John's Favorite Hitting Prospect: Brandon Wood

John's Favorite Top Hitting Prospect: Brandon Wood

I love Angels shortstop prospect Brandon Wood. Not because of his 51 doubles, or his 43 homers, or his 115 RBI, or his .321 average, or his .672 slugging percentage at Rancho Cucamonga. And not because of his early Arizona Fall League performance: .5-for-17 (.294) with three homers.

No, I like Wood for purely selfish and personal reasons.

As many of you know, each season I do a "Shadow Draft" parallel to the real draft, where I pretend I'm the Minnesota Twins and do my own draft in real time with the actual draft. It's a useful intellectual exercise, forcing me to research lots of players, and it's fun, too. Here is my Shadow Draft from 2003.

2003

1. Brandon Wood, SS, Horizon HS, Scottsdale, Arizona
   
2. *Scott Baker, RHP, Oklahoma State University
   
3. Tony Richie, C, Florida State University
   
4. Eddie Kim, 1B, James Madison University
   
5. Jeff Cook, OF, University of Southern Mississippi
   
6. Luke Appert, 2B, University of Minnesota
   
7. Daryl Thompson, RHP, La Plata HS, La Plata, Maryland
   
8. Jamie Vermilyea, RHP, University of New Mexico
   
10. Tila Reynolds, SS, University of Washington
    
12. Michael Brown, OF, College of William and Mary
    
13. Jose Cortez, C, University of Pomona-Pitzer
    
14. Mikela Olsen, OF, Sacramento State University
    
15. Greg Conden, RHP, George Washington University
    
17. Matthew Pali, OF, Florida Atlantic University
    
18. Ed Maysonet, SS, Delta State University
    
19. Leo Rosales, RHP, Cal State Northridge
    
20. Travis Garcia, SS, Iona College
    
22. D'Ante Brinkley, OF, Southwest Missouri State University
    
23. Josh Sharpless, RHP, Allegheny College
    
24. Antoin Gray, 3B, Southern University
    
28. Chad Prosser, SS, University of North Carolina
    
32. Frank Scott, SS, Florida A&M University
    
33. Ben Morgan, OF, Florida A&M University
    
34. Evan Zupancic, OF, Tufts University
    
35. Tyson Hanish, SS, University of Northern Iowa
    
36. Josh Bolen, OF, University of Louisville
    
37. Heath Anderson, C, Pensacola JC
    
39. Jesse Collins, C, University of North Florida
    
41. John Rumsey, OF, San Diego Mesa JC
    
43. Travis Kalin, SS, Bishop Moore HS, Orlando, FL
    
44. Larry Jones, OF, Baldwin County HS, Minette, Alabama

I picked Wood in the first round instead of actual Twins pick Matt Moses after comparing them on video. It looked to me like Wood had a lot more power potential and offensive ability than the scouts thought. I loved his swing and his bat speed and his athleticism, and he just looked like a better player to me than Moses did.

I've been doing this Shadow Draft since 1993, and I've made my share of bonehead mistakes. But I'm extremely happy that I picked Wood. For purely selfish reasons, he is my current favorite minor league prospect.