9-1-11: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com - Vahn Bozoian, Ayala HS, Chino Hills CA, 6'4 200, R/R, gamer with great baseball actions, runs well underway, just ave stop watch times, throws well from RF, has type of slashing power to hit 15-20 HR at pro level. Sets up and fields well. Gets most out of his ability. Potential early rounder in 2012. 10-6-11: - http://ht.ly/1f0wJA - We continue the countdown today with number 97 junior Wake Forest LHP Brian Holmes. He is from Lawrenceville, Georgia and was a two year letterwinner at Mill Creek High School. As a senior, he went 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 43 strikeouts while leading the team to the state playoffs both years. Holmes spent his freshman season at one of the top junior colleges in the country at Young Harris Junior College. He pitched in 13 games including eight starts. He finished the season with a 4-2 record and an 8.16 ERA while striking out 43 batters in 43 innings pitched. Holmes transferred over to Wake Forest for the 2011 season where he was inserted into the weekend rotation. He appeared in 15 games (11 starts) serving as the Demon Deacons top starting pitcher by the end of the year. He finished the year with a 3-4 record while having an ERA of 3.00 in 69 innings pitched. He struggled some with his walks with 28 on the year but struck out 68 batters. 10-12- 11:- http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/10/5/2466822/2012-mlb-mock-draft#comments - RHP w/ sick slider Luke Shearrow out of John A. Logan College - Prediction: This kid out of John A. Logan College in southern Illinois, Luke Shearrow, will go high in the draft. He is under the radar right now, but not for long, and he has “It”. He that swagger about him and real mound presence and of course, Talent. This kid is 6’ 4" 190# RHP with a 92 mph two seam and a nice change-up to back it up. But his real bread and butter is a sick slider! I saw him a few weeks ago at a scout day and he looked great. All of the scouts there, both MLB and D-1, were talking about him. I don’t expect a kid of this caliber to take a D-1 scholarship anywhere but to go in the draft and start his professional pitching career. 10-5-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/10/05/stryker-trahan-2012-draft-profile - Stryker Trahan is a catcher with legitimate lefthanded power. One of the things that jumps out about Stryker is the amount of athleticism he brings to the position. Trahan is known for his power and overall hitting ability. He has a short stroke with excellent bat speed. Trahan has good plate discipline and makes solid contact consistently. He also brings good speed to the table, running 60′s from 6.54 to 6.67. Offense is Trahan’s calling card, but he has the tools needed to succeed at catcher, as well. He moves well behind the plate and has a strong arm. Reported pop times for Trahan range from 1.85 to 2.01. Should he be needed to move from catcher in the future, right field would be his most likely landing spot. Trahan’s combination of lefthanded power and athleticism should land him in the upped half of the first round of the draft. 10-11-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/455/prep-arms-the-difference-in-class-of-2012 - Max Fried, LHP -- Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) Fried, who transferred from Montclair Prep (Van Nuys, Calif.) to join forces with Giolito, offers a fastball in the 89-92 mph range and a potentially plus curveball and changeup. He stays over the rubber well and is a good athlete, running sub seven-second 60 times over the summer. He's hit 94 on the gun in the past and his 6-foot-4, 175-pound frame offers plenty of projection to suggest he could sit in the 93-96 mph range down the road. Fried is committed to UCLA, but could perform his way into the Top 10 where the bonus money exceeds $2 million.
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
7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments - Dan Gulbransen, Jacksonville, 5’11 200, L/L, short compact swing as hitter with HR power to RF alley, can go the other way for extra base hits, throws adequate to be solid LF corner guy or 4th utility OF, runs well enough but not a threat to steal many bases, good base running ability however.
