Fort Myers and Tampa are pretty much all we have early on today. Jesus Montero is 2-3 with a 2B and Ben Revere, who has more steals than strikeouts so far this year, is 2-4 and pushing .400 for May. Deolis Guerra pitched six scoreless.

Other starters to look for later -

Wade Davis, Carlos Carrasco, Jay Jackson, Scott Elbert, Jordan Walden, Mat Latos, Scott Barnes, Trevor Harden, Blake Beaven, Mark Rogers, Jeff Allison, Dan McDaniel, Simon Castro, Trey Haley, Gregory Infante, Hector Noesi, Wilmer Font

MILB Scoreboard

Post away.

Brett Myers is seeking out a second opinion on his hip, which forced him to exit his last start, and will, more than likely, force him to miss at least one surgery. The initial diagnosis seemed to indicate that surgery would be required to repair his labrum, which would obviously cost him a bulk of the remainder of the season, if not all of it. With the Phillies most currently hyped (maybe?) pitching prospects, Drabek and Knapp, both in A ball, how do you think they would replace Myers in the rotation? Feel free to discuss trade possibilities as well.

With 19% of the vote, Indiana RHP, Eric Arnett, is the #23 pick in our community mock draft. The draft recap is below.  On the board now are the Los Angeles Angels.

ON THE CLOCK: Los Angeles Angels (#1-21) 

DRAFT RECAP- Round 1:

1-1 (Washington Nationals): Stephen Strasburg, RHP, SDSU

1-2 (Seattle Mariners): Dustin Ackley, 1B/CF, UNC

1-3 (San Diego Padres): Grant Green, SS, USC

1-4 (Pittsburgh Pirates): Alex White, RHP, UNC

1-5 (Baltimore Orioles): Aaron Crow, RHP, Ft. Worth Cats

1-6 (San Francisco Giants): Donovan Tate, OF, Cartersville HS (GA)

1-7 (Atlanta Braves): Zack Wheeler, RHP, East Paulding HS (GA)

1-8 (Cincinnati Reds): Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri

1-9 (Detroit Tigers): Tyler Matzek, LHP, Capistrano Valley HS (CA)

1-10 (Washington Nationals): Tanner Scheppers, RHP, St. Paul Saints

1-11 (Colorado Rockies): Mike Leake, RHP, Arizona State

 1-12 (Kansas City Royals): Matt Purke, LHP, Klein HS (TX)

1-13 (Oakland Athletics): Shelby Miller, RHP, Brownwood HS (TX)

1-14 (Texas Rangers): Jacob Turner, RHP, Westminster Christian Academy (MO)

1-15 (Cleveland Indians): Rex Brothers, LHP, Lipscomb

1-16 (Arizona Diamondbacks): Andy Oliver, LHP, Oklahoma State

1-17 (Arizona Diamondbacks): Tim Wheeler, OF, Sacramento State

1-18 (Florida Marlins): Bobby Borchering, 3B, Bishop Verot HS (FL)

1-19 (St. Louis Cardinals): James Paxton, LHP, Kentucky

1-20 (Toronto Blue Jays): Mike Trout, OF, Millville HS (NJ)

1-21 (Houston Astros): Chad James, LHP, Yukon HS (OK)

1-22 (Minnesota Twins): Jiovanni Mier, SS, Bonita HS (CA)

1-23 (Chicago White Sox): Eric Arnett, RHP, Indiana

1-24 (Los Angeles Angels): On the Clock)

1-25 (Los Angeles Angels):

1-26 (Milwaukee Brewers):

1-27 (Seattle Mariners):

1-28 (Boston Red Sox):

1-29 (New York Yankees):

1-30 (Tampa Bay Rays):

1-31 (Chicago Cubs):

1-32 (Colorado Rockies

Keep in mind who you think a team will draft.  There's 10 players here and about 24 hours for the poll.  Suggest anyone you would like.  Converse.

Any word on where he is at in the healing process and when he is expected to return?

As a side note, to try to get enough words to get this post out there, Christian Freidrich appears to have been promoted to High-A finally. 

Also, any word or thoughts on when teams would be promoting Yonder Alonso to Double-A, Desmond Jennings to Triple-A or Buster Posey to somewhere with more than 1 A in it? 

And yes, I am shamelessly trying to get more info on my keeper league minor leaguers!

Justin Smoak, 1B TEX

Michael Stanton, OF FLA

Curious to hear your thoughts on this. 

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I know everyone's been waiting with baited breath, but here it finally is: the second MOD for the Tigers. So I have my board for the first nine picks pretty settled, and I have a few players I'm considering for my round two and round three picks. So I'll put everything I have below and try to summarize my thoughts at the end.


Just a friendly heads up: I'm not running this draft as what I think David Chadd would do. In reality, expect the Tigers to draft pitchers. Lots of pitchers. Myself, I'm after position players with upside and safer college pitchers. I tend to avoid HS pitchers with high picks, but if forced, I'll go with athletic guys with good makeup and mechanics, but I prefer doing that in later rounds. The lack of prep pitchers in my top 9 is mostly due to injury concerns- this draft is very important to the health of the Tigers, and I'm (perhaps irrationally) concerned with this first rounder getting derailed by injuries.


First Round: Pick #9
1. Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State: He won't be here, but he's number 1 on my board.

2. Dustin Ackley, OF, UNC: See Strasburg. If he falls though, he's mine.

3. Grant Green, SS, USC: Okay, this is probably an unusual place for Green for a lot of you. But as far as I see it, he's performed very well in college, well enough to put him into the first round. Sure, he's struggled this year. But he's also got a decently high floor- he's probably going to make the Bigs, even if he isn't a star. And there's the upside of Tulowitzki/Longoria somewhere in Green that the Tigers could really use. Bottom line: there's no way I let Grant Green get past me at #9.

4. Aaron Crow, RHP, Indy Ball: To me, Crow is the second best RHP in the draft after Strasburg. I'm not worried about Scott Boras signability concerns, and I'm willing to pay what it takes unlike the Nationals.

5. Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri: Sure, he may not have the upside of some of the prep pitchers, but he's a solid choice in this draft and still has a bit of potential to be something beyond a #3.

6. Shelby Miller, RHP, Texas HS: Great fastball, good curveball, but it's his athleticism and (apparently) good mechanics that win me over. He's a tossup with Gibson at #5.

7. Alex White, RHP, UNC: He's been worked pretty hard, but he's still a pretty good pitcher with some upside. It's the apparent overuse at UNC that bugs me about him, and the reason I don’t have him slotted higher.

8. Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Indy Ball: The injury problems terrify me- the Tigers can't afford to have this pick implode- but that stuff is just too much to ignore. So I'd be willing to roll the dice on Scheppers.

9. Tim Wheeler, OF, Sacramento St.: A bit of a reach at #9, and probably interchangeable with Tyler Matsek. To be honest, though, I prefer the college OF to the HS lefty with questionable mechanics.

 

Second Round: Pick #55

These are just some players I'm considering in no particular order.

-Austin Bailey, C, GA: He's a project, and probably an expensive one at that. But there's major potential here, and if Mike Illich is willing to pay, it's a worthy risk. To be honest, every time I look at my second round board, I see Bailey sitting there and I know it's going to be very hard resisting picking him.

- David Holmberg, LHP, Florida HS: He's a projectable lefty, and probably expensive, but he's a pretty good bet for a HS pitcher. Advanced enough to be put on a decent development schedule, he's a good value in the second provided he can be lured away from Florida.

-Brody Colvin: RHP, Louisiana HS: Boy, I hope he falls to the second. Great arm, iffy command- big risk and big reward.

- Chris Dwyer, LHP, Clemson: Another risk-reward type arm.

 

Third Round: Pick #89

Some more players I'm considering.

-Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville: He's a power hitting 3B with not a lot of other skills. But he sounds a bit like a Joe Crede/Josh Fields type, and for a third round pick, that's not a bad guy to get. He's also cheap, which should help if I go for Green and Bailey or something like that.

-Jake Cowan, RHP, TX JUCO: This one's thanks to Andy Seiler (well, okay, most of this is thanks to Andy, but this player in particular is worth highlighting). A projectable righty in a JUCO program that's still getting results is worth looking at, and Cowan is just that.

-Andrew Doyle, RHP, Oklahoma: He looks to go around #89 on the BA draft sheet, but I can't find out much about the kid. Looks like a decent RHP out of a good college school.

 

Right, so this is what I'm thinking right now. Help would be appreciated, especially with later round players (I'm still a rookie and am kinda clueless with second and third rounders).

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Mayo: Projecting the first 20 picks

1. Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State
Was, is, and will continue to be the top guy.

2. Seattle Mariners: Dustin Ackley, 1B/OF, North Carolina
As stated above, this continues to make sense. The only thing that could change it would be a money issue, though the M's continue to scout some of the advanced arms, like Aaron Crow.

3. San Diego Padres: Mike Minor, LHP, Vanderbilt
It sounds like there's a split in Padres-town, with some wanting the college lefty and some wanting the toolsy high school outfielder Donavan Tate. Aaron Crow continues to be scouted heavily here as well. There wasn't enough to change the pick ... yet.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates: Aaron Crow, RHP, Fort Worth Cats
The Pirates aren't definitely taking a pitcher, but with the strength of the Draft being on the mound, it does make some sense. Their general manager was at Crow's last outing, along with some other GMs who will be picking in the top 10. The other side of that coin, of course, is that the Pirates could take a bat here, thinking the pitching depth will extend to their sandwich-round pick and beyond. If that's the case, USC shortstop Grant Green is in the mix.
Last week's projection: Alex White

5. Baltimore Orioles: Zack Wheeler, RHP, East Paulding HS, Dallas, Ga.
The thinking is still pitching here, and some of the college arms are probably still in the mix. But the Orioles have really been on some of the top high school arms, namely Jacob Turner, from Missouri, and Wheeler. Like the Pirates, it's possible Green is still being discussed. With rumored bonus demands following Turner right now, we'll go with the seemingly more signable Wheeler.
Last week's projection: Crow

In a leaque that is very up to date on the farms, I have been searching the minors for that deep deep sleeper pitching prospect. Brought up Hernandez and Weiters and have two spots available. To give you an ideal of where in the pecking order I have to chose from Wily Peralta was my last pick up. I am really looking for arms as I cleaned house in the last draft as far as batters are concerned.

I've put this off long enough and it's time to revisit the issue of who to draft in the upcoming mock. The Pirates have picks: 4, 49, 53 and 84.

With the #4 pick, I'd still very much like Jacob Turner or Tyler Matzek, but the recent reports make that scenario unlikely. There are rumors that the Pirates will go cheap (Wil Myers or Brian Borchering) in hopes of saving money to sign Sano. I'm not fond of this idea at all, and I'd personally rather pick a hard to sign 1st rounder in case Sano falls through. If they decide to go cheap, I'd rather have Wheeler or Leake, but it doesn't make the plan much more palatable. Of the college pitchers, my favorite is Alex White.

I'm still looking at an easy signing for the #49 pick (since it isn't protected). I'm hoping a solid college starter slides to this point.

The next 2 picks will be the best available, and I'd like to grab one of the HS catchers there.

Any input is welcomed, and I still need a deputy.

Starting pitchers to look for today include -

Tom Glavine (nostalgia?), Antonio Bastardo, Homer Bailey, Michael Bowden, Dana Eveland, Luke Hochevar, Jake Arrieta (in progress, 3-3-0-2-1), Juinichi Tazawa (in progress, 1-0-0-0-3), Jarrod Parker, Kasey Kiker, Juan "JC" Ramirez, Michael Main, Jeremy Jeffress, Michael Montgomery, Matt Fairel, Anthony Bass, Gregory Infante.

MILB Scoreboard

Poll for today ... after roughly 50 games in the minors, Gordon Beckham has already made it to Triple-A. And with the struggles of guys like Getz and Fields, it makes you wonder just how fast Beckham's track to the majors will be. In his AAA debut today, he's at 3B. When will he debut?

Post away.