You want some baseball info, fine; I’ll give you some baseball info. Here are the top 60 draft eligible baseball prospects for the 2009 amateur draft. As a disclaimer, I made this list by first creating my top 15 high school pitchers, college pitchers, college bats, and high school bats. Then I ranked those 60 prospects. So, this is not a true big board but, it is certainly a good working list. I do not have capsules on individual players but, I have put them into tiers, and analyzed the groups a little, enjoy. As far as the blog is concerned, I am working on some NBA stuff, and creating an Astros spring training power list… more on that later. As always, comments are much appreciated.
Top 60 2009 MLB Draft Prospects
1. Steven Strasburg RHP San Diego State
He’s the consensus top pick in the 2009 draft. He will become one of the top three pitching prospects when he’s drafted.
2. Alex White RHP North Carolina
3. Grant Green SS Southern California
4. Dustin Ackley 1B/OF North Carolina
These are the next three prospects, all coming out of college. They will likely go between picks two and four in the draft, unless one of the two high school lefties goes ahead of them.
5. Matthew Purke LHP HS Texas
6. Donovan Tate OF HS Georgia
7. Kyle Gibson RHP Missouri
8. Tyler Matzek LHP HS California
9. Aaron Crow RHP Missouri/Independent League
Purke and Matzek are the aforementioned lefties both have low 90s fastballs and advanced breaking balls. Tate has a ton of upside as a five-tooler but, has a strong football commitment to North Carolina. Gibson and Crow are the next group of college pitchers. Crow was picked by the Nationals with the ninth pick last year.
10. Andrew Oliver LHP Oklahoma State
11. Kentrail Davis OF Tennessee
12. Shelby Miller RHP HS Texas
13. Jacob Turner RHP HS Georgia
14. Robbie Shields 2B Florida Southern
15. Mychal Givens RHP/SS HS Florida
16. Matt Davidson 3B HS California
A mixed group here but, any of these seven could go tenth after the top nine are drafted. Givens is an interesting player as he has garnered attention as a possible five-tool shortstop or as a pitcher with a 95 mph heater.
17. Mike Minor LHP Vanderbilt
18. Austin Maddox C HS Florida
19. Luke Bailey C Georgia
20. Zach Wheeler RHP HS Georgia
21. Josh Phegley C Indiana
22. Tanner Scheppers RHP Fresno State/Independent League
23. Kendal Volz RHP Baylor
This group is filled with guys with who there are varying opinions. Minor, Maddox, Scheppers, Phegley, and Volz could all go inside the top 12 picks however; they could also slip to the back end of the first round. Bailey and Wheeler are the exceptions to that rule though, and should go between 18, and 23. Wheeler is currently the guy I am looking at for the Astros with the 21<sup>st</sup> pick.
24. Ben Tootle RHP Jacksonville State
25. Jason Stoffel RHP Arizona
26. Ryan Jackson SS Miami
27. Brian Goodwin OF HS North Carolina
28. Max Stassi C HS California
Tootle and Stoffel are the two best pure relievers in the draft while, the latter three are position players who could be chosen ahead of them. Jackson is a defensive specialist who could jump ahead in the draft – like Jermile Weeks last year – Goodwin is the classic five-tool high school outfielder, and Stassi is the fourth elite catcher in the draft. The order of this group all comes down to taste.
29. AJ Pollock 2B/OF Notre Dame
30. Matt Graham RHP HS Texas
31. Keyvius Sampson RHP HS Florida
32. Robert Stock C Southern California
33. Alex Wilson RHP Texas A&M
34. Chris Jenkins RHP HS New Jersey
35. Jake Marisnick OF HS California
The two college position players here (Stock and Pollock) are both rather polarizing. I know I just said there were only four elite catchers BUT, five could go in the first round, and Stock had a very impressive opening weekend. Pollock isn’t gifted with an abundance of tools but, he has excellent discipline at the plate, has speed, and most importantly delivers. I like him. The high school pitchers are all high upside guys, Sampson could go in the first twenty though, while the others will have to wait till the back end of the first or even supplemental round. Wilson plays for the best college team in the nation, and had a very good opening weekend, like Stock, he is a safe pick.
36. Ryan Wheeler 1B/3B Layola Marymount
37. Ryan Ortiz C/1B Oregon State
38. Daniel Webb RHP Northwest Florida State CC
Nothing too special about this group, if one of them does rise into the first round it may be Webb, who was considered a first round talent last season but, dropped deep into the draft, and went to junior college to try and raise his stock while remaining eligible. Wheeler has some upside but, you can find first basemen with 25 homerun power later on.
Ortiz is very questionable at catcher but, if a team thinks he can stick there, and the above five are gone he could be the sixth catcher in the first round… that would be something.
39. Jonathan Walsh 3B/C HS Texas
40. Beau Wright LHP HS California
41. Sean Black RHP Seton Hall
42. Chris Dominguez 3B Louisville
43. Brett Jackson OF California
44. LeVon Washington OF/2B HS Florida
45. DJ LeMaheiu SS/3B LSU
46. Bobby Borchering 3B HS Florida
A seventh catcher? Maybe, Walsh is a terrific athlete, with a strong arm, and very good hitting ability. I think he is going to be a steal if he is not drafted in the first round. Dominguez has an enormous amount of power and a very strong arm from third but, is probably the biggest strikeout risk in the draft, and that will cause him to slip. Borchering is a switch hitter with good hitting ability from both sides. He is a good defender, with a good arm from third.
47. Devan Marrero SS HS Florida
48. Jared Mitchel OF Louisiana State
49. Blake Smith RHP/OF California
50. Ben Paulsen 1B Clemson
51. Chad Thompson HS California
52. Jiovanni Mier SS HS California
53. Brad Boxberger RHP Southern California
54. Ian Krol LHP HS Illinois
55. Jonathan Singleton 1B HS California
56. Colton Cain 1B/LHP HS Texas
57. Randal Grichuk OF HS Texas
58. Tyler Skaggs LHP HS California
59. Geno Escalante C HS California
60. Byran Berglund RHP HS California
I bunched what would have been the last two groups. It filled with some high upside shortstops, high school lefties, and such. Marrero, Mitchel, Mier, and Boxberger have the best chance of moving up into the first round. Some of the high school pitchers in this group are the types to be taken in the supplemental round.
There’s your top 60.
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