College Draft Prospect Rankings

April 12, 2008
Our first year attempting in-season college draft prospect rankings    
No.   Player   Pos   Notes   Age   YR   TM   CON   Pre.
1   Pedro Alvarez   3B   Had 2 home runs over the weekend after recovering from wrist injury   21.1   Jr.   VAN   SEC   1 ↔
2   Aaron Crow   RHP   Best FB/SL combo in college, FB touched 98 over summer, low BB%   21.4   Jr.   MIZ   Big-12   5 ↑
3   Brian Matusz   LHP   Powerful lefty with the polish and arsenal to be a dominant pro pitcher   21.1   Jr.   SD   WCC   2 ↓
4   Justin Smoak   1B   Good athlete for 1B, has posted 21.2 BB% and 45.2 XBH%   21.3   Jr.   SC   SEC   3 ↓
5   Yonder Alonso   1B   Polished hitter with great zone judgment, could post .400 OBP in MLB   21.0   Jr.   MIA   ACC   4 ↓
6   Tanner Scheppers   RHP   Mid 90's FB w/ good SL, 37.9 K% 8.8 BB%, only 3 HR allowed (44.2 IP) 21.2   Jr.   FSU   WAC   16 ↑
7   Buster Posey   C   Former SS w/ great arm, hitting .458/.554/.833, 43.6 XBH% & 17.1 BB% 21.0   Jr.   FSU   ACC   11 ↑
8   Brett Wallace   1B   Massive slugger (6'1'' 240 lbs) with great approach and power   21.6   Jr.   ASU   Pac-10   7 ↓
9   Lance Lynn   RHP   Work-horse build, great curve, clean motion 33.3 K% and 8.2 BB%   20.9   Jr.   UMS   SEC   6 ↓
10   Gordon Beckham   SS   Good athlete, hitting .427/.513/.855, leading nation in HRs, 13.6 BB%   21.4   Jr.   UGA   SEC   14 ↑
11   Jordan Danks   CF   1st round talent in HS; 70 speed; 42.8% XBH, thin college OF class   21.6   Jr.   UT   Big-12   8 ↓
12   Allan Dykstra   1B   Built like Jim Thome, has big time pop, 26.4 BB%, underrated prospect   20.8   Jr.   WFU   ACC   15 ↑
13   Christian Friedrich   LHP   Racks up lots of Ks (43%) with lights out curve; low competition level   20.7   Jr.   EKU   OVC   18 ↑
14   Jemile Weeks   2B   Better fielder than Rickie, hitting .387/.451/.736 and 10/11 in steals   21.2   Jr.   MIA   ACC   9 ↓
15   Tyson Ross   RHP   Opponents hitting .161 of this big guy with front of the rotation stuff   20.9   Jr.   CAL   Pac-10   12 ↓
16   Petey Paramore   C   Rare high OBP catcher, .511 (08), great defender and game caller   21.4   Jr.   ASU   Pac-10   13 ↓
17   Scott Green   RHP   Big time stuff but has been inconsistant this year, injury history   22.6   Jr.   UK   SEC   10 ↓
18   Shooter Hunt   RHP   Potential for 3 plus pitches, high upside, 44.1 IP 58 K 27 BB (08)   21.6   Jr.   TUL   USA   17 ↓
19   Reese Havens   SS   Good hands with iffy range, power developing, .378/503/.607 ('08)   21.4   Jr.   SC   SEC   20 ↑
20   James Darnell   3B   Rebounding nicely after bad start, good power, .304 IsoP and 12 HRs   21.2   Jr.   SC   SEC   NR ↑
Honorable Mentions: Joshua Fields (RHP, Georgia), David Cooper (1B, Cal), and Roger Kieschnick (OF, Texas Tech).            
* Ages are as of 4/13/08 (only draft-eligible players were considered)                    
** TM is the player's school                            
*** CON is the player's conference                    
**** Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it and favor recent production                    
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Welcome to the triumphant return of our in-season college baseball draft rankings. This is a very crowded time in the sports world, baseball teams still have the spring optimistic glow, the NBA postseason is about to start as teams shuffle for playoff position, the NFL draft is around the corner, the Masters are underway, and they playoffs have begun for an ice sport that – I’m told – is called hockey. I have no fear that our loyal readers can fit some amateur baseball into their sports-brains.

In my last Hot/Cold report I said that Missouri’s ace right-hander, Aaron Crow would be the new No. 1, and he is…the new No. 1 pitcher. Pedro Alvarez (Vanderbilt, 3B) returning to action and showing that his power hasn’t been completely zapped by his hamate injury secured himself his place atop the overall rankings.

Tanner Scheppers (Fresno State, RHP), Buster Posey (Florida State, C) and Gordon Beckham (Georgia, SS) all crack the top 10 for the first time this season, while Scott Green (Kentucky, RHP) continues his roller coaster season – this time in the negative direction. South Carolina 3B, James Darnell climbs back onto the big board, taking Rice 2B/LF Aaron Luna’s spot – who’s strikeout rate has risen and power has dropped.

I’ll be back with an extended Hot/Cold report after this weekend’s action, until then feel free to lambaste me in the forums.

 

Lincoln Hamilton can be reached at lhamilton@dentonoutlaws.com.