"6. Washington Nationals: Phillippe Aumont, Ecole Du Versant Gatineau, Quebec"

That couldn't be more ironic...

This is as good a place as any to ask... does anybody have any guesses about where Eammon Portice (RHP from High Point) and Mike Rizzotti (1B from Manhattan) will be picked? I would think rounds 10 to 15ish for both, but I'm sure some of you guys know more about the amateur draft.

Weiters is out of the top 10? Last I looked, Keith Law had him as the best player in the draft. I was expecting a lot more from him this year....maybe the pitching part is affecting his hitting. I'd like the Royals to go after Vitters; you can never have too many elite bats on your team. I also think whoever takes Brackman of NC State is going to be regretting it after a few years.

Excuse me, the Giants ``generally scout players based on their abilities only and don’t shy away from signability concerns.'' Has this guy checked out the draft in the top 10 years. The Giants are so opposed to paying slot money, even, that they have been known, just like Oakland, to sign a free agent for compensation and put the money that would have been spent on a first round draft choice into the big-league payroll.

Wieters not going in the first round would be a huge shock to me! Even a down year by his standards has been pretty darn good. He should be a perfect fit for Tampa. People have been making noises about the mileage on Price's arm ( similar to the Lincecum grumblings last year ).
Any draftniks want to chime in?

Edit 1 : now that i see #3. He has not been closing much this year, as he has struggled pitching. Danny Payne has been helping out.

You can't just leave it at that, Shibal. You gotta explain why.

watched Brackman pitch against Tech last month. he was fast, but not that impressive. The knock against him has been his inability to produce good results. He is a tall power pitcher and all projectability ( converted basketball player ). He hasn't been pitching for that long, but still, you have to produce good results at some point with that stuff

Excuse me, the Giants ``generally scout players based on their abilities only and don’t shy away from signability concerns.'' Has this guy checked out the draft in the top 10 years. The Giants are so opposed to paying slot money, even, that they have been known, just like Oakland, to sign a free agent for compensation and put the money that would have been spent on a first round draft choice into the big-league payroll.

The Giants have sometimes done that (e.g. Michael Tucker) but when they have used their draft picks they have not cheaped out - Lincecum, Cain, etc. And last year they even signed Angel Villalona out of the Dominican for a big signing fee.

The Pirates can't take another college pitcher can they? Is Matt Millen running the Pirates too and he likes college pitchers instead of college wide receivers?

I've seen David Price pitch three times this year. He was solid but nothing special for my first two trips. On my third trip, he carried a perfect game into the 7th inning. I showed up during this inning and my friend immediately mentioned that Price was pitching the type of game that you're not allowed to say and that I better not jinx it. Of course, the very next batter lined a single and my friend blamed me.

The Pirates can't take another college pitcher can they? Is Matt Millen running the Pirates too and he likes college pitchers instead of college wide receivers?

I'm trying to make a smartass Jeff Samardjiza joke, but I got nothin'.

Weiters is out of the top 10? Last I looked, Keith Law had him as the best player in the draft.

Law also said Jarrod Parker is challenging Porcello for the best prep pitcher in the country. Earlier this season in a chat on Espn.com Law also said he'd take Brackman over Price. Both these ideas have no basis in reality. Disregard what Keith Law said.

I also think whoever takes Brackman of NC State is going to be regretting it after a few years.

And you'd be wrong. The team that is certifiably insane enough to disregard all the tell-tales signs of the bust that Brackman will be will deserve what's coming to them. I wouldn't take him before the 2nd round...on talent alone.

Judging by things said in Mayos comments on each mock pick I think hes projecting Wieters, a Boras client, to fall based on signability just like Andrew Miller and the still unsigned Max Scherzer (who also had injury questions) did last year and like Luke Hochevar did in getting down to the Dodgers in the supplemental round in 05.

Stephen Drew, '04, is the last consensus top 5 position player to fall.

."Law also said Jarrod Parker is challenging Porcello for the best prep pitcher in the country. Earlier this season in a chat on Espn.com Law also said he'd take Brackman over Price. Both these ideas have no basis in reality. Disregard what Keith Law said."

Ok, I'm not going to wade into the BrackAttack one with you, I'd probably take Price too but, like Bard last year, Brackman is clearly better than a 2nd rounder. But there is a fine case to be made that hes overrated, one that I'm not on board with but ok...

But what is absurd is you being so damn sure than Porcello is better than Parker. I know youve got your absurd Jersey loyalism but have you seen either of these guys pitch? Parker is the hardest thrower in his class and one scout said Porcello's edge mostly just his 3-4 inches in height.
Its one thing to read reports and get a favorite but to be such a blowhard about it, and act like its absurd to disagree, when I'm 90% sure you know less about it than Law (or BA, or PG, or whoever) is a joke

Do you have anything that can back up your claim that thinking of Parker is on par with or head of Porcello is baseless?

Moskos to the Pirates? ####.

Not that I can fault Mayo for assuming that we'd take the lowest-impact lefty arm on the board. I mean, I'm sure he'll have a nice career and all, but the absolute LAST thing this org needs is a polished college reliever.

I mean, if they want a bat, but don't want to pay for Wieters, they should just go with Heyward.

I was hoping Heyward fall to the Braves at #14

I don't know why people aren't rating Heyward more highly. There don't seem to be any holes in his profile.

What is this, the 380th time you've called out Law for Brackman over Price? Seems a bit early to crow that loudly when Keith hasn't been wrong because of their MLB careers but because of other people's prospect rankings.

There don't seem to be any holes in his profile.

big time lack of speed from an 18 yr old

"big time lack of speed from an 18 yr old"

Average speed, sure, but when you're talking about a guy who's 6-4, isn't that kind of a given? And it's not like Moustakas or Dominguez are burners, either...

The more I read about him, the less I think he's going to be around for Atlanta that late. Allan Simpson posted a mock draft here, and he's got the Nats (#6), Rockies (#8), Mariners (#11), and Marlins (#12) all being interested in him on some level or other.

Do you have anything that can back up your claim that thinking of Parker is on par with or head of Porcello is baseless?

I have seen Porcello pitch, and from what I've seen of Parker on film, he doesn't come close to matching up. Porcello has polish AND projection on his side. Like you said, Parker is a hard thrower. Read other draft reports and see how close Parker comes to Porcello in those as well. Or you don't have to believe me and we can just wait this one out and let time prove me right.

And Andrew Brackman is brutal.

And lets not forget that Porcello was given the highest draft grade by the bureau for a prep pitcher since Josh Beckett. This isn't some random high school arm I'm high on.

Neither the Pirates nor the Orioles have any business drafting a college pitcher, given the state of their farm systems and what's going on at the major league level. Both those clubs should be looking at guys like Moustakas, Heyward, and Dominguez instead of Moskos, Detweiler, and Brackman.

-- MWE

If the Nationals draft a French Canadian high school pitcher, I may not renew my season tickets.

And lets not forget that Porcello was given the highest draft grade by the bureau for a prep pitcher since Josh Beckett. This isn't some random high school arm I'm high on.

I've heard that before. That's how Jeff Allison was described.

I don't have an opinion on Parker v Porcello, but lets recognize how much this is an inexact science. We're probably in the neighborhood of one being a 35% chance of being a regular rotation starter and the other 33%.

I've heard that before. That's how Jeff Allison was described.

But shouldn't we then get into specifics of these two cases? Prior to the draft, Allison was known as a head case by many from Mass. area. Even in his BA write-up, they said:

Scouts say he's cocky, to a point of being uncoachable at times.

Porcello is pretty much the opposite. He's got a GPA near 4, he's polite and well-mannered off the field, and he's extremely coachable according to numerous connections I have with SHP.

Obviously if your point is prep pitchers are unpredictable, there is truth to that. But the downfall which Allison met was not something that no one saw coming. He had a rep before he was even drafted.

I am intrigued by Porcello. I will endorse him for Royals #2 overall pick.

I still think the Royals should take Vitters instead of Porcello, mostly because he's the best player likely to be available to them. I can understand why they don't, given that he's a 3B and KC already has Gordon, but that shouldn't stop anyone.

I would love to see Vitters drop to #4, but that ain't happening.

-- MWE

"He's got a GPA near 4, he's polite and well-mannered off the field, and he's extremely coachable according to numerous connections I have with SHP."

Turn that around, and he sounds like a doormat. Doesn't throw his weight around, doesn't have enough self confidence to trust his own stuff, right? You want a little strut in a SP; they have to think they're Mick Jagger out there on the mound.

Not dissing Porcello, just making a point about how you can make ANYTHING sound like a negative when you get into personality/makeup stuff. It's even worse for us than the scouts, because at least they've met the kid themselves. We're just listening to third-hand accounts.

"I would love to see Vitters drop to #4, but that ain't happening."

Yeah, seems like it. Everything I've read has the Cubs absolutely committed to him at #3, assuming he gets that far.

Excuse me, the Giants ``generally scout players based on their abilities only and don’t shy away from signability concerns.'' Has this guy checked out the draft in the top 10 years. The Giants are so opposed to paying slot money, even, that they have been known, just like Oakland, to sign a free agent for compensation and put the money that would have been spent on a first round draft choice into the big-league payroll.

I guess no Giants fans are around. The Giants last year stated that cost was not a concern with their #10, that they would pick the best talent available, regardless of signability concerns. Since they got the #10 again plus, as noted, signed Villalona to a $2.1M signing bonus (16 year old prospect), I would think it likely that the Giants would do the same again this year.

The reality is that the Giants have generally been generous with bonuses. I've studied the Giants signing bonuses during the 2000's. I compared their bonus with the bonuses above and below their pick, and 2003 was the only year that they were signficantly below the range of bonus suggested by the picks before and after. Most round 1 picks were actually slightly above what would be expected, if I remember right, and last year Lincecum got a bit more than expected, he got the bonus one would have expected based on the bonuses paid in 2005 draft ($2.0M), not the lowered range that the 2006 draft had (One would have expected around $1.8M based on the #8 and #12 picks's bonuses).

Also, I believe that the A's did not do what the Giants did, which was the Giants could have waited 24 hours to sign Michael Tucker, but signed him early on purpose, in order to lose a draft pick.

That was a calculated risk to add money to the big-league payroll. My draft study showed that the odds are pretty low of finding a good player even with the 21-30th pick overall (about 10%), so they did not give up much plus picked up a replacement prospect when they traded Tucker to the Phillies, a nice prospect Kelvin Pichardo, pitcher.