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Q:  jason from fort smith, ar asks:
what is justin smoak's eta in arlington? what kind of production do you think he will ultimately give? 

Jim Callis: Smoak may be ready in little more than a year, and I guess the Rangers will make room by putting him at first base and shifting Chris Davis to DH, unless they want to see if Davis can handle third base again. Davis was rough at the hot corner. Smoak will hit for average with big power and Gold Glove defense. A steal at No. 11, and I would have taken him over Yonder Alonso (who went No. 7), though I do like Alonso.

Q:  Bertram from Taiwan asks:
How disappointed were the A's to get stuck with Jemile Weeks after Smoak went one pick before them? 

Jim Callis: The A's drafted Smoak out of high school, and he would have been a tremendous value at No. 12. Not sure the A's would publicly say they would have taken Smoak over Weeks, but I'm thinking they would have. I do think they were determined to take a college up-the-middle athlete unless someone fell to them, and Weeks was the best available.

 Q:  Victor from San Diego asks:
Smoak over Alonso, would you have taken him over Hosmer too? 

Jim Callis: No, I would have taken Hosmer.

Q:  HoustonTeams4Me from Houston asks:
Who would you say has the most power out of the first round hitter's (Alvarez,Hosmer,Smoak, etc.)?

Jim Callis: I'd go with Pedro Alvarez.

Q:  Daniel from NYC asks: from NYC asks:
With the plate discipline that Yonder Alonso has shown will he be the best overall hitter ( Power/ average) to emerge from this draft class? 

John Manuel: He could be; I don' think he has the combination of hitting for average and power that Alvarez, Smoak and, say, Eric Hosmer have, but he walked twice as much as he struck out at Miami the last 2 years, and still managed to hit 20-plus bombs this season. He's short to the ball, keeps the bat through the zone a long time and has a nice, high finish. He's going to hit, I think the Q is how many home runs. .300-.400.-.550 seems like it's possible for him to achieve fairly consistently.

Q:  Bob from Boston from Boston asks:
Can you rate the best teams including the draft and international signings over the last 2 years? 

John Manuel: Gotta go lightning round: Texas stands out here, by quite a bit. San Francisco also has to be considered with Big V (I know that's 06), last year's draft, this year's and Rafael Rodriguez.

Q:  Mike from Chicago asks:
Do you see the Rangers Tim Murphy as a Starter or out of the Bullpen <

John Manuel: He's athletic enough to stay a starter; I'm a fan, could see him being similar to Zito with a bit less curve and more FB and command (due to the athleticism). He needs to long toss with Brandon Crawford to build his arm strength!

:  Ross from CA asks:
Can you give me 5 players who have 40 HR power from this years draft? Is Roger Kieschnick one of them? 

John Manuel: I think those days are over, Ross. Roger Kieschnick has 30 homer power if he makes consistent contact; he's a streaky guy, a rhythm hitter whose timing can be upset. But he's really strong and has big raw power, probably top 5-10 of the draft — after Hosmer, Smoak, Alvarez (you can shake up those three in a hat), plus Brett Lawrie, A. Dykstra, G. Beckham, Skipworth and B. Wallace. Ike Davis and David Cooper are in the discussion as well.

Q:  Matt from Cardiff, UK asks:
How would the top 10 prospects for the 08 draft look now based on what you know now?

John Manuel: Another interesting one; looking at our top 10 going into the draft, the only change would for me would be removing Scheppers because of his shoulder injury. I was surprised that Yonder Alonso went ahead of Justin Smoak, and even more surprised he got more money than Smoak. But to me, Smoak's the better prospect because of the switch-hitting. He's not Mark Teixeira — his hit tool is probably a 50, and Tex has been borne out to be a 60 or 65 hitter. But Smoak's power is bigger than Alonso's.

Q:  Gustavo Gonzalez from Caracas Venezuela asks:
How big was the Houston's mistake on Draft. Choose Jason Castro Above Justin Smoak? 

John Manuel: Maybe, but Castro's position is a pretty big factor in making the case to take him over Smoak. Houston's franchise player is Lance Berkman, a hometown here, that makes it hard to take a 1B.

Lots and Lots of fun stuff here...I liked the "Can you rate the best teams including the draft and international signings over the last 2 years? John Manuel:  Texas stands out here, by quite a bit."

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/draft/draft-dish/2008/267133.html