John, thank you.

Overall I am happy with how my draft turned out. The one pick I am not enamored with in hindsight is Yonder Alonso. I think I got too wrapped up in what Giants fans wanted on the various blogs I visited, rather than who I truly thought was the best pick.

I really wanted Hosmer or Smoak and both were picked in the two spots before my pick.

14: Brett Wallace, 3B, Arizona St.
27: Reese Havens, SS, South Carolina
31: Ross Seaton, RHP, Texas HS
60: Tyler Sample, RHP, Colorado HS
92: Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville
126: Ryan Lavarnway, OF/C, Yale
156: Bryan Shaw, RHP, Long Beach State

24: tyson ross, RHSP, california - there’s nothing special about him,and i don’t think he’ll ever be great, but with savery and hamels likely to be in the rotation for many years to come, i think a GB inducing workhorse like ross would be a great compliment. i was close to selecting casey kelly, but i decided to just go with my instincts and take the player i liked most.

34: zach stewart, RHRP, texas tech - this pick wasn’t a reach, but with lindblom available at 71, taking stewart here wasn’t really necessary. isaac galloway would have been a much better fit.

51: zach putnam, RHSP, michigan - see tyson ross. if putnam were 4 inches taller, they’d be the same pitcher.

71: josh lindblom, RHRP, purdue - the guy i wanted here, tyson sample, was taken about 10 slots earlier. i could have taken eric thames, or wade miley here, both of whom i had rated at this position, but i decided to go with the college reliever for some reason. i’m not usually a velocity whore, but i sold out for one here.

102: scott green, RHP, kentucky - see tyson ross. if green ever develops a changeup, this would be a great value pick.

110: derrick gibson, SS, DE - ask JE.

136: BJ hermsen, RHP, IA - ask JE

166: jason knapp, RHP, NJ - ask JE

i’m pretty proud of the first 5 picks, even though i did not correctly anticipate the RP situation and i could have easily had one of eric thames or isaac galloway instead of two RPs. i don’t have nearly enough information on the last 3 to brag about landing them, but i figured they were all pretty high upside youngsters, and with the first 5 picks all being college pitchers, upside was the preeminent doctrine behind those last 3 picks.

I took over last night and did not have alot of time to see the strengths of their system so give your opinions.
1-Tanner Scheppers-RHP-Fresno St
2-Chase Davidson-1B-Georgia H.S.
3-Logan Forsythe-3b-Arkansas
4-David Duncan-LHP-Georgia Tech
5-Anthony Capra-LHP-Wichita St.

I have seen all but Capra and think those 4 all have good chances to succeed.

21. Josh Fields, RHP, Georgia
67. Jordy Mercer, SS, Oklahoma State
99. Scott Bittle, RHP, Mississippi
133. Zach Wilson, 3B, California HS
163. Ben McMahan, C, Florida HS

15. Tim Melville, RHP Missouri HS
61. Dennis Raben, OF U of Miami
93. Tyler Stovall, LHP Alabama HS
127. Javier Rodriguez, OF PR Baseball Academy
157. Dusty Coleman, SS Wichita State

I posted my thoughts over on the MOD for Marlins.

6. Buster Posey, C, FSU
52. Mike Montgomery, LHP, Hart High School, Newhall, CA
83. Jaff Decker, OF, Sunrise Mountain HS, Peoria, AZ
118. Blake Tekotte, OF, Miami

28) NY Yankees: Zach Collier, OF, California HS
44) Yankees: Anthony Ferrara, LHP, Florida HS
75) Yankees: Ricky Oropesa, 1B, California HS
106) Yankees: Ryan Westmoreland, P-OF, Rhode Island HS
140) Yankees: Keith Landers, LHP, Massachusetts HS
170) Yankees: Danny Ortiz, OF, Puerto Rico HS

Keith and I had a great draft. We drafted based on tools/stuff, frame/projection, ceiling/potential, and organizational need. We got the young OFers (Collier, Westmoreland, and Ortiz), power-hittes (Collier and Oropesa), and LHP (Ferrara and Landers). That everyone came out of HS was a coincidence, as we targeted some college guys (A. Dykstra, Mooneyham, D. Duncan, and Russell) but they didn’t fall to us. The Dykstra issue aside, I think we had one of the best drafts, if not the best draft, today.

Thoughts?

1. Aaron Hicks
2. Scott Gorge
3. Michael Palazzone
4. Cutter Dkystra
5. Preston Guilmet

Wasn’t involved, just giving my take

Cubs went

19. Gerritt Cole, RHP, California HS
41. David Cooper, 1st, California
65. Tim Murphy, LHP, UCLA
97. Aaron Weatherford, RHP, Mississippi State
131. Kyle Hudson, OF, Illinois
161. Mike McKenna, OF, Florida Atlantic

Cole - I don’t like this pick. Cole reminds me of Mark Pawelek in many respects. Furthermore, as an organization, we have not done well with kids that need mechanical work. Granted, we hired a new Minors pitching coordinator. Do I think this pick is possible? Hmm … I’ll say it probably is possible, although I’d put it at 50/50. Off the top, he doesn’t seem like the type of arm that Wilken goes after. That said, this isn’t a particularly strong draft at the top, and at that point in the draft, there aren’t many other options. Furthermore, we do work well with Boras. I think there’s a chance, based upon how the first round went, that we nab someone like Anthony Hewitt or Zach Collier there.

Cooper - Nothing personal to z4, but I don’t like this pick in any way, shape, or form,. nor do I find it realistic. A Collegiate first baseman? It doesn’t make much sense. Jovan Rosa has had a great year and will likely man first at Daytona later this year, and perhaps to start 2009. Early reports on Vitters suggest that he definitely will move off 3rd base, and that his arm might not work for the OF, so it might be 1st base for him at Peoria/Daytona. Josh Donaldson more than likely won’t be playing C long term (although that hole in his swing might make things moot). There’s other options as well. Now, I think Rosa could handle 3rd, and I’d prefer him there, but even then, the chances of Cooper jumping that quickly seems slim. I think Cooper’s a fine power bat who could go in the first, but I don’t like the pick as he can’t play anywhere else.

On a side note, I really don’t see Cooper going that low.

Murphy - Could I see it? Yeah. We seem to take a lefty every draft fairly early. We have a lot of raw arms in the lower levels, so any pitchability guy could be at High A real quick. Do I like it? No. Why? Is he a starter? I’m not sure his stuff rates there. Stuff seems fringy as a starter.

Weatherford - Could I see it? Anything’s possible, but I just don’t see why. Our system has a lot of young righty pen arms. Our big league squad isn’t in a rush for anyone, despite Weatherford having good stuff, and I think he could go higher than this. If he could start, then that’s a possibility, but the delivery makes it seem unlikely that he could make that transition, and if we have to fix him mechanically, then I’m worried.

Hudson - Bleh. Could I see it? Perhaps. I hope not, though. He is the type of athlete that Tim Wilken might like. I think 4th round is a bit high for Hudson. We do have a lot of OF’s that lack pop in the minors, though.

McKenna - I’m fine with the McKenna pick.

Overall, eh. Can’t say I’m a huge fan of this draft. Could I see it happen? I guess. That said, I’d be surprised if we don’t address middle infield sooner. Tony Thomas and Darwin Barney will likely be in Tennessee to start 09. That leaves a lot of question marks in the lower levels. Catching depth needs to be looked at potentially, as Wellington Castillo will likely be at Tennessee but he profiles more as a backup backstop, and Clevenger’s defense still needs work (and he may be Hatteberg without the pop).

On the whole, let’s just say this mock was quite surprising at the top. I won’t profess to have any more knowledge than anyone, but I don’t think the first pitcher comes off the board at 9. Much as I think Matusz has been a bit overhyped (I just don’t see ace potential), he should go high, probably top 5. Crow’s rebounded a bit, so I could see him go high as well.

I wasn’t involved with the draft, but followed it relatively closely. Overall, it seemed solid - though no pitchers going until 9th overall struck me as unrealistic.

Had lots of picks:

23. Jake Odorizzi, RHP, Illinois HS
42. Tyler Ladendorf, SS, Howard TX JC
46. Chris Carpenter, RHP, Kent State
69. Tyler Chatwood, RHP, California HS
101. Brett Hunter, RHP, Pepperdine
111. Jake Jefferies, C, UC Davis
135. Jeremy Hamilton, 1B, Wright State
165. Aaron King, LHP, Surrey CC

1. Casey Kelly, SS, Florida HS
1(s). Allan Dykstra, 1B, Wake Forest
2. Aaron Shafer, RHP, Wichita State
3. Jordan Swagerty, RHP, Texas HS
Ryan O’Sullivan, RHP, California HS
4. J.P. Ramirez, OF, Texas HS
5. Jay Jackson, RHP, Furman

Pretty pleased. No way does Kelly fall that far. Felt pretty comfortable drafting Dykstra in the sandwich round, regardless of the fact that there’s Lars Anderson within the system. Wanted to draft Putnam in the second round, but he was long gone. Like the Swagerty and O’Sullivan picks. Ramirez was a rushed one. Overall not bad.

10-Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri
38-Destin Hood, OF, Alabama HS
56-Kyle Lobstein, LHP, Arizona HS
88-Brett Marshall, RHP, Texas HS
110-Brad Hand, LHP, Minnesota HS
122-Petey Paramore, C, Arizona St
152-Dock Doyle, C, Coastal Carolina (pick by John)

Overall, I went with higher ceiling guys. It wasn’t my intention to take so many pitchers early, but I tended to like the pitchers available when my pick was coming up. I added a couple of hard-throwing righties with plus sliders, a projectable lefty in Hand, and another with potential for 3 plus pitches in Lobstein. In Hood, I grabbed a guy with great athleticism and power potential. Grabbing a catcher was something I wanted to do, but never liked the ones available at my pick, so I was glad to get Paramore in the 4th.

Overall, I feel okay for my first draft, since I wasn’t expecting to run it and didn’t have anything prepared. So, honestly how do you guys see my crop?

1) Shooter Hunt RHP Tulane
sup) Ryan Perry RHP Arizona
sup) Jarret Martin LHP California HS
2) Anthony Gose LHP/OF California HS
2) Adrian Nieto C Florida HS
2) Riccio Torrez SS Arizona HS
3) Joe Wieland RHP Nevada HS
4) Joe Loftus 3B Minnesota HS
5) John Lamb LHP California HS

I’m very happy with my draft. We were looking at Melville with the first pick but he went a few picks earlier, it turned out better for us getting a great advanced arm like Hunt who we didn’t think would be on the board. Perry has a nasty arm and could be quick help in the pen. Martin is someone I really like. Gose was a surprise for us, he was still sitting there at 53, all our targets were still on the board and they would have been overdrafts at at that spot. So Gose felt to us like an opportunistic pick, I generally don’t like the real raw toolsy guys but in this case it felt as though it was a great opportunity to pick up a high ceiling guy that can go either way, pitcher or hitter. Our other two second rounders may have been picked a little high but we only targeted a few hitters and we got them all. Nieto is a nice player at a need spot, Torrez is a hitter I really like. Wieland and Lamb are two HS arms that I think have a good chance. And Loftus is a guy who I think has a chance to be a monster offensively. My guess is he doesn’t sign, goes to Vandy and then gets drafted in the first round down the line, so I’m taking a shot at him now.

18) NY Mets: Jason Castro, C, Stanford
22) NY Mets: Ike Davis, 1B, Arizona State
33) NY Mets: Brett DeVall, LHP, Florida HS
68) Mets: Daniel Webb, RHP, Kentucky HS
100) Mets: Cody Satterwhite, RHP, Mississippi
134) Mets: Aaron Pribanic, RHP, Nebraska
164) Mets: Aaron Luna, 2B, Rice

I could only stay for three rounds so I would like to thank Acer for all he did during the draft. What made it easy was that he and I had a lot of the same philosophies on drafting. I am thrilled that the Mets were able to obtain a nice combination of college and high school, polished and raw, position players and pitchers. Castro was Acer’s top guy at #18 as soon as some of the pitchers went off the board. He is not as high on my board, but he is a catcher who can hit and looks like he could move quickly. #22 was a toss-up between Davis and Zach Collier, but in the end Davis’s polish, power potential, and position flexibility won out. At #33 there were a number of players we considered but DeVall represented a solid value and I really did not want to wait until Round 2 to land a pitcher. Connor Gillaspie was also on the radar, but with the Mets depth at 3B we decided to pass. With #68 we could not believe that Webb was available. He is raw, but has a lot of upside. At #100 Satterwhite was more of a fall-back. He has as much upside as anybody in this draft, but he has struggled to put it together on a consistent basis. Wade Miley and Aaron Weatherford were our top 2 targets at that point, but both went within 10 picks of ours. Pribanic may be better served moving to the bullpen, but he came on strong later in the year and has a nice fastball, although it could use some more movement. Rated #89 by Baseball America yet he fell to #134 so we thought we got a potential steal. Luna may have flown under the radar a bit since he was not in Baseball America’s Top 200, but the Mets could use some middle infield depth and Luna has shown some pop for someone his size as well as the ability to get on base and even swipe a few

I wish I hadnt waited to stop being a lurker, cause the person drafting for the Orioles didnt make much sense. Based on all reports, organizational needs, ect. I dont see how they dont take Beckham the Elder if the younger one and Smoak are gone.

later im busy right now

but it seemed like all my picks would come off the board like 2-5 picks in front of mine

Now I’ve sent my best ballplayer name scouts, and we’ve conferenced and made our decisions of the future stars of baseball:

1. Pedro Alvarez
2. Justin Smoak
3. Brian Matusz
4. Aaron Hicks
(Shooter Hunt will be a failed closer, think Burgos)
5. Jemile Weeks
6. Destin Hood (Up for debate)
7. Anthony Ferarra
8. Niko Vasquez
9. Dan Webb
10. Seth Lintz
11. Mike Palazzone (Time for the next Italian star)

Other notable drops…

Chisenhall is a bargain, on talent at least, where he was picked.

Jacob Thompson is a STEAL in the 5th round.

Blake Tekotte is a steal for the 4th.
Same with Pallazone, Lynn, Dominguez and (esp) Miley in the 3rd

Andrew Means could have been a good 5th rounder

We picked 17th in each round - no supplemental picks
1) Brett Lawrie – RF – Brookswood SS, Langley, BC
2) Stephen Fife – RHP – Utah
3) Zack Cox – 3B – Pleasure Ridge Park HS, Louisville, KY
4) Bobby Bundy – RHP – Sperry (Okla) HS
5) Michael Tonkin – RHP – Palmdale (cal) HS

I can see Ricciardi dipping into the HS arms race this year. Maybe not with two picks in the first five, but possibly one. I’ve heard talk in real life about the Jays being into E. Martin and/or J. Odorizzi. Lawrie has great helium, can really mash, has shown his ability with wood, and there is the poetry of him being Canadian. I would like to stick him in RF and let him hit.
Stephen Fife is a college arm with some projectibility. Maybe not the highest ceiling, but not the lowest floor either.
Cox has a solid reputation as a very good hitter whose bat could play anywhere. His position is up in the air, but I’m not concerned - he could end up anywhere but SS or CF.
Bundy - GoJays7, the assisstant draft coordinator is a big fan of his projectibility and we thought he is very good value in the 4th.
Tonkin - may be some signability issues in the 5th, but he is a very intriguing, very tall strike thrower - interesting to see how he pans out. Worth the flier.
A fun prjoect and I would be happy to see something similar out of JP and friends come Thursday.

It’s really fun to run the mock draft first time here. Thanks to John for setting things up, and to nms for the chance. I try to follow Braves’ draft philosophy, with limited information from various draft websites.
40) Zeke Spruill rhp Kell HS, Marietta, Ga
With a relatively low 1st pick and not much pitching drafted last year, Braves likely will pick up a high-ceiling raw HS arm. I decide to go with RHP here with the LHP depth at lower part of farm system and want Ross Seaton to fall. Only given the choice between Zeke and Daniel Webb, the Georgia boy it is. Look back, I probably should not limit myself to RHP and pick Mike Montgomery, LHP, California HS.
64) Harold Martinez 3B Braddock HS, FL
Last year with their first 2nd round pick, Braves select Josh Fields, the UGA closer whose disappointing year sees him slip to here. Though Fields ultimately turned down big money from Braves (advised by who shall not be named here, a big factor in avoiding Alex Meyer earlier), Braves seems to weigh on more the whole body of work from a prospect than one year performance. Cody Johnson from the year before last is yet another example. Harold Martinez entered this year as possible top 10 draftee, only saw his stock dropping continually this spring, sitting at 160 at BA top200. Looking at one after another 3B prospect fails to show up as the successor to Chipper, Braves can take a risk here and try to buy Martinez out of his commitment to Miami. Worst case scenario we have an extra 2nd pick next year. One could argue this is a bit of reach. But who says he will be definitely available in later rounds. And I doubt Braves will want to break this slot thing too much to anger the league.
70) Brad Holt RHP UNC Wilmington
The choice of the moment. In reality, Braves probably will take another HS arm here, my next pick Seth Lintz looks more right here.
96) Seth Lintz RHP Marshall County HS, Tenn.
Three ways to go here: another 3B to fall back if Martinez don’t sign but both Chisenhall and Zach Cox gone, 1B like another Georgia boy Chase Davidson who’s long gone, or more arm, Lintz is one of the best left.
130) Rolando Gomez SS/2B Flanagan HS, Fla.
The limit of my knowledge on HS arms displays. Could go with one of the two Georgia HS catchers though.
160) Cecil Tanner RHP Ware County HS, Waycross, Ga.
A place holder, replacing with whichever prep pitcher Braves like.

(Copied from MOD-Coloratdo #2)

1. (25th overall) 2B JEMILE WEEKS – U. of Miami (FL), 21 yo, ranks #19 Sickels, #27 BA
2. (72) OF ROBBIE GROSSMAN – Cypress-Fairbanks HS (TX), 18yo, - Sickels, #49 BA
3. (103) LHP DAN HULTZEN – St. Albans HS (Wash DC), 18 yo, - Sickels, #79 BA
4. (137) RHP KYLE WEILAND – Notre Dame (IN), 21yo, - Sickels, #88 BA
5. (167) RHP ETHAN HOLLINGSWORTH – Western Michigan, 21 yo, - Sickels, #105 BA

During my long wait after the first pick, I wanted Daniel Webb, a HS pitcher from Kentucky, but he did not quite slide to me as NYM took him at #69 overall. I felt that Grossman was good value there as a switch-hitting, athletic HS OF.

For round 3, I had my eye on Daniel Hunter, a RHP from Pepperdine, but he went two picks earlier to San Diego (#101 overall). My fallback, Hultzen, struck out 127 batters in 66 innings as a HS senior.

My last two picks were about picking up a couple of K pitchers who might move up the system quickly as 21yo college hurlers without a lot of mileage on their arms (northern colleges).

This was fun to see if someone would fall to me, and I’m happy getting both a mix of HS/college players and hitters and pitchers.