Rankings: Top 300: 1-100 (Draft Board 2010)

Draft

Draft Board Rank	Mid- Season Rank	Name	Pos.	Yr.	School

1.	1.	Bryce Harper	C	Fr.	College of Southern Nevada
2.	2.	Jameson Taillon	RHP	Sr.	The Woodlands HS (Texas)
3.	3.	Karsten Whitson	RHP	Sr.	Chipley HS (Fla.)
4.	6.	Chris Sale	LHP	Jr.	Florida Gulf Coast University
5.	14.	Matt Harvey	RHP	Jr.	University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
6.	11.	Nick Castellanos	3B	Sr.	Archbishop McCarthy HS (Fla.)
7.	9.	Zack Cox	3B	So.	University of Arkansas
8.	10.	Christian Colon	SS	Jr.	California St. University - Fullerton
9.	5.	Deck McGuire	RHP	Jr.	Georgia Tech
10.	11.	Manny Machado	SS	Sr.	Brito Private HS (Fla.)
11.	15.	Brandon Workman	RHP	Jr.	University of Texas - Austin
12.	4.	Drew Pomeranz	LHP	Jr.	University of Mississippi
13.	7.	A.J. Cole	RHP	Sr.	Oviedo HS (Fla.)
14.	17.	Bryce Brentz	OF	Jr.	Middle Tennessee St. University
15.	21.	Kaleb Cowart	3B/RHP	Sr.	Cook County HS (Ga.)
16.	23.	Alex Wimmers	RHP	Jr.	Ohio St. University
17.	18.	Austin Wilson	OF	Sr.	Harvard Westlake HS (Calif.)
18.	26.	Justin O'Conner	C/SS/RHP	Sr.	Cowan HS (Ind.)
19.	19.	Josh Sale	OF	Sr.	Bishop Blanchet HS (Wa.)
20.	22.	Stetson Allie	RHP/3B	Sr.	St. Edward HS (Ohio)
Player Spotlight - Alex Wimmers: Not even a late-season hamstring injury could keep Wimmers from completing one of the most impressive statistical seasons of any draft eligible college arm in the class. The Ohio State ace concluded the spring with a stunningly low 1.60 ERA (2.69 FIP, courtesy of CollegeSplits.com), but more importantly a 10.60 SO/9, 2.84 BB/9 and .218 BAA. As eye-popping as those numbers are, the most impressive number on his stat sheet may be a "0" -- as in 0 HR allowed in 73 IP. Wimmers lacks the plus velocity (and life) of other top collegiate arms, but makes-up for it with solid command and two of the more advanced secondaries in the draft class -- a low- to mid-70s downer curve and plus mid-70s change-up with late drop. The Mike Leake comparisons have been thrown around, but are a little unfair. Leake boasts plus-plus command, wielding a four to five pitch mix with multiple looks to his fastball. Wimmers as a three-pitch arm shows significantly fewer looks, including a flat 4-seam in the 89-92 range. While Leake can live off his fastball when he needs to, cutting, running and boring the pitch, Wimmers relies on the quality of his secondaries to help the fastball play-up. Regardless, there is no quibbling with the Buckeye's results -- perhaps the best among the top collegiate arms -- and his refined arsenal should help him to quickly navigate through the Minor League ranks. He is a safe bet to provide ML value and should top-out around a mid-rotation arm.
21.	8.	Jesse Hahn	RHP	Jr.	Virginia Tech
22.	24.	Yasmani Grandal	C	Jr.	University of Miami (Fla.)
23.	40.	Chad Bettis	RHP	Jr.	Texas Tech
24.	12.	Anthony Ranaudo	RHP	Jr.	Louisiana St. University
25.	32.	Brett Eibner	RHP/OF	Jr.	University of Arkansas
26.	42.	Kolbrin Vitek	2B/RHP	Jr.	Ball St. University
27.	28.	Michael Choice	OF	Jr.	University of Texas - Arlington
28.	29.	Asher Wojciechowski	RHP	Jr.	The Citadel
29.	41.	Mike Foltynewicz	RHP	Sr.	Minooka Community HS (Ill.)
30.	19.	Dylan Covey	LHP	Sr.	Maranatha HS (Calif.)
31.	30.	Micah Gibbs	C	Jr.	Louisiana St. University
32.	27.	DeAndre Smelter	RHP	Sr.	Tattnal County HS (Ga.)
33.	33.	Yordy Cabrera	SS/3B	Sr.	Lakeland HS (Fla.)
34.	34.	LeVon Washington	OF/2B	Fr.	Chipola JC (Fla.)
35.	74.	Seth Blair	RHP	Jr.	Arizona St. University
36.	99.	Zach Lee	RHP	Sr.	McKinney HS (Texas)
37.	37.	Chevez (Chevy) Clarke	OF	Sr.	Marietta HS (Ga.)
38.	31.	Barret Loux	RHP	Jr.	Texas A&M University
39.	55.	Peter Tago	RHP	Sr.	Dana Hill HS (Calif.)
40.	25.	James Paxton	LHP	NA	Grand Prairie (Independent)
Player Spotlight - Chad Bettis: Bettis has seen inconsistent results through the spring, though much of that can be attributed to the multiple roles he's been asked to fill between February and June. At his best, Bettis boasts a three way fastball (4-seam, 2-seam and cut), a tight slider and an improving change-up. His 4-seam can get up to 94-96 mph, with his 2-seam generally in the low-90s and his cutter in the upper-80s. Bettis's slider is generally low- to mid-80s, climbing as high as 85/86 mph, with average depth but flashing good late bite and tilt. In several views this spring, Bettis dropped a 77-79 mph change-up that flashed above-average and could be a legit weapon at the next level. The Red Raider righty has the makings of a starter's arsenal, but needs to stay out of the middle of the plate in addition to more consistently commanding his slider (many of his "trouble" innings came in situations where hitters were able to sit fastball. He represents a potential mid-rotation starter with the fallback position being perhaps the best future late-inning arm in the entire draft.
41.	86.	A.J. Vanegas	RHP	Sr.	Redwood HS (Calif.)
42.	36.	Robert Aviles	RHP	Sr.	Suffern HS (N.Y.)
43.	47.	Marcus Littlewood	SS	Sr.	Pineview HS (Utah)
44.	132.	Kellin Deglan	C	Sr.	R.E. Mountain HS (B.C.)
45.	16.	Kevin Gausman	RHP	Sr.	Grandview HS (Colo.)
46.	57.	Chance Ruffin	RHP	Jr.	University of Texas - Austin
47.	128.	Ryan LaMarre	OF	Jr.	University of Michigan
48.	39.	Justin Grimm	RHP	Jr.	University of Georgia
49.	70.	Aaron Sanchez	RHP	Sr.	Barstow HS (Calif.)
50.	96.	Tyrell Jenkins	RHP	Sr.	Henderson HS (Texas)
51.	46.	Christian Yelich	1B	Sr.	Westlake HS (Calif.)
52.	44.	Addison Reed	RHP	Jr.	San Diego St. University
53.	72.	Drew Vettleson	OF/RHP	Sr.	Central Kitsap HS (Wa.)
54.	97.	Will Swanner	C	Sr.	La Costa Canyon HS (Calif.)
55.	58.	Tyler Holt	OF	Jr.	Florida St. University
56.	56.	Rob Rasmussen	RHP	Jr.	University of California - Los Angeles
57.	78.	Jesse Biddle	LHP	Sr.	Georgetown Friends HS (Pa.)
58.	103.	Jarrett Parker	OF	Jr.	University of Virginia
59.	38.	Stefan Sabol	C/OF	Sr.	Aliso Niguel HS (Calif.)
60.	61.	Jedd Gyorko	2B/3B	Jr.	West Virginia University
Player Spotlight - Jarrett Parker: Parker began the season as a potential 1st Round selection, but dropped out of the Mid-Season Top 100 after his swing-and-miss woes carried over from the Cape to the Spring. He straightened out some as the year progressed, raising his slash line to a now respectable .330/.418/.583. He gets excellent jumps in center, and a big part of his resurgence on this list is a highly-impressive defensive weekend hosting UNC in May while I was in attendance. The raw tools are immense and it would be a slight surprise to see him slip too deep into the 2nd Round. With plus speed, an average to a tick above arm strength, plus defense and solid potential power, Parker is just a "hit for average" tool away from being a true 5-tool threat (there is currently too much length in his swing and "action" in his head to project high contact rates in the near or distant future). Fortunately, Parker counters this some with a solid eye, walking in over 11% of his plate appearances.
61.	62.	Reggie Golden	OF	Sr.	Wetumpka HS (Ala.)
62.	190.	Kevin Chapman	RHP	Jr.	University of Florida
63.	80.	Sammy Solis	LHP	So.	University of San Diego
64.	169.	Jordan Swagerty	RHP/C	So.	Arizona St. University
65.	105.	Michael Kvasnicka	C/OF	Jr.	University of Minnesota
66.	59.	Cameron Bedrosian	RHP	Sr.	East Coweta HS (Ga.)
67.	77.	Robert Segedin	3B/RHP	Jr.	Tulane University
68.	49.	Tony Wolters	SS/2B	Sr.	Rancho Buena Vista HS (Calif.)
69.	193.	Andrelton Simmons	SS/RHP	Fr.	Western Oklahoma St. College
70.	NR	Ryne Stanek	RHP	Sr.	Blue Valley HS (Kan.)
71.	43.	Hunter Morris	1B/OF	Jr.	Auburn University
72.	50.	Derek Dietrich	SS/3B	Jr.	Georgia Tech
73.	51.	Michael Lorenzen	OF/RHP	Sr.	Fullerton Union HS (Calif.)
74.	73.	Austin Wates	OF/1B	Jr.	Virginia Tech
75.	64.	Kevin Ziomek	LHP	Sr.	Amherst Regional HS (Mass.)
76.	67.	Dan Klein	RHP	So.	University of California - Los Angeles
77.	48.	Jared Lakind	1B/OF/LHP	Sr.	Cypress-Woods HS (Texas)
78.	66.	Sam Dyson	RHP	Jr.	University of South Carolina
79.	68.	Drew Cisco	RHP	Sr.	Wando HS (S.C.)
80.	NR	Zach Cates	RHP	So.	Northeast Texas CC
Player Spotlight - Austin Wates: Wates has an incredible ability to make consistent hard contact in spite of utilizing a swing that causes the bat head to spend little time in the hit zone. He also shows true plus-plus speed, both on the bases and chasing down balls in right field. Unfortunately, he has had to use every bit of that speed in right to make-up for the surprisingly poor jumps he gets on balls, showing significant struggles with reads off of the bat. In fact, over several viewings this spring, the reads have been so poor (in one instance 2.06 between contact and first step) that it raises a question as to whether he will ever be able to develop enough feel to hold down center field at the pro ranks. While his feet can bail him out in a corner, he may not have enough carry on his throws to hold down right, long term. Further, he does not project to hit for the type of power you would normally expect from a corner position, placing even more importance on his hit tool and on-base skillset. There is legit upside with Wates -- a potential above-average hitter with top-tier footspeed -- but the upside carries with it a "tweener" risk that he tops out as an all-average left fielder with just average defensive value due to his reads.
80.	110.	Drew Smyly	LHP	So.	University of Arkansas
81.	76.	Ty Linton	OF	Sr.	Charlotte Christian HS (N.C.)
82.	81.	Scott Frazier	RHP	Sr.	Upland HS (Calif.)
83.	60.	Todd Cunningham	OF	Jr.	Jacksonville St. University
84.	79.	Taijuan Walker	RHP	Sr.	Yucaipa HS (Cailf.)
85.	35.	Brian Ragira	OF	Sr.	James Martin HS (Texas)
86.	88.	Josh Rutledge	SS	Jr.	University of Alabama
87.	45.	Tyler Austin	C	Sr.	Heritage HS (Ga.)
88.	111.	Joe Leonard	3B/RHP	Jr.	University of Pittsburgh
89.	100.	Matt Lipka	SS	Sr.	McKinney HS (Texas)
90.	143.	Garin Cecchini	SS/3B	Sr.	Barbe HS (La.)
91.	109.	Gary Brown	OF	Jr.	California St. University - Fullerton
92.	206.	Delino DeShields, Jr.	OF	Sr.	Woodward Academy HS (Ga.)
93.	91.	Sean Coyle	SS/2B	Sr.	Germantown HS (Pa.)
94.	87.	Adam Plutko	RHP	Sr.	Glendora HS (Calif.)
95.	203.	Marcus Knecht	OF	So.	Connors St. JC (Okla.)
96.	90.	Kevin Munson	RHP	Jr.	James Madison University
97.	93.	Jake Hernandez	C	Sr.	Los Osos HS (Calif.)
99.	94.	Bobby Wahl	RHP	Sr.	West Springfield HS (Va.)
100.	84.	Kyle Blair	RHP	Jr.	University of San Diego
Player Spotlight - Matt Lipka: It is not uncommon for a prep shortstop to project to another position at the pro ranks -- often times a position demanding more offensive production to make-up for the loss in defensive value caused by the move off of short (e.g. 3B/COF). Fortunately for Lipka, he has the plus-plus speed and strong feel for the game that allows for an easy projection to center field, maintaining his up-the-middle defensive value. And that is just the back-up plan, as Lipka currently shows plenty of arm and a solid first step at the six-spot. The biggest complaint raised tends to be his average hands, though he is athletic enough to continue to grow into the position with increased reps and pro instruction. At the plate, Lipka could be a solid average to above-average bat, capable of wearing-out the gaps and utilizing his wheels to the utmost. He also has enough bat speed and core strength that it isn't out of the question that he could develop solid average power as he matures. The 2010 class is thin on true shortstops. Lipka gives a drafting team the benefit of a future shortstop with a solid offensive profile, with a safety net of a solid defensive center fielder with good arm strength and a swing built for contact.