MOD Giants #3

Tanner English: RHH, CF, St. James HS, Murrels Inlet, So. Carolina (5’10", 165) (DOB=3/11/93)
The little guy with the big, big tools. Think Gary Brown with more power and a howitzer for an arm. English already has 3 plus tools and the likely potential to develop a plus hit tool as he matures. This slightly-built kid’s main tool is his + speed – he has run the 60 in as little as 6.37 seconds, and has been timed from home to 1B in as fast as 3.55 seconds – from the RH batter’s box. Not far behind is his + arm (we’re talking Tim Lincecum freak arm here – speeds approaching 100 mph from the OF). He is also a plus defender in CF, and he can consistently center-up the ball with the barrel of his bat (he hit .438 this season with 5 HRs). He’s also a tough SOB – check out this catch he made against the CF fence earlier this season:
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/14636445/athlete-of-the-week-tanner-english

He’s a Univ. of South Carolina commit, and will probably take a relatively large overslot bonus to sign him away.

live game collage and interview: Spring 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVkAKfyYzLc&feature=related

Q&A interview – Dec. 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jco0SBqnfE

live game – March 2011 – HS tournament – English is wearing #2 in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2e996f5UhI&feature=related

Live AB: May 18, 2011 – English hits a HR in state playoff game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5sqwMq6jQg&feature=related

Joe Panik: LHH, SS/2B, St. John’s Univ., (6’1", 190) (DOB=?? he’s 20 right now)
He has a medium build, thicker around the middle, that is unlikely to yield much more strength and power as he matures in the next few years. He shows fringe above-average range at SS, but his arm is slighlty below-average and will certainly require a move to 2B going forward. He shows above-average speed (getting from home-to-first in around 4.15 sec.) and uses it to display his well above-average basestealing tool. He shows excellent baseball smarts in the field, at the plate, and on the basepaths. His batting-eye and ability to make consistent hard contact is well above-average. He strikeout rates have remained very low throughout his college career, especially when compared to his BB-rates. On the negative side, Panik has never faced a high level of competition, or a high level of ptiching, throughout his college career.

Panik has a sweet LH swing that is compact and adaptable. It should serve him well as he develops into a gap-to-gap line drive machine in pro ball. He starts with a very wide and balanced stance that is neither open or closed. His hands start in front of his left shoulder and just slightly above shoulder level, with his right elbow cocked and almost parallel to the ground. His bat starts out in the vertical position, with the bat-head tilting slightly behind his back. Panik uses a slight rearward weight shift and a quick toe-tap to trigger his swing. He then brings his hands back and down a bit while cocking his wrists. As he starts his weight forward, he plants the heel of hisright foot and gets a powerful hip rotation. As he rotates through, his front leg remains straight his right toes lift into the air, and his right heel acts as a pivot point. That’s a bit of a worry going forward, as it could easily lead to causing Panik to lean too far back with his upper body and hips and make his swing plane become more of an uppercut. He has basically no stride during his swing, so all of his power comes from weight shift, hip rotation, and wrist snap. There’s very few moving parts to his swing, so he shouldn’t need to make many adjustments when he gets out of synch.

Panik came to the attention of the national scouts after putting up the following stats in his sophomore season of 2010, while starting at SS for St. Johns:
.374/.477/.621/1.098 with 2B=18, 3B=4, HR=10

He spent the summer of 2010 in the Cape Cod League playing with wood bats, where he was named to the All-Star team.
He hit .276/.386/.372 with AB=145, H=40, 2B=8, HR=2, BB=20 (11.8%), K=12 (7.1%), SB=11 for 11

Panik has been one of the few college hitters that has been able to excel and improve on his already good production at the plate during the 2011 season, despite the change to the deader college bats.
2011 regular season college stats:
.402/.513/.645/1.158 with AB=214, wOBA=.499, H=86, 2B=19, 3B=3, HR=9, BB=42 (15.7%), K=22 (8.2%), SB=21 of 25 (84%)

I don’t think that he has the arm or range (to a lesser extent) to stick at SS in the pros, but what he does have should allow him to be a well above-average defender at 2B. When you add in his plus hit tool, bat control, speed and baseball smarts then I think he has the potential to be a perennial all-star at 2B in the majors, and I guy that could hit anywhere from #1 to #3 in the batting order. He should be a good value starting in the 2nd round, and should be a fairly easy sign.

live ABs – April 2010, vs. West Virginia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgIkutnDO64

live ABs – March 2011, vs. Holy Cross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJcPXoJcUQg&feature=related

live ABs – April 2011, vs. Seton Hall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68HMwE4pEdk&feature=related

Jason Esposito: RHH, 3B, Vanderbilt (6’2", 205) (DOB=7/19/90)
I don’t see him falling this far, but I’d take Esposito here in the late 2nd round if he was still on the board. Esposito failed in his early-season conversion attempt at SS for Vandy, but he plays well above-average D at 3B, with an above-average arm. He has a projectable frame that is very likely to grow into a prototypical pro 3B body over the next few years as he continues to mature. Although, he does have to watch that he doesn’t get too big and bulky. I haven’t been very impressed with his bat control, batting eye, and abiltiy to consistently square-up the ball in the several times that I’ve seen him play on TV in the past 1.5 years. He has the necessary bat-speed to develop above-average power at 3B, but needs to improve his plate discipline and ability to consistently square up the ball. He is sneaky-fast, but he won’t be a base-stealer or speed guy in the pros. Esposito doesn’t turn 21 until the middle of July, so he is on the young side for his college draft class.

Esposito did surprise me with the stats that he was able to post with the new dead bats in college this year. But his HRs were down significantly from 2010 (7 vs. 12). Here’s a look at his final regular season college stats:
.352/.419/.543/.963 with AB=230, wOBA=.421, H=81, 2B=21, 3B=1, HR=7, BB=15 (5.7%), K=37 (14.1%), SB=14 of 24 (58%)

Michael Kelly, RHP, W. Boca Raton HS, Boynton Bch, FL (6’5" 195) (DOB=9/6/92)

Kelly has fallen quite a bit in most rankings in the last 2-3 months due to a HS season that didn’t produce the gains and highlights that most scouts had projected for him. He is skinny, but possesses a projectable frame with long legs and arms, and a high waist. This kid isn’t done growing. He throws a 4-seam FB that sits at 91-93 mph, and has often touched 95, this Spring. It has late life and a nice hop. His 2-seam FB has nice movement, but he’s had a tough time keeping it in the strike zone. He also has a slightly above-average curveball that shows depth and a tight break, and a developing changeup that he rarely throws but does show some feel for when he does. His mechanics could be improved to give him even more velocity and repeatability in the future. I don’t like that he doesn’t get full extension with his arm behind his back at the beginning of his delivery. This keeps his arm from forming a smooth and full arm-circle during the delivery. I think that is also why he sometime short-arms the ball and ends up leading with his elbow. This results in him not always keeping on top of the ball, getting a downward plane, and getting full extension.

On the plus side, he throws with a loose and easy motion, showing very good arm-speed. His flaws seem very correctable, and it’s encouraging that he can throw with the velocity that he does despite his mechanical flaws and lack of physical maturity. Kelly is an outstanding athlete. When he’s not pitching he mans 3B for his team (a favorite to win that Florida state championship at the end of April) and ended the regular season with a .382 average and 4 HRs. His teammates include top-rated SS Tyler Greene who is widely predicted to go in the first 2 rounds of the upcoming MLB draft. Kelly ended the regular season with a 5-1 record, a 1.28 ERA, and 68 K’s in 43.2 innings of work. Kelly has pitched the past 2 seasons at the top level of Florida HS baseball, against the biggest and best teams, and for one of the best teams in the state.

He is a Univ. of Florida commit. Picking Kelly in round 2 probably carries a high degree of risk, as he’s likely to take the trip for 3 years at the Univ. of Florida unless the Giants are ready to shell out late-first round money to sign him (I’m only guessing here).

VID CLIPS:

warmups – AFLAC All-American Classic – San Diego 8.15.10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa3UYS1s75Q

vid 2: warmups – AFLAC All-American Classic – San Diego 8.15.10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvJZOeQXiac&feature=related

Aaron Westlake: LHH, 1B/LF, Vanderbilt (6’4" 230) (DOB=12/27/88)

Bats L, throws R. Westlake has a big, projectable frame with a sweet LH swing. He has projectable power, and the ability to play at least average D in LF. His K-rate is a bit higher than I like to see, but he balances that with good power production and a great BB-rate. His BB-rates show that he clearly knows how to be selective and patient at the plate, and he’s been quite a selective and patient hitter the handful of times that I’ve seen him play on TV this season.

He’s not as smart and athletic as Brandon Belt was in college, but I can see some definite similarities between the 2 guys when they were both in their junior years of college. Westlake could easily end up being one of the best college bats from this year’s draft 3 or 4 year’s down the line.
2011 regular season stats:
.356/.473/.620/1.094 with AB=216, wOBA=.469, H=77, 2B=16, 3B=1, HR=13, BB=41 (15.5%), K=47 (17.8%), SB=2 of 6 (33.3%)

Westlake reminds me of Brandon Belt. Like, a lot. I really like English though, and would take him here.

Panik
English
Westlake
Espo
Kelly

Any other guys we should be looking at here? I’m going to keep banging the Noe Ramirez drum until someone starts listening to me.