With the college season — and high school season, for the most part — already under way, speculation is swirling regarding who will be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft in June.  Due to the quality of arms, both collegiate and prep, in this year’s draft class, it’s likely that first player off the board will be a pitcher.  And considering our ongoing fascination with the prospects in the 2012 draft class, it’s only appropriate to open a poll while the season is still young.  Therefore, the staff at The Golden Sombrero is curious as to who, you, our faithful readers, believe will be the No. 1 selection in the 2012 draft:

[poll id=”10″]

Joey Gallo is a physically strong, 6-foot-5, 205-pound, CI/RHP from Bishop Gorman HS (NV).  One of the elite bats in the 2012 draft class, Gallo possesses power to all fields with exceptional pull-side power.  However, it’s not just the left-handed hitter’s bat that intrigues scouts – Gallo also has potential on the mound.

With a low-90s arm across the diamond, scouts will continue to debate whether Gallo is more projectable as a position player or pitcher.  Given his 6-foot-5 frame, he has impressive athleticism and exhibits natural defensive actions at third base.  However, he isn’t an elite defender and will probably never grade higher than a 55 at the hot corner.

Gallo’s best tool is without a doubt his power, which has the potential to be a 65 or 70 by the time he arrives in the Major Leagues. Last season at Bishop Gorman, he batted .471 with 25 home runs and 76 RBI while posting a 24/17 BB/K rate.  In 2010, Gallo swatted 15 bombs while posting a .474 batting average.

His raw power was on full display this past summer at the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park where he belted a 442-foot home run – the 10^th longest in the park’s history.  The only knock on Gallo’s potential as a hitter is that, like most young power hitters, he has a tendency to drift and over-commit with his front side which causes his bat to drag.  In turn, he struggles to hit quality offspeed pitches at times.  But when he learns to adjust to such pitches, Gallo’s hit tool has the potential to be about a 60.

On the bump, Gallo’s fastball has already been clocked at 94 mph, and his size suggests there could be more in the tank.  While his arm works well, Gallo is a big, powerful kid, and his mechanics can get a bit inconsistent at times and therefore affect his command.  As for offspeed, Gallo features an above average breaker and a change up that needs some development.

Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 21 prep prospect, Gallo is in a precarious position headed into the 2011 season.  He will be scrutinized until the draft as both a third baseman and pitcher, and disagreement about which position offers a higher ceiling could affect his stock.  What could ultimately happen is something similar to when Kaleb Cowart was drafted 18^th overall by the Angels in 2009 as a switch-hitting third baseman.  If Gallo’s bat never develops at the professional level, he still possesses a potential 60-70 arm that could be utilized on the mound.

If Gallo isn’t drafted favorably he will head to Louisiana State, which, in reality, might not be a terrible idea if his bat and/or secondary offerings need further development.

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.

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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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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