Let's fix things up around here

How do you turn the MLB draft from a crap shoot, to a science?

There has been plenty of discussion about revamping Major league baseball. Among the topics of reform have been expanding the playoffs, moving a National League team to the American League, and fixing the draft.

Of all things that have been mentioned, the draft does need some help, if not a total overhaul. There are plenty of things wrong with the old system. Teams are not adhering to the slotting system put in place by current Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, which has led to astonishingly high signing bonuses. Amazingly enough, the draft was put in place back in 1965 to curtail these types of signing bonuses. Unfortunately, teams feel the need to grab talent at any price, and it has led to some issues. Back in 1964, the record signing bonus at the time belonged to Angels outfielder Rich Reichardt who signed for a then-unheard of $205,000. Today, that money would go to a 6th rounder. In 2009, pitcher Stephen Strasburg agreed to what is now the largest signing bonus in baseball history, a whopping $7.5 million, thanks in part to Scott Boras, who held negotiations until the final hour.

However, some teams cannot afford this money, and have drafted players based on signability. Take the San Diego Padres in 2004. With the first pick, they had the chance to grab Golden Spikes award winner Jered Weaver, brother of then-active Jeff Weaver, or Stephen Drew, brother of JD Drew. They ended up taking prep shortstop Matt Bush out of a San Diego high school not for his talent, but for his signability. Several injuries, a position change, and a few suspensions later, this happened:

That sends a clear enough message that signability isn't always the way to go.

Major League Baseball is also looking at ways to curtail the high asking prices of international talent as well, including the possibility of adding an international player draft, in addition to the regular draft. This problem developed a head when the Cincinnati Reds signed Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman for a large contract.

To put it quite simply, if there is anything Major league baseball needs to improve the most, it's the draft. With the signing bonus problem, most teams have elected to draft players based on their signability, this was seen during the 2011 draft when Science Hill High school pitcher Daniel Norris fell to the second round amid rumors that he was demanding an exorbitant contract. Norris was projected to fall to the top 15 picks.

How should Major league baseball fix the draft? There are plenty of things that could be fixed, including penalties for going over slot value in signing bonuses, such as forfeiture of draft picks. Major league baseball could also implement a salary cap in order to curb the unusually high asking prices of amateur talent controlled by people like Scott Boras. Granted, high school talent could face a dropoff for those who wish to receive good money. Less high schoolers could sign and end up attending college instead. Moving, on, the idea of an international draft is quite intriguing, however, there is the question of when it would take place. A possibility could be during the All Star Break. Yet another possibility is allowing trades, like in other sports drafts. Granted, the question would be how the trading system would work.

These are just a few suggestions, however, there is plenty of work to be done if Major league baseball wants to change.

Where will Josh Bell go?

Josh Bell: a Pirate or a Longhorn? You decide.

While most people can say that the Pittsburgh Pirates had a great draft, it could get even better, or worse, depending on second round pick Josh Bell.

Bell, an outfielder for Dallas Jesuit High School, and the 61st overall selection in the 2011 draft, is torn between a potentially lucrative contract with an impressive signing bonus, or the chance to play for legendary coach Augie Garrido at the University of Texas, a perennial baseball powerhouse.

Shortly before the 2011 draft, Bell made it explicitly clear to all 30 teams that he did not want to be drafted, saying he would like to honor his commitment to Texas. Apparently, the Pirates didn't get the memo.

As if he wanted to make it even clearer, Bell hired Scott Boras, the baseball super-agent, to be his advisor. Any team knows that Boras demands top dollar for his players, and that goes without saying. His players are well compensated for their ability, in fact, Alex Rodriguez, one of his clients, is currently the highest payed baseball players.


Knowing the Pirates will stop at nothing to sign the top notch outfielder, expect them to attempt to offer him a very large contract. Reports have differed as to the contract, but reportedly, there have been rumors of a 3 million dollar signing bonus, almost half the record bonus that Stephen Strasburg agreed to in 2009.

The Pirates are quite familiar with signing difficult high schoolers. Last year, they agreed to a contract with pitcher Stetson Allie, a projected first round pick who fell to the compensatory round. Allie ended up being signed, and is now the 2nd best prospect in the Pirates system.

However, losing Bell to the University of Texas will not be a total loss, the Pirates will receive compensation in the form of a second round pick, should he not sign.

What does this all mean for Josh Bell? While he has said he will play for Texas, there is a slight chance he will sign. provided the Pirates show him enough green. If the Pirates could get Allie, then it's a possibility that Bell will be in Pittsburgh. However, when you have a guy saying that they don't want to be drafted, there is a 99% chance they will be going somewhere other than professional.

The problem with this is that the players who have been drafted in the early rounds in high school who attended college usually have seen their stock fall. Take Matt Purke, who went 15th overall to the Texas Rangers in 2009, but decided to attend college. 2 years and plenty of injuries later, he's a 3rd round pick by the Washington Nationals. The same goes for LeVon Washington, the other 2009 first rounder not to sign, instead opting to go for junior college. A year later, he was chosen in the 4th round by the Chicago Cubs. While I'm not saying that Bell will be making a big mistake in going to Texas, I am saying that history hasn't been kind to those who stayed in school. Bell may or may not be the same person he was, but should he increase his production, expect big things from him, and maybe he could be a first rounder in 3 years.

College World Series draftees

The College World Series starts June 18th in Omaha. For the first time since 1950, Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium will not hold the series, instead it will be in a new home: TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. * schools will fight for the championship, each school is well represented with draftees. Here's a look at each school and the players that were drafted from them:

We start off with #1 Virginia, who had 8 Cavaliers chosen in the MLB draft. Highlighting them is Danny Hultzen, the 2nd overall pick, chosen by the Seattle Mariners. Virginia's selections are as follows, according to their baseball website:


Danny Hultzen, P, Mariners (1st round, 2nd pick)
John Hicks, C, Mariners (4, 123)
Will Roberts, P, Indians (5,158)
Steven Proscia, IF, Mariners (7, 213)
Tyler Wilson, P, Orioles (10, 305)
Kenny Swab, C, Royals (21, 636)
Cody Winiarski, P White Sox (36, 1101)
John Barr, OF, Indians (39, 1178)

Next is #2 Florida, who has 11 draftees. None were taken in the first round, however, most notable was pitcher Nick Mardone, who was chosen in the 4th round by the Los angeles Angels. Here are the draftees, according to onlygators.com.

LHP Nick Mardone – Round 4, Pick 104 – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
RHP Anthony DeSclafani – Round 6, Pick 199 – Toronto Blue Jays
LHP Alex Panteliodis – Round 9, Pick 282 – New York Mets
RHP Tommy Toledo – Round 11, Pick 341 – Milwaukee Brewers
2B (SS) Josh Adams – Round 13, Pick 403 – Florida Marlins
OF (1B) Preston Tucker – Round 16, Pick 498 – Colorado Rockies
C Ben McMahan – Round 23, Pick 701 – Milwaukee Brewers
RHP Matt Campbell – Round 24, Pick 751 – Philadelphia Phillies
RHP Greg Larson – Round 29, Pick 885 – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
OF Bryson Smith – Round 34, Pick 1,045 – Cincinnati Reds
OF Tyler Thompson – Round 46, Pick 1,387 – Washington Nationals


Next is #3 North Carolina, who had 5 Tar Heels taken in the draft. Most notable is SS Levi Michael, who was taken in the first round by the Minnesota Twins. Here are the picks, according to the Tar Heels official website. No pick numbers were provided.


Levi Michael, SS Twins (1st Round)
Greg Holt, P Nationals (8)
Jesse Wierzbicki, 3B Astros (24)
Patrick Johnson, P Rockies (25)
Jacob Stallings, C Reds (42)






#4 South Carolina is next. The Gamecocks tied Florida with 11 selections in the draft. Most notable of these selections was Jackie Bradley Jr. the 2010 College world Series most valuable player, who was chosen in the compensatory round by the Boston Red Sox. Here are the picks, according to South Carolina's Website

Jackie Bradley Jr. - Boston - S-1st - 40 
Matt Price - Arizona - 6th - 184 
Scott Wingo - LA Dodgers - 11th - 344 
Peter Mooney - Toronto - 21st - 649 
John Taylor - Seattle - 22nd - 663 
Adam Matthews - Baltimore - 23rd - 695 
Bryan Harper - Washington - 30th - 907 
Michael Roth - Cleveland - 31st - 938 
Steven Neff - San Francisco - 41st - 1257 
Tyler Webb - Cincinnati - 48th - 1465 
Adrian Morales - Kansas City - 49th - 1476


Following South Carolina is #6 Vanderbilt, who had an astonishing 12 players drafted in the MLB draft, an SEC record. Most notable, is pitcher Sonny Gray, who was chosen in the 1st round by the oakland Athletics. Here are the Commodores draft selections, according to the Vanderbilt Website.


Sonny Gray, Oakland, 1, 18 Grayson Garvin, Tampa Bay, 1-S, 59 Jason Esposito, Baltimore, 2, 64 Jack Armstrong, Houston, 3, 99 Aaron Westlake, Detroit, 3, 106 Corey Williams, Minnesota, 3, 117 Taylor Hill, Washington, 6, 187 Mark Lamm, Atlanta, 6, 206 Curt Casali, Detroit, 10, 317 Navery Moore, Atlanta, 14, 446 Will Clinard, Minnesota, 30, 928 Joe Loftus, Arizona, 46, 1384 


Following Vanderbilt is #7 Texas, who had 8 players selected in the draft. Most notable is pitcher Taylor Jungmann, who was chosen by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1st round. Here are the selections, according to MLB.com's draft tracker. Round numbers weren't provided.


Taylor Jungmann, P Brewers (13th pick overall)
Sam Stafford, P Yankees (88th)
Brandon Loy, SS Tigers (167th)
Cole Green, P Reds (295th)
Andrew Mckirahan, P Cubs (639th)
William Shepherd, 1B Mets (732nd)
Kevin Dicharry, P Phillies (1261st)
Kevin Lusson, C Rays (1380th)


Next is Texas A&M, who had 8 players selected in the MLB Draft. No Aggies were selected in the first round, but most notable was John Stilson, a pitcher selected in the 3rd round by the Toronto Blue Jays. Here are the picks, according to Texas A&M's website.


John Stilson - Toronto Blue Jays (3rd Round)Ross Stripling - Colorado Rockies (9th Round)Nick Fleece - Cincinnati Reds (13th Round)Adam Smith - New York Yankees (25th Round)Brandon Parrent - Chicago White Sox (30th Round)Kenny Jackson - Florida Marlins (31st Round)Kevin Gonzalez - Houston Astros (36th Round)Steve Martin - Houston Astros (37th Round)








Finally, the Cinderella team, California, whose story of triumph over the possible disbanding of the baseball team is the feel-good story of the year. The Golden Bears had 7 players selected in the MLB draft. While none were first rounders, the most notable selection was pitcher Erik Johnson, chosen in the 2nd round by the Chicago White Sox. Here are the draftees, according to California Golden Blogs.

RHP Erik Johnson -- 2nd round, 80th overall, Chicago White Sox

SS Marcus Semien -- 6th round, 201st overall, Chicago White Sox

RHP Dixon Anderson -- 9th round, 277th overall, Washington Nationals

C Chadd Krist -- 13th round, 411th overall, Chicago White Sox 

RHP Kevin Miller, 18th round, 550th overall, Houston Astros

RHP Matt Flemer, 19th round, 576th overall, Kansas City Royals

2B Austin Booker, 33rd round, 1006th overall, Oakland Athletics

And there you have it. The College World Series teams and the draftees for each team. Be sure to tune in June 18th when the tournament starts. There will be more profiles coming soon, so stay tuned for them as well. 

Here is a promo video for the 2011 college world series, presented by Rally Cap Marketing. 

Danny Hultzen, P, Virginia

Following the Pittsburgh Pirates selection of Gerrit Cole out of UCLA, the Mariners made a splash with the 2nd overall pick, drafting Virginia pitcher Danny Hultzen 2nd overall. Hultzen was considered one of the top arms in this year's draft, not to mention, he had one of the best seasons in college baseball this year. Here's how he got to this point:

Hultzen, a native of Bethesda, MD, pitched for St. Albans High School. In his senior season, he went 7-1 with an 0.35 ERA and 140 strikeouts. In addition, he was named an All American by both Baseball America and Louisville Slugger. Hultzen's stats enticed the Arizona Diamondbacks to take him in the 10th round of the 2008 MLB draft, however, he committed to the University of Virginia.

in his first season at Virginia, he went 9-1 with a 2.17 ERA and 107 strikeouts. Additionally, he was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, and as a hitter, he hit .327 (whether or not this was due to his ability or the power of a metal bat, it is uncertain. That year, Virginia made their first College World Series, finishing 5th overall. Hultzen was a key presence on that team, both at the plate and on the mound.

The 2010 season saw Hultzen improve on his stellar 2009 performance. Though his ERA rose to a still-strong 2.78, he finished 11-1 and struck out 123 batters, 16 more than the previous year. Virginia once again made the tournament and advanced to the Super Regional, only to lose to Oklahoma. Hultzen was key in the regional earning a win against Mississippi. In addition, he was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year and was a semifinalist for 3 major awards: the Dick Howser Trophy (Rice 3B Anthony Rendon won the award) the Pitcher of the Year award, and the prestigious Golden Spikes Award (won by Bryce Harper of the College of Southern Nevada).

Though Hultzen was still playing his junior season at the time of this post, his regular season stats were as follows: 11-3 with a 1.57 ERA and 148 strikeouts, Hultzen also hit .336 with the new bat rule implemented in college baseball. Currently, Hultzen and the top seeded Cavaliers are set to play California-Irvine in the Charlottesville Super Regional. Hultzen is also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award for the second straight year.

Hultzen's scouting report is impressive. He's very smart, (Named an academic All-American, and is enrolled in Virginia's Medical School) accurate, and has the basic arsenal of pitches, a four seam fastball, a slider, a changeup, and a curveball. all of which are good pitches. Hultzen's fastball isn't blazingly fast, his average fastball is 92 Mph, but his control is what makes him a dominant pitcher. He's generally healthy, but his delivery has had scouts question how long he can throw that way before he can injure himself. Regardless, Hultzen is more than a solid pick by the Mariners, and statistically, he is better than Gerrit Cole.

Here is a video of Hultzen and how everyone views him as a player, a teammate, and as a person.

L.O.T's projection: Depending on how the Mariners handle him, he could be a solid 2 starter behind Felix Hernandez. Hultzen could be a potential All-Star, and could contend for the ERA title each year. Hultzen also has the potential to win 200-230 games, regardless of his mechanics.

Gerrit Cole, P, UCLA

With the 2011 MLB draft only hours away, It's time to look at the presumptive first overall pick: Gerrit Cole.

Cole is a flamethrowing righthander out of UCLA, and will be selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates first overall. Judging from his history, it's a wise choice.

Before he pitched in college, Cole was an impressive high school prospect from Orange County Lutheran High School in California. After posting a stat line of 8 wins, 2 losses, a 0.46 ERA and 121 strikeouts, he was taken by the New York Yankees with the 28th pick in the 2008 draft. Cole was not interested in signing, instead opting to pitch for the Bruins.

Cole started his collegiate career with a less than stellar record of 4-8, but posted a respectable 3.49 ERA and 104 strikeouts. Though the 2009 Bruins did not make the NCAA baseball tournament, bigger things were to come.

In 2010, Cole went 11-4 with a 3.37 ERA and 153 strikeouts, his best collegiate stats so far. Cole was instrumental in bringing the Bruins to the College World Series Final against South Carolina, unfortunately, they lost to the Gamecocks.

Cole's junior season was not as good as his sophomore season; he posted a record of 6-8 with a 3.31 ERA and 119 strikeouts. Though the Bruins made their 2nd straight tournament, they finished 2nd in the Los Angeles regional of the tournament, losing to California-Irvine.

Regardless of his college stats, Cole will be taken first overall by the Pirates tonight, allowing him to join a powerful set of prospect arms, like Jameson Taillon, the Pirates first selection last year, and Stetson Allie, another first rounder.

Cole's scouting report reveals that there is more than meets the eye with this guy. His fastball has topped triple digits, but is more consistent in the high 90's. Cole is a dominant pitcher who can strike people out, and his durability leaves nothing to question. Despite his lack of secondary pitches, he could be another Aroldis Chapman, a pitcher who relies on his high octane fastball to get batters out. In short, Cole will be an excellent choice for the Pirates.

Here is some video of Cole in an invitational tournament against Southern.

L.O.T's projection: Will reach majors by late 2012-early 2013. Could be an ace. Possible all star as well. Career ERA in the low 3.00's Could get as many as 170 victories, depending on how good the Pirates are in that span.

I will be doing profiles on each of the first rounders daily, as well as the supplemental picks, then work on minor leaguers afterwards.

Brandon Nimmo, OF, East High School, Wyoming

Every year, the MLB draft has its share of out of the ordinary athletes. Just look at Bryce Harper. After a monstrous junior season in Las Vegas High School, in which he was referred to as "The LeBron James of baseball", he skipped his senior season to play Junior College Ball at Southern Nevada. Afterwards, he was drafted first overall by the Washington Nationals, earned the Golden Spikes Award, and the rest is history. But imagine not being able to play high school ball at all.

Meet Brandon Nimmo, a high school outfielder from Wyoming, and this year's surprise story in the Draft. Nimmo lives in Cheyenne, where a normal spring day is usually in the mid 40's and early 50's. For this reason, no schools in Wyoming sponsor baseball.

How does Nimmo get around this obstacle? The answer is he plays American Legion, which is a perfect substitute. Though no stats were provided, Nimmo has proven that he is a terrific athlete, especially in the Under Armour All American Game at Wrigley Field, a game in which he earned Co-MVP honors.

Nimmo's strengths are plentiful. He is a lanky contact hitter, with above average speed, as well as a decent glove which will allow him to play in Left or Right Field. He's a great player when healthy, and could make a decent 5th to 6th spot hitter in the Major leagues.

Nimmo is currently projected to be drafted somewhere between the top 20 picks to the end of the supplemental round. Teams that have been connected to him include the Tampa Bay Rays, who have plenty of chances to pick him in the 1st or supplemental round, the New York Mets, who have considered drafting him 13th overall, and the Toronto Blue Jays, whom some draft experts believe will snatch him with the 2nd supplemental pick.

The only thing that could possibly scare teams away is Nimmo's commitment to the University of Arkansas. However, there hasn't been much word from scouts as to whether or not he will go to college or play professionally.

The video below is a brief look at Nimmo in an American Legion All star showcase.

L.O.T's projection of Nimmo: Somewhere between the 35th and 47th picks in the draft. Should be in the majors by 2015. Will likely hit in the middle of the lineup. Career .270's hitter.

Edit: Brandon Nimmo has been selected by the New York Mets with the 13th pick in the Draft.

I will repost this in 2 weeks, as I go trough each pick.

Pilot post

Welcome to Legends Of Tomorrow: a blog devoted to revealing top baseball prospects in high school, college, and even the minors. I'm a former Mets Blogger, and I love baseball. Over the course of this blog, I will profile a different prospect each week. I'll give a short bio, talk about his skills, maybe even add a picture or video. Hope you enjoy!