CWSGuy406

Jason, that's what I was trying to get across. Justin Verlander types aren't falling from the sky (ie, guys who are hitting 96 with the flick of a wrist) -- those types are usually gone in the Top 15. BTW, Jason, Hughes is off the board to Pittsburg in the fourth round.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 07:21 PM) We are talking about Cubs and injuries. Think about that for a second. They go hand in hand. I'm not saying the Coop and Herm would make everyone great and make sure they never miss a game in their careers, but they would do alot better with their guys than they're doing currently. Okay, well, power pitchers tend to be 100% effort, every pitch guys. You'd think that a guy who's hitting 98, 99, 97 on every pitch using all of his might is more likely to get hurt than a guy who's sitting at 92-93, and hitting 94 when need be. I don't think you have much room to complain, but whatever... It happens every year.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 07:16 PM) The way I think of it, our best pitchers are power pitchers. Don actually is great with power pitchers from what I've seen. There's also more leeway because if a finesee pitcher isn't pitching perfect, he'll give up a lot of hits in a hurry. Even Buehrle does it these days. I'm sick of the finesee pitcher crap. And no, a Miami prospect who barely gets to the mid 90's is not what I consider a power pitcher. We need to draft power pitchers at least some, not all so we won't have to keep trading for them. Well, the Cubs tend to draft a TON of power pitchers. Funny -- the intelligent Cub fans who I see want it the other way around, more guys who know how to pitch, rather than guys who can hit 99.

Thinking about it while the pick was happening, I sort of knew the Sox weren't going to grab Walden. They're not going to 'waste' a pick that high (relatively) on a player who might not even sign.

Edwards is ranked #108 overall from Baseball America. He's a Mark Buehrle type, not a hard thrower (I'm sure Flash is throwing a party!).

Would the Sox really take three pitchers, when they're MIF/C prospects are so weak? Three guys to look at still on the board: Walden, Betances, and Jason's guy, Hughes.

The Nats picked Stephen King -- described as an extremely athletic kid who has been injured and hasn't put up the numbers quite yet. That's the type of pick I sort of like right now. That's not to say I don't like the Sox picks so far (I'm pretty happy right now), but I like the toolsy type player right now.

Was LaPorta hampered by injuries this year? His numbers this year are pretty poor -- I think he has something like 15 homers, but only a couple of doubles...

There goes Chad Tracy (son of the Pittsburg manager, Jim Tracy) to Texas.

Walden is still on the board -- I know a week ago, Jim Callis said that the Sox had some interest in him... I personally didn't see a whole lot in his scouting video, but again, that's coming from an untrained eye and from about a minute of video.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 06:43 PM) Why didn't we take a power pitcher with our first pick? I'm sick of safe picks. Maybe there wasn't a shot at one, but does anyone know why? I'm sure there's more knowledgeable guys than me on this board. I think Matt Long is (somewhat) considered a power pitcher. He sits at 92-94 and has a real nasty slider/curveball. Guys throwing 96-100 aren't going to be falling out of trees, and if they are, they probably can't find the strikezone.

From watching the scouting video, he sits at 91-93 (so I could see him touching 94-95) and had a really nice breaking pitch, an 11-to-5 hook (clocked at about 78 MPH). Also had good movement in on righties and away from lefties with his fastball. I like the pick.

Matthew Long -- 63rd ranked overall player by Baseball America.

Minny takes a kid from Joliet Catholic -- we better not be looking at Curtis Granderson Part2 here...

So, Jason, Cerb, any other draft experts -- who should we be looking at with the second pick? Is Hodges a realistic possibility?

Brett Anderson finally gone to the D'Backs. Steven Wright goes to the Indians -- I remember somebody liking him (Sickels or Goldstein, IIRC) a lot.

Is Brett Anderson falling for signability reasons? He's the 19th ranked overall player by Baseball America, a LH-pitcher.

Damn -- Cleveland grabs David Huff. Nice pick there in the sammich round...

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 05:13 PM) I spoke too soon. Dodgers take a different high school pitcher, Clayton Kershaw. Since my f***ing radio isn't working, is Tommy doing the draft call like usual? No, MLB has the same guy doing all of the picks.

Is Miller a Boras guy? I know he's asking for a lot of money, but... On Chris Perez -- his stuff looked good. Fastball with movement clocking in at 92, a real good slider at about 80-81. It would depend on the situation, but if he's there, I can see the Sox grabbing him.

Looks like the first four picks could be set -- Hochevar, Reynolds, Longoria, Lincoln:

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 04:40 PM) To the Dodgers @ 7 Callis needs to update his mock. He thinks the Dodgers are "zeroing in" on Bryan Morris at #7, as they don't think he'll be there with their second pick in the first round.

Latest from BA:

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 04:22 PM) Too much baggage, in my opinion. I don't think 90 pct of his troubles have even been reported. Watch the Cubs take him, as they usually go for the best available talent. So, you're not just thinking his troubles are coming from the 'typical' 18-year old who knows he's going to be a millionaire in a couple months, cocky/arrogant type kid? He seems really talented, no question...

It's a teleconference, Rowand, so you can tune in at MLB.com (somewhere). BTW -- if you guys have any questions about any of the prospects, I have a BA subscription (for today only ), so shoot me a question here if need be. Some interesting names -- Beato, is in fact, ranked 13th overall. Jeremy Jeffress is a guy that Sickels and Goldstein absolutely love. If Drabek were to fall, do the Sox take him? Or is there too much 'baggage' there? Kupe, I didn't get to ask you over at Sickels site, so maybe I can ask you here (?) -- any reason you went with Adrian Cardenas with the Sox first-rounder in the mock draft? That seems like sort of a reach (not saying it's a bad pick), and you weren't really talking about him a whole in your pre-draft MODs.