Posts belonging to Category MLB Draft

As a student of the Texas A&M Health Science Center, and in celebration of the Aggies making it to Omaha, today I will write up likely 2012 first-rounder Michael Wacha, the ace of the Aggie staff now that John Stilson is injured.  Also, a good buddy of mine from class is a neighbor of the Wacha family, and they sound like tremendous people.

Wacha is a big righty with great mechanics and an easy-higher ¾ arm slot.  His delivery is clean and repeatable, and he is on top of every pitch with good downward action that generates a lot of grounders, especially for a fastball/changeup guy.  His fastball, which can reach the mid-90s but typically sits a few mph’s less, is a little on the flat side for a true 60 grading, but the downward action he develops from his delivery allows it to overcome this flatness to an extent.  His changeup is a no-doubt 60 today with great fade and a chance to tick up still.  His breaking ball is less of a finished product and will require some time, but he is athletic enough and repeats a quality delivery well enough that he should develop it into a solid-average 3^rd pitch.  What’s more, his slot likely will allow him to generate enough depth with it to get botch sides of the plate out once he learns the feel of it.

Wacha had dynamite numbers for the Aggies this season with a 2.12 ERA in 18 starts with 118 K’s and only 28 BB’s, beating surefire first-rounder prior to injury Stilson in both regards.  The Big XII had some outstanding squads this season, and those numbers should be taken very seriously.  We at the Sombrero are way in on Wacha and think he will be a very big riser in the next year possibly challenging to be the first arm off the board out of the Big XII.

With a third of the MLB season in the books, and some of the baseball’s best prospects now suiting up for their respective big league squads, it’s time to reflect on the performances of our Top 50 Prospects.  Today we look take an expanded look at 9-1, which includes: Brandon Belt, Jarrod Parker, Jesus Montero, Eric Hosmer, Domonic Brown, Jeremy Hellickson, Dustin Ackley, Mike Trout and, of course, Bryce Harper.

9. Brandon Belt, 1B, San Francisco Giants

Triple-A: .337/.470/.525, 7 2B, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 27 BB, 31 K

MLB: .211/.328/.281, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB, 9 BB, 15 K

8. Jarrod Parker, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Double-A: 5-5, 4.95 ERA, 56.1 IP, 27 BB, 52 K, 1.385 WHIP, 0.2 HR/9

7. Jesus Montero, C, New York Yankees

Triple-A: .292/.338/.421, 10 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 13 BB, 50 K

6. Eric Hosmer, 1B, Kansas City Royals

Triple-A: .439/.525/.582, 5 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB, 19 BB, 16 K

MLB: .288/.341/.442, 7 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 2 SB, 12 BB, 29 K

5. Domonic Brown, OF, Philadelphia Phillies

High-A: .368/.429/.737, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K

Triple-A: .341/.431/.537, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 7 BB, 9 K

MLB: .228/.311/.443, 5 2B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 2 SB, 10 BB, 11 K

4. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays

MLB: 7-5, 3.09 ERA, 84.1 IP, 33 BB, 54 K, 1.138 WHIP

3. Dustin Ackley, 2B, Seattle Mariners

Triple-A: .303/.421/.487, 17 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 7 SB, 55 BB, 38 K

*Set to make MLB debut on Friday night against the Phillies

2. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

Double-A: .329/.431/.559, 9 2B, 8 3B, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 23 SB, 33 BB, 44 K

1. Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals

Class-A: .326/.421/.585, 14 2B, 3B, 14 HR, 45 RBI, 12 SB, 35 BB, 55 K

As the Super Regionals head toward a conclusion and the Omaha field is set, it seems appropriate to introduce to our readers to Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero, who is likely to land in the first-round and perhaps even within the first 10 picks.  Yet, he is not even the top shortstop in his own conference that will be eligible for the 2012 draft.  That honor belongs to Stanford’s Kenny Diekroeger.

Marrero profiles as an above-average defender at short with a plus arm and a plus glove.  He has outstanding instincts for the position and should have no problem staying there as a professional.  At the plate, he fails to generate tremendous bat speed in large part due to a lack of lower body action.  He hits against a pretty quiet front, though, and keeps his hands inside well enough to be a 50 to 55 hit tool player.  He will never hit many bombs in the pros, but he runs well enough to at least have an isolated power.

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Baseball fans have waited patiently for this day since the Royals drafted him second-overall in 2007.  But after Eric Hosmer received the call ahead of his fellow future cornerstone, it became obvious that Moose would be loose at Kauffman within a matter of months.  As a baseball fan and prospect junkie, this is an awesome day.  It’s a day that’s been at the forefront of every Royals discussion and signifies that the future has officially arrived in Kansas City.

So, in honor of Moose’s arrival, here are a couple videos of the slugger that will hopefully hold people over until 9:05 PM cst, when he makes his MLB Debut against Ervin Santana and the Los Angeles Angels.  The first video is courtesy of FarmSystem, and features Moustakas taking batting practice prior to the 2009 California League All-Star Game:

The second video features Moustakas crushing a three-run shot in August of 2010:

And what would Mike Moustakas Day be without some celebratory tunes???

With Whitney graduating from U of A a couple of weeks ago, I thought I should write up the ace of that staff, sophomore Kurt Heyer.  Heyer had a truly remarkable season as the Friday-nighter for Arizona posting a 2.41 ERA in 130.2 IP with 128 K’s and only 25 BB.  His numbers were stellar, and Heyer will be one of the top arms in the PAC-10 in 2012 as well.  Heyer has terrific sink on his fastball, which allowed him to keep the ball in the yard quite well despite the thin Tucson air.  He only allowed 5 homers and 25 XBH’s in his 19 2011 starts.

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