12/27/13

Draft 14 – Touki Toussaint, Michael Cederoth, Tyler Beede, AlexBlandino, Nick Gordon


11-6-13 – Todd Gold – WWBA World Championship – Touki Toussaint (2014 RHP, Atlanta Blue Jays) - Touki was one of the biggest stars of the 2012 edition of Jupiter, touching 97 mph with his fastball and tantalizing with his loose whippy arm action, if to say nothing of the depth on his curveball. He was back in 2013 with high expectations, and while he didn't light up the radar gun in quite the same way (sitting 91-94), he showed strides towards converting his raw potential into usable ability. In his first inning of work he struck out four batters and showed improved command of his fastball, thanks in large part to a slightly more streamlined delivery. After beginning his journey playing baseball late, Toussaint has never consistently shown good present command of his electric stuff. That began to change with an impressive first inning in Jupiter. Eventually his wildness caught up with him in the second inning, as his filthy curveball was not only devastating to opposing hitters, but also his catcher and the umpire....leading to dropped third strikes and missed strike calls. His short developmental history and underlying athleticism suggest that with a few years of work in a player development system Toussaint can learn to harness his high level stuff and conquer the many miles of development that stand between his present ability and that elite potential. His career line at the WWBA World Championship includes two earned runs on four hits over eight innings, with 13 walks and 23 strikeouts. He has developed the spin rate on his curveball even further giving the pitch more bite and velocity while maintaining the shoulder to ankles depth it featured a year ago. He has also added a devastating splitter to his arsenal. While some may shortsightedly refer to Touki's present command as a nightmare, he is a Pitching Coordinator's dream project and as such is likely to be a high draft pick come June. http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=9157


11-4-13 – MLB Draft Insider - Top 14 for ’14: College Pitchers - 8. Michael Cederoth / RHP / San Diego State — Cederoth’s fastball has hit 100 on scouts guns and features a slider that will flash above-average. He looks more like a high-leverage reliever at this point with a somewhat violent arm action and a lack of a quality third offering. http://mlbdraftinsider.com/2013/11/top-14-for-14-college-pitchers/


11-5-13 - When Tyler Beede was in high school, at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts — which wasn’t that long ago – he had no idea he was going to be drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, and end up deciding not to sign. Instead he chose to attend Vanderbilt University. He was the only first round pick that year not to sign. As of now, it looks like that was a good decision. Beede’s draft stock has risen and he has been projected by many to be a top five pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. That’s a considerable jump up from the 21st overall pick in the 2011 draft. However, that’s not what his focus is moving towards spring. http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2013/11/05/under-the-lights-with-vanderbilts-tyler-beede/


10-15-13 – Baseball America - 44. Alex Blandino, 3b, Stanford: Two-time Cape Cod League all-star struggled last spring but has the bat speed and athleticism to stay on the infield. http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/2014-draft-top-50-october-2013-carlos-rodon/

9-11-13 - Sully’s 2014 Top 100 MLB HS Draft Prospects – 15.Nicholas Gordon – SS/RHP, Olympia (FL) HS http://www.ninebaseball.org/Wordpress/sullys-2014-top-100-mlb-hs-draft-prospects/

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