In the midst of a season in which he hasn’t been as dominant as many draft-watchers projected, NC State pitcher Carlos Rodon is no longer a clear favorite to be the Astros’ selection with the No. 1 pick in the June draft, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo writes. East Carolina pitcher Jeff Hoffman hasn’t cemented his place at the top of the draft, either, clearing the way for California high school pitcher Brady Aiken and Texas high school pitcher Tyler Kolek to enter the picture for the top overall pick. “I think it’s Kolek, being a hometown guy,” says one scout, referring to who the Astros ought to pick. “Rodon has Scott Boras [as an advisor]; you’re not going to get a discount there. If it comes down to Kolek and Aiken, it has to come to the guy in your backyard, especially if he’s throwing 100 MPH.” Here are more notes on the draft and the minors.
- Pitchers will dominate the first round of this year’s draft, writes MLB.com’s Jim Callis. “There could be eight or nine pitchers taken in the top 10,” says an AL scouting director. “How many can go in the top 15? Twelve? Thirteen? There are so many arms. This is a deeper pool of players than last year, especially with pitchers.” Aiken, Kolek, Rodon and Hoffman are likely among the Astros’ top candidates for the first overall pick, perhaps along with California high school C/OF Alex Jackson, LSU pitcher Aaron Nola, NC State shortstop Trea Turner and San Francisco outfielder Bradley Zimmer.
- The Blue Jays are likely to soon promote top pitching prospect Marcus Stroman to join their rotation, and Baseball America’s Vince Lara-Cinisomo has a scouting report. Stroman has good stuff despite his small size (5-foot-9), with a fastball that reaches into the mid-90s and a good slider. Stroman’s workload could be a factor this season, since he only threw 111 2/3 innings in 2013.
I wonder who will be the first to undergo TJ surgery.
When you throw the baseball hard TJ injuries happen..Price of doing business these days if your a pitcher.
Jay’s fans are all hoping for the next Sonny Gray out of Stroman.. Gray, able to still throw up to 94-5 late in the game, despite being a small lad by baseball SP standards is another guy who kicks out the rulebook stating guys shorter than 6′ and not muscle bound cannot become top starters and maintain excellent velocity late into games.
I hope Stroman is another who helps burn that particular book up as well.
Many of these smaller guys are good for awhile, but most of them do eventually flame out. For the amount of time he is under team control though they should be fine, and on the flip side you have the tall pitchers that struggle to keep their limbs in control.
I’m not sure he will be as good as Sonny as that is quite a high standard, but the Jays can surely use a guy that can pitch a solid 5-6 innings every fifth day. If Stroman can do that, it is all Jays fans should be hoping for.
Like Aiken. Lefty with a nice delivery, control, smarts, and hitting 95-96. Some good pitching at the top of the draft, Aiken is craftier, Kolek is more of a flamethrower. I’d take the craft guy, just because the 100 mph hs pitcher screams future tj all over to me. And Rodon’s arm is being pulverized, and they are actually hitting him a bit better this year.
Funny part is going to watch the teams that draft for a particular need, rather than the best guy available, especially when it comes to some of the terrific arms available at the top of the draft.
We know who the usual suspects are that still do this and haven’t yet been fired. It boggles the mind how they keep a job, or in some cases? Continue getting one.
Stroman also threw in the AFL last year (and had his MiLB innings reduced via a suspension to start last season, but was obviously still pitching), and Anthopoulos is on record saying Stroman and Hutch will likely not be on innings limits this year, unless things get out of hand (which they won’t because neither is going to top 200 regardless).