Some afternoon linkaliciousness

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 5, 2007 3:41 PM CDT in News Comment 30 comments

Keith Law has a draft preview up, saying that the strength of this class is high school pitchers, while being very weak in college pitchers and, to an extent, college power bats...

Law also looks at the four teams with lots of early picks -- San Diego, Toronto, San Francisco, and Texas -- and how their philosophies will impact things. Law has some Jon Daniels quotes, with Daniels saying that the Rangers have emphasized best player available of signability, need, and the like, and ends with this note:

Texas' willingness to sign Scott Boras clients could give them a big leg up in this draft, where Boras has seven or eight first-round talents, but many teams drafting ahead of Texas won't exceed MLB's "recommended" slot bonuses. That could mean a Matt Wieters or a Matt Harvey falls to Texas, and I don't see them passing.

John Barten has the latest installment of the Weekly BTB Awards up...

Kevin Goldstein has his top 50 draft prospects up, with notables including Beaven and Harvey at 12-13, LaPorta at 15, and Borbon at 25.

John Sickels offers his top 12 pitching prospects in the draft, with my guy, Smoker, coming in ahead of both Harvey and Beaven...

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John Sickels

that's my boy. This is what i want http://www.lonestarball.com/comments/2007/6/3/1811/13133/7#7

Hopefully the Rangers will go somewhat that way as well...

by Longhorn on Jun 5, 2007 3:42 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

That is the right attitude

for the Rangers to have, take the best player and then do what it takes to sign them. This may be a side benefit of not having signed someone like Matsuzaka or Zito this offseason -- plenty of cash for draft pick signings.

by t ball on Jun 5, 2007 3:57 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

if we could get Hicks to kick in the 27 million we bid on Dice-k then I have to think that would go a long way to taking whomever JD wants.

Fire Michael Young and Ron Washington and Vicente Padilla

by pblack on Jun 5, 2007 3:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Borbon

Interesting that Law has him at 25 and yet many have said they will be furious if we take him at 24. Are the other analysts that far off your guys' reads or are we at LSB perhaps overreacting b/c of his similarity to previous Rangers draft flops?

Fire Michael Young and Ron Washington and Vicente Padilla

by pblack on Jun 5, 2007 3:57 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

BA has Borbon 15

and i don't think i've seen anywhere else Borbon being ranked below 25...

by Longhorn on Jun 5, 2007 4:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

rankings

does anyone remember where meyer was ranked by the various sources?

"Pimps be damned, it's harder out here for a Rangers fan!" "If you don't throw strikes first, you're last."

by rentz on Jun 5, 2007 4:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

30 and beyond i believe...

by Longhorn on Jun 5, 2007 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Meyer

BA had him ranked 20th. Their mock draft had Texas selecting Jeremy Guthrie, though Meyer was mentioned as a fallback.

Meyer was projected 27th to the DBacks. Guthrie went 22nd.

by Lucas on Jun 5, 2007 11:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Borbon

I don't want to see the 24th pick in the draft used on a fast guy who doesn't take good routes, doesn't walk, doesn't have much power, and doesn't have an arm.

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 5, 2007 4:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

x

ditto

by Brandon Wilson on Jun 5, 2007 4:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

plus defense by milb.com

Anyways, i'm not gonna argue the others...

but, it's weird how everyone has him ranked so high, has to be a reason, especially for a college player...

by Longhorn on Jun 5, 2007 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

rank's

i think one reason could be is that the draft is short on college hitters...and he has plus defense from what ive read but not much else.

"Pimps be damned, it's harder out here for a Rangers fan!" "If you don't throw strikes first, you're last."

by rentz on Jun 5, 2007 4:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, there aren't alot of great bats

in the college ranks, and, once you get past the premo HS bats, even a marginal college bat would rank higher than the remaining HS bats.

People rarely live up to their baby pictures.

by rooster on Jun 5, 2007 4:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

2 things

First, I think Borbon is the kind of athletic player that gets taken higher than his baseball skills say he should (see Donald Harris). Some teams think they can take a great athlete and make a great baseball player.

Secondly, I think the rankings are trying to project where he will go to a certain extent... it follows that since there are not that many good college hitters and some teams are more geared towards college hitters then he may get picked earlier than his pure baseball talent would justify.

To me, I fear he turns into (if you can imagine this) an Alfonso Soriano-type leading off and playing CF but with a lot less pop (10 HR) and little stolen base instincts (10 SB, 5 CS). Perhaps a current player who compares to what I fear he might be is Reggie Abercrombie (he looks a lot better than he plays).

by Brandon Wilson on Jun 5, 2007 4:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

My opinion

is that no attribute of a player is more grossly overrated than speed. Ive seen way to many fast guys who cant hit, field, or throw get scouts raving. I have no idea why. However, there is always a buzz about the Ramon Nivars and other track stars masquerading as baseball players.

Mitt Romney should "get out his small-varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn" -- Sen John McCain

by DJCahill on Jun 5, 2007 10:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

speed

i guess its the same as the nba saying that you can't teach size... well you can't always teach speed. so someone finds a quality they want and figure they can teach a guy to do everything else.

"Pimps be damned, it's harder out here for a Rangers fan!" "If you don't throw strikes first, you're last."

by rentz on Jun 6, 2007 6:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hear that

but I'm not sure you can teach hitting if someone can't hit at 19 or 21. It seems there is always fast guys like Ramon Nivar that can't play baseball, and they are a dime a dozen AAAA players.

All I know is, almost every time I hear how a first round draft pick is going to have to have his swing retooled, I see a draft bust.

Mitt Romney should "get out his small-varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn" -- Sen John McCain

by DJCahill on Jun 6, 2007 7:23 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree

just like my comparison to the nba... how often does it work out when teams take a tall big guy and try to teach him basketball?

"Pimps be damned, it's harder out here for a Rangers fan!" "If you don't throw strikes first, you're last."

by rentz on Jun 6, 2007 8:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

well

just like the nba, it's such a big payoff when it works out that people still want to go for it.

I feel like these projects only work out when they get drafted in low rounds and feel like they have something to prove. you give them first round money and the expectation of success, seems like it's recipe for disaster.

Forget Johnny Bench, we got Gerry "the Jet" Laird

by ab03 on Jun 6, 2007 11:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Shawn Bradley?

Oh, wait ....

Mitt Romney should "get out his small-varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn" -- Sen John McCain

by DJCahill on Jun 6, 2007 11:28 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Amen

His ceiling seems to be Juan Pierre

by BCanfield on Jun 5, 2007 5:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

He sounds just like...

Tom Goodwin.

by Redcaps on Jun 6, 2007 7:33 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Borbon

I don't think his ceiling is Pierre, Abercrombie, Goodwin or any other player who's ever played in the major leagues.

This fucking Borbon...his ceiling is probably being a .270 hitter in A+ ball. I think he would wash out very quickly against AA pitchers.

I will go totally ballistic if we draft him in 1st round.

by Brian Hayes on Jun 7, 2007 10:30 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

i dont see him as a pierre type because what i'm reading shows he doesnt have that kind of sb skills.
he doesnt seem to be an obp contact hitter, and he isnt a power hitter.
he seems like a guy with a ceiling as a AAAA player

"Pimps be damned, it's harder out here for a Rangers fan!" "If you don't throw strikes first, you're last."

by rentz on Jun 7, 2007 11:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Borbon...

BA has him at #12...

I still don't want him.

by Topgun22 on Jun 5, 2007 4:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Sorry #16

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/rankings/?rank=tracker

by Topgun22 on Jun 5, 2007 4:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mike Emeigh

I have been trading posts with Mike Emeigh (I believe he is on the payroll of the Cards) over at Baseball Think Factory. He had this to say about the Rangers' farm system after I pointed out that Law had the Rangers ranked 26th:

Off the top of my head: I'd rather have the Rangers' current system, as a whole, than any of the following:

San Diego
Houston
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Seattle
St. Louis
White Sox
Cubs
Baltimore

There are individual prospects in some of those systems who may be better than any single prospect the Rangers have, but as a group, I think the Rangers will get more out of what they currently have than any of those teams will.

-- MWE

by Excel Hearts Choi on Jun 5, 2007 4:19 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

That's exactly why I got so bent out of shape when national analysts said our system was "bottom 3-5" earlier this year. I know I'm pretty biased, but I think Emleigh hit it right on the head.

Our farm isn't great, but I think it's in the 20-22 range, not 26-30.

"Then I met some friends for a beer, went to a BoDeans's concert, and son of a vondruke, if I didn't leave him at the concert hall."

by RCCook on Jun 5, 2007 4:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hate pdf's

So, I apologize for linking to one. But, over at the Frisco RR's homepage they have a short article about Dustin Smith's transition from good soldier org catcher to good soldier org scout. Not particularly insightful, but it gives you an idea what the lower level scouts are told to look for and sorta ties in with Evan Grant's recent scouting stuff ... http://tinyurl.com/2ghmst

Rangers Farm Probables

by shroomer on Jun 5, 2007 5:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

this draft

with all of the "best player" talk, there are no excuses. More than any other draft, if they strike out completely, this scouting team is really going to take it on the chin and the media a two years from now will have every reason to call for managements' jobs - JD and Hopkins first.

Forget Johnny Bench, we got Gerry "the Jet" Laird

by ab03 on Jun 5, 2007 11:38 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs