marlins could go with local pick Alonso, but I cannot imagine Smoak falling past the Sox. They have two old(er) sluggers in Thome and Konerko (could probably throw Dye in there as well). The Sox are trying to win now, and Smoak would not need much more than a season in the minors. His strike zone judgement and experience against good amatuer competition could help him move faster than that.

if anyone wants to see how it worked last year take a look here:

http://www.minorleagueball.com/stories/archive?year=2007#6

look for the stories on the beginning of june

that was the rumor, but if there was really any possibility of signing Smoak there wouldn’t have been a 50,000 dollar impasse, and he would have been drafted much higher anyway. He wanted to go to South Carolina and that was that…

He is a little pull happy right now, he is going to have to accept some singles the other way.

He’s the next Khalil Greene and the holy grail of shortstop prospects.

he’s not as great as everyone thinks

That’s the only way he’ll make it to the bigs, by making friendly with the higher ups

my revised list

1. tim beckham
2. pedro alvarez
3. buster posey
4. kyle skipworth
5. justin smoak
6. brian matusz
7. gordon beckham
8. aaron crow

For anybody interested, I did a breakdown of Smoak’s swing mechanics:

Justin Smoak scouting report

We see the initial hand load as Smoak shifts his weight forward. Notice as he is moving forward, the bat stays connected with his body indicating a relatively short swing. This also gives you an indication of how strong Smoak’s wrists are.

We can also see Smoak firmly plant his front foot and then turn aggressively on that front leg. He lets his hips and hands rotate together as opposed to achieving extension, which is when the batter lets their hands get out in front to meet the ball, sapping the player of much of their power.

With the MLB amateur draft approaching, I thought it would be a good time to start profiling some of the young talent that may be coming to a team near you. Generally speaking, this draft does not have a consensus top prospect, like a Justin Upton or David Price, so it’s anyone’s guess who the top pick will be and the Tampa Bay Rays are thought to be deciding between Buster Posey, Tim Beckham and Pedro Alvarez. After that, the draft can go just about any way and teams will need to see who’s available and trust their evaluations. It should be an interesting draft as it unfolds.

To begin with, I’m going to provide my draft board, based on talent and my projections for the players, followed by a profile of the top talent in the draft, as I see it: Vanderbilt’s Pedro Alvarez.

Here is my Top-15 for the Up-Coming Draft:

1. Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt University
2. Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS (GA)
3. Buster Posey, C, Florida State
4. Justin Smoak, 1B, South Carolina
5. Aaron Crow, RHP, Missouri
6. Brian Matusz, LHP, San Diego
7. Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia
8. Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS (FL)
9. Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS (CA)
10. Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Fresno State
11. Aaron Hicks, RHP/OF, Wilson HS (CA)
12. Yonder Alonso, 1B, Miami
13. Shooter Hunt, RHP, Tulane
14. Tim Melville, RHP, Wentzville HS (MO)
15. Brett Wallace, 3B, Arizona State

hat-tip BBTF

6. Justin Smoak, 1B, South Carolina
Bio: 6′4, 215, Bats B, Throws L, 21 years old

The Skinny: Aside from Pedro Alvarez, Smoak may be the most potent bat in this draft class. To go along with tremendous upside at the plate, the switch hitting first baseman also is a plus defender at first base with a good arm. He also has raked for three years at South Carolina and in the Cape Cod League after his freshman year, but had some trouble making contact with Team USA after his sophomore year. Smoak displays plus power to all fields and projects as a relatively safe power bat, especially after yet another big year for the Gamecocks.

Pros: Bat, Power, Defense
Cons: Can Only Play 1B

I think that that would be a downside. I compare him to Lance Berkman/Mark Teixiera.

I think most of those comparisons are off. Probably better to leave out comparisons until you have a better idea of what they’ll be like.

Regardless, I hope we can get him. They are in love with Wallace, though.

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt

3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.

4. Baltimore Orioles: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego

5. San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, C, Florida State

6. Florida Marlins: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.

7. Cincinnati Reds: Yonder Alonso, 1B, University of Miami

8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia

They’d have interest in Alonso if the Reds don’t take him and they might have interest in Skipworth if he’s around. ASU’s Brett Wallace still gets mentioned occasionally here, but G-Beck still makes the most sense in this slot.

9. Washington Nationals: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina

10. Houston Astros: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri

The Chicago White Sox, while looking hard at some of the corner infield power bats - namely Justin Smoak or Yonder Alonso - are also looking at a power arm. Word has it that GM Kenny Williams is in Stillwater, Oklahoma this weekend for the regional hosted by Oklahoma State. At that regional is Texas Christian University, whose closer is power-armed Andrew Cashner, the fast-rising reliever who’s been hitting the upper 90s as a short man, but has the size and delivery to make many think he can be a frontline starter.

I dunno if Smoakie’s gonna be there guys. I just don’t know.

Let’s not get our hopes up too high.

i’m going to be available from noon until about 1:15 but will have to duck out for a couple hours after that. it seems pretty unlikely that we’d get to the sox’ second pick in a litte over an hour so if you want to pow-wow about that a little let’s do that. see my “deep” draft links i posted above on the 18th. but you can have the final say on who the sox go with there. hopefully i’d be back online for at least the final pick.

do you (or anyone else) have any issues with the 8 names i posted a few days ago? i don’t think my thinking has changed.

http://www.saberscouting.com/2008/05/29/pedroalvarezprofile/

btw, here’s brett wallace’s blog: 2008 Draft Prospect Blog
ASU star Brett Wallace gives us the skinny from a potential draftee’s perspective on the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.

http://08draft.mlblogs.com/

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080529&content_id=2793458&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws

this draft cheapness has gone too damn far…

8) Kyle Skipworth, C, California HS [stats]
86) Jordan Danks, OF, Texas [2008 stats]
120) Tim Fedroff, OF, UNC [2008 stats]
150) Matt Daly, RHP, Hawaii [stats]

new mock drafts? By the way, i’m with Cheat, I would have taken Matusz.