The Athletics spent the 92nd overall pick on Aaron Shipman.
Follow the jump for his pre-draft report.
Aaron Shipman Position: OF School: Brooks County HS State: GA Height: 6’1’’ Weight: 185
Bats: L Throws: L Birth Date: 1/27/92 Seiler Rating: 1B1 Commitment: Mercer
Aaron Shipman is an exciting center fielder from Brooks County High School in Quitman, Georgia, a rural southern Georgia town. Shipman comes from excellent baseball bloodlines, as his father (and coach) was a tenth round draft pick, and his brother Robert is a first baseman at the University of Georgia. Despite the excellent bloodlines, Aaron was a bit of an unknown prospect nationally entering the spring, and a huge spring is the only thing that brought him enough attention. Since he’s not from the Atlanta area and didn’t play in the East Cobb travel program, scouts were a little less familiar with him, but they’re familiar with him now that they’ve found he has enough tools to potentially become an all star center fielder with the right development path. At the plate, he works with an above-average to plus hit tool that includes a simple swing with gap power. He puts a hard charge into almost every ball he hits, and while his raw power is below-average, he’s not punchless. He’s a plus-plus runner, and he incorporates that into his offense and defense in center field. He has the raw tools to become an elite center fielder, with plus range and a plus arm, and the only thing holding him back is reads off the bat. He’ll need to work on refining his tools through the minor leagues, as he’s not currently near his ceiling, but with the bloodlines and right work ethic, scouts believe he’ll push himself to succeed. He should go in the second to fourth round range to a team that favors tools, and he’ll sign fairly quickly for close to slot money.