2010 Baseball Draft: Supplemental First Round in Review

Mariners prospect Taijuan Walker, just promoted to Low-A Clinton from Extended Spring Training

Baseball Draft: 2010 Supplemental Round in Review

Continuing our review of the 2010 draft, let's look at the supplemental round and where those players currently stand. Again, remember that sample sizes at this point of the season are still small, especially for the pitchers, and for many of these guys there isn't much analysis to be done yet. Teams are being very cautious with the high school arms thus far, holding them back in extended spring.

On Monday, I'll post my first 2011 mock draft. We will also start organizing the community mock draft next week.

33) Mike Kvasnicka, 3B-C, Houston Astros
      University of Minnesota product hitting .314/.379/.453 through 95 plate appearances for Low-A Lexington, 9/22 BB/K. This is better than his weak NY-P performance last year, but the BB/K isn't great, and his defense at third base remains rough, with eight errors in 21 games.

34) Aaron Sanchez, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
      Projectable California high school arm is in extended spring training. Will probably begin June in the Northwest League.

35) Matt Lipka, SS, Atlanta Braves
      Texas high school infielder hitting .260/.327/.260 with 10 steals, 10 walks, 17 strikeouts in 110 PA for Low-A Rome. Has played excellent defense at second base but weak defense at shortstop. Lack of power an issue going forward, but speed looks good.

36) Bryce Brentz, OF, Boston Red Sox
     Middle Tennessee State University slugger hitting .363/.440/.657 in 116 PA for Low-A Greenville, 12/20 BB/K. Hitting great so far, erasing the bad taste from his poor performance in the NY-P last summer. This is a lot more like the Red Sox expected, and leads credence to the theory that his problems with Lowell were related to his vision.

37) Taylor Lindsey, SS, Los Angeles Angels
      Arizona high school infielder in extended spring training. Will likely begin with Orem in the Pioneer League in June.

38) Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
      Texas high school arm in extended spring training, could begin June in Appalachian or Northwest League.

39) Anthony Ranaudo, RHP, Boston Red Sox
      LSU ace with durability concerns after injury-plagued 2010 looks strong so far, 2.95 ERA in five starts for Low-A Greenville in the Sally League, 24/10 K/BB in 21 innings, 16 hits. His control has wobbled a bit but overall he's been excellent, and best of all is completely healthy.

40) Ryan Bolden, OF, Los Angeles Angels
      Toolsy but raw Mississippi high school kid in extended spring training, probably headed to Orem in June although raw and young enough to stay back in the AZL for awhile. The Angels have a lot of high-upside high-risk guys at the lower levels from last year's draft.

41) Asher Wojciechowski, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
      Citadel product has a 3.28 ERA in five starts for High-A Dunedin, 16/10 K/BB in 25 innings, 24 hits. Like Deck McGuire, solid so far, reports good, numbers decent, no big surprises.

42) Drew Vettleson, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
      Washington state high school product in extended spring, likely to begin his career in the Appalachian League in June.

43) Taijuan Walker, RHP, Seattle Mariners
       Ultra-projectable California prep arm was in extended spring training, but was promoted to Low-A Clinton yesterday. Reportedly throwing 97 MPH this spring with greatly improved breaking stuff.

44) Nick Castellanos, 3B, Detroit Tigers
      Florida high school slugger not living up to his big bonus yet, hitting .182/.238/.247 in 84 PA for Low-A West Michigan in the Midwest League. 6/25 BB/K ratio is disappointing for a player who is supposed to have a polished bat. He's also played poorly on defense with six errors and a poor range factor. It is too early to worry given his pedigree and the sample size, but he might end up back in the New York-Penn League if he's hitting like this in June.

45) Luke Jackson, RHP, Texas Rangers
       Florida high school right-hander is in extended spring training, could begin June in the Northwest League. I like him as a potential breakout guy.

46) Seth Blair, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
      Former Arizona State ace off to a slow start in limited action for Low-A Quad Cities, eight runs in ten innings so far with 10/9 K/BB over four starts. Command issues are apparent, which bothered him at times in college but improved enough last year to keep his draft stock high.

47) Peter Tago, RHP, Colorado Rockies
      California high school right-hander is in extended spring training. Will probably begin June in the Pioneer League.

48) Chance Ruffin, RHP, Detroit Tigers
      University of Texas product in Double-A bullpen, 1.42 ERA in his first 6.1 innings, with 4/3 K/BB. Sample is tiny, but the fact that the Tigers sent him to this level to make his pro debut shows a fast track approach, which isn't surprising given his college performance and major league bloodlines.

49) Mike Olt, 3B, Texas Rangers
     University of Connecticut product hitting .307/.421/.511 in 107 PA for High-A Myrtle Beach, 17/26 BB/K. High walk rate with some power is what the Rangers expected. Third base defense has been solid thus far. No complaints at all here.

50) Tyrell Jenkins, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
     Texas high school super-athlete is quite raw and in extended spring training. Will probably start in the Appalachian League or New York-Penn League in June.