Draft 2012: - Ron Miller, Krey Bratsen, Nelson Rodriguez, Taylore Cherry, Fernando Perez

9-1-11: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com - Ron Miller, Serra HS, Los Angeles CA, 5'10 210 R/R, plays 3b, best shot to play LF at pro level, short compact power stroke with ability to go the other way, shows arm strength and fair running speed, enough ability offensively to get to pro level, will go as far as bat takes him. Kevin Mitchell type comp from the early 80's.

10-7-11: - http://ht.ly/1f1C6v - We continue the countdown today with number 96 with Texas A&M sophomore outfielder Krey Bratsen. He checks in at 6’0 and 175 pounds out of Bryan, Texas where he attended Bryan High School. Bratsen had an outstanding career which saw him win four letters while bringing the team to the state playoffs in each season. The Oakland Athletics selected him in the 45th round of the 2010 MLB Draft but he decided to continue his baseball career at Texas A&M. Bratsen stepped right into the Aggies lineup as a freshman in 2011 playing in all 69 games while finishing second on the team with a .332 batting average. He chipped in with 36 RBI but his most impressive role is his speed. He led the squad with 31 stolen bases in 40 attempts which ended up being the second best in the Big 12 conference. He was named a member of the All-Big 12 team while picking up multiple Freshman All-American awards. Krey played the summer of 2011 in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Cotuit Kettleers after helping the Aggies advance to the College World Series. He played in 23 games hitting .250 with two RBI and stealing six bases.

10-8-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/10/08/nelson-rodriguez-2012-draft-profile - One of the top names among catchers eligible for the 2012 MLB draft is Nelson Rodriguez of George Washington High in New York.  He capped off a busy 2011 summer by playing in the Perfect Game All-American Classic and winning the event’s home run derby. Rodriguez is best known for the power in his bat.  He has great raw power and can hit the ball out to all fields.  Rodriguez has good bat speed and shows strong pitch recognition. Rodriguez moves well behind the plate.  He has soft hands and a strong arm.  Rodriguez has a recorded pop time of 1.90.  There is some concern that if he gets much bigger, Rodriguez could be forced to move to first base.Rodriguez has enough potential with his bat to be a legitimate prospect at either catcher or first base, but his draft stock hinges on whether teams believe his future is behind the plate or down the line at first.

10-11-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/455/prep-arms-the-difference-in-class-of-2012  - Taylore Cherry, RHP -- Butler (Vandalia, Ohio) Cherry checks in at 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds and sits 92-94 mph with his four-seam fastball. The pitch generates sink, as does his plus changeup. He commands his pitches well, including a below-average curveball that tends to flatten out at times. His size may scare off some clubs and it could ultimately dictate his role, but there are no present red flags with his mechanics that would push him to the bullpen. He's committed to North Carolina but there's likely more velocity in the chamber and he may not be able to pass up first-round money.

10-16-11: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2011/10/perez-will-head-to-central-arizona-early  - Fernando Perez will be moving schools again, but he's already proven he's up to the challenge.  The third baseman from Otay Ranch High in Chula Vista, Calif., said he has enough credits to graduate early and will be enrolling at Central Arizona JC in January. "I really want to challenge myself," Perez said. "So I want to go there and play with older guys and wood bats and the longer season." Perez will share the left side of the diamond with an old friend. Central Arizona's shortstop, Jorge Flores, is also from Mexico and he and Perez played together when they were younger. Changing schools and challenging himself is nothing new for Perez. Originally from Ensenada, Mexico, Perez first started playing baseball when he was 8 years old. He said he comes from a baseball family–his father and uncle played semi-pro baseball in Mexico.

Draft 2012: - Jeremy Baltz, Lance McCullers Jr., Mike Zunino, Ted Blackman, Nelson Rodriguez

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments   - Jeremy Baltz, St John’s, 6’3 205, R/R, one of better hitters on paper with tools, didn’t have great 2011 as he did in 2010, adjusted to new bats, but came on late this year. Shows ability to play either OF corner and has strong enough arm for RF, runs well underway, not a base stealing threat, 8-15 type HR power frequency, 4-7 type round candidate for 2012.

9-8-11: - http://www.gacksports.com/65590/2012-mlb-mock-draft-update  - 3. Minnesota Twins Lance McCullers Jr. Pitcher Tampa Jesuit High School Florida Even though were beginning to see pitchers like Mark Appel and Lucas Giolito slowly separate themselves as the #1 and #2 overall prospects at this point, Lance McCullers Jr. is still a top 3 overall talent. You would be a fool to dismiss what Lance brings to the table in terms of pitching potential down the road.

9-12-11: - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/09/12/sec-baseball-questions-for-2011  - Mike Zunino will look to return to his sophomore form as he was named 2011 SEC Player of the Year after hitting .371 with 19 homers and 67 RBI in a breakout season. Zunino made an interesting decision to not play for Team USA this summer and only appeared in eleven games with Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox before heading home for the summer

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. - 1. Ted Blackman OF Winter Park--Coastal Carolina - Ted, a 6-0/190 pound switch-hitter really made a name for himself this summer while patrolling the Diamond Dawgs outfield. He led the league with a .425 batting average and had an unreal .582 on base percentage. He also led the league with 37 walks. Ted was second in the league with 38 runs scored and 28 stolen bases as well. He showed some pop at the plate (3 hr's) and he hit 10 home runs on the season. During a 10-game stretch in late June/early July, he went 16/35 and drove in 9 runners. He was named the MVP of the league and Perfect Game named him to their Third Team-All American List. Perfect Game ranked him as the 5th best prospect in the league, and Baseball America tabbed him as the 2nd best prospect in the league.

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Nelson Rodriguez, George Washington HS, Brooklyn NY, 6’1 230 R/R, strong body, huge legs, good bat speed with power potential, stands to throw and has ML arm strength, not real quick in his actions behind the plate, played mostly 1b at TOS event, put the bat on the ball which is his trademark, runs better than he showed out of the box but is not going to be a base running threat. 13-20 round type.

Draft 2012: - Adam Barry, Jake Stewart, Nelson Rodriguez, Lucas Giolito, Rock Rucker

8-31-11: http://www.collegesummerbaseball.net/2011/08/top-15-position-players-in-cal-ripken.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter  - Top 15 Position Players in the Cal Ripken League - 1. Adam Barry 1b/3b Bethesda--Cal State Northridge - Barry, a former football player from Wyoming was the leagues MVP this season. He hit an amazing .414 in 162 at-bats for the Bethesda. He had 67 hits and drove in 43, both of which were league records. He led the league with 38 runs scored, 14 doubles, and with an OPS of 1.037 this summer. He was also named to the Perfect Game All-American List and to the Cal Ripken All-League Team.



7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Jake Stewart, Stanford, 6’2 190, R/R, good athlete with very good speed and ave arm strength, 250 type hitter with occ HR power, was some buzz about him being considered early 1-3 round type guy, but for me, he’s a 13-20 guy at best.


8-31-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/  - Nelson Rodriguez is an enormous Catcher out of George Washington High School in New York. He is listed at 6'2" and 215 lbs. I thik he may even be bigger than that. Behind the dish, he is an enormous target. He is agile enough to block balls in the dirt well. He has a big arm but a slow release grading out about average. He has big power potential but his swing is a little inconsistent. He has great bat speed. He's not a slow runner but he's not fast either. He'll only slow down as he gets bigger though. He looks like a top 10 round talent to me and could go as high as the third if a team believes in his defensive ability. He looks like a potential starting catcher in the majors but may be a C/1B type that can hit .260/.330/.470


9-1-11: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2011/08/31/2012-mlb-draft-top-prospects  - Lucas Giolito, RHP, Harvard Westlake HS, CA - Giolito has an uncommonly smooth motion for a pitcher with his youth, size, and arm strength. There aren’t many high school pitchers we look at and see teaching points in, but Lucas Giolito has virtually ideal timing in his delivery – a huge, huge deal. You think of pitchers with big arm circles pulling their elbows up high, bending and contorting their bodies in all sorts of silly directions. Everything a pitcher does with his mechanics, good or bad, is for naught if ball isn’t in the driveline as the shoulders start to rotate. There’s only one place a pitcher needs to bring the ball to, which is in a position to be accelerated towards home-plate. A bullet doesn’t do any good until it’s in the barrel. Giolito does this very, very well. He makes throwing hard look easy.


7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Rock Rucker, Redan HS, Marietta GA, 6’4 210, L/L, great body and has apparent arm strength, up to 89 on this day, tries to finess and then tries to over power hitters, command is ok, has some ability to improve with more exposure and full-time duties on the hill, more fb vel left in that tank. Keep an eye on in 2012. Saw also in 2010 at Breakthrough Series, has some pop in his bat.