Whoa. A's take high school SS Addison Russell. I don't know what's more surprising the fact the A's took a HS player or the fact that it was Addison Russell.

Mets take HS SS Gavin Cecchini. Another guy off the list for the Sox.

Courtney Hawkins is there along with Wacha and Stratton. I won't be upset with any of them but Hawkins would be nice.

Sox take Hawkins

Courtney Hawkins. Nice! Uber-athletic potentail 5 tool high school outfielder. They never make this pick under the old draft rules. Massive upside. Awesome.

Oney nailed that pick.

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Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

phew. no stratton!

I like the high risk hawkins. Looks like he has a big swing though. can he make contact?

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Washington takes HS RHP Lucs Giolito. If they get him signed and get him healthy this will be far and away the best pick in the draft. He was considered for the top pick before elbow soreness shut him down. Strasburg and Giolito. Yikes.

Wacha and Stratton go back to back at 19 and 20. Good picks by the Cardinals and Giants. Both should move pretty quickly and get to the bigs in 2-3 years.

The Blue Jays take RHP Marcus Stroman from Drake...I mean Duke. Great arm small stature. Has the Look of a future closer.

The Cardinals take OF James Ramsey from Florida St. A college senior in the first round?? I wonder when the last time that happened. Gammons just compared him to Tim Tebow. Well that explains it.

Heh

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Boston takes SS Deven Marrero form ASU. I was wondering when he was gonna go. He was thought to be the #1 pick coming into the season but he had a really bad offensive year. If he learns to hit again it will be a great pick. He's a fantastic defensive SS.

Brewers take HS C Clint Coulter and Georgia Southern OF Victor Roache. Lots of power for your Brew Crew, Hawger.

Boston popped Florida LHP Brian Johnson with the last pick in the first round. I was hoping he'd still be around for the Sox supplemental pick.

Wow the Mets take Purdue catcher Kevin Plawecki at #35. He's certainly not flashy but he should be a solid player.

Some good players on the board. SS Nolan Fontana and RHP Austin Maddox from Florida. Brett Mooneyham from Stanford. Giant HS lefty Matt Smoral.

Cubs take RHP Pierce Johnson from Missouri St. Pretty good pitcher. 2 good pitches. Needs to add a third or he'll end up in the bullpen.

Nolan Fontana Nolan Fontana Nolan Fontana Nolan Fontana Nolan Fontana Nolan Fontana

Kark is still a handsome man. Sox go with HS 1B Keon Barnum. Big ole lefty power hitting first baseman. 2 high upside high school position players with their first 2 picks. Nice.

Will be interesting to see hosw much he lost. Isnt it slotted to prevent Borasing?


Jerry's "dont negotiate with Boras" stance wasnt working out so he puts a rule in to make Boras irrelavent!!!


He really is an evil genius

It's not a hard slotting system. Teams have an allotted pool of money to sign their first 10 picks. A team can spread it out or they can give it all to 1 player. If a team goes over the allotted number they incur stiff penalties. Houston had a much bigger pool of money than the Pirates. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates make a take it or leave it offer or if they incur the penalties to sign Appel.

There have to be loopholes somewhere. Can you sign guys to major league contracts that would still be within the average money for that slot but would put them on the 4O man roster? Bad teams could probably afford to burn 3 roster spots on college or extremely polished high school players. What about putting in some incentive clauses such as a half a mil bonus for every minor league promotion they get?

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Cubs take HS right hander Duane Underwood with their 2nd round pick. That's all I got.

technically not allowed.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

hehehheh you said Underwood...heheheheh

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What To Do With Duane Underwood?

Posted May. 14, 2012 8:56 am by John Manuel
Filed under: Draft Dope, High School
Scouts expected Georgia to be nearly as fertile in 2012 as it was in 2010, when the state produced six first-round picks, including five out of high school.

The state does have the draft's top prospect in Baxley outfielder Byron Buxton, and righthander Lucas Sims of Snellville's Brookwood High figures to go in the first two rounds, perhaps even the first. Much of the rest of the prep class has been ordinary or disappointing, or at least has a flaw or two for scouts.

And then there's Duane Underwood. The athletic 6-foot-2, 185-pound righthander at Marietta's Pope High has had an up-and-down spring, mostly on the down side. A late uptick produced buzz that Underwood could put himself back into first-round consideration, as he reportedly hit 96-97 mph as Pope High approached the playoffs.

"He had two good starts," an American League scout said. "Then he was bad again (Wednesday) night. The breaking ball was not good, and the velocity dropped quickly."

Underwood showed first-round stuff on the showcase circuit, and at his best his fastball sits in the 91-94 mph range. He's athletic and spins a breaking ball, though his curve often is soft in the 73-75 mph range. He also has a firm but effective changeup.

This spring, according to several scouts, Underwood has rarely been at his best, more frequently sitting in the 87-92 mph range with an even softer curve. Most scouts still like the body and the arm, but his changeup more often than not has been his best pitch.

After two strong outings where he was back in top form, touching 97 mph and staying locked in for several innings, Underwood regressed last week against Dunwoody (Ga.) High, hitting 96 in the first inning but dropping off quickly.

"He does well when there's no adversity," a second AL scout said. "But if guys get on base, if there's an error or a bloop, before you know it the wheels fall off.

"I want to like the kid. A lot of us do. He's a good kid, and it's a real good arm, fast hands—all the things you look for. I'm not sure if he's overthrowing the breaking ball or being too fine with the fastball command. I think he just loses concentration, and it comes apart. I think right now, it's too much to see him going in the first round or even the comp round."

2012 Draft Prospects Preview -- Duane Underwood
by Adam J. Morris on May 29, 2012 3:50 PM CDT


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over 1 year ago: NASHVILLE TN - FEBRUARY 17: Country singer Carrie Underwood celebrates after a goal is scored by husband Mike Fisher of the Nashville Predators on February 17 2011 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
With the 2012 major league draft kicking off on Monday, I want to highlight in the next few days a few of the players that the Texas Rangers could be looking at with their picks at #29, #39, and #52. As I said last year when doing this drill, this would be a lot easier if the Rangers were picking higher, and neither of the Rangers' first couple picks were guys we'd ever talked about before the draft. Still, we'll take a look at a few of the intriguing names that could be in the mix for the Rangers, and see who might be out there...

First up in our review is the player Keith Law projects going to the Rangers at #29 overall, RHP Duane Underwood from Pope High School in Marietta, Georgia.



The Duane Underwood scouting report: Duane Underwood is a 6'3", 210 lb. righthanded pitcher out of Pope High School in Marietta, Georgia. Underwood is ranked #104 in the Baseball America pre-draft rankings, and BA describes him as being "athletic" and having a "quick arm," traits that we know the Rangers like to look for in pitching prospects.

Law has Underwood ranked #52 in his pre-draft top 100. Minor League Ball's community mock draft had him going to the Phillies at #95.

Kiley McDaniel had a write-up on Underwood in early May for ESPN, saying that Underwood is a player that you need to get multiple looks at because of inconsistencies that make it hard to get a read on him. BA's report on Underwood has him touching 97-98 mph on his fastball at times, but also dropping down as low as 87 mph this spring, with "erratic command" and little feel for pitching. Underwood's best secondary is reported to be his changeup, and he also has a curveball that he uses as a third pitch (and, for what its worth, the Rangers seem to like righthanders who through curveballs).

BA also has a blog entry from John Manuel on Underwood, which has some quotes from a scout about Underwood not dealing well with adversity and losing concentration.

The other thing that appears from the outside to make Underwood a potential fit for Texas is this blurb from McDaniel:

Underwood is the poster child for dreaming on upside.

And the Rangers have tended to favor upside, particularly with their righthanded high school pitching prospects. The lazy comp for Underwood might be Luke Jackson, another inconsistent righty high school pitcher with lots of upside that the Rangers snagged in the supplemental round in 2010.

One other plus on Underwood is that he doesn't turn 18 until July 24, 2012, meaning that he's up to a year younger than the players he's been competing against. Rany Jazayerli looked at younger high school draftees and found that they tend to over-perform, so Underwood could be a beneficiary of what we could call the "Mike Trout Effect."

Sounds like a perfect Cub

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2012 MLB Draft Results: Arvada's Pierce Johnson Drafted By Chicago Cubs


Pierce Johnson, native of Arvada, CO, has played his college ball for the Missouri St. Bears, but he will likely soon call the Chicago Cubs organization his home. The Cubs selected Johnson, a right-handed pitcher, with the 43rd overall pick of the 2012 MLB Draft as part of the Compensation A round. The Cubs received this pick for losing Aramis Ramirez to the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent during the offseason.

Johnson is 6 feet 3 and 180 pounds with an instinct to strike out batters. He usually sits his fastball in the lower-90s, but he can reach up to 96 mph. His cutter and changeup are improving pitches, but it is health the Cubs will need to be concerned with if he signs with them. He had a forearm strain this season and missed a few starts. He also dislocated a knee last summer.

Sox take right handed pitcher Chris Beck from Georgia Southern. This is a great fucking pick. Beck was considered a top 10 pick at the beginning of the year but he had a down season. He's a big Kid (6'3" 225) and has a real good fastball a good slider and change. If they get him back to form he will be an absloute steal.