Pre-Season College Top 100 Draft Prospects

by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 8:00 AM EST

This year's college crop is a little thin. The top has a sure fire SS that can hit, a solid back stop, several power arms and a couple power hitting outfielders but none of them project as sure fire stars. This list is slanted towards the players I have seen more and this list will be fluid up to the draft when I post my final big board prior to the draft.

Rank	Name	POS	College
1	Deven Marrero	SS	Arizona State
2	Kevin Gausman	P	LSU
3	Michael Zunino	C	Florida
4	Mark Appel	P	Stanford
5	Victor Roache	OF	Georgia Southern

Rank	Name	POS	College
6	Adam Brett Walker	OF	Jacksonville
7	Jake Barrett	P	Arizona State
8	Brian Johnson	P	Florida
9	Christian Walker	1B	South Carolina
10	Michael Wacha	P	Texas A&M
11	Chris Beck	P	Georgia Southern
12	Brady Rodgers	P	Arizona State
13	Sam Stafford	P	Texas
14	Stephen Piscotty	3B	Stanford
15	Marcus Stroman	P	Duke
16	Nolan Sanburn	OF	Arkansas
17	Tyler Naquin	OF	Texas A&M
18	Nolan Fontana	SS	Florida
19	Dane Phillips	C	Oklahoma City
20	Preston Tucker	1B	Florida
21	Richie Shaffer	1B	Clemson
22	Lex Rutledge	P	Samford
23	Stefan Sabol	C	Orange Coast
24	Branden Kline	P	Virginia
25	D.J. Baxendale	P	Arkansas
26	Austin Maddox	P	Florida
27	Peter O'Brien	C	Miami
28	Kenny Diekroeger	SS	Stanford
29	Jake Stewart	OF	Stanford
30	Trey Griffin	OF	Santa Fe CC
31	Travis Jankowski	OF	Stony Brook
32	Logan Ehlers	P	Howard
33	Eric Jaffe	P	UCLA
34	Kyle Zimmer	P	San Francisco
35	Andrew Heaney	P	Oklahoma State
36	Sam Selman	P	Vanderbilt
37	Adam Matthews	OF	South Carolina
38	Hoby Milner	P	Texas
39	Clayton Crum	P	Howard
40	Jeremy Baltz	OF	St. Johns
41	Jake Elander	C	TCU
42	James Ramsay	OF	Florida State
43	Brett Mooneyham	P	Stanford
44	Jason Coats	OF	TCU
45	Matt Price	P	South Carolina
46	Hudson Randall	P	Florida
47	Derek Dennis	SS	Michigan
48	Buck Farmer	P	Georgia Tech
49	Brian Adams	OF	Kentucky
50	Andrew Aplin	OF	Arizona State
51	Tyler Gaffney	OF	Stanford
52	Dylan Floro	P	Cal State Fullerton
53	Eduardo Encinosa	P	Miami
54	Stephen Perez	SS	Miami
55	Kevin Brady	P	Clemson
56	Michael Palazzone	P	Georgia
57	Damien Magnifico	P	Oklahoma
58	Justin Gonzalez	SS	Florida State
59	Blake Hauser	P	Virginia Commonwealth
60	J.T. Chargois	P	Rice
61	Kyle Hansen	P	St. John's
62	Mac Williamson	OF	Wake Forest
63	Kevin Koziol	SS	Parkland
64	Taylor Dugas	OF	Alabama
65	Justin Jones	P	California
66	Matt Koch	P	Louisville
67	Max Muncy	1B	Baylor
68	Taylor Ard	1B	Washington State
69	Steve Nyisztor	2B	No Team
70	Ian Gardeck	P	Alabama
71	Brandon Thomas	OF	Georgia Tech
72	Austin Nola	SS	LSU
73	Evan Marzilli	OF	South Carolina
74	Ryan Garvey	OF	Riverside CC
75	Krey Bratsen	OF	Texas A&M
76	Christopher Triplett	2B	Chipola (Fla.) JC
77	Stephen Bruno	SS	Virginia
78	Michael Yastrzemski	OF	Vanderbilt
79	Tony Renda	SS	California
80	Josh Conway	P	Coastal Carolina
81	Mason Melotaikis	P	Northwestern State
82	Jayce Boyd	1B	Florida State
83	L.J. Mazzilli	2B	Connecticut
84	Jabari Henry	OF	Florida International
85	Taylor Sandefur	P	Western Carolina
86	Kyle Wren	OF	Georgia Tech
87	Tom Murphy	C	Buffalo
88	Brando Tessar	P	Oregon
89	Scott Hoffman	P	South Mountain
90	Blake Forslund	P	Liberty
91	Adrian Sampson	P	Bellevue CC
92	Zac Elgie	1B	Kansas
93	Taylor Wall	P	Rice
94	Alex Wood	P	Georgia
95	John Magliozzi	P	Florida
96	Hunter Renfroe	C	Meridian CC
97	Beau Amaral	SS	UCLA
98	Mallex Smith	OF	Santa Fe
99	Hommy Rosado	C/1B	LSU-Eunice
100	Andrew Rash	OF	Virginia Tech

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Comments

You should add an explination as to why

you think Marrero is number one?

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by 306008 on Jan 25, 2012 9:35 AM EST reply actions

Certainly

More explanation/discussion would be useful for those of us who don’t pay as much attention to the college game. I’m not sure if this is something better done in a ranking list, or in other articles, but I would like to see some analysis at some stage.

by A Behemoth on Jan 25, 2012 9:42 AM EST up reply actions

+1

by Gorilla on Jan 25, 2012 10:36 AM EST up reply actions

I will be

doing more detailed write ups throughout the college season. This is just kind of an intro prior to the season. I’m hoping to contribute here a couple times a week with info on college players, high school and even some international signing info.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 10:39 AM EST up reply actions

Gotcha

Definitely a bit controversial of a top 5 so I’m looking forward to hearing your reasoning!

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by OremLK on Jan 25, 2012 7:14 PM EST up reply actions

I see him

as a gold glove type of defender that should hit .280 or better and could hit 10-15 HR’s. That’s a 5 WAR or better type of player and a top 5-10 SS in the majors. He could be there by late 2014 or earlier if a team wants to rush his bat.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 10:41 AM EST up reply actions

If Marrero is #1

Where would he have fitted in last year’s list?

Also, are there clear tiers in this list at all? For example, last year’s draft probably had one tier of the top 6, and another with Bradley and Lindor, and then one from 9 to wherever, and so on.

by A Behemoth on Jan 25, 2012 9:40 AM EST reply actions

+1

I agree. It would better help if the players were flighted in your opinion as to their MLB impact if they achieve their floor/ceiling, Star, Regular, Bench, AAAA, etc.

by team name deleted on Jan 25, 2012 9:47 AM EST up reply actions

The tiers will shake

out more as the season goes on. Right now there are a solid top 4, after that it kind of blends together. Overall, it is a very weak college crop.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 10:44 AM EST up reply actions

Marrero

would have been the best college SS and would have fit in the top tier of last years draft. Gausman on the other hand would probably be in the next tier along with Jungmann, Gray, Barnes, Bradley.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 10:52 AM EST up reply actions

I like Gausman and Appel more than that batch

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by Jeff Reese on Jan 25, 2012 11:21 AM EST up reply actions

Walker

Wow you are really high on Walker. I love the guy, and have seen him play since his HS days in Milwaukee, but I have not seen anyone else with him ranked in the top 10, let alone top 50.

He had an awful summer last year in the Cape and unless he can fill some of the holes in his swing, his big body will limit his upside.

by backtocali on Jan 25, 2012 10:08 AM EST reply actions

I didn't hear

that he even played on the cape. After breaking his wrist and still playing in the CWS, I figured he would have took the summer to heal.
He is a sweet swinging hitter that has power potential. If it goes right, he could be a Billy Butler type of guy with more athleticism and ability at 1B. That said, he wouldn’t rank this high if the class were deeper and there were more proven hitters.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 10:49 AM EST up reply actions

Think he's talking about Adam Brett, not Christian

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by Jeff Reese on Jan 25, 2012 11:19 AM EST up reply actions

That makes sense

sorry, I am high on him. Maybe more than I should be but there isn’t much power potential available in the draft this year. He played well last college season and maybe he was just out of gas when he got to the Cape. I know he has a lot of swing and miss to him, but so did George Springer last year and he went very high.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

Thanks for the replies

It’s been very helpful. One of the reasons I’m interested is for fantasy purposes – one of the leagues I play in allows people to choose college and high school guys, although it’s usually only the elite guys who get chosen pre-draft (last year Cole, Rendon and Starling went, for example). I’m getting the impression that there’s nobody of that level available this year – is there anyone out there with a really high ceiling, even if he’s less likely to reach it?

by A Behemoth on Jan 25, 2012 11:49 AM EST reply actions

For fantasy

purposes, I wouldn’t look past the top 5. Marrero is more glove than bat, Gausman and Appel have #2 ceilings but both have their issues. Roache is a power hitting OF with middle of the order potential but OF is pretty deep. I’d look at Zunino seriously because a power hitting catcher could be very valuable. He’s the guy I’d think hard about. He should be a B+ type prospect and in the top 50 next year.

The high school crop is really good this year, though. I’ll be posting that later this week or early next week. There are some draftable players there but they won’t impact as quickly.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 12:02 PM EST up reply actions

If

If you are picking sometime soon, go with Zunino in the college route. Has a chance to be a stud behind the dish.

But if you are also including HS, look at Byron Buxton and Nick Williams. Both athletic, high upside outfielders.

by bkmhoxx on Jan 27, 2012 9:54 PM EST up reply actions

I’ve heard about Appel being the potential #1 pick in this year’s draft. What’s causing his stock to drop?

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by Frag on Jan 25, 2012 2:11 PM EST reply actions

That is

If his stock was that high in your mind to begin with.

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by Frag on Jan 25, 2012 2:14 PM EST up reply actions

Appel vs. Gausman

Is kind of this year’s version of Cole vs. Hultzen. One has a higher ceiling and a lower floor, while the other is much more likely to give you MLB value, and quickly.
If Appel comes out and dominates this year, he will be number one. If not, he could drop like Ranaudo or Purke from past drafts.

by cookiedabookie on Jan 25, 2012 2:32 PM EST up reply actions

I think you're trying to hard to find a parallel

Appel is comparable to Cole, but Gausman is a lot different from Hultzen. He too has a huge ceiling: he throws gas; is projectable; shows feel for a good split-change; and flashes a couple of good breaking balls. Hultzen had significantly more pitchability and command (than both of them).

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by Jeff Reese on Jan 25, 2012 3:05 PM EST up reply actions

Fair enough

by cookiedabookie on Jan 25, 2012 3:24 PM EST up reply actions

I wouldn't say it's slipping.

I just don’t like him as much as I like Gausman. I have preferred him since high school so I may be biased towards him. I’ve seen Appel several times and he flashed brilliance but was inconsistent. Gausman is in the same boat with lack of consistency. I just think he is more likely to take the next step.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 3:58 PM EST up reply actions

Brian Adams

He was a pretty big disappoint for my Cats on the football field this year. It looks like he’s a good enough prospect that he should just focus on baseball. He certainly looks athletic.

by KDH2011 on Jan 25, 2012 3:08 PM EST reply actions

Yeah

he isn’t a great baseball player. It’s just the athleticism is there that he could be. He has a good eye at the plate but contact is an issue. I think he could take off if he concentrated on baseball.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 3:53 PM EST up reply actions

A little surprised Brandon Thomas is so low

He seems to put up really good numbers and from what i’ve read, has really solid tools

like the nolan fontana rating, so many people seem to overlook him on the offensive side of the ball

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by guessatomo on Jan 25, 2012 3:55 PM EST reply actions

i mean "I like" the rating

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by guessatomo on Jan 25, 2012 3:57 PM EST up reply actions

I wasn't impressed

by what I saw last season from Thomas. He’s athletic with all the tools to move up this list. His bat looked slow and he didn’t look good. That’s not to say that he couldn’t move into 1st round consideration with a really good showing.

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by Matt Garrioch on Jan 25, 2012 4:03 PM EST up reply actions

Rice

As a Rice fan, I’m pretty surprised to see Taylor Wall in your top 100. He struggled much of last year and is lucky to hit 90 mph. I think 5 or 6 other Rice guys are all better prospects than him, and should at least get top 100 college consideration:
(1) Sr. RHP Matthew Reckling (11.0 K/9 last year, to go along with 5.5 BB/9; 22nd round pick in 2011; throws in the low 90’s and has a good hammer curve, but obviously some control issues);
(2) Jr. RHP Tyler Duffey (11.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 pitching out of relief in 2010, throws hard and has good breaking ball);
(3) Sr. OF Jeremy Rathjen (blew out his knee early last year, but showed improved power & patience in spring & fall intrasquads before injury; Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 he hit a combined .420/.469/.622 in 130 PA against Rice pitching; 41st round pick last year despite blown out knee);
(4) Jr. IN/OF Michael Ratterree (played 2nd base in 2010 & 2011, but kind of got in his own head with errors in 2011 and has moved to OF; showed decent power and speed in past, can be very streaky);
(5) Sr. OF Michael Fuda (played through injuries last year and his offensive numbers look BAD because of it, but has some pop and very fast; plate discipline and injuries holding him back).

Despite some inconsistent performances by these guys, I think all are better pro prospects than Wall. Reckling, Duffey, and Rathjen deserve top 100 consideration, though Duffey might be the only one who could be there now based on stuff and past performance.

by mymrbig on Jan 26, 2012 12:32 PM EST reply actions