Draft chat - Jays take David Cooper (1B, Cal) in the 1st rd.

[Schad]

Cooper's not really a reach, IMO. He's been projected anywhere from mid-late first round...Keith Law had him as the 20th best prospect in the draft mid-May, so it's not as if he was bad value at the pick. I probably would have preferred Ike Davis, but Cooper can hit and has raw power.

I do agree with Liebel, though; he's a classic JP selection, a future AAAA guy that will probably progress quickly before settling in Syracuse. Definitely could have done without him.

[Schad]

If the Jays manage to sign Sobolewski it's a huge coup; he's considered a possible 1st rounder next year.

I doubt that he signs, but JP pulled one out of his hat last year with Eiland, so anything is possible.

[-MetA4-]

Sorry I haven't been posting today...was running around on Batters Box, the Scout board, etc.

David Cooper - I dont know where this Lyle Overbay stuff is coming from (I've seen it on other forums) but he definitely has more power potential than Overbay. 25-30 HR power is a safe assumption, and Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus mentioned today that he thought Cooper was a 30+ HR type bat and even went on to say that he thought Cooper has more power than Brett Wallace. Honestly I would have hated this pick yesterday but now I actually kind of like it considering how the draft played out. Cooper has legit power and a good eye at the plate...he's also definitely not 170lbs or whatever was thrown out during the broadcast today. To me he's getting the JP Arencibia treatment from last year when basically everyone didn't like that pick and now everyone is doing back flips as Arencibia is destroying the ball. I dont see any reason to believe that Cooper cant hit as well a Arencibia with even better plate discipline.

Kenny Wilson: Talk about a name that drew massive panic when he was selected. BA and others just missed on this one. Wilson is a very speedy CF who has great range and instincts defensively. His bat is raw but he's got some real projectability in his body and should develop into at least a gap hitter type who can cause some havoc running around the basepaths. Here is a scouting report from Perfect Game Crosscheckers:

SCOUTING REPORT: Wilson was perhaps the biggest surprise in the Florida high school ranks this spring as he went from a largely under-recognized junior to a potential top 5 round pick with a scholarship to Florida waiting for him. Wilson

[-MetA4-]

Mark Sobolewski: As mentioned by Schaden above, this is actually an exciting pick at this point. Sobolewski is a draft eligible sophomore who came into Miami as a highly touted SS but eventually moved over to 3B. He has a lot of potential as both a fielder and as a hitter, although he needs refinement all around right now. Fieldin wise he has all the tools to be an above-average defender but right now his throwing mechanics are causing him to sail the ball at times which is accounting for a lot of his errors. At the plate he has good power and a nice stroke but he strikes out a bit too much right now and he needs more refinement. Like mentioned, he has the potential to be a 1st round pick in next year's draft which means that his upside is legit....it also means that he wont be easy to sign. Marc Hulet got me pumped however when he said today that he expects us to get Sobolewski signed because: A) the Jays research signability as much as any other team in baseball and B) the pick of Liebel in the 3rd should allow us to throw some more cash at Sobolewski because Lieber is a college SR who should be signed under-slot.

Tyler Pastornicky: Another highschool player from Florida, this time it is a SS. Pastornicky is an above average fielder with an above average arm defensively. As a hitter he has a nice, fluid stroke that should allow him to hit for some pretty good average in the future. He doesn't profile to have much power but should develop gap power with a bit of pop. He is a pretty good athlete. I like this pick because at this point in the draft you're not going to find many 5-tool SS prospects, and while Pastornicky isn't going to blow anyone away with the bat he is above-average defensively and should be able to hit for average at least. Here are two reports from Perfect Game (one from this year and one from last year):

PG Report (2008)
Tyler Pastornicky is a 2008 MIF/P with a 5'11'', 165 lb. frame from Bradenton, FL who attends The Pendleton School. Lean athletic build, room to fill out some, very good all-around athlete, simple hitting approach, good hitting mechanics, quick hands, stays inside the ball, good balance, nice rhythm, stays short to the ball, great range in the field, plus arm strength, good balance, high energy player, good hands, great middle infield tools, good student, early round draft potential.

PG Report (2007)
Tyler Pastornicky is a 2008 MIF/P with a 5'11'', 165 lb. frame from Bradenton, FL who attends The Pendleton School. Small/lean frame with deceptive strength. Quick actions, polished fielder, does everything quickly/quietly on D. Short swing, high average approach, line drives all fields, will develop gap to gap pop, centers everything. Top level baserunner. Also 90 mph off the mound. High energy/high performance player.

Markus Brisker: In the 6th we go with yet another HS player, who again just happens to be from Florida. I dont know much about Brisker except that he appears to have some tremendous upside. He is a OF with a terrific frame (6'3-6'4) and good speed + arm from the OF. He is a two-sport guy who used to play basketball and just this year focused on baseball (I like these guys because they usually improve greatly after they start focusing on baseball fulltime). Brisker appears to be raw at the plate but his athleticism and upside do appear to be exciting.

[-MetA4-]

Found two articles talking about Kenny Wilson getting drafted by the Jays:

Sickles' Wilson taken by Jays in second round

Sickles CF Kenny Wilson was the first Hillsborough County player selected in this year's MLB first-year player draft, taken by the Blue Jays in the second round with the 63rd overall pick.

The 6-foot, 165-pound Wilson, a Times All-Hillsborough County first teamer, led with county with 26 stolen bases and 37 runs scored. He hit .400 from the leadoff spot with eight doubles, one triple and two homers, driving in 14 runs.

"It was definitely a surprise," said Wilson, who has signed with UF. "I had heard a lot of things and I had some big expectations, but when I woke up today I had to bring myself down to earth. I didn't want to get my hopes up."

Wilson said at the beginning of the season, the buzz was that he might be a top-five round pick. As more scouts began to notice him -- his speed stands out the most -- he began believing he might be a sandwich pick.

Even as a second-round pick, Wilson is looking at a big pay day. If the signing bonus trends remain steady, he's looking at a signing bonus in the area of $650,000 as a mid-second round pick. He told the Times Thursday evening that he will likely turn pro.

"The chance to get a college education was one of the greatest things to happen to me and my family at the time," Wilson said. "But I've always wanted to play professional baseball and if I was to turn that down and go to up there and I got hurt or something and I never got that opportunity again, I think I'd go crazy."

Wilson has spent the past several days attending pre-draft workouts. He participated in a Yankees workout at Legends Field, traveled to Atlanta to workout for the Braves and also attended a Twins workout.

He didn't attend a Blue Jays workout, but a scout saw him take about 500 swings at a batting practice after the season

Sickles

[-MetA4-]

An article on Markus Brisker from February:

Talented blue devil to get an early jump on base paths
Brisker Has Made Baseball a Top Priority - and Scouts Are Watching
By DURWARD BUCK
LEDGER CORRESPONDENT

WINTER HAVEN'S MARKUS BRISKER chose to skip playing basketball this year in order to begin his baseball season on time. "It was all his decision; I didn't have anything to do with it," Blue Devils baseball coach David Saliba said.

WINTER HAVEN - For the past couple of baseball seasons, Markus Brisker has been behind - about a month or so behind. The two-sport Winter Haven High athlete also played basketball and usually joined the baseball team several weeks after the season was under way.

Even with the late start, college and pro scouts discovered him in the offseason, and now he's on professional draft lists.

This year, the senior solved that late-start issue, dropping basketball to get an earlier start in baseball.

"It was all his decision; I didn't have anything to do with it," said Winter Haven baseball coach David Saliba.

"He has some talent in basketball; if he had stuck with that, he probably could play in college somewhere."

At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Brisker is seen as a key for the Blue Devils in 2008.

He is in the five-man pitching rotation and was the winning pitcher in a preseason victory over Tampa Jesuit.

"His future is as an outfielder," noted Saliba. "He has great speed and a great arm. I believe his hitting is going to be there, too."

Brisker runs 60 yards in 6.5 or 6.6 seconds.

Invited to the national Area Code baseball camp in California last summer, he ranked No. 11 among 300 invited players. He also played in the Diamond Club showcase baseball activities and was the fastest player in the showing.

"Coach gives me the green light as a base runner," Brisker said, "but it has to be in the right situation."

Even after showing up weeks late in 2007, he built his batting average to nearly .300.

In the summer (American Legion baseball) league, Brisker batted .332, and had a good fall as well.

"I'm working on getting stronger and on hitting to all fields," he said. "I'm not exactly a power hitter right now, but I want to be able to hit it deep enough so I can get extra bases."

Saliba said he is still toying with his lineup for the season. "I'll probably wind up batting him first or third; I like the idea of having him on base early in an inning. He'd be hard to double up hitting him third."

Longtime Winter Haven fans are comparing Brisker to former standout Robert Shipman, who set a state record with 55 stolen bases and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers. Shipman is now a high school coach.

A serious student with a 3.57 grade point average, Brisker is also being recruited by college teams, especially two-year schools.

Signing with a junior college keeps his options open; he can later transfer to a four-year school or wait for another draft.

"He's a great kid with extremely high morals," Saliba said. "He could be a leader for us."

At 17, Brisker still could grow more, to 6-4 or 6-5, making him a prospect at first base.

"He's played there some," Saliba said. "But I'm not sure we want to waste his speed. He needs to be in the outfield."

The outfield space at Winter Haven makes it one of the biggest high school parks in the state with 420 feet to deep center and 390 in the gaps. It's the sort of space that develops outfielders, like Shipman and Jordan Schafer (now with the Atlanta Braves).

Professional scouts will be looking at other outfielders and hitting standouts this season, like Graham Hicks of George Jenkins, Landon Chestnut of Kathleen, Keon Broxton of Lakeland, Ronnie Richardson of Lake Region, Johnny Kirkland of Lake Wales, Kyle Moeder of Santa Fe Catholic and Wes Freeman of All Saints' Academy.

[hugehoopsfan]

I wonder why the Jays, instead of throwing 20 million at aging guys like Thomas, don't invest that 20 mill into the draft and go after some of these guys like Cole (this year) or Papelbon. Basically target the potentially expensive, but big talent players that other teams are not willing to, or don't have the cash to spend on. It seems if you're going to compete with the Yanks and Bosox year in and year out, the better approach is to develop some young players who you can stick with for the long run rather than aging players that will get you no higher than 3rd in the division each year.

[whiterasta80]

I wonder why the Jays, instead of throwing 20 million at aging guys like Thomas, don't invest that 20 mill into the draft and go after some of these guys like Cole (this year) or Papelbon. Basically target the potentially expensive, but big talent players that other teams are not willing to, or don't have the cash to spend on. It seems if you're going to compete with the Yanks and Bosox year in and year out, the better approach is to develop some young players who you can stick with for the long run rather than aging players that will get you no higher than 3rd in the division each year.

5 years ago that would have been an excellent strategy. Unfortunately I don't think that signability is going to be that big of a deal going forward. Witness: the Pirates drafting a Boras client.

[evilRyu]

Can someone tell me why a team can have multiple picks in the 1st round? From what I understand, teams cannot trade draft picks.

Or was it a sandwich pick? If so, what happened to the original team then? For example, the Mets have 2 picks in the 1st round.. they must've replaced another team. What happened to the 1st rounder for this team?

[whiterasta80]

Schaddy or Met can correct me if need be, but here it is as I understand it

Sandwich picks are picks between rounds (i.e. between the first and second round) and are only for teams that were awarded a sandwich pick. So, for example, after the first round you can have a "supplemental" first round where 8 teams have additional choices before round 2 begins. It sounds like you have a basic understanding of how teams get awarded sandwich picks (i.e. if one of their free agents get signed). But teams can also get awarded ACTUAL first round picks from another team if they sign away a free agent. Thus the Mets had 2 first round picks this season because the Braves decided to sign Tom Glavine. In doing so the Braves had to give their first rounder to the Mets.

[evilRyu]

Thanks a bunch for the explanation.

I really do not understand why the Mets would be given a draft pick because Glavine (on his own will) signed with the Braves, and not traded there. How does this involve the Braves?

Heck, let's say the Rays (hypothetically speaking) signed Glavine, then would the Mets be granted the 1st pick?

[whiterasta80]

Thanks a bunch for the explanation.

I really do not understand why the Mets would be given a draft pick because Glavine (on his own will) signed with the Braves, and not traded there. How does this involve the Braves?

Heck, let's say the Rays (hypothetically speaking) signed Glavine, then would the Mets be granted the 1st pick?

Picks 1-15 aren't allowed to be given as compensation. In that case, the second rounder is given up along with a sandwich pick.

This might help

http://soxprospects.wikispaces.com/MLB+ ... ick+System

[Schad]

Some pretty solid later picks:

Eric Thames is a left-handed outfielder with Pepperdine who hit .407/.513/1.282 with 13 HRs as a senior, so he'll definitely be in short season ball. He dropped because of a quad injury, but some analysts considered him first/sandwich round material.

Evan Crawford has a nice delivery and good curve as a lefty reliever, and if his control improves and he can add a third pitch, could make it to the majors as a 7th inning guy...he seems to have enough tail on his fastball to pitch effectively to righties.

Antonio Jimenez (high school catcher from Puerto Rico) is another guy who fell due to injury concerns, as he hurt his elbow. Good catcher who is very raw at the plate, it's a nice gamble that late in the draft.

Matt Daly is a shortish college starter with a great fastball who threw a no-hitter on the Cape, against pretty good competition. No command, but worth a look.


The Batter's Box regulars are reporting that 2nd rounder Kenny Wilson will sign for slot money...like Eiland last year, I'm intrigued by his speed and potential in the outfield. Obviously not as good a draft as last year (combination of a weakish class and fewer high picks will do that), but definitely some kids to keep an eye on.

[evilRyu]

-= original quote snipped =-


Picks 1-15 aren't allowed to be given as compensation. In that case, the second rounder is given up along with a sandwich pick.

This might help

http://soxprospects.wikispaces.com/MLB+ ... ick+System

Thanks, that does help