I had the opportunity to help Baseball America with its 2007 MLB Amateur Draft coverage. Following the perceived values for high schoolers and collegiate athletes for months, I got a great background on the dynamics of the draft, but I never tried to come up with my own draft rankings. And I think it's hard to really learn about something without making a strong personal committment to it.
This year I'm committing. I've been working on creating my own Top 50 draft-eligible amateur rankings. I'm still ironing out my list but I've studied for dozens of hours and consulted people who I consider draft experts along the way. That work has led me to a potential first rounder list that I have enough confidence in to share.
| Potential 1st Rounders: Names to know for MLB's 2008 Amateur Draft | ||||
| Name | Pos | Age | School | Birth Date |
| Alonso, Yonder * | 1B | 21.0 | Miami | 4/8/1987 |
| Alvarez, Pedro * | 3B | 21.2 | Vanderbilt | 2/6/1987 |
| Beckham, Gordon * | SS | 21.5 | Georgia | 10/16/1986 |
| Beckham, Tim * | SS | 18.2 | Griffin HS | 1/27/1990 |
| Cole, Gerrit | RHP | 17.6 | Lutheran Orange | 9/8/1990 |
| Cooper, David | 1B | 21.2 | Cal | 2/12/1987 |
| Crow, Aaron * | RHP | 21.4 | Missouri | 11/11/1986 |
| Danks, Jordan | CF | 21.7 | Texas | 8/7/1986 |
| Davis, Ike | OF | 21.1 | Arizona State | 3/22/1987 |
| DeVall, Brett | LHP | 18.3 | Niceville HS | 1/8/1990 |
| Dykstra, Allan | 1B | 20.9 | Wake Forest | 5/21/1987 |
| Fields, Joshua | RHP | 22.7 | Georgia | 8/19/1985 |
| Friedrich, Christian | LHP | 20.8 | Eastern Kentucky | 7/8/1987 |
| Galloway, Isaac | OF | 18.5 | Los Osos HS | 10/10/1989 |
| Havens, Reese | SS | 21.5 | South Carolina | 10/20/1986 |
| Hicks, Aaron | RHP/OF | 18.5 | Wilson HS | 10/2/1989 |
| Hosmer, Eric * | 1B | 18.5 | American Heritage | 10/24/1989 |
| Hunt, Shooter | RHP | 21.7 | Tulane | 8/16/1986 |
| Kelly, Casey | SS | 18.5 | Sarasota HS | 10/4/1989 |
| Lynn, Lance | RHP | 20.9 | Ole Miss | 5/12/1987 |
| Martin, Ethan | RHP/3B | 18.9 | Stephens County HS | 6/6/1989 |
| Matusz, Brian * | LHP | 21.2 | San Diego | 2/11/1987 |
| Melville, Tim | RHP | 18.5 | Holt High | 10/9/1989 |
| Meyer, Alex * | RHP | 18.3 | Greensburg HS | 1/3/1990 |
| Odorizzi, Jake | RHP | 18.1 | Highland HS | 3/27/1990 |
| Posey, Buster * | C | 21.1 | Florida State | 3/27/1987 |
| Ross, Tyson | RHP | 21.0 | Cal | 4/22/1987 |
| Scheppers, Tanner * | RHP | 21.3 | Fresno State | 1/17/1987 |
| Skipworth, Kyle * | C | 18.1 | Patriot HS | 3/1/1990 |
| Smoak, Justin * | 1B | 21.4 | South Carolina | 12/5/1986 |
| Wallace, Brett * | 1B | 21.7 | Arizona State | 8/26/1986 |
| Weeks, Jemile | 2B | 21.2 | Miami | 1/26/1987 |
| * Players who I see as potential Top 10 overall picks | ||||
Adam Foster would like to hear who you think should or shouldn't be on this list. You can reach him at adamf@projectprospect.com.