Draft 2012: - Hunter Virant, Chase De Jong, Drake Duncan, C.J. Hinojosa, Trey Williams

10-11-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/455/prep-arms-the-difference-in-class-of-2012  - Hunter Virant, LHP -- Camarillo (Camarillo, Calif.) Virant, like Fried and Giolito, has committed to UCLA but like his potential future college teammates could be a first-round pick come June. The southpaw sits in the 88-91 mph range but has visited the 94 mph neighborhood and offers projectability at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds. He has a good feel for a mid-70s curveball and turns over a changeup for strikes. There is a bit of concern with his arm action -- it's a bit short -- but it's not likely to impact his future role and if it's mended he could add velocity.

10-16-11: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2011/10/perez-will-head-to-central-arizona-early  - SC Yankees Scout Team righthander Chase De Jong from Wilson High in Long Beach, Calif., pitched at 88-89 mph today with a tight 12-6 curveball in the 75-76 mph range. As he's done all summer, De Jong showed great composure and racked up strikeouts.

10-16-11: -  http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/10/16/drake-duncan-2012-draft-profile  Player:  Drake Duncan - Position: C/2B/OF - School: Ben Davis HS (IN) - Date of Birth:  9/15/1993 - Height/Weight: 5’9/170 - Bats/Throws: R/R - Class Of: 2012 Committed To: Scouting Report:  Drake Duncan is a prep catcher from Ben Davis High School in Indiana. He is a good athlete with the ability to play multiple positions. Over the summer, Duncan played catcher, second base, and outfield for the Indiana Bulls. Duncan has quick feet and a good arm behind the plate. He has recorded pop times from 1.8-2.21. Duncan has a good approach at the plate and drives the ball to all fields. His recorded time in the 60 is 6.8. Overall, Duncan is a hard nosed player who should be able to stay behind the plate at the next level

10-16-11: - http://www.dailytexanonline.com/blog/keeping-score/2011/10/17/texas-baseball-team-adds-prep-star-cj-hinojosa  - One of the top 2012 MLB Draft prospects has become the newest addition to Augie Garrido’s arsenal.Shortstop C.J. Hinojosa, has completed an aid agreement with the Longhorns and will enroll at Texas once he graduates from Klein Collins High School in December. Hinojosa, considered by many to be one of the best fielding shortstops in the 2012 draft class, was good enough offensively to post a .405 batting average, steal 12 bases, and notch 27 extra-base hits in 32 games, 16 of them homeruns.

10-18-11: - http://www.rantsports.com/blog/2011/10/18/2012-mlb-mock-draft-update-heading-into-the-world-series  - 5. Kansas City Royals Trey Williams 3rd Baseman Valencia High School California Mike Moustakas was drafted 2nd overall in 2007.  He posted a batting average of .263 in 89 games. Kansas City should draft Trey Williams and develop him.  The upside to drafting Trey Williams is that you have insurance at 3rd base if Moustakas flops as an MLB pro. The Royals usually take the best high school prospect available.  2010 was the exception when the Royals became enamored by Christian Colon.  The Royals are stacked at outfield so they will probably take the best high school player available who does not play in the outfield. I do not believe Trey Williams is a top 5 pick.  I feel like the Royals will reach for Trey Williams just like they reached for Colon.  Its too early to say Colon was a reach, but most MLB mock drafts had him going 22nd overall and he went 4th so you have to take that into account.  The Royals passed on Anthony Rendon to draft Bubba Starling.

Draft 2012: - Jesse Winkler, Walker Weickel, Peter Cantwell, Hunter Virant, Max Fried

9-1-11: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com - Jesse Winker, Olympia HS, Orlando FL, 6'2 200 L/L, good approach to game as hitter and fielder, shows plus arm strength from RF, fair runner, 6.95, 60, has power in his bat, tends to be tentative in pitch selection, but when he squares up his has power to RF and LF alleys, needs to be more aggressive in his hitting approach.

10-1-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/10/01/walker-weickel-2012-draft-profile - Prep righthander Walker Weickel is one of the top arms eligible for the 2012 draft.  He is big, athletic, and projectable. Weickel has a high 3/4 to over the top delivery.  He does an excellent job of pitching downhill.  His delivery creates some deception. Weickel throws a low 90′s fastball that has hit 94.  Some additional velocity should come as he matures.  He has a low 70′s curve that is a potential plus pitch but is still somewhat inconsistent.  His low 80′s change also shows flashes of plus potential. Weickel is almost assured of being selected in the first round and could land among the top 10 selections

10-4-11: - http://ht.ly/1eYnA5 - We continue the countdown today with Stony Brook senior catcher Patrick Cantwell. The senior has had an outstanding career with the Seawolves which has seen him win multiple conference awards. He played three years of varsity baseball at West Islip HS and was a three-time captain. As a senior, he hit .477 with 31 runs, eight triples, two home runs and 33 RBIs. Cantwell continued with his strong college career as a junior when he became the everyday catcher. He started 54 games with a .308 batting average with 14 doubles and 46 runs scored from the leadoff spot. He played the summer of 2011 in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Bourne Braves. He hit .279 with 18 runs scored and nine RBI in 35 games including the postseason. He was named a CCBL All-Star where he went 0-2.

10-6-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/10/5/2466822/2012-mlb-mock-draft#comments - Virant is extremely athletic. He’s only a year into concentrating on pitching and crosses his body on delivery at times. I’m guessing that’s what people mean by “project”. He does have a really good feel for pitching in the looks I’ve seen. His CB is not yet at the same level as Fried (who throws two versions) but Virant might have the better Changeup. Fried throws a bit harder. Virant just pitched out in Cali (following the USA 18u Trials) a week ago. Sat 86-88 touching 90. He needs to shut down. He was sick coming into the Area Codes, showed up late and pitched just OK. PGAA was pretty much a mess. Now he’s getting ready for a trip to Colombia with the 18u’s. Looks like he’s lost a lot of weight since the start of the summer which speaks to the drop in velo. Somebody needs to step in and advise him to take a rest and recover.

10-10-11: - (Max) Fried is a specimen to watch for sure. As far as his 60 time, I’m not sold on that, he ran a 6.95 in Cary in June at TOS, Virant ran a 7.2, and both had fb that topped 92 on the stalker pro. One of the better specimens in Cary was RHP, 2012, Keiran Lovegrove of Mission Viejo, 6’4 180, ran 6.65 and topped 93 on stalker pro, great body projection much like Mike Mussina was Muss was in HS in Pa. I agree on the top 2 lefty talk for HS, there aren’t as many good HS lefties in 2012 as their were when Purke & Matzek were graduating. But it’s early!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL Fried for me threw 1 inning, so just a pocket follow, Virant threw 3 innings, very crude but there is something there, not first round based on what I saw though. I saw Kyle Lobstein from Arizona a few years back, and to be fair, Kyle was better at this stage than the two Fried & Virant at the same stage going into their SR years. Just my opinion however -  http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/10/5/2466822/2012-mlb-mock-draft#comments

2012 Draft: - Mets 2012 12th Overall Pick – An Early Projection:

The order of the first round is set and the Mets pick 12^th.

It’s far too early to make any hard predictions, but, there will be great players still on the board when the Mets get their pick. The 2012 draft isn’t as talented as this year, but there are around 20 A-players in this one, and the Mets will get a shot at one of them.

The first thing is to eliminate the players that will be gone before the Mets pick comes up.

Right now, they look to be RHPs Lucas Giolito, Mark Appel, Kevin Gausman, and Lance McCullers, catcher Mike Zunino (damn), SS Deven Marrero, and OF Nick Williams.

Your next five could be:

RHP Michael Wacha – A 6-6 right hander out of Texas A&M. Wacha has a big, low 90s,  ¾ fastball with sink. Was a reliever and still needs to develop a third plus pitch, but his change-up is filthy.

LHP Hunter Virant – There is no dominant lefty in this draft, but Virant should be the first to be picked. A prep kid, he’s already hitting 93 and there is project that he has room to grow both on his fastball and his curve. Add to that an already advanced changeup and he may soar up the draft as the season goes on.

C Stryker Trahan –  Mike Zunino is the top catcher in the draft, but the Mets may pick Trahan since he isn’t projected to be around past the first 31 picks. Another prep players, the very confident Trahan is a brute, with an excellent arm. A 5-tooler in the making.

OF Victor Roache – Roache led the nation last year in home runs as a first baseman, but has quietly been converting himself into an outfielder. He had 30 home runs in 60 games. Let’s see, the pros play 162 games… hmm. Also dominated the Cape Cod League with .328, 6-HR, 28-RBI.  And, all this was done with the new dead bat.

3B Trey Williams –  Anther high school kid, this could be the Mets future third baseman. A definite 5-tooler with enormous power potential.  One scout projects has him on the upside of a more athletic Mark Texeira when he was drafted.