4/28/10

DRAFT: - Nate Woods, Justin Wright, Stefan Sabol, Mike Olt... and Manny Machado

Nate Woods:


4-27 from: - link  - Former Iowa-wee-jun making noise in the stands in RHP/DH, Nate Woods, former Cedar Rapidian, Xavier HS, listed at 6'6 230, is in the NCAA tops for HR's, RBI's, also K's on the bump, at Belmont U in Tennessee. I plan to witness his arsenal during their tourney if I can. Saw a film on him on the bump, he was 88-90 consistently with life and topped out at 93 on a few pitches, long loose arm and lands on stiff front side but correctible flaw, also slurve was solid out pitch, good bat speed, loft in his swing/uppercut, room still to fill out.

4-26 from: - http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/articles/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=2249  - Woods, now a junior at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., has developed into one of the top sluggers in the country this season with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs. He ranks second in the country in both categories, according to the latest NCAA statistics for Division I players. A.J. Kirby-Jones of Tennessee Tech leads all D-I players with 14 homers, and Jake Overstreet of South Alabama leads the country with 51 RBIs. That means Woods, 21, is just a two-run homer away from the top.

Justin Wright:

4-26 from: - http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/MLB_Draft  - Virginia Tech's 5-9, 174-pound lefty Justin Wright might have felt like David to Georgia Tech's Deck McGuire's Goliath. After all, McGuire has been rated one of the top pitchers in college baseball this year and should be a Top 10 pick in the upcoming June draft. And most scouts in the stands are there to see teammates Jesse Hahn and Austin Wates. But there's something to be said for being plucky. And more than a smattering of teams have their eye on the diminutive southpaw. At 4-3, with a 3.52 ERA he's been a steady competititor, evn throwing a complete game and striking out 56 in 61.1 innings this season. We've talked about not mistaking inferior size for inferiority. If saying Wright reminds some of a "shorter" Scott Kazmir, it's probably a good chance he'll take it

Stefan Sabol:

4-26 from: - http://baseballbeginnings.com/2010/04/26/stefan-sabol-qa  - When I first saw C Stefan Sabol, he reminded me of Craig Biggio. Here’s why. I thought Sabol had very similar athletic actions behind the plate, but was very inexperienced defensively. I thought his hands worked for him right-handed, and I saw modest power, which would be a major bonus if he stays behind the plate. Baseball Beginnings caught up with Sabol for this Q&A, where he talked about some of these topics.

Mike Olt

4-26 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/26/big-east-players-of-the-week-12/#more-25679  - Connecticut third baseman Mike Olt is the winner of the BIG EAST’s weekly baseball honors for the week-ending April 25. Olt was named BIG EAST Player of the Week after he led Connecticut to a 6-0 week, including a three-game sweep of Rutgers, to lift the Huskies into sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST standings and extend Connecticut’s winning streak to 21 games — the longest active streak in the nation. Olt hit .655 and slugged 1.138, going 19-for-29 with five doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and nine runs scored. He had at least two hits in all six games and had at least one extra-base hit in five of the six. Olt hit .786 in the three games against Rutgers, capping the week by going 5-for-6 with a double and a home run in Game 3.

Manny Machado:

4-26 from: - http://www.baseballrumormill.com/2010/04/position-changes-lurk-for-some-draft-prospects/#more  - Brito HS - Current position: SS. Projected professional position: SS or 3B - While many scouts, including espn.com's Keith Law, feel that Machado has the skills to play shortstop professionally, there are some that worry about his size (6'2", 180 lbs) and future projection. If he did become too big to play shortstop, third base seems likely.

4-28 from: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2010/04/28/lincolns-2010-draft-board  - Manny Machado a shortstop from Brito High School in Florida makes his first appearance on the board, debuting at No. 5. I held off ranking Machado in the first iteration of my draft board since there were some rumblings about Machado not being a shortstop long-term. Those fears seem to have abated as Machado has dazzled scouts defensively all spring. Some felt he might be a third baseman since his speed is only a tick above average and his lower half is a little thicker than the average 6-foot-2, 180 pound prep shortstop. But Machado has shown soft hands and terrific instincts to go along with a throwing arm that’s as good as any position players in this draft. Offensively, Machado should hit very well for a shortstop, as he shows decent hitting ability and above-average power potential. Machado has as much helium as anyone in the draft process right now and could be the second position player off the board.

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