Major League Baseball's amateur draft will be held from June 7th-9th, so we're going to introduce you to some of the top players available during the next few weeks.
Quality catchers are a scarce commodity, even more so when they're young and cheap. There's always a premium placed on the position during the draft, and just last year we saw the Pirates reach for Tony Sanchez with the fourth overall pick even though he was generally considered a back of the first round talent.
The best all-around catcher in the 2010 draft class is Yasmani Grandal, a junior at Miami. ESPN's Keith Law rated him as the 10th best player available this year, while Baseball America had him 13th (subs. req'd for both). MLB.com's Draft Report says the switch hitter offers a "good amount of raw power," though "his individual defensive tools, other than his arm, don't grade out that well." Law maintains that Grandal "can absolutely stay behind the plate," which is obviously important. The MLB.com link also offers video.
Prior to last night's game against Georgia Tech, Grandal was hitting .425/.547/.754 with 20 doubles, 11 homers, 43 walks, and just 27 strikeouts in 47 games. The Red Sox selected him in the 26th round (804th overall) out of a Florida high school in 2007, but they obviously couldn't get him to sign on the dotted line.
Catchers are almost always over-drafted to a certain degree because of position scarcity, but Grandal is a legitimate top 10-15 talent. Jim Callis of Baseball America had him going to the Mets with the seventh overall pick in his latest mock draft, though the Royals were rumored to be looking at Grandal for their fourth overall pick last month.
Uh…best catcher in the class…isn’t Bryce Harper a catcher?
He projects more as a 3B I believe.
Ok thanks, just making sure
i doubt he will stay at 3b either with zimmermann their. probably a RFer
No, you’re right. Bryce Harper is the best catcher in the class. He’ll certainly start his pro career there. It’s not like Justin Upton the shortstop.
Good pick for the Mets perhaps.
I’m a fan of Grandal’s, but I prefer Whitson if he’s there. Pitching, pitching, pitching.
Interesting since the Jays have the 11th pick
Tampa Bay Rays have 2 first round picks they can definitely use a catcher like Grandal. He reminds me of Victor Martinez in terms of his offense. Right now, the Rays have Jefferies, Ashley, Lobaton and Lucas Bailey in their minor league system. He is the second best catcher available in the draft behind Bryce Harper.
Probably that is why the Yanks always sign a catcher every summer from latin america.