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Analyzing Amateur Baseball Talent as it pertains to the MLB Draft

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Under Armour Game
Practice Notes 8-13-10

I drove down to Chicago on Friday to take in the Under Armour game practice on a 90 degree day, and arguably the most humid we’ve had this summer here in the upper Midwest. There was a nice collection of talent on hand, a step down from what we’ll see at the Aflac game on Sunday, but enhanced by the presence of two of the top high school prospects for 2012: Lance McCullers and Addison Russell.

The practice started with the usual infield and outfield drills before moving along to batting practice and then a home run derby. Neither myself nor the large (I would guess one scout from every team was there as well as a handful of college coaches) scouting contingent stuck around for the derby. I was a little disappointed that they did not run the 40-yard dash or have a radar gun on the IF/OF throws.

I’m not going to profile every player that I saw, but most of them.

National team

Lance McCullers, Jr.

McCullers was the top prospect at the event, currently ranked the top high school prospect available for the 2012 draft. A two way player that stars both on the mound and at third base, he showed good ability in infield drills moving to both sides. He didn’t look quite as natural coming in on balls, but showcased a very strong arm, probably the strongest infield arm among those in attendance.

At the plate he showed exciting pull power, with a knack for driving the ball in the air. He uses a pronounced leg kick as part of a timing mechanism in his load, and consistently squared up on the ball exhibiting good hand-eye coordination. Strong wrists and forearms give him very good bat speed, and overall as a hitter he reminded me of Eric Chavez. I look forward to seeing him pitch in the game.

Chris McFarland

McFarland took grounders at third just before McCullers, and showed very good quickness and just looked very natural at the position. I know McFarland has played all over the infield in the past, including shortstop, and will actually start the game for the National team ahead of McCullers at third base before shifting over to second.

His arm isn’t as strong as McCullers’ is (few are), but again, he just looked very natural and graceful at the hot corner. So much so that he may carry more value at second. He also charged the ball very well, with good footwork, a quick release and accurate throws.

At the plate it took him a while to find his rhythm, but once he did he hit some sharp line drives, mostly up the middle and the other way to right field. He showed good bat speed but not much power on this day with a wood bat.

While he can play shortstop, it looks as though he’s already starting to outgrow the position. He is an excellent overall athlete, and could play just about anywhere on the field.

Connor Castellano

Castellano will play both second base (where he’ll start) and shortstop during the game, although after watching him in infield drills it seems clear he is more of a second baseman, as he doesn’t have the ideal range or arm strength to stick at short. He does exhibit good instincts and soft hands and consistently made accurate throws to first base.

He’s a left handed hitter with a swing tailored for hard line drives. He has strong hands and wrists and showed very good bat speed. Physically he is already somewhat mature, but has more room for added strength which will help him add more pop to his stroke. He falls in the growing “Chase Utley” category of offensive-minded, left-handed hitting second baseman.

Ronniel Demorizi

Demorizi is one of two players at this game from the Dominican Republic, although neither is eligible to sign until next July. That means Demorizi, who just turned 15, was by far the youngest player in attendance. He’s a quick twitch athlete, and showed very good actions defensively at shortstop. He has soft hands and absorbed ground balls very well. He positioned himself well and showed good range to both his left and right, gliding naturally and effortlessly to the ball. His arm however was the weakest of any player in attendance and as it stands right now, would not allow him to stay at shortstop long-term. While he is only 15 years old, I don’t project a dramatic improvement in that category.

He’s a smaller athlete that really needs to add strength to his body, and that is something that will happen over the next few years. At the plate he really had a hard time turning around on a BP fastball, but I’m not sure if he has ever had the opportunity to swing a wood bat, particularly with and against these types of players. I’m guessing he’ll have a hard time making contact against some of the pitchers he’s going to face in the game, and may be best to try and drop down a bunt to try and use his speed to get on base.

Ronald Guzman

Guzman is the other Dominican player in attendance, who is much taller and physically mature than Demorizi. He turns 16 this fall, and has a ton of physical projection listed at 6-foot-4, 170 pounds. He has long arms and legs with broad shoulders, so it’s easy to imagine what he’ll look like 4-5 years from now.

On the outfield throws his arm slot dropped down, as he will need to work on raising his arm to throw from more of an overhead delivery for more velocity and carry, not to mention better accuracy. That said, his arm strength presently is ok, and I imagine, like Demorizi, that will get a little better as he matures.

At the plate he showed very good extension but will need to speed up his swing and shorten up his long swing path. He did make consistent contact at least, pulling the ball into the air thanks to a natural uppercut swing.

Bubba Starling

I was excited to see Starling after reading David Rawnsley’s reports on him from the Area Code Games. He is great overall athlete that not only stars both on the mound and at the plate, but also in football where he’s a promising quarterback that has already committed to play for Nebraska (look out Big Ten!).

He looks the part, with a tall, well proportioned athletic frame. Similar to Guzman, he needs to raise his arm on outfield throws, as the more he dropped his arm the less the ball carried and the less accurate his throws were to both third and home. Even then he showed pretty good arm strength, but I was expecting more of a cannon given his profile.

At the plate he put a serious charge in the ball, with great bat speed and strength. He is aggressive at the plate, and one ball he hit cleared the 330 fence in left field by at least 50 feet. He also pitches, and of course the biggest thing with him moving forward will be to determine just how willing he would be to forego a two-sport collegiate career.

Jacob Anderson

Anderson took part of the both the infield and outfield drills, but looked much better and more comfortable as a first baseman. His throws from the outfield lacked carry, and he really had to wind up to release the ball strongly.

It looks as though he’s been playing first base a long time just from seeing him take part in the infield drills. He looked about as natural at first as McFarland did at third.

At the plate he hit a number of hard balls, including a home run, and overall I walked away impressed with his overall game. The biggest thing working against him is that he is better at first base as a right-handed hitter/thrower, of which you really need to excel at the plate to be drafted early.

Dwight Smith, Jr.

Smith had the most impressive round of BP of any player in attendance, but hitting really is what Smith is known for. He sprayed line drives to all parts of the field, and started doing so as soon as he stepped in the cage. He has very good bat speed, and uses an even more pronounced leg kick than McCullers did. At this point in time he seems to be more of a gap-to-gap hitter, but with his hitting mechanics, bat speed and overall acumen at the plate, I’m sure he will continue to add power as he continues to mature. I know one thing I have been impressed with Smith’s career is that he always seems to impress at large events, a sign that he can hang with the best players in the nation.

He also showed one of the best outfield arms from the event, and easily the best among the National players. His throws had good carry and accuracy.

A few other notes of the National team...Jerrick Suiter showcased a very strong arm from behind the plate. John David Crowe, Jr. looked overmatched in the batting cage at first, although I’m sure he was nervious given the number of onlookers. He didn’t have the strongest round, but finished a lot better than he started. Rookie Davis is a big fella, even bigger than Starling, and really showed an impressive round in BP. The ball really jumps off of his bat, and he puts a nice, easy swing on the ball.

American team

Dante Bichette, Jr.

Quite a few ‘juniors’ at this event, and Bichette was the one to me that most resembled his father, particularly in the follow-through of his swing. He used a slightly open, upright stance prior to closing up as the ball approached. It was hard to get a good feel for his swing, as it was clear he was gunning for the fences as if BP was a home run derby. That said, he hit some absolute rockets, and I don’t think anyone hit more BP homers than he did, easily clearing the fence by 50 or so feet on a couple of his shots.

I was impressed with how good he looked at third base. He really played the position naturally and instinctively, with good movements side-to-side, and a strong, accurate arm. He continued to help out at other positions during the infield drills, and overall moved well for a player of his stature.

Nick Delmonico

Delmonico practiced both behind the plate and at first base. He has an odd cock/windup to his hand as part of his release to second base at a catcher, and while he showed a good (not great) arm, I think he winds up at first base.

He’s a big, left-handed hitter that I could see getting a lot bigger over the next 3-5 years. He has tall and angular proportions and has very good extension in his swing. He never really found his rhythm in the batting cage, although he did hit a few ropes to left and left-centerfield.

Deion Williams

Williams is a fun player to watch, tall and skinny with a lot of moving arms and legs defensively, but he has very good range and a pretty good arm. He made all the plays at shortstop, and his lean, lanky build would suggest that he likely will never be able to bulk up to the point of where he can’t play the middle infield anymore.

At the plate he swung down on the ball with a level swing as a right-handed hitter. He really reminded me of Willie Wilson as a contact-minded singles hitter. He also has the wheels to run out bunt hits, but likely will never be much of a power threat.

Addison Russell

The American team definitely had the better collection of middle infielders, with Williams, Russell and Tyler Greene. Russell is the most complete package of all of them, although he uses an odd throwing angle that at some point will need to be correct. Even then, his throws were strong and accurate, and exhibited good range going both ways.

At the plate he put a charge in some balls as a right-handed hitter. He started off with a pretty good, line drive swing, easily lacing balls to left and left-center, and then he started to lift some balls over the left field fence. He hit among the same group as Bichette, so there likely was some friendly competition taking place, as no other duo in any of the other BP groups had as many home runs between these two.

Russell is a very well proportioned athlete that plays the game effortlessly. He looked good defensively, had very good bat speed at the plate, and played every part of why he’s currently ranked as the third-best prep prospect for 2012.

Tyler Greene

Greene was a lot of fun to watch. He really looks the part out on the baseball field, a very good, well proportioned athlete that looked as though he played the game about as crisp as one can. He had strong, accurate throws from shortstop, and moved well to his right, but not so well to his left. His size may suggest that he will have to move to either second or third base down the road, but right now he can stick at shortstop, and likely would at the college level as well.

He also had one of the best swings among those in attendance, who, like Smith, hit line drive after line drive all over the field. Like Smith, he is more of a gap-to-gap hitter, at least from what I saw in BP, at this stage, but I could see him developing more and more over-the-fence power as he matures. The bat speed, foot speed and arm strength are there for him to be considered a true 5 tool athlete.

Brandon Nimmo

Nimmo hasn’t had a ton of opportunities to showcase his abilities hailing from Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they don’t even have high school baseball. He is a good overall athlete with good size and a well proportioned frame with plenty of room for added strength as he matures.

His game does need to be cleaned up, but that will come with experience. He showed a strong arm but inconsistent throwing mechanics from the outfield. At the plate the ball jumped off of his bat as he laced a lot of balls back up the middle and the other way to left-center as a left-handed hitter.

Connor McKay

McKay might have been the best looking athlete in attendance, with narrow, yet long and wiry strong limbs and tapered proportions. He showed one of the better arms in attendance from the outfield, with both carry and accuracy, and also runs in the 6.5 range.

In BP he seemed to be getting a little pull and power happy, but he did hit towards the end of a hot day, in which more and more hitters were starting to get homer happy instead of focusing on putting good swings on the ball. He did lace a few hard line drives, and did manage to hit one over the left field fence.

Mason Robbins

After reading the reports from the PG National and the East Coast Pro, I was looking forward to seeing Robbins play. He seems to do everything well even if he doesn’t stand out physically. That isn’t to say that he’s a bad athlete, but he certainly looks more ordinary and compact considering the level of talent and overall athleticism on hand.

He boasted arguably the best arm in attendance, showing very good carry and accuracy with the least amount of physical effort. He also had one of the better swings, showing very good bat speed from his left-handed swing. He was quick and short to the ball, and the ball jumped off of his bat as he peppered right and right-centerfield with line drives.

Shon Carson

Carson is shorter, but he’s built like a sparkplug, as you could see his muscles rippling out of his uniform. He is a heavily recruited running back in football, and I could see him making a career as a scat-back. While most players don’t try too hard shagging balls during BP, Carson initially showed some enthusiasm running and jumping for balls, until realizing it was wiser to save his strength given the heat and humidity.

He also showed a strong arm from the outfield, but had a hard time putting a solid swing on a ball from the cage. Most of his hardest hit balls were to the shallow parts of the outfield, although I do know that one of his biggest strengths is just how dangerous he is on the basepaths once he gets on.

A few other notes on the American team...Greg Bird showed nice and easy loft power from the left side of the plate. He had some strong throws from behind the plate, but like Delmonico, I think his eventual future may lie at first base. Kyle Smith, primarily a pitcher, drew some chatter when he belted home runs on consecutive swings.

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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

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