2014 MLB Draft Compilation Board #2

by: Ben Embry

Amateur baseball seasons are starting to get under way, and all of the big draft scouts/writers that I follow have updated their prospect rankings recently.  Between now and June 5, we can expect a lot of changes.  There will be some pop up guys, like Jonathan Gray from last year, and movement up and down the rankings for a lot of guys.  Some prospects predicted to be first round talents could easily fall multiple rounds based on how they look this Spring.  But right now, we're only two weeks into the season and there really hasn't been much opportunity for that to happen, so this is kind of like a jumping off point.

This compilaton board is a little thing I like to do to stay up on who the big names are in the draft pool. What I do is take rankings from 6 different sources that I trust the most on the subject of draft prospects and I compile them into one board.  And honestly, it is very difficult to find a lot of information on the MLB Draft on the internet, at least compared to the more popular NFL and NBA Drafts.  The MLB Draft is more niche-y, so if anything I'd like to consider what I do a service to those other MLB draftniks out there who are looking for some good information.

My previous board can be found here.  Here's the second board for the 2014 draft:

Rnk	Name	Pos	School
1	Carlos Rodon	SP	NC State
2	Jeff Hoffman	SP	E Carolina
3	Alex Jackson	C	H.S.
4	Tyler Kolek	SP	H.S.
5	Tyler Beede	SP	Vandy
6	Trea Turner	SS	NC State
7	Derek Fisher	OF	Virginia
8	Nick Gordon	SS	H.S.
9	Jacob Gatewood	SS	H.S.
10	Brady Aiken	SP	H.S.
11	Grant Holmes	SP	H.S.
12	Max Pentecost	C	Kensaw St
13	Braxton Davidson	1B	H.S.
14	Luis Ortiz	SP	H.S.
15	Sean Newcomb	SP	Hartford
16	Touki Toussaint	SP	H.S.
17	Brandon Finnegan	SP	TCU
18	Kyler Schwarber	C	Indiana
19	Erick Fedde	SP	UNLV
20	Michael Gettys	SP/OF	H.S.
21	Luke Weaver	SP	Florida St
22	Alex Verdugo	SP/OF	H.S.
23	Sean Reid-Foley	SP	H.S.
24	Aaron Nola	SP	LSU
25	Kodi Medeiros	SP	H.S.
26	Brad Zimmer	OF	San Fran
27	Michael Cederoth	SP	SD State
28	Mac Marshall	SP	H.S.
29	Scott Blewett	SP	H.S.
30	Cobi Johnson	SP	H.S.
31	Justus Sheffield	SP	H.S.
32	Nick Burdi	RP	Louisville
33	Michael Conforto	OF	Oregon St
34	Kyle Freeland	SP	Evansville
35	Derek Hill	OF	H.S.
36	Matt Chapman	3B	CS Fuller.
37	Michael Chavis	3B	H.S.
38	Dylan Cease	SP	H.S.
39	Ti'quan Forbes	SS	H.S.
40	Forrest Wall	2B	H.S.
41	Jackson Reetz	C	H.S.
42	J.D. Davis	SP/1B	CS Fuller.
43	Monte' Harrison	OF	H.S.
44	Dylan Davis	SP/OF	Oregon St
45	Keaton McKinney	SP	H.S.
46	Jake Godfrey	SP	H.S.
47	Marcus Wilson	OF	H.S.
48	Sean Bouchard	3B	H.S.
49	Greg Deichmann	3B	H.S.
50	Taylor Sparks	3B	UC Irvine
51	Jeren Kendall	OF	H.S.
52	Alex Blandino	3B	Stanford
53	Matt Imhof	SP	Cal Poly
54	Jordan Brink	SP	Fresno St
55	Chris Ellis	SP	Ole Miss
56	Michael Kopech	SP	H.S.
57	Josh Morgan	3B	H.S.
58	Cameron Varga	SP	H.S.
59	Jack Flaherty	SS	H.S.
60	Chase Vallot	C	H.S.
61	Austin Davis	SP	CS Baker.
62	Stone Garrett	OF	H.S.
63	Spencer Turnbull	SP	Alabama
64	Turner Larkins	SP	H.S.
65	Chad Sobotka	SP	SC Upstate
66	Spencer Adams	SP	H.S.
67	Lane Thomas	OF	H.S.
68	Kel Johnson	OF	H.S.
69	Tate Blackman	2B	H.S.
70	Luke Bonfield	SP/OF	H.S.
71	Andrew Suarez	SP	Miami (FL)
72	Grayson Greiner	C	South Car
73	Joey Gatto	SP	H.S.
74	Milton Ramos	SS	H.S.
75	Travis Jones	OF	H.S.
76	Dillon Peters	SP	Texas
77	Jake Cosart	SP	JUCO
78	Scott Heineman	OF	Oregon
79	Evan Skoug	C	H.S.
80	Foster Griffin	SP	H.S.
81	Chris Oliver	SP	Arkansas
82	Zach Shannon	SP/OF	H.S.
83	Carl Chester	OF	H.S.
84	Austin Byler	3B	Nevada
85	Karsten Whitson	SP	Florida
86	Lukas Schiraldi	SP	Texas
87	Joey Pankake	3B	S Carolina
88	Casey Gillaspie	1B	Wichita St
89	Brandon Downes	OF	Virginia
90	Devon Fisher	C	H.S.
91	Gareth Morgan	OF	H.S.
92	Adam Haseley	SP/OF	H.S.
93	Sam Coonrod	SP	So Illinois
94	Keith Weisenberg	SP	H.S.
95	JJ Schwarz	C	H.S.
96	Grant Hockin	SP	H.S.
97	Brett Austin	C	NC State
98	Justin Bellinger	1B	H.S.
99	Blake Bivens	SP	H.S.
100	Riley Ferrell	RP	TCU

The Yankees currently have the 47th pick, with a slot of about $1.03 million.  That's actually about 10 spots better than I was thinking they would have.  In theory, they should wind up with 2 guys off this list.  In the 40-50 range, you see a lot of high school kids, which I don't think would be a bad way to go.  Based on what talent they have in the system, a HS OF would work.  HS pitchers are never a bad way to go.  I'd advocate for some college pitching, but generally the pickings get slim in that area after the first round, (if not sooner).  They can afford to stay away from advanced catchers and outfielders, and young infielders based on what they did last year and what they're working on in the international free agent class, (although it never hurts to get a good young SS if they're available).

I'm a big fan of Dylan Cease for New York right now.  He really impressed me in the Under Armour game last Summer, particularly in his strike out of 2015 stud Daz Cameron.  Baseball America said he has an athletic delivery and "produces easy velocity, with a fastball up to 97 mph" and they recently ranked his fastball as one of the best in high school.  He's currently ranked 38th, so it wouldn't be a big stretch to see him end up with the Yankees.  I think that would be a really good value for a team picking halfway into the second round, although $1 million may not be big enough to lure him away from his Vanderbilt commitment.

I should say I find it a little self defeating to have these specific guys you want your team to draft, because the chances are very slim when you draft where NY always drafts.  Last year is a prime example; I had hoped all Spring that Ryne Stanek would be available when the Yankees drafted at 26 even though no one predicted he'd last that long.  Somehow he did and yet NY took Jagielo instead.  I'll refrain from saying whether I think that was a mistake, but it was a little bit of a gut punch for me.  Still, what fun is it if you can't dream, know what I mean?

I want to make sure I give credit where credit's due, that being the six writers/publications I use to assemble my board.  Some are subscription based, some are free.  I encourage everyone to check them all out.  They are:

Big League Futures (Kevin Gallo, Matt Grabusky)

Baseball America (various writers)

ESPN (Keith Law)

MLB.com (Jim Callis, Jon Mayo)

Scouting Baseball (Kiley McDaniel)

MLB Draft Insider (Chris Crawford)

My next board will be available at the end of April.  At that point I'll have enough info to do a deep dive on some of the top prospects and some guys that are being predicted for New York.  You can expect a lot of changes and the board should get to at least 125 maybe 150 at that point; I actually have 109 names now but I don't like odd numbers like that so I cut it off at 100.  The last board, which will be available within a week prior to the draft, will expand to 250.

Email me or hit me up on twitter with any questions: info@thebronxempire.com or @thebronxempire.  Have a good day!

2014 Yankees Prospects: 5 Buy-Low Candidates

by: Ben Embry

This weekend I posted my lists for the Yankees' farm systems top 25 hitters, pitchers and overall.  Before I completely turn the page, there are 5 prospects I think will have good years and will therefore elevate their positions on the list.  In order of current ranking:

Aaron Judge, OF (rank: 7) - Judge is the classic boom or bust candidate...the kind of guy you can feel comfortable taking early when you have three first round picks.  The rumors linking Judge to the Yankees started early and at first I was concerned.  This is a guy who was supposed to be a power hitter but only had 6 HR in his first two college seasons.  His 6'7 frame suggests he probably won't be able to stick for long in CF, the position he played at Fresno State.  But he hit and played very well in 2013, (.369/.461./655 with 12 HR in 206 AB).  And just the fact he played CF makes me think his defense will be at least above average for some time when he eventually moves to one of the corners.  I have a feeling he'll play very well this year, probably in Charleston, and make all the big Top 100 lists next year.

Ty Hensley, SP (rank: 16) - Ty has everything you're looking for in an elite pitching prospect: frame (6'4, 220 lbs), repertoire (92-95 MPH fastball with big 12-to-6 curve and developing change-up), and accolades (ESPN and Gatorade Oklahoma player of the year in 2012).  Add to that being the son of former professional pitcher Mike Hensley and you get a very entriguing prospect.  He did very well in the 12 IP following the 2012 draft (3.00 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10.50 K/9) and this time last year I was eagerly anticipating Ty getting assigned to Charleston.  Well unfortunately that assignment never came due to injuries that required surgeries on both hips.  Missing all of 2013 has led to Ty being sorta forgotten the way I see it.  I predict he'll have an excellent season and distinguish himself as the top pitching prospect in the system and put himself in the conversation of Top 100 overall.

Luis Torrens, C (rank: 18) - I've really been intrigued by Torrens since 2012 when Baseball America ranked him the second best IFA prospect that year.  He hit ok, despite the slash line (.248/.348/.299 in 174 AB), especially considering he was just 17 years old).  Miguel Andujar went through a similar situation the year before and last year he was outstanding (.323/.368/.496 in 133 AB).  I expect the same thing for Torrens. Plus, Keith Law mentioned recently that Luis has shown the ability to be excellent defensively behind the plate, something I was not aware of.  He should be a top 10 system prospect next year.

Peter O'Brien, C/3B/1B (rank: 20) - POWER, POWER, POWER.  He's a huge man with pop to spare.  Squating down for 150 or so pitches every day probably not easy on a 6'3" dude, which is what I'm telling myself as I hear about them moving him around the diamond.  Fact is when you can hit 22 HR in a year it doesn't really matter where you play.  And a .265 career average is more than acceptable when your OPS is .819.  The Yankees really believed in O'Brien when they took him in the second round and gave a college Senior a $460,000 bonus.  And the way he's moving through the system, you can tell their opinions haven't changed.  If he keeps posting a .265/.321/.498 line with HR to spare.

Leonardo Molina, OF (rank: not ranked) - Ok, this kid's about as far away from the bigs as you can get.  Hasn't even played one professional game yet.  Doesn't turn 17 until August.  But he's a big bonus baby with good bat speed and plus defense.  He was ranked 4th best July 2 prospect by Baseball America last year and scouts who have seen him in working in Tampa are gushing.  He'll be top 25 easy next year.

2014 Pre-season Yankees Prospect Rankings (by position)

by: Ben Embry

Yesterday I gave you my thoughts on the Top 25 overall prospects in the Yankees farm system.  I actually go much deeper in rankings, with about 61 players on my watchlist.  So I thought I'd give you a further breakdown by rankings pitchers and hitters seperately.  First the pitchers:

Rank	Player	Position
1	Ian Clarkin	SP
2	Rafael de Paula	SP
3	Manny Banuelos	SP
4	Luis Severino	SP
5	Jose Ramirez	SP
6	Jose Campos	SP
7	Ty Hensley	SP
8	Gabe Encinas	SP
9	Nik Turley	SP
10	Bryan Mitchell	SP
11	Mark Montgomery	RP
12	Caleb Smith	SP
13	Omar Luis	SP
14	Nick Goody	RP
15	Rookie Davis	SP
16	Brady Lail	SP
17	Dietrich Enns	SP
18	Jordan Cote	SP
19	Cesar Vargas	SP
20	Angel Rincon	SP
21	Cale Coshow	SP
22	David Palladino	SP
23	Zach Nuding	RP
24	Evan Rutckyj	SP
25	Daniel Camarena	SP

The hitters are as follows:

Rank	Player	Position
1	Gary Sanchez	C
2	Mason Williams	OF
3	Eric Jagielo	3B
4	Tyler Austin	OF/1B
5	Slade Heathcott	OF
6	J.R. Murphy	C
7	Aaron Judge	OF
8	Greg Bird	1B
9	Gosuke Katoh	2B
10	Abiatal Avelino	SS
11	Luis Torrens	C
12	Miguel Andujar	3B
13	Peter O'Brien	3B/C
14	Angelo Gumbs	2B
15	Mike O'Neill	OF
16	Ben Gamel	OF
17	Rob Refsnyder	2B
18	Ramon Flores	OF
19	Tyler Wade	SS
20	Thairo Estrada	SS
21	Jake Cave	OF
22	Alexander Palma	OF
23	Cito Culver	SS
24	Dante Bichette, Jr.	3B
25	Austin Aune	OF

After today, I'll turn my attention back to draft rankings, begrudgingly since New York will not have a first round pick.  Still, there will be about 250 players on my list so there should still be a few prospects that end up Yankees.  And who knows, maybe a Top 25 player will inexplicably slide to the Bombers like Jon Denney did for Boston last year, (lucky bastards).  I'll also be keeping an eye on the July 2 prospects, which New York has been purported to be in VERY DEEP on.  Like, they may sign all of the top guys, who knows.  There's been a lot of information already, but only from Kiley McDaniel over at Scouting Baseball and most of what he has said has been in his premium service, so out of respect for him, I'll keep it to myself.  All I can say is...be excited.  Or as excited as you should be about kids who won't play in the majors for at least another 4-6 years.  But seriously, if you have any kind of interest in July 2 prospects, Kiley's articles are worth the subscription.

Take care everybody and have a good weekend.