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Analyzing Amateur Baseball Talent as it pertains to the MLB Draft

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California Collegiate League
All-Star Game Notes from 7-14-10

There was a modest collection of talent at hand at the Cal League’s all-star contest, highlighted by Texas’ Sam Stafford and Kevin Gausman.

Sam Stafford

Stafford put up Nintendo numbers in the Cal League, going 1-0 this summer with a 0.32 ERA, giving up only one earned run in 28 innings. He allowed only 9 hits, none of which went for extra bases, while posting a 51 to 16 strikeout to walk ratio. So, it’s easy to figure that he was one of the starting pitchers in the all-star game. He pitched 90-92 and touched 93 in the game, using a smooth and repeatable delivery that has a little bit of deception to it. He commands his fastball pretty well, and while he did snap off a few good ones, he needs to tighten up both his command and the break on his big, sweeping curveball. He has good size and a tapered waist with broad shoulders. He should assume a spot in the weekend rotation for the Longhorns with Cole Green and Brandon Workman expected to begin this professional careers.

Kevin Gausman

Gausman was easily the top prospect in attendance, a perfectly proportioned righty that is starting to fill out his tall and lanky frame. There is some Anthony Ranaudo to his body and pitching style. He threw 93-95 in the game and has been up to 94-97 this summer, and his heater has some real nice sink to it even when thrown in the mid-90s. He showed good fastball command, throwing darts to the catcher, and the hitters couldn’t catch up to his stuff. In this game, he really didn’t need anything other than his fastball. He fell to the sixth round and I’m guessing he honors his commitment to LSU, where he could make an impact immediately during his freshman year. He will be draft-eligible as a sophomore in 2012.

Hoby Milner

Milner is another Texas lefty, although he is a completely different pitcher than Stafford. He offers some deception from a low three-quarters delivery, and he doesn’t appear to throw that hard, likely topping out right around 90. His delivery and arm action are easy, and he also throws a nice, sharp breaking curveball that has some sweeping slurve break to it at times. He is built tall and skinny and uses a big leg kick as part of his delivery.

Kris Bryant

Bryant, like Gausman, was an Aflac All-American last summer and was expected to be a premium, early pick this past June. He fell to the 18th round and was expected to head to San Diego. He is tall and lean with room for added strength and overall bulk, with lean limbs and sloped shoulders. He didn’t do too much in this game, but still shows the premium tools to make an impact at the next level.

Jeremy Rathjen

Rathjen is a good all-around athlete who physically reminded me of Drew Stubbs. He isn’t quite the defender in center that Stubbs is, but he has an interesting blend of power and speed. He is also prone to strikeouts with a big swing and overall swing path. With longer legs he is takes big strides to cover ground in the outfield, but needs to work on how well he reads and tracks fly balls.

Michael Ratterree

Ratterree and Rathjen are teammates at Rice, although Ratterree isn’t draft eligible until 2012. Both project to go in the top 2-3 rounds. Ratterree is the better hitter and overall more polished player of the two, matching his strong and compact frame with a similar strong and compact swing. There is good strength in his forearms and wrists giving him good bat speed, and he easily drove a low fastball over the left field fence in the second inning for a two-run home run. He projects to play either second or third base, with the usual Aaron Hill/Jeff Kent types of comparisons that are associated with this kind of player.

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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

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