Draft 2012: - Nick Williams, Kenny Diekroeger, Keon Barnum, David Dahl, Joe Sciafani

9-1-11: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com - Nick Williams, Ball HS, Galveston TX, 6'2 190, L/L, smooth hitting CF with very good actions and discipline as a hitter and fielder, ave to abv ave arm strength, room to fill out and get stronger, ran 4.2 from LH side, has power to alleys, definite top 5 for 2012 to follow.

9-29-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/9/28/2455532/all-questions-answered-thread#comments - Kenny Diekroeger - I saw quite a bit of him this year. He started the year showing a nice line drive inducing swing but that eventually devolved into a much less impressive offensive player. Defensively, he showed decent enough range, but his actions were pretty rough and I wasn’t impressed with his arm. I don’t see him sticking at SS, and I’m not sure if 3B is viable given his arm strength.

10-1-11: - http://www.tampabay.com/hometeam/blog/king-1b-keon-barnum-commits-miami/1100  - / King first baseman Keon Barnum, one of the Tampa Bay area's top senior baseball players, has verbally committed to the University of Miami. Barnum, who is also one of the area's top Class of 2012 MLB Draft prospects, committed to the 'Canes Thursday night after returning from a trip to Coral Gables last weekend.

10-1-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/10/01/david-dahl-2012-draft-profile  - David Dahl has above average tools across the board and can play the game.  Even after missing time during the summer due to illness, Dahl remains highly ranked by every scouting service. Dahl is advanced offensively, with a balanced level swing and quick hands.  He has good bat speed and makes consistent contact.  A line drive hitter, Dahl should add more home runs as he matures.  He is aggressive on the bases, and, with his 6.5 spped, always a threat to steal. Dahl is one of the top defensive outfielders eligible for the 2012 draft.  He complements his speed with a legitimate plus arm. When draft day arrives, Dahl is likely to be one of the first 20 names off the board.

10-3-11: - http://ht.ly/1eXiUB - (Joe) Sclafani made an immediate impact into the Dartmouth Big Green lineup as a freshman as he appeared in 44 games hitting .339 with two homers and 35 RBI. At the midseason point of the season, he was moved up to the leadoff role for the Big Green. He ended up hitting .350 at the top of the order with 46 runs and 28 RBIs leading the squad to a 25-7 record when he led off. He was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year and named First Team All-Ivy League at shortstop. Joe played the summer of 2009 in the NYCBL with the Amstredam Mohawks. Things didn’t go exactly as played with him struggling at the plate hitting .212 with two homers and 18 RBI in 35 games. He did walk 20 times while striking out on only eight times in 99 at bats.

Draft 2012: - Dario Pizzano, Kenny Diekroeger, Alex Cruz, Brandon Kuter, Kevin Gausman

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Dario Pizzano, Columbia, 5’11 L/R, solid hitter with occ power, gap type power for extra bases, 40 arm and 40 runner, gamer with good instincts and a baseball diamond rat, just enough ability to get to ML level perhaps, 13-20 round type guy.

9-8-11: - http://www.gacksports.com/65590/2012-mlb-mock-draft-update  - 10. Pittsburgh Pirates Kenny Diekroeger Short Stop Stanford The Pittsburgh Pirates could use a shortstop to solidify the infield. Pedro Alvarez at 3rd base and Neil Walker at 2nd base makes for a great infield, but adding that shortstop who can provide some pop at shortstop could give the Pirates one of the best infields in the MLB.

9-12-11: - http://www.collegesummerbaseball.net/2011/09/top-20-position-players-in-florida.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter  - In the six-team Florida Collegiate Summer League this summer, the Sanford River Rats downed the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs to earn them the title of FCSL Champions. Individually, there were at least 25 position players that turned in great seasons. Unfortunately, I had to narrow the list down to the top 20.- 7. Alex Cruz 3B Winter Park--Georgia Tech - Cruz is the first of two Georgia Tech players on my list. He hit .337 in 98 at-bats for Winter Park. He scored 20 runs, drove in 18 and hit 4 doubles this summer. He hit his stride in the playoffs, as he hit .333 in 12 at-bats. He scored 2 runs and drove in 2 during the Dawgs playoff run. Alex was rated as the 16th best prospect in the league by Perfect Game.

Add caption

The Westhampton Aviators had the most prospects (6), including No. 1 prospect Brandon Kuter, a rising junior righthander from George Mason, but managed to compile just a 21-19 record on the season, though finished first in its division and lost in the league championship game to Staten Island.It remains to be seen where this year’s top prospect, the 6-foot-7 Kuter, will be drafted in 2012, but he was hands-down the top-rated talent in the league and actually moved to the top spot after being ranked No. 7 a year ago. Kuter topped the league in saves with a fastball that peaked at 96 mph. - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6235  

9-16-11: - http://denver.sbnation.com/colorado-rockies/2011/9/16/2429660/2012-mlb-draft-top-50-kevin-gasuman  - Though he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2010 MLB Draft, Colorado native Kevin Gausman went to the Southeast and joined the LSU Tigers baseball team. The Grandview High School product had a solid debut for the Tigers, going 5-6 with a 3.51 ERA in 14 starts. He struck out 86 in 90 innings and held opposing batters to a .215 average. He will be a draft-eligible sophomore for the 2012 MLB Draft and is already receiving high praise from Baseball America in its early 2012 MLB Draft preview. The 6-foot-4 right-hander is the No. 7 prospect right now and is described thusly:

Draft 2012: - Joey Rickard, Kenny Diekroeger, Lucas Giolito, Kyle Hansen, Freddy Avis

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Joey Rickard, Arizona, 6’1 180, R/R, runs well underway, 6.55, 60 guy, throws adequate, solid range, makes contact, short stroke with occ alley power, doubles type guy, could be quality 4th OF in time, 8-12 round type.

9-1-11: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2011/08/31/2012-mlb-draft-top-prospects  - Kenny Diekroeger, SS, Stanford - Stanford shortstop Kenny Diekroeger can be a frustrating player to evaluate. The good is that he has a compact and hand-oriented swing that's very short to the ball. He has a smooth trigger and has the hand strength required to make a hands dominant swing work. However, Diekroeger doesn't get anywhere near the bat speed he could out of his swing, nor does he maintain optimum angles through the zone. Diekroeger has similar hand rhythm actions to Jason Bay, but also has a pull side dominant plane like Bay. Diekroeger's hand rhythm helps pull his front shoulder back to an angle that usually is conducive to hammering the pitch away, but he doesn't maintain that plane when he launches. His strong hands should allow him to still be quick inside yet still cover away with the angle of hip-shoulder separation he achieves, but due to a heavy rolling top hand, Diekroger pulls his barrel off the pitch away and consistently into a pull dominant plane.

9-8-11: - http://www.gacksports.com/65590/2012-mlb-mock-draft-update  - 2. Baltimore Orioles Lucas Giolito Pitcher Harvard Westlake High School California This was such a tough pick to make. I felt like Lance McCuller’s Jr. still deserves to be a top pick, but there are too many numbers working in Lucas Giolito’s favor. Giolito managed to strikout batting prospect Trey Williams. Giolito weighs 6 foot 6 220 pounds. Giolito was 9-1 with an ERA of 1.00 last season during his junior season of high school baseball. You get a 95 MPH 4 seamer and a 92 MPH 2 seamer with Giolito. Another plus pitch that Giolito has is his hard breaking curve ball that he manages to deliver into the lower corners of the strike out zone so effectively.

Pitcher Kyle Hansen and outfielder Jeremy Baltz have both been named Top-30 prospects in the Cape Cod Baseball League, as announced by Baseball America. Hansen, who played with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, checked in at No. 22, while Baltz was listed as the No. 27 prospect after his season with the Falmouth Commodores. Hansen made 13 appearances, including two starts, for the Red Sox and went 0-1 with a 3.63 ERA. The righty finished tied for tenth in the league with four saves and racked up 28 strikeouts, while issuing just nine walks in 22.1 innings of work. Hansen also limited the opposition to a .214 batting average. The righty also made one playoff appearance, striking out four in 4.0 innings of one-run relief. - http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/090811aaa.html  

8-16-11: - http://sancarlos.patch.com/articles/freddy-avis-suddenly-a-sizzling-mlb-prospect  Freddy Avis’s summer has been a blur. And that’s how many an opposing batter would describe his mid-90’s fastball. How much has changed for Avis since he completed his junior year at Menlo School? At the time of the MLB draft in early June, Avis would’ve gawked at the possibility of weighing a lucrative offer to play professional baseball in a year. That was about the furthest thing from his mind as he was narrowing his college choices and eying a full slate of travel-ball games with the California Smoke.