Posts belonging to Category MLB Draft

#48 Joseph Wieland

San Diego Padres

DOB: 1/21/90

Previously Ranked: N/A

ETA: 2012

Joe Wieland was part of the deal that sent Mike Adams to Texas, and considering how valuable Adams was to the bullpen in both San Diego and Texas, Wieland is obviously viewed as a future Big League contributor.  We at The Sombrero will go a step further.  Wieland will be a top of the rotation arm for years.  We are talking a solid two in the Show.

His stuff isn’t as imposing as other arms that will crack our top 50, but his command is outrageously good.  He walked 21 guys over 150 innings in 2011 for Christ’s sake.  The strikeout totals were nearly one per inning, and he did a solid job keeping the ball in the yard as well.

Wieland should start the year in San Antonio, but he should move quickly to Triple-A.  There is a very real chance he cracks the rotation in San Diego by the end of 2012.  His fastball reaches 93, and his breaking ball is of the 12-6 variety with quality shape.  Both pitches are solid average to above on their own, but Wieland’s command plays each pitch into the 55-60 range.  His changeup is not used as often, but it has decent fade and should be a solid 50 pitch.  Wieland has an athletic 6-foot-3 frame and very clean and easy mechanics that should allow him to stay reasonably healthy.  This is not an ace arm, but it is the kind of No. 2 that every team wants.

#49 Christian Yelich
Miami Marlins
Date of Birth: December 5, 1991
Drafted: 1st Round (No. 23 overall) in 2010
ETA: 2014

19-year-old Christian Yelich, in his first full professional season, slashed .312/.388/.484 with 15 bombs, 48 XBH’s, and 32 stolen bases. He struck out in nearly a quarter of his at-bats, but he also walked in over 10% of his plate appearances.

He basically had a phenomenal year in the Sally League and should start the year in High Class A and finish the year in the high Minors with a chance to crack a Big League roster by 2013. He has a below-average arm, but runs well enough to be an everyday left fielder. His power should be a 60 by the time he finishes filling out as well. He has terrific lower body hitting mechanics with an easy weight transfer and a firm front side.

He stays inside pitches well, which allows him to drive the ball to all fields with good carry. His lanky 6-foot-4 frame is loaded with projection, and Yelich is nothing close to a finished product yet. Nevertheless, he has ascended to the top of the Marlins’ rankings and should be an impact corner guy in the show with a very good chance to hit in the middle of the order.

#50 Francisco Lindor

Cleveland Indians

Previous Rank: N/A

DOB: November 14, 1993

ETA: 2015

As the first guy off the board in this year’s Sombrero Top 50, Francisco Lindor, the 8^th overall selection from the 2011 draft just squeezed in.  The main knock on him and why he isn’t a little higher is the fact that he signed late and collected less than 20 at-bats as a professional in 2011.  His place among the Top 50 is based solely on who he was as an amateur; he is young (still just 17), was without a doubt the best up-the-middle player in his draft class, and grew up in a phenomenal baseball environment after immigrating to Florida from Puerto Rico.

He has across-the-board tools with a chance to be at least a 50 in each of the five traditional areas and very little downside.  He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 175-pounds, but probably has an inch or two left to grow and should approach 200-pounds by the time he gets makes his big-league debut.  His power tool blossomed a lot during his senior year at Montverde, but still is what scouts like to call in the “doubles” or “gap” range.

Whatever you want to call it, Lindor is a guy with easy athleticism who has a chance to be an impact bat at the toughest position, and has age on his side.  He should rise quickly and may realistically be on a 25-man by his 20^th birthday.

On Tuesday afternoon, Major League Baseball and the Arizona Fall League announced this year’s participants for the 2011 Rising Stars Game.  The game, which will played on Saturday, November 5 at Surprise Stadium, will house many of baseball’s top prospects, players who will be appearing on the Sombrero’s Post-2011 Top 50 Prospects list.

Several of the top pitchers from the 2011 draft class will make their professionally televised debut, including Gerrit Cole (No. 1 overall, Pittsburgh Pirates), Danny Hultzen (No. 2 overall, Seattle Mariners), and Jed Bradley (No. 15 overall, Milwaukee Brewers).

Of course, the Rising Stars game would not be complete without the likes of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, who will man the outfield for the East along with Robbie Grossman, Xavier Avery, and Tim Wheeler.

Who am I most excited to watch? Well, here’s a brief list with absolutely zero explanation as to why: East: Terry Doyle (CWS), Trey McNutt (CHC), Nolan Arenado (COL), Junior Lake (CHC), Joe Panik (SF); West: J.J. Hoover (ATL), Christian Colon (KC), Nick Franklin (SEA), Anthony Gose (TOR), and Wil Myers (KC).

The game will be played at 7 pm eastern and will be broadcast live on both MLB.com and the MLB Network.

RISING STARS ROSTERS

Perhaps the most accomplished position player in the history of San Juan County, Piedra Vista HS and Strike Zone Cardinal CF, Shilo McCall, has verbally committed to Arkansas.  McCall is an excellent student with elite tools across the board.  At 6-foot-1 and 210-pounds, and just 17 years of age, Shilo is one of the more imposing players on any diamond he plays.  His mechanics have always been sound as he takes a very direct path to contact with excellent weight transfer.  Everything Shilo does on the offensive side of the ball is exceptional as he also has run 60’s in the 6.5 to 6.6 range.

Shilo still has room to grow as a player, particularly on the defensive end.  His actions in the outfield are representative of a player who is still somewhat new to an everyday outfield role.  Some have suggested that his tools play better in left, but with obvious speed and the ability to improve in terms of jumps on the ball, there is no reason that Shilo cannot stay in center.  There is also no reason that his arm can’t tick up to a point that he can be an everyday right fielder.

I’ve heard from pretty reliable sources that Shilo has a chance to get inside the top three rounds of the draft, so hopefully he is left with a very difficult choice to make this summer.  Now that he has a career in the SEC as leverage, something tells me that his stock is rising.  Good luck and congratulations!