MLB.com has released its list of the top thirty international prospects, and it’s headed by infielder Kevin Maitan — a much-hyped Venezuelan youngster who is said to be set to sign with the Braves. Most of the remaining names on the list are also attached to major league clubs, but #2 man Vladimir Gutierrez is an exception. The 20-year-old righty is still a wild card, with many teams said to be intrigued. Thirteenth-ranked outfielder Randy Arozarena is also still up for grabs, it seems. Check out the list to see who could be destined for your club, and be sure to read the accompanying piece from Jesse Sanchez breaking down the market.
Here’s more prospect chatter:
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law has some updates on upcoming draft-eligible prospects that are worth a look if you have an Insider subscription. California product Matt Manning impressed Law with his curve, with the ESPN analyst labeling him the best high school righty in this year’s draft. There are updates on several other players to watch as June approaches.
- Speaking of the Rule 4 draft, Frankie Pilierie of D1baseball.com has posted a first-round mock (subscription required). He’s got University of Florida lefty A.J. Puk going 1-1 to the Phillies, which seems to be an opinion gaining some steam among analysts. He notes, though, that the club is still watching Jason Groome and Corey Ray — the latter of whom recently sat down with MLBTR contributor Chuck Wasserstrom for an interesting interview.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo answers some fan inquiries about the draft, starting with one on Puk. He explains that the southpaw may well not be the best talent available, but represents a plausible top asset given his relative polish. Of course, the club may have numerous other names still in the running, Mayo notes. He goes on to address several other topics of interest regarding pre-MLB talent.
- If you’re hankering for more prospect chatter, be sure to check out the recent MLBTR podcast featuring Ben Badler of Baseball America, which focused especially on some interesting international names to watch. BA also has released its top fifty draft list for subscribers, with plenty of analysis to go with it, and it’s well worth a read.
I don’t follow amateur baseball at all, so I have never heard the guy’s name. Is the man’s name pronounced “puck” or “puke” or a third alternative?
Yes.
I believe it is pronounced like “puck.”
And don’t feel bad, it is hard to follow those guys. Unless you are an avid college baseball fan, then most of the names will escape you..Not to mention, top prospects not only come from D1 schools, but you have several top prospects coming from JuCo ball as well..
Even then, you still have all of the high scool kids, which are almost impossible to keep up with…It is a bit easier to follow kids in your state, but it isn’t anything like football or basketball.
Amateur players in football and basketball get sooo much exposure to even the average fan, it makes most of the top prospects household names….baseball not so much…
That is one reason why, you really have to give credit to the MLB scouting departments out there…They work their tails off year in and year out to get the best possible scouting reports on all these kids. Plus you are dealing with a draft that consists of 40 rounds, compared to 2 rounds or 7 rounds like the previously mentioned professional sports…
When it comes to scouting baseball, it is just a whole other animal, all of the college prospects, JuCo prospects, high school prospects, and then the international prospects as well for that signing period…It is insane, when you think about the sheer volume of prospects that these guys have to go check out and scout!! Which is why I’m sure compared to other major sports, baseball teams obviously have to invest much more into their scouting department than others, in terms of money, staffing, etc.
Either way, these guys definitely earn their pay, and they deserve all the credit in the world…Arguments could be made, but baseball scouts definitely have it much, much harder than any other scouts in professional sports, in my opinion.
Agree completely. Not sure there’s a more difficult thing in sports (for front offices and staff) then trying to project a 17 year-old’s physical progression and maturity. I think that really explains why there’s a bit more variation in the Rule IV draft than in other sports’ drafts. I’m no expert in that regard, but it seems to be that there are many more discrepancies in the MLB draft among teams’ valuations of players
Yeah by the time I actually see college baseball players in the CWS, the draft is over so there is no chance to hope your team picks player X.
I too respect scouts so much for the job they do and that is one reason I don’t like it when some saber guys diminish the job they do. But that’s a topic for a different day.
I will argue that with the proliferance of international basketball, the job of a basketball scout is nearly as tough. Watch the NBA Draft and then see exactly how many of those players were in the Big Dance. It’s a much smaller percentage than you think. Football, not so much, because the majority of players come from the biggest FBS schools. The only pro scout I could see really competing with baseball for the toughest job is hockey. Those guys have to travel the world and probably have to speak 7-10 different languages (at least a little) in order to do their jobs properly.
For the Braves I think I would rather see them pick Groome for his better control, IF they pick a pitcher. I would much rather see them go after Kyle Lewis, Blake Rutherford or Corey Ray, because they need some power in their lineup and all 3 of these guys also have a good Hit tool as well.
They’ll go with an under slot with Lewis and go Reed with an over slot at #40. Hopefully benson at #44 and we walk away with three solid outfielders.
I’d be thrilled if they got Benson with one of their 2nd or 3rd picks but not sure if he’ll last until then.
No thanks — Puk has control problems with a high-upside. Great, but we’ve got that in spades including Newcombe. We need more disciplined hitters, and though he’s young, Blake Rutherford is definitely that. I like Corey Ray over Kyle Lewis – who is the hometown kid, but he hasn’t seen the same level of competition and strikes out a good bit.
They may get one bat that they need in Maitan from the International draft but we won’t see him until 2020 either and they definitely need more than one bat for their future. I don’t know why we would spend any more money trying to get Timmy L or Morse since we obviously aren’t contending.
I’m not sure what makes you think that Morse is a 25-30 homer player. Maybe you’re thinking of a different player. And there’s really no evidence to suggest that he would be a beneficial veteran presence to the younger guys. Just because a player has been around a while doesn’t mean he’s adept at imparting any knowledge they he may have picked up.
And Linecum won’t go cheaply to a team like the Braves when he’ll have better teams going after him. The Braves would have to overpay him, and probably by a substantial amount. He’s not going to be thrilled to play with Atlanta’s current defensive problems.