Draft Roundup

Just what a yankee fan like myself wants for christmas, a new farnsworth...

O...K......? What's your point, Zito? They have the fifth pick; of course there are going to be some nice players on the board.

Not big on Mayo's picks. There didn't seem to be anything behind them; just his own brand of supposition. I dunno...

My own mock now goes:
1. TB- Buster Posey
2. PIT- Tim Beckham
3. KC- Justin Smoak
4. BAL- Pedro Alvarez
5. SF- Gordon Beckham
6. FLA- Kyle Skipworth
7. CIN- Brian Matusz
8. CHI- Brett Wallace
9. WAS- Zach Collier
10.HOU- Aaron Crow
11.TEX- Shooter Hunt
12.OAK- Yonder Alonso
13.STL- Christian Friedrich
14.MIN- Conor Gillespie
15.LAD- Eric Hosmer
16.MIL- Andrew Cashner
17.TOR- Brett Lawrie
18.NYM- Aaron Hicks
19.CHI- Ethan Martin
20.SEA- Ryan Perry
21.DET- Josh Fields
22.NYM- Jason Castro
23.SD- Ike Davis
24.PHI- Anthony Hewitt
25.COL- Jake Odorizzi
26.ARI- Dan Schlereth
27.MIN- Tim Melville
28.NYY- Casey Kelly
29.CLE- Alex Meyer
30.BOS- Reese Havens

That's actually a pretty good mock milehigh, but there is no way the Dodgers take a Boras client.

milehigh, I know it's a stretch to have the A's getting G.Beckham at 12, but I really doubt they take Alonso. And not to try and make my dreams a reality but I really doubt the Giants take Beckham. And as you have said in the past you don't think Alvarez will make it past the Royals. Here's my 1st round. Yes Beckham will fall, but I provide intel about where and why players go where they go.

TB - Buster Posey C, It's pretty much between him and Tim Beckham. But The Rays hope to contend soon, so I see them taking Posey

PIT - Pedro Alvarez 3B, They say they want a face. Alvarez does that and more. To save money thought they might pick Matusz

KC - Tim Beckham SS, I bet they were hoping Alvarez would fall to make a run at being a contender soon, but They'll take T.Beck.

BAL - Justin Smoak 1B, 1B is a place they need strength at, (not sold on Snyder) but like some Draft Analysists are saying they may go with Matusz.

SF - Kyle Skipworth C, The Giants need some impact bats, and though they may have wanted some of the other premium bats, they'll take Skipworth.

FL - Brian Matusz LHP, Suprising he's still on the board, Marlins thought about Cashner but go with best pitcher availible.

CIN - Aaron Crow RHP, Thrilled he's still here, snap him up in a heartbeat.

CWS - Brett Wallace 1B/3B, Kenny just won't be able to avoid him. He's the guy he wants, he's the guy he's gonna get.

WASH - Zach Collier RHP, Yet again the nats want him, so they'll take him. But they might go after fellow prep righty Tim Melville.

HOU - Tim Melville RHP, This is the big question mark, they need to add impact to a baren system, so they might go with G.Beck, but in my mock they don't

TEX - Eric Hosmer 1B, One of the best bats availible, hefty price, but since when has Texas been afraid of spending money?

OAK - Gordan Beckham SS, YAY!!! This draft very well could happen, so I'm opptomistic about the A's getting Beckham. If he's not here we could go with Shooter Hunt, Christian Friedrich, Conor Gillipse, or maybe even Ethan Martin.

STL - Christian Friedrich LHP, Good arm, help fill the weak farm system, could go with Yonder Alonso, except he's pretty much stuck at 1st and with Albert, their that might change their minds.

MIN - Aaron Hicks OF, The Twins love High School OF's, Hicks is a good one. But like it says, might not pan out. Could go with Hunt.

LAD - Gerrit Cole RHP, The dodgers scouting dept. said they were looking for impact players to fill up the system. Cole fils the bill.

MIL - Shooter Hunt RHP, Quality Arm, should help the systems weakness to get pitching prospects to play well in the bigs. (except Gallardo)

TOR - Yonder Alonso 1B, Nice mid-1st round pick-up. No clear 1B, in the system, unless they move Lind or Snyder. (and I know Snyder was drafted as a 1B)

NYM - Ethan Martin RHP, The Mets decide to shell out the money to help a depleted system.

CHC - Andrew Cashner RHP, would be a nice late 1st round pick-up. The Cubs hope fully develop a true closer out of him.

SEA - Ryan Perry RHP, Could be a future #2 or #3 starter with development. Should help the Mariners who in my opinion have the Weakest farm system, now the Clement and Valentin are in the majors.

DET - Josh Fields RHP, future closer of some team. Great stuff. Tigers are looking fro relief help, Fields could reach the bigs soon.

NYM - Conor Gillipse, The fact he has no power what so ever makes him a possible ? for the Mets who play in a division where you need power everywhere.

SD - Ike Davis OF/LHP, would be a great asset to the Pads in the near future, combine him with Hunter and Headly, that's a great future middle of the order.

PHL - Luke Burnett RHP, One of the top pitching prospects entering the season, slowed down a little bit, but a nice future #3 guy.

COL - Jemile Weeks 2B, Speed demon, could be great, only real weakness in the Rockies system.

ARI - Tanner Scheppers RHP, even with the injury, could be a great score, slidding with the injury. And with the deep system they can take a risk.

MIN - Daniel Webb RHP, Like their preps, he could be a great player. Some scouts say he could be a top 10 pick if he cam out of college in a couple of years.

NYY - Brett Hunter RHP, A real gamble with the injury, but if they win like they did last year, they win big time.

CLE - Tyson Ross RHP, A quality arm, former top 10 candidate before scouts questioned his realease.

BOS - Jake Odorizzi RHP, Top prep pitcher, not sold, could go with fellow righty Hunter Cervenka.

That's my Mock. Yeah a little bias. But at least I admit it. Give feedback.

Ari-

Some interesting points and I can definitely see Alvarez snapped up before Baltimore picks, but Beckham won't fall to Oakland. It's just too far a drop. I can't believe you weren't jumping for joy that I gave you Alonso. Kid can friggin' rake...with power! He's one of the top pure bats in this draft and could be the first to make it to the show.

Posey at No. 1 makes sense based on TB's timeline to win-now and the uncertainty over Navarro. I think they'll think long and hard about Alvarez, since this is likely their last top 5-10 pick in the foreseeable future, but is his bat really worth being held hostage by Boras? Probably not, so Posey at or around slot is the pick.

You're right about Pittsburgh needing a face, but who's to say TBecks isn't just that. A 5 tool supertalent with the highest upside in this draft? The issue with the Bucs taking Alvarez is that he'll make the show within two years (that's liberal) of signing. Probably one, but... Now his service clock is running and he's getting pitched around and the front office is scrambling to find talent to surround him with, but the draft only happens once a year... By the time the Buccos have enough young talent ready for the bigs, Alvarez is out the door; signing with the Yankees via free agency! Beckham is a cornerstone talent they can take their time and build around; a premium position stud the organization can develop a plan around. Plus, with how badly the Pirates need this pick- both in terms of added talent and public relations (like you said, they need a 'face')- Boras will absolutely crush them with demands. As bad as it will be with ANY team, Boras will hold Alvarez hostage if Pittsburgh takes him. Not because Pittsburgh's a bad city or the Pirates are a bad team...but because he CAN! He knows they'll HAVE to pay whatever he says. I think the Pirates would prefer to avoid such a situation.

That leads us to KC. This is where I could see my O's losing out on Alvarez- not Pittsburgh. The Royals have worked with Boras in the past and shown a willingness to spend on the draft under Dayton Moore.

Still, after the near-miss with Moustakas last year, I gotta think they're rethinking their relationship with the super-agent. IF they think Smoak's bat is comparable, I think he fits here. Think about it...

The Royals don't have to deal with Boras and the whole last-second-signing crap.

They get a natural first baseman, rather than trying to convert Alvarez. Not only is Smoak already at the position, but he's REALLY good there; Teixeira- esque. In fact, his whole GAME is Teixeira-esque...except for his price-tag. There, Alvarez has the Tex comp.

Smoak is a switch hitting monster with middle-of-the-order power and a good enough hit tool to figure on a .290+ BA. There's no concern of lingering, power-sapping hamate breaks a la Alvarez, nor has he been hounded by K concerns the way the Vanderbilt 3Bman has. Just saying.

Alvarez could still be the pick, obviously. If the Royals think he's head and shoulders over Smoak (or Hosmer or GBecks or Alonso ...), they'll surely grab him and deal with Boras again. I'm just not entirely convinced.

I had the O's grabbing Alvarez because, IF he dropped to them at four, they'd swoop in and snatch him up; a no-brainer at 4 for a team that isn't handcuffed by small-market concerns or tough decisions- Smoak, Beckham, and Posey are all off the board; who else is there?!

If Alvarez goes at 3 (or two to Pittsburgh), I'd love my Birds to go for Hosmer, who I think could be the biggest star from this draft class...over the long run. Still, I'd guess at either Smoak, GBecks, or Matusz. (See Ari...you should hope we get Alvarez; there's a good chance we'll go after Beckham otherwise. The O's LOOOOVE Gordon, I'm hearing). All three profile as solid pros or better, so I wouldn't be upset in any case (though Matusz just doesn't make a lot of sense).

I already made my case for Smoak and, if Alvarez is gone and he's on the board, I'm fine with your prediction at 4. I just think the Royals might use the same logic to snag the cheaper, no-hassle Smoak and leave Alvarez's diva-by-proxy act to the O's.

Either way, I keep coming back to Gordon Beckham at No. 5. San Fran needs a bat. While Matusz might be tempting at No. 5, I have a hard time believing he'd pass up such a massive organizational need for the lefty. And, if they go with a bat, the only real options on the board are Beckham, Hosmer, and Skipworth. I admit, Skipworth is a legit possibility; a great bat at a premium position. Never mind that they took Jackson Williams in the supplemental first round last year, he'll be tempting...more so than Hosmer, who's terrific bat speed and power are negated by the fact that he could wind up at the same level as the org's other top bat- 1B Angel Villalona. It's one thing to say you're drafting the best player on the board; it's another to double up on raw, defensively limited, all-upside 1B power bats when there are SO many other needs.

SF has a number of raw young talents strewn about the middle infields of their minor league affiliates- Nick Noonan, Charlie Culberson, Emmanuel Burris, etc.- but Beckham would give them a tremendous skill set, very polished, and ready to produce. His readiness is the one factor that I think earns him the selection here over Skipworth.

Either way, Beckham would have to get past Cincy at 7, Chicago at 8, Washington at 9, and Houston at 10, in order to fall to Oakland! Even if I change my picks to address Alvarez's earlier selection and agree with you at 4 AND 5, Ari, it would take a miracle to sneak Beckham through the next six picks. Let's see...

1. TB- Posey
2. PIT- T. Beckham
3. KC- Alvarez
4. BAL- Smoak
5. SF- Skipworth
6. FLA- Matusz/Beckham
7. CIN- Crow/Beckham
8. CHI- Beckham/Wallace
9. WAS- Collier/Beckham
10.HOU- Hunt/Beckham

If he gets past Houston, he's yours. Texas is going with pitching since it's darned near impossible for them to sign any decent pitchers via free agency (which is why Hosmer doesn't make sense...especially with Chris Davis and Max Ramirez in the organization).

Can somebody give me a little info on Jason Castro? I have seen his name all over the place recently. He just doesnt seem to make sense for the Mets. I have heard that the Mets will look to either take the best talent they can, or take guys that can help the big team the soonest. Castro doesnt seem to really fit either of those categories. They are set at catcher for atleast 2 or 3 years, and Castro doesnt seem to have the upside of a lot of other guys on the board.