MLB 2008 Mock Draft

[daa84]

A college closer is not something you waste the 8th overall pick on. Royce Ring was the last time we guessed on a first round reliever.

im not disagreeing by any means....just saying KW loves power arms and a closer did go #8 last year......by no means was in favor of it or even suggesting that it will happen...just saying that there have been crazier things

[southsideirish71]

im not disagreeing by any means....just saying KW loves power arms and a closer did go #8 last year......by no means was in favor of it or even suggesting that it will happen...just saying that there have been crazier things

 

This is a very important draft. I don't want to hear fiscal issues as a reason not to draft a kid. They don't have a 2nd round draft so they can afford to go to whatever level to pick up the best available position player at the 8 spot. I could care less who his agent is, and what we paid Borchard before. Man the hell up and select the best available talent. These types of studs are the new currency in baseball. You have a stud pick, and either he becomes a stable in your system and takes over for years to come, or you can use him to pick up a superstar. Miguel Cabrera would of looked good for a long time in a Sox Uni. If we can afford to pay bad players lots of money to suck, we can pay a kid who may either turn out to be a cheap player for a long time, or the piece in a superstar showing up on the Southside.

 

If Kenny drafts Jordan Danks, some cheap kid ( no one every heard of) that would be available in the 2nd to 3rd round because he is easy to sign, or a closer for the 8th pick he should quit. That will make the pain we went through dealing with a 90 loss dog a complete waste of a season. Our system is completely devoid of positional prospects. The guy we pick up here, automatically becomes our number one positional prospect before he sets foot in Great Falls.

 

No f***ing soft tossing control pitchers.

No college closers.

No no name guys who had a good 2 weeks in some division III tourney.

 

The last time we were in this situation, we picked up Venturas, Thomas's, McDowells. I want players like that, not some project or crappy player because they are cheap.

 

Pay the money, get the talent.

[Ozzie Ball]

Baseball America's most recent mock, for comparison:

 

1. Pedro Alvarez, 3b, Vanderbilt 1

Despite down year caused by early hamate injury, Alvarez is the draft's top talent. Whether or not he's worth a major league contract in the $8.5 million neighborhood is the bigger question.

 

2. Tim Beckham, ss, Griffin (Ga.) HS 4

Hasn't had a huge spring, but Beckham has the best combination of tools, athleticism and projection of any player in the draft. Comparisons to the Upton brothers don't fit, however.

 

3. Brian Matusz, lhp, San Diego 2

Surest of the sure things, a three-pitch lefty who misses bats with more than enough fastball and excellent secondary stuff.

 

4. Buster Posey, c, Florida State 15

In the mix starting at No. 1 overall after hittng .477 in conference games, Posey makes a case as the draft's safest pick at its most premium position.

 

5. Aaron Crow, rhp, Missouri 3

As much as you could ask for in a fastball, yet Crow has fallen off the torrid pace he set in the season's first two months.

 

6. Eric Hosmer, 1b, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla. 8

Asking price is high for Boras Corporation client and Arizona State signee, who has now strength and now power. "It's like watching a college hitter," one scouting director said.

 

7. Justin Smoak, 1b, South Carolina 5

Recent hot streak has Smoak contending to be drafted in the top five like former prep teammate Matt Wieters.

 

8. Gordon Beckham, ss, Georgia 24

Posey and Smoak are catching up in terms of 2008 production, which merely makes Beckham's season outstanding instead of singular.

 

9. Tanner Scheppers, rhp, Fresno State 22

Still learning to harness his electric stuff; 92-96 mph fastball in recent starts, and still relatively new to pitching. Could be draft's top arm if he becomes more efficient.

 

10. Shooter Hunt, rhp, Tulane 17

Command issues have him a tick behind Scheppers at this time; plenty of fastball to go with a true power breaking ball.

 

11. Kyle Skipworth, c, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif. 12

Dominant performance (18 hits in a row) stands out even in crowded Southern California high school ranks.

 

12. Yonder Alonso, 1b, Miami 7

Opponents and scouts marvel at Alonso's professional approach and hitting ability, leading to 10 homers in just 22 Atlantic Coast Conference games.

 

13. Tim Melville, rhp, Holt HS, Wentzville, Mo. 6

Doing a little of everything for his team of late, Melville has had a two-homer game and 14 strikeouts in recent outings for Holt High.

 

14. Aaron Hicks, rhp/of, Wilson HS, Long Beach 13

He's done it all in the last week, throwing a complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts on the mound and contributing a solo homer to lead off a 34-0 romp against Compton High the next game.

 

15. Christian Friedrich, lhp, Eastern Kentucky 9

The draft's most polished lefty commands three pitches, including a fastball with average-to-plus velocity and a good, if slow, curveball.

 

16. Ethan Martin, rhp/3b, Stephens County HS, Toccoa, Ga. NR

More evidence that Martin's pitching skills have moved to the fore—he threw a complete-game no-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a start April 23.

 

17. Joshua Fields, rhp, Georgia NR

One-inning at a time approach has suited the nation's top closer, who just gave up his first earned run this weekend.

 

18. Gerrit Cole, rhp, Lutheran HS, Orange, Calif. 11

With an arm as good as any in the draft, Cole still has managed to see his stock fall due to concerns about his delivery, mound presence and secondary pitches.

 

19. Alex Meyer, rhp, Greensburg (Ind.) HS NR

Six-foot-7 Kentucky signee has little in common with last year's Indiana phenom, Jarrod Parker, but should join him in first round.

 

20. Casey Kelly, ss/rhp, Sarasota (Fla.) HS NR

Tennessee quarterback signee and son of ex-big leaguer Pat Kelly has shown first-round talent as both position player and pitcher.

 

21. Brett Wallace, 1b/3b, Arizona State NR

Red-hot of late, Wallace remains one of the draft's best pure hitters and has firmed up his body.

 

22. Conor Gillaspie, 3b, Wichita State NR

A grinder and a premium hitter, Gillaspie has built on his strong summer, when he was MVP of the Cape Cod League.

 

23. Jemile Weeks, 2b, Miami 25

Rickie's younger brother lacks his pure physicality but has offensive upside, including line-drive swing, speed and surprising power.

 

24. Andrew Cashner, rhp, Texas Christian NR

Fast-moving closer has upper-90s velocity, pushing to front of down college crop in Texas.

 

25. Ryan Perry, rhp, Arizona 16

Poor early performance somewhat mitigated by a move to the bullpen; still one of the draft's elite arms at 92-97 mph.

 

26. Reese Havens, ss, South Carolina NR

He's built on his Cape Cod League improvement; his 1.150 OPS this spring is a 400-point improvement on his first two seasons.

 

27. Jason Castro, c, Stanford NR

Third-string catcher last summer in Cape Cod (behind Posey and LSU's Sean Ochinko), Castro has plenty of bat and enough ability to stay behind the plate.

 

28. Brett DeVall, lhp, Niceville (Fla.) HS 30

Florida's top prep pitcher saw his 18-innings scoreless streak in the postseason end when he was used on two days' rest; Niceville won 3-2 anyway.

 

29. Daniel Webb, rhp, Heath HS, West Paducah, Ky. NR

Despite fierce competition from the state's strongest draft crop ever, Webb remains the class of Kentucky.

 

30. Ike Davis, 1b/of, Arizona State NR

Before recent injury (he hasn't started for five games), Davis was making a case for Pac-10 player of the year as he's nearly matched his career home run total with 15

[Balta1701]

I see where all of y'all are coming from in demanding a position player...but I will add one more piece to the puzzle. Coming in to last fall, it looked like we needed a position player like nothing else, because we didn't seem to have any young position players anywhere except for Fields and Richar.

 

But, after KW's wheelings and dealings in the offseason, suddenly we're in a much better place for position players. We've added Quentin who we control basically forever as far as we're concerned now, Swisher who is under contract for 4 more years or so, had a recovery by Anderson, and found a potential piece in Ramirez. And on top of that, we had good, early big league career development type performances from Fields and Richar in the majors last year, ditto for Owens even though he's still limited in what he can bring.

 

We still don't have depth at C, so if there's a top C available that's an obvious pick. But suddenly we've gone from having an outfield with aging crappy guys like Erstad and Podsednik to one loaded with young, high OPS guys who are cheap and under our control for a long time, and we've added a guy or two to our middle infield that we might be able to develop. 1B is still a potential issue in the mid-term, but Konerko, Thome, and Dye should in some fashion take care of that role and the DH role for at least a couple more years, or Swisher could also play it if we felt the urge to work Owens in more as a leadoff hitter.

 

In other words, if KW looks at his draft board and sees a pitcher he can't resist who is a better option than the position players around him, I wouldn't be opposed any more.

[southsideirish71]

I see where all of y'all are coming from in demanding a position player...but I will add one more piece to the puzzle. Coming in to last fall, it looked like we needed a position player like nothing else, because we didn't seem to have any young position players anywhere except for Fields and Richar.

 

But, after KW's wheelings and dealings in the offseason, suddenly we're in a much better place for position players. We've added Quentin who we control basically forever as far as we're concerned now, Swisher who is under contract for 4 more years or so, had a recovery by Anderson, and found a potential piece in Ramirez. And on top of that, we had good, early big league career development type performances from Fields and Richar in the majors last year, ditto for Owens even though he's still limited in what he can bring.

 

We still don't have depth at C, so if there's a top C available that's an obvious pick. But suddenly we've gone from having an outfield with aging crappy guys like Erstad and Podsednik to one loaded with young, high OPS guys who are cheap and under our control for a long time, and we've added a guy or two to our middle infield that we might be able to develop. 1B is still a potential issue in the mid-term, but Konerko, Thome, and Dye should in some fashion take care of that role and the DH role for at least a couple more years, or Swisher could also play it if we felt the urge to work Owens in more as a leadoff hitter.

 

In other words, if KW looks at his draft board and sees a pitcher he can't resist who is a better option than the position players around him, I wouldn't be opposed any more.

 

A top flight ace with plus stuff sure. I wouldnt be that upset if that happened.

 

Some soft tossing control guy, some guy who needs a lot of work, or a reliever would require a firing.

 

Konerko, Thome and Dye shouldnt be counted on too much beyond this year.

 

I would say if a catcher such as Posey is there you take him. If Alvarez or Smoak, or Beckham is there. You take them.

 

Owens is 28, please lets not count on him for anything.

Edited May 13, 2008 by southsideirish71

[fathom]

I doubt Posey is going to pitch in the majors, as the highlights ESPN televised yesterday showed he was throwing 86 mph fastballs.

Edited May 13, 2008 by fathom

[chimpy2121]

I doubt Posey is going to pitch in the majors, as the highlights ESPN televised yesterday showed he was throwing 86 mph fastballs.

 

I'd say there's no way he pitches. He's only a two pitch pitcher, and like you said, he doesn't have the velocity to rely just on the fastball.