2011 Amateur Draft

AL Central Notes: Danks, Indians, Draft

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 9, 2011 at 9:17pm CDT

Links from the AL Central, as Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander share the American League player of the week award in recognition of their respective no-hitters…

John Danks told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he loves playing for the White Sox and hopes he doesn't face the "harsh reality" of being involved in a deadline deal. However, the left-hander realizes trades are a part of the game.
MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian provides a clear-headed look ahead to how the Indians might approach the trade deadline if they’re still contending in July.
UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer will not get past the Indians, who select 8th overall in this June's draft, according to Keith Law on ESPN.com's Baseball Today podcast. Bauer and teammate Gerrit Cole are among the most highly-touted draft eligible pitching prospects.
Earlier tonight, I took a look at the development of Tigers catcher Alex Avila.

Quick Hits: Martin, Bulger, Hudson, Draft

By Dan Mennella | May 6, 2011 at 8:44pm CDT

A few items of note on Friday night as Derek Lowe's bid for the Majors' second no-hitter of the week falls by the wayside …

Rangers prospect Leonys Martin can opt out of his five-year contract and choose to go through the arbitration process if he has enough service time to qualify for arbitration before the contract expires, MLBTR has learned. Martin, 23, is a Cuban defector whose deal with Texas became official on Tuesday.
Angels reliever Jason Bulger, who was designated for assignment on April 27, cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
Diamondbacks right-hander Daniel Hudson was part of the ill-fated trade between the Padres and White Sox in May 2009 that was vetoed by Jake Peavy, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter). Peavy later accepted a trade to the South Siders at that season's deadline, but that package did not include Hudson. Instead, Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell went to the Friars. Hudson was later dealt to Arizona at the 2010 trade deadline in exchange for Edwin Jackson.
The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at season's end, and hard-slotting for draft picks could be implemented in the new CBA, writes Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Hard-slotting would affix a set price to each draft pick and preclude drafted prep players from using the threat of going to college as bargaining leverage. One scouting director told Mayo he expects to see more players sign this year since it could be their last chance to negotiate a hefty signing bonus.

Draft Notes: Orioles, Pirates, Rendon, Cole

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 6, 2011 at 7:57am CDT

Baseball's amateur draft takes place in exactly one month. Here are the latest updates on a pair of teams with high first round picks…

Orioles amateur scouting director Joe Jordan told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he has good sense of which players his club will be choosing from when it selects third overall in June. It’s too early to know precisely which players will be available so Jordan is still considering about ten prospects with Baltimore’s top pick.
Manny Machado, last year’s third overall pick, has a left knee injury and as Zrebiec points out, an extended absence would be quite a blow to the Orioles. It's unclear how much time the 18-year-old will miss. He has a .333/.450/.611 line in Class A.
The Pirates are focusing heavily on UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole and Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon as they prepare to make the first overall pick, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, there’s internal concern about Rendon’s stature and health and there’s concern about Cole “simply because he is a pitcher,” so the Pirates haven’t ruled out other options.
Check out River Ave. Blues for a detailed draft order.

Draft Notes: Royals, Hultzen, Red Sox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 4, 2011 at 6:35pm CDT

It takes a while for draft picks – even highly-touted ones – to make an impact in the Major Leagues. For example, only a handful of 2009 first round selections have made it to the majors so far (Stephen Strasburg, Mike Minor, Drew Storen, Aaron Crow, Mike Leake and Alex White). That won't stop us from anticipating the next generation of MLB stars and looking ahead to this June's draft…

Earlier today, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes pointed out a potential hidden gem for the draft: Montana high school outfielder Ben Roberts (Twitter link).
Most scouts assume that the Royals will take local high school standout Bubba Starling if he's available when they select fifth overall, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
Starling, Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen or UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer could be selected within the first two picks of this year's draft, according to Jason A. Churchill of ESPN.com.
Meanwhile, Texas right-hander Taylor Jungmann has seen his stock rise recently, while Connecticut right-hander Matt Barnes has seen his stock fall, according to Churchill.
The Red Sox are showing interest in high school catcher Tyler Marlette, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Marlette is a defensive backstop who could be selected within the first two rounds of the draft.

Draft Notes: D’Backs, Rays, Rendon, Bauer

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 2, 2011 at 5:15pm CDT

A year ago, everybody knew Bryce Harper was going to be the first overall pick in the draft. The year before that, Stephen Strasburg was the clearcut favorite to be the top selection. This time, there's no obvious candidate to go first overall. Here's the latest on the draft, with five weeks to go until the big day:

ESPN.com's Keith Law hears that D’Backs GM Kevin Towers is seeing Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Dylan Bundy, Trevor Bauer, Bubba Starling and Danny Hultzen in anticipation of the draft (Twitter link). Arizona selects third and seventh overall this year, so it's not surprising that Towers is scouting the top available players.
Rays scouting director R.J. Harrison told Joe Lemire of SI.com that he hadn't had any extra picks to work with before last year. A bevy of ranked free agents left the Rays for other teams last offseason, which means that Tampa Bay has 11 of the first 75 selections this June. "We're not going to get up all wound up and create something out of this, other than to stick with our process and evaluate our players properly," Harrison said.
Cole, high school shortstop Francisco Lindor, Hultzen and Rendon top the list Jon Heyman of SI.com creates with the help of a number of scouting directors.
Heyman hears that UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer is "shooting up the board" and could become a top-five pick, along with his rotation mate, Cole.
Check out my interview with Rendon from last week for his thoughts on the upcoming draft. Here's our series of Draft Prospect Q&As.

Quick Hits: Mets, Draft Prospects, Royals, Manny

By Mark Polishuk | April 29, 2011 at 9:34pm CDT

Carlos Santana's first career grand slam couldn't have come at a better time for the Indians. The young catcher hit a walkoff slam to lead Cleveland to a 9-5 win over Detroit on Friday night. Here's some news from around the majors…

The Mets are willing to give "veto power over a limited number of financial decisions" to a new minority owner, reports Josh Kosman and Lenn Robbins of the New York Post, including such decisions as large player contracts and overall payroll size. The Wilpons and Saul Katz "will treat their new partner as a real partner," one source tells Kosman and Robbins.
ESPN's Keith Law reveals his latest ranking of the top 50 draft prospects. Law calls this draft a "huge pitching bonanza," but lacking in position players.
Also from Law, via Twitter, the Cubs are hoping center fielder Bubba Starling is still available when they make their first-round (9th overall) choice.
Many of the Royals' top prospects are off to a great start in the minors, but GM Dayton Moore doesn't plan to bring any of these young stars up to the Major League level anytime soon, reports MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
Manny Ramirez hints to ESPNDeportes' Jorge Arangure about a return to baseball — in the Dominican winter league, that is.
In a live chat with fans, ESPN's Jayson Stark discusses such topics as Kevin Millwood's future with the Yankees, Bryce Harper's progress and the Blue Jays' chances of signing Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder as a free agent this winter.
David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times looks at some of the more notable "dead money" teams are still paying to players long since departed from their rosters or the game itself.
Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com writes about Mike Quade's unlikely path to becoming the Cubs' manager.

Draft Prospect Q&A: Anthony Rendon

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 28, 2011 at 3:18pm CDT

As the 2011 Draft draws closer, MLBTR will be introducing you to a handful of the top eligible prospects with a series of Q&As. The series includes four of the top college pitchers in the nation and a top college position player. Here's another position player to watch.

Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon is considered the top college position player in the 2011 draft and he remains a candidate to be the first overall pick this June. Both Baseball America and ESPN.com have reported within the week that it appears Rendon will either go first overall (to the Pirates) or second (to the Mariners) with UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole going to the other team.

Rendon entered the season as the top prospect in the draft after being named Baseball America's Player of the Year in 2010 and the publication's Freshman of the Year in 2009. Ankle and shoulder injuries have slowed Rendon down this year and limited his time at third base, where he is considered an excellent defender. The 20-year-old Houston native shines at the plate as well and has a .350/.552/.552 line with 62 walks so far this season.

I spoke to Rendon earlier today about his injuries, the team he rooted for growing up and the hype surrounding the draft. Here's a transcript of our conversation:

Ben Nicholson-Smith – Not to start off on a bad note, but I’ve got to ask you about your injuries. Your ankle and your shoulder injuries – have those been the biggest challenges that you’ve had to face as a player this year?

Anthony Rendon – Yeah, definitely. You want to keep on playing the game that you love, so it’s always going to be on your mind, but it’s part of being a player – actually getting over those injuries to be stronger when you come back and I feel like I’m doing that.

BNS – How are you feeling now?

AR – I feel good. The ankle’s fine. I’m still on my throwing program with my arm, so I’m just trying to get it back stronger so I can go back 100% on the field and not have to worry about it down the road.

BNS – Is that the goal – just to be able to go out there and basically relax?

AR – Oh yeah, definitely. That’s a whole part of the game. When you play you’re supposed to be relaxed, you’re not supposed to be tense out there and you’re not supposed to be thinking about too many things. If you think about things too much, you’re not going to be as great as you can be because you can forget about other aspects of the game and it can hurt you in the long run or you might make an errors.

BNS – One of the things I hear a lot is that you’re a strong defender. How do you go about preparing defensively and improving yourself on the field?

AR – I like to get loose out there, I like to get free out there, but at the same time, you’ve got to be prepared so you can read the hops and stuff like that. I like to take practice seriously and I like to have fun out there and just focus on little things because when little things add up – just keeping your head down on a ground ball or keeping a free hand on top to guard against bad hops – those little things add up.

BNS – A few years ago the Braves drafted you and you were a 27th rounder back then. It’s pretty apparent that the industry sees you as a completely different player now than you were back then, but do you see yourself differently?

AR – I do see myself differently. I’ve changed physically and mentally. Back in high school I was probably about 5’10” and 165 pounds and I’ve grown since then [Rice's website lists him at 6'0", 190 pounds] because we’ve got such a great strength program. And … it’s not only the physical, but the mental aspects, too. Handling the problems that may arise, the different issues and the different aspects of the game. I’ve learned the game a lot more. I can kind of predict what’s going to happen next or what the other team’s going to do in a certain situation, so I’ve actually started to appreciate the game more and learn the ins and outs of the game instead of just going out there and playing.

BNS – Are you in touch with any of the guys who have come through [the Rice] program like David Aardsma or Lance Berkman? Any of the current big leaguers who went through the same things that you did?

AR – It’s not that much, but I’ll talk to Berkman every now and then … we’ll talk about baseball and he’ll just keep us laughing the whole time. [He has gone through] pretty much the same thing as what we’re going through now, so we just talk about the game and how he is and how the program is.

BNS – Were you an Astros fan growing up, coming from Houston?

AR – Yeah, definitely. They’re the hometown team. They haven’t always been the greatest team, so some of the years you get mad at them because they haven’t done so well, but deep down they’re the hometown team.

I remember growing up, watching [Jeff] Bagwell and his weird stance and [Richard] Hidalgo and his arm in right and left field. I definitely enjoyed watching the Astros growing up. My Dad would take my brother and I – though I only went to one game at the Astrodome [before the Astros moved].

BNS – In terms of talking to guys like Berkman, have they given you any advice about the draft, because it’s obviously going to be a different experience for you this year than it was a few years ago.

AR – You know the funny thing is you try not to worry about the draft too much, so that hasn’t been a topic that we’ve talked about. But the people that I’ve talked with say ‘just take it one step at a time.’

One of the things one person told me was ‘don’t let your highs get too high or your lows get too low.’ It’s just baseball, it’s just a game. With the draft if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

BNS – Are you trying to embrace all of this coverage and all of this buzz or are you trying to ignore it as much as possible?

AR – I mean you can’t ignore it with everything out there and it is a lifelong dream to play professional baseball so it’s not just that I can’t ignore it, I don’t want to ignore it. It’s what I want to do. I want to play baseball, it’s why I’ve been playing for the last 17 years of my life. So you can’t ignore it and if anybody tells you differently they’re lying. But you can’t get ahead of yourself and I’m not in the pros. If it happens, it happens. I can’t get ahead of myself and think about pro ball right now. We’re still trying to make it to the College World Series.

BNS – In terms of developing as a player, what are your goals for the rest of this season and potentially further on? What kinds of improvements might you want to make?

AR – I want to get faster. I tell everybody that. I’ve never been the fast guy on the field, so I want to bring a little speed.

And obviously I’ve got to treat my body better or something like that. Drink more milk or something. I’ve been injured for the past year, so maybe I should start taking some vitamins or something. I think I can take care of my body more, because I don’t want to be known as the guy who’s injury-prone. I don’t want to be that guy, I just want to be a reliable guy that plays every day.

BNS – What about all the walks that you’re drawing? I know they’re pitching around you, but how do walks fit into your offensive game?

AR – It definitely has a big impact. I mean I’m not trying to walk. As a hitter, I want to hit the ball every time I go up there, so that’s what I’m looking forward to doing. But it definitely plays a big part in my game.

Once you get so many walks, you can’t get into that rhythm. If they walk you intentionally one at bat and you only see four balls outside, you can’t get a read on his arm angle or pick up little tendencies, so you really get out of rhythm.

BNS – Have you allowed yourself to think about what you’re going to do on the day of the draft?

AR – We’re going to be playing baseball actually, so I can’t be worried about the draft, we’re going to have a game to win!

Draft Notes: Bradley, Bauer, Wong, Springer

By Tim Dierkes | April 25, 2011 at 10:36pm CDT

We're 41 days away from the amateur draft! The Pirates, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Orioles, and Royals will lead off with the first five picks. Click here to see the entire draft order. Several of the links below require subscriptions, which we heartily recommend purchasing. Today's notes:

ESPN's Keith Law hears that South Carolina outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. has a torn ligament in his wrist and could miss the rest of the spring (Twitter link). Bradley was expected to be a first round pick before the injury.
Baseball America's John Manuel, Jim Callis, and Conor Glassey make picks for the first round – not projections, but their own preferences.
UCLA righty Trevor Bauer is a top five candidate, writes Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, but there are concerns over his workload. Talking to ESPN's Jason A. Churchill, one assistant GM admitted he's worried about Bauer's pitch counts. He's averaged 124.5 pitches per start, according to Churchill.
In a draft heavy on pitching, Goldstein says second baseman Kolten Wong out of Hawaii "is now getting late first round consideration."
Connecticut outfielder George Springer has bounced back lately, perhaps enough to put him within the first ten picks, says Churchill. For more on Springer, check out Ben Nicholson-Smith's interview. Ben's other prospective draft pick interviews include Sonny Gray, Matt Purke, Danny Hultzen, and the elusive Gerrit Cole.
Current buzz from Churchill still has Rice's Anthony Rendon going to the Mariners at #2 overall.

Draft Prospect Q&A: Danny Hultzen

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 18, 2011 at 8:12pm CDT

As the 2011 Draft draws closer, MLBTR will be introducing you to a handful of the top eligible prospects with a series of Q&As. The series started with three of the top college pitchers in the nation and a top college position player. Here's another arm to watch.

Danny Hultzen was the ACC pitcher of the year and a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award last year, but even he is a little surprised by how well the 2011 season is going. The Virginia left-hander has helped lead the Cavaliers to a 36-3 record and the top ranking in the country thanks to his arm and his bat.

Baseball America's Midseason Player of the Year is climbing up draft boards and may be the third-best draft prospect in the country behind Anthony Rendon and Gerrit Cole. ESPN.com's Keith Law reported last week that the D'Backs, Orioles and Royals are among the teams eyeing Hultzen. Anyone picking much later on can likely forget about him, since he doesn't figure to be available for long.

Earlier today I spoke to the 21-year-old about his team's title hopes, his two-way play and the draft. Here's what he had to say:

Ben Nicholson-Smith – I know that you were expected to be a pretty good team, but did you expect going into the season that you would be 36-3 and doing as well as you are.

Danny Hultzen – Well that’s a lot to expect of any team. I’m not surprised that we’re doing well, but there were some questions that had to be answered after coming off of last year. We lost a bunch of guys into the draft, lost a bunch of guys to graduation, so there were a lot of holes to fill, but a lot of younger guys have slipped right in and filled those spots really, really well.

BNS – If I had come up to you before the season and said you’re going to be 36-3 as a team and you’re going to be personally 8-0 with all of these strikeouts [99 in 61 innings this year], which one of those things would have been more surprising to you?

DH – Definitely my success. I knew that we were going to be a good team. It doesn’t really matter, whatever my stats are. That’s nice to have, but it’s all in the effort to help the team win. We’re a very confident bunch and we were very confident going into the season, so it doesn’t surprise me that we’re doing so well.

BNS – When you start breaking these records – the all-time wins leader for the school and the all-time strikeouts leader – and there’s recognition in the media, is that a distraction, or is it invigorating to get that recognition?

DH – I think it’s an honor. It’s an honor to be recognized in that kind of way. It feels good to be recognized like that, but at the same time, you’ve got to stay level-headed and realize that just because someone says you’re good doesn’t mean you’re very good. You’ve still got to go out there and compete. So it’s very cool to have your name out there like that, but you’ve got to stay humble and just go out there and play baseball.

BNS – What kind of an arsenal do you have and how do you go about your business on the mound?

DH – I’m a typical left-handed pitcher. Fastball, change-up and slider. But the main thing I do when I go out there is just compete with an aggressive mentality every time I pitch. You’re not going to have your best stuff every day, so to compensate, you’ve got to go out and be competitive and be aggressive and attack hitters. I think that’s really important and it’s something that I try to do every time I go out there.

BNS – And is that [aggressive approach] the reason that you have so few walks?

DH - It’s definitely a result of attacking the hitters. We’re not going to try to avoid contact. We’re not going to try to strike people out [at all costs]. We’re going to throw strikes and make them beat us and not let us beat ourselves by walking people and getting behind in the count. So the aggressive mentality that I was talking about feeds into that.

BNS – If you think of some MLB left-handers who don’t walk a lot of guys, Cliff Lee comes to mind. If you were to compare yourself to any Major League pitcher, not obviously in terms of where your game is now, but in terms of who you might look up to as a pitcher, who would you point to?

DH – I don’t necessarily compare myself to Major League pitchers, but I do try to learn from Major League pitchers and watch them and Cliff Lee is definitely up there as one of my favorites to watch because he has that aggressive mentality that he’s going to throw strikes. He’s going to make you beat him and he’s not going to walk people. He’s going to be the attacker.

I watch Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels and I really liked watching Andy Pettitte when he was playing. So there’s guys like that who I look up to and try to learn from.

BNS – What about you as a hitter [Hultzen entered the season with a .316/.405/.426 career line as a first baseman and outfielder]? How would you describe yourself?

DH – I’m just out there to try to hit the ball hard somewhere. I’m not going to hit many home runs, if any at all. I’m just up there to try to hit the ball somewhere where they’re not. I’m not a power guy, I’m just going to try to put the ball in play somewhere in the hole or in the gap.

I try to take that same competitive mentality to hitting, too. I know the pitcher’s now up there to walk me, so I try to take my aggressive mentality to the plate, too. I wait for a good pitch to hit and try to hit it somewhere hard.

BNS – When you look ahead, say, a couple years from now, do you see yourself still hitting and being a two-way player, or do you see yourself focusing more on pitching and trying to develop your career in that way.

DH – I’m not really sure yet, but my guess is that I’d probably be focusing on pitching. I’m a lot more confident on the mound, not that I’m not confident at the plate, but I feel better pitching than I do hitting, even though I love doing both and I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to be a two-way player in college. Probably down the road I see myself as a pitcher.

BNS – How much are you looking forward to the rest of the season now that you’re off to such a great start?

DH – It’s awesome. We’ve been playing well right now, but I think if you ask any of my teammates, they’ll say that we haven’t peaked yet and we all feel that we’re capable of playing better baseball, even though that may sound a little arrogant to say given the record we have, but I think that we’re confident that we still haven’t played our best baseball yet and we’re working to get there and try to reach that goal of playing our best baseball when it matters most – in the postseason.

BNS – Are you thinking of the draft now? Is it even in the back of your mind? How much of a role does it play in terms of your state of mind at this point?

DH – I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it, but it’s in the back of my mind. That kind of stuff can overwhelm you a little bit and I don’t want that to happen to me. I don’t want to be concerned about focusing too much on my personal situation, so I’ve been focusing on the team’s success and not personal goals. My personal goal and every player on the team’s personal goal is to win the national championship and we’re just working hard to reach that goal.

BNS – Have the Diamondbacks approached you about selecting you again or is that something that you would be open to giving them permission to do if they were interested in taking you? [The D’Backs drafted Hultzen in 2008 and would need his permission to select him again. They have the No. 3 and No. 7 selections this June]

DH – That’d definitely be something I’d be interested in. I haven’t talked to them at all and I haven’t talked to any scout like that at all, so that’s a little bit down the road, but that’d be something that I’d be willing to do.

Photo courtesy University of Virginia Athletics.

Draft Notes: Cole, Rendon, Hultzen, Gray

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 15, 2011 at 12:27pm CDT

It's far too early in the spring for teams to have their draft boards finalized, as Keith Law pointed out at ESPN.com this week. With nearly two months remaining between now and the draft, a lot can change, but that doesn't stop Law from passing along the latest on the early intentions of some teams with high picks:

Law hears that the Mariners will take either Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon with the second pick in the draft, depending on which player is available after the Pirates select first overall.
The D'Backs, who pick third, covet Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen, according to Law.
The Orioles are 'extremely likely' to take a college pitcher with the fourth overall pick. They could take Hultzen or Georgia Tech left-hander Jed Bradley.
The Royals (5th pick) are also likely to take a college arn and they're interested in UConn right-hander Matt Barnes, Hultzen and Bradley.
The D'Backs (7th pick) and Cubs (9th pick) have Vanderbilt right-hander Sonny Gray high on their internal rankings, according to Law.

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