I admit, I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to him after we signed Justin Smoak, but my understanding was that he’s still prety raw. But if he really is that projectable, I might change my vote on the final poll from Beau Jones to Ross if German Duran wins this one.

Kentucky offers its best draft crop ever this year, and its high school class is especially deep with four prospects with the talent to go in the top two rounds. The best of that contingent is Ross, a lefty with pitches and polish. He sits at 90-92 mph and touched 94 with his fastball, and his secondary pitches and command are just as impressive. He shows a hard slider and nice feel for a changeup, and he pounds the strike zone. The only knock on Ross is that he’s just 6 feet tall, but he generates his quality stuff via athleticism and arm speed, rather than effort. Scouts eagerly anticipated his late-April matchup with fellow Lexington southpaw Nick Maronde, and Ross didn’t disappoint. He struck out 14 and walked none, giving up just an unearned run while dealing Maronde the second loss of his prep career. He also outdueled Niceville (Fla.) lefty Brett DeVall earlier in the year, ending the game with a 94-mph fastball for a strikeout. A Kentucky recruit, Ross should be signable in the first two rounds.

He was 23 until yesterday. And this has been largely a lost season for him, but he still is a middle infielder who showed good offensive skills last year. I think he, Ross, and Boscan are all good choices here.

Ross has nice upside and he was a high draft pick but you can’t group him in with Kiker at this point.

That said, I’d be fine with Ross at #24 but I voted for Santana. I think his potential/skill set is being undervalued at this point. His performance this season isn’t helping matters.