YouTube Clips of Sonny Gray, Alex Meyer and Jack Armstrong

I can tell by the amount of traffic that is hitting the pages of 5 Tool Talk these days that more and more people are starting to get prepared for the talent that will be available for next year's draft. Those that have been sure to check back frequently during the past year may be aware of the clips, but I wanted to post some video from my trip to Nashville last March to cover a series between Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

And if you aren't aware, 5 Tool Talk does have it's own channel at YouTube that includes a few other clips on intriguing players that were eligible for last year's draft.

The stories in question are broken down into two parts, the first covering a matchup between Sonny Gray and Logan Darnell, the second between Jack Armstrong and Alex Meyer.

Sonny Gray

Gray is currently (as of 1-13-11) listed as my 10th best overall draft-eligible prospect. I have profiled Gray several times before, including his days spent in college when he was a talented two-sport star that led his school to a state championship in football as a quarterback.

His value is on the mound, and despite some speculation that he will eventually land in the bullpen due to his smallish stature, he throws in the 90-94 range quite easily, touching 97 while also throwing a hammer curveball that sits in the low-80s. I've compared him to Ben Sheets in the past, as I did in the report as linked above largely due to a similar potentially dominant two-pitch mix. Although Gray is a much better overall athlete.

Jack Armstrong

Armstrong is Gray's teammate at Vanderbilt, part of a very talented recruiting class that also includes fellow potential first-round pick Jason Esposito.

The son of the former big-leaguer of the same name, the younger Armstrong is built the exact opposite as Gray, with a tall, proportionate build. He's also quite the athlete, with other YouTube clips available of him doing backflips. Given his height, he had some promise as a basketball player coming out of high school, and wasn't throwing quite as hard then as he is now.

However that velocity is inconsistent. Reports out of the Cape Cod League had Armstrong up to 98 miles per hour the summer after his freshman year in 2009, which quickly put his name in consideration for the top 10 overall picks for this year's draft. While he does throw better than the reports included in the link above during his start against Meyer, he typically throws more in the upper-80s to low-90s with a good, not great curve and change.

Alex Meyer

Meyer was thought to be a likely late first-round pick coming out of his senior year in high school. Some inconsistency and signability questions led to him falling to the 20th round of the 2008 draft, where the Red Sox still offered him early round money before he finally decided to take his talents to Kentucky.

He has a super-tall build, similar to Armstrong, wth lean, tapered proportions. Because of his size, he still has some problems repeating his mechanics, but his stuff is undeniable. He easily throws in the 93-96 range with the ability to touch a few ticks higher than that, particularly in the early innings. His slider is also a dominant pitch, arguably the best he throws, especially when thrown in the mid-80s.

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Dandy Dozen

SP	Andrew Gagnon	Well rounded RHP w/ good size, repertoire
SP	Erik Johnson	Big bodied RHP with good FB/CB combo
SP	Deshorn Lake	Live-armed RHP with sharp breaking ball
CL	Nick Maronde	Lived-armed LHP tough to catch up to
C	Nick Delmonico	May not be C long-term, big body, LH bat
1B	Zach Wilson	Aggressive hitter can put sting in ball
IF	Sean Trent	Well built hitter with pop, speed, arm
3B	Dante Bichette, Jr.	Clone of father with big build, power
SS	Austin Nola	Steady D' at shortstop, improving strength
OF	Nick Martini	Good all around player with patient eye
OF	Shon Carson	Shorter, well built 2-sport speedster
OF	Granden Goetzman	Fast riser w/ exciting power/speed combo

more

Analyzing Amateur Baseball Talent as it pertains to the MLB Draft