Draft Roundup
Tomorrow is draft day! ESPN’s coverage begins at 1pm CST. We’ll live-blog it here at MLBTR, just for the fun of it. Here are today’s draft-related links.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein projects the top 30. Plenty of inside info here.
- Jonathan Mayo has another set of top 30 projections. He’s also got a host of rumors; I’ll let you click over to read them.
- Roto Professor chatted with Baseball America’s Jim Callis.
- Dejan Kovacevic dismisses the idea of the Pirates picking Pedro Alvarez as a P.R./fan-pleasing move. If they pick him, it’ll be for baseball reasons.
- The Reds have their #7 pick narrowed down to four players.
- Baseball America’s John Manuel has all kinds of rumors, and the article is free to read.
Draft Roundup
Today’s draft links.
- Rany Jazayerli looks at possibilities for the Royals at #3. He hopes they don’t take Eric Hosmer.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has new projections for the top 30. He’s switched the Orioles from Brian Matusz to Aaron Crow at #4, among other changes.
- Keith Law has tons of good stuff…the Giants are eyeing Gordon Beckham, the Reds are considering Brett Lawrie, Jason Castro could go to the White Sox, the Dodgers like Zach Collier, and much more.
- Ken Davidoff is hearing that the Padres are in on Brett Wallace and the Twins like Christian Friedrich.
- Pedro Alvarez would be honored to be picked by the Pirates. Dejan Kovacevic continues to say they’re leaning that way.
- I am considering live-blogging Thursday’s draft, posting each pick here as soon as it’s announced (you would not have to refresh). Would that be helpful?
Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Zimmerman, Vizcaino, Hawkins
Some random musings around the league:
- As MLBTR noted before, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also believes the Pirates will take Pedro Alvarez if the Rays pass on him.
- Ryan Zimmerman may be looking for David Wright money (six years, $55MM), but the Nationals may be willing to pay him Ian Kinsler money (5 years, $22MM), according to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post.
- In this piece by Tony Jackson on the LA Daily News, 39 year-old Jose Vizcaino may try to make a comeback in 2009. He’s currently a special assistant with the Dodgers.
- Troy Renck suggests the Rockies could be interested in LaTroy Hawkins if he continues to struggle for the Yankees.
By Nat Boyle
Mayo’s Latest: Alvarez, Orioles, Cashner
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has some draft tidbits tonight.
- The idea has been floated that the Rays could draft Pedro Alvarez with an eye on moving Evan Longoria to second base down the road. Alvarez’s position really shouldn’t be a concern – Carlos Pena might be gone by the time he’s ready. Mayo’s heard buzz that the Rays have narrowed it down to Alvarez or Buster Posey, despite what Tim Beckham‘s dad said.
- Standard speculation is that the O’s are looking at Brian Matusz and Justin Smoak, but Mayo’s heard there might be a non-Beckham dark horse.
- The White Sox have Smoak, Yonder Alonso, and perhaps Andrew Cashner on their radar at #8.
Kovacevic Chats Draft With Pirates Execs
There’s been quite a bit of conjecture that the Pirates will draft Pedro Alvarez with their #2 pick. Alvarez, a Scott Boras advisee, may require a Major League contract. The Bucs’ new management team will be making a statement to fans if they pony up for Alvarez.
Devan Kovacevic did a Q&A on the draft with Pirates GM Neal Huntington and team president Frank Coonelly. He didn’t shy away from tough questions, touching on the Matt Wieters subject. Kovacevic also referenced Alvarez, asking how a player demanding a big league deal would impact the team’s draft choice. Said Coonelly:
The preference is to sign any amateur player to a minor-league contract. It gives the club more flexibility. With a player signed to a major-league contract right out of the draft, you have to use an option immediately to get him to the minors. If he has a minor-league contract, you can have him for three years in the minors before having to use an option. Does that mean I’m saying the Pirates would never consider that? No. We would if there were a unique set of circumstances.
So…is Alvarez special enough to warrant it for the Pirates?
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: 2008 Amateur Draft
With last year’s top pick, David Price, making his pro debut yesterday, we are now two weeks from the 2008 "Rule 4 Draft" and the top of the draft is not as clear this time around. There are five candidates that could go in the top slot: Buster Posey, the FSU catcher; Vanderbilt’s third baseman Pedro Alvarez; San Diego lefty Brian Matusz; Southern California high school catcher Kyle Skipworth, and Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham. Earlier this week we heard that the Rays were leaning towards Posey or Alvarez, while the Pirates were said to be torn between Alvarez and Beckham with the second pick. Recent mock drafts from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, have Beckham going to the Rays with the top pick.
Let’s take a look at what is being said about the upcoming draft in the Blogosphere…
- Minor League Ball ranks the top 30 prospects, with Posey and Beckham at the top of the board, while Alvarez’ injury knocks him down to #8.
- Baseball Mastermind would like to see a push for a little more hype in the baseball draft and feels that baseball fans would benefit from more debate on the merits of the available talent. They also can’t see the Rays taking Alvarez with the top pick now that they have Evan Longoria locked up to a long-term deal.
- DRays Bay wonders if recent reports of the Rays drafting Beckham or Posey were just smoke-screens to lower the price on Alvarez, who is a Scott Boras client.
- Rays of Light note that Alvarez would be the ideal choice, but believe signability may be too big of a factor to ignore, making Posey more attractive.
- Bucs Dugout feels a team should select the best available player with the second pick, but suggests that a team like the Pirates, that is still several years away from contending, may be better off drafting high school talent. The idea is that an Alvarez will not help a Bucs club in ’09 or ’10 while a Beckham will remain under the team’s control for more years.
- Camden Depot doesn’t sound very excited about the prospect of the Orioles drafting Matusz.
- McCovey Chronicles is hoping that Alvarez falls to the Giants at #5.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Griffey, Baek, German, Wells
Here’s today’s link collection.
- Hal McCoy seems fairly certain that Ken Griffey Jr. will play out the season with the Reds.
- Dejan Kovacevic has heard that the Pirates are torn between Pedro Alvarez and Tim Beckham at #2.
- Cha Seung Baek has been DFA’d, and this time he might be claimed. He could have a career as a fifth starter somewhere.
- John Brattain explains why he feels teams are colluding against Barry Bonds.
- The Rangers DFA’d reliever Franklyn German; Evan Grant explains why.
- The Indians claimed reliever Oneli Perez from the White Sox. Baseball America says the six-fingered pitcher has attitude questions.
- According to Buster Olney, David Wells is still waiting by the phone hoping for a team to call.
- RotoAuthority examines Daniel Cabrera‘s hot start.
Rays Leaning Toward Posey Or Alvarez?
Today from Buster Olney’s blog:
I talked to a couple of folks with rival teams who say that their understanding is that Tampa Bay is leaning toward picking either Florida State catcher Buster Posey or Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez.
Olney apparently hasn’t heard much about the Rays considering shortstop Tim Beckham, though other insiders such as Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo have him in the mix. Mayo says "it’s still very much in the air" among five candidates for the Rays.
Pirates Likely To Draft Pedro Alvarez
John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times chronicles the Pirates’ recent draft blunders. So many wasted picks. Under different management, the Pirates could have David Wright, B.J. Upton, Carlos Quentin, Tim Lincecum, and Matt Wieters in the organization. Sounds like a fantasy team. Such hindsight cherry-picking is unfair, but the Pirates should have Upton and Wieters right now.
Anyway, the depressing trend of bad picks for the Pirates is likely to change this year. For the first time, the Bucs might give out a Major League contract to a draft pick. That pick would be Pedro Alvarez, who Perrotto believes the Pirates will take at #2. Rumblings do not indicate the Rays want Alvarez. Both Jonathan Mayo and Baseball America believe the Pirates will get their man.
Law On Hosmer, Alvarez Bonus Demands
ESPN’s Keith Law has a new blog post discussing possible bonus demands for a couple of projected first-round picks.
- Law says high school first baseman Eric Hosmer has a "reported demand" of $7MM. Hosmer is advised by Scott Boras. Law says Hosmer would go in the #5-8 range if not for his price tag. Could he fall to the Nationals, Rangers, or A’s if one of those teams is willing to pony up?
- Corner infielder Pedro Alvarez might be looking for something in $8.6MM range. Some folks think the Rays will pass but the Pirates will make a splash and take Alvarez.