2009 MLB draft
 

Baseball America has new stuff out today related to the 2009 draft including the top 100 college and high school prospects.

The Reds hold the number eight overall pick in the draft and they also have a supplemental first-round pick somewhere between #41-50. With the #8 overall pick, I'm quite intrigued by the plethora of college pitching. The top two talents are Stephen Strasburg (RHP) and Grant Green (SS) and both figure to go 1-2. After them, Alex White and Kyle Gibson interest me the most. White will most likely be gone by the time the Reds pick, but Gibson should still be around. He's already got great stuff but some say he's got the most projection left of any college starter. His lanky frame should allow him to fill out and add another 2-3 mph to his already plus velocity.

The top high school talents are Donovan Tate (CF) and the two left handed starters Tyler Matzek and Matt Purke. I prefer Gibson to the HS lefties, but if the top college arms are off the board then I'd consider Matzek or Purke. Tate is very intriguing. He's a 5-tool center fielder with big potential. I'd love to have him but he's a Georgia boy and the Braves own the #7 pick. Expect this to be similar to 2007 when the Braves picked one spot ahead of the Reds and grabbed Georgian Jason Heyward.

A kid I'm hoping will be around when the Reds pick in the supplemental round is Jiovanni Mier, a high school shortstop from California. He's rated as the best defensive high school shortstop in the draft and he's got the tools to be a good hitter. I'd be thrilled if the Reds could come away with a Kyle Gibson/Alex White/Donovan Tate at #8 and then Jiovanni Mier in the supplemental round.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

I like the sound of that. We have the 8th pick in the 2nd round too don't we? So could our first three picks possibly be:
8th
41st-50th &
60th-70th?

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

I'm still in on these 2 guys, wish I knew there was chat I would have asked about them.

LeMahieu is the #11 overall college player, and Maddox the #18 overall HS player. Oddly enough though Maddox is the #34 overall prospect and D.J. #35.

Either would be a wonderful sandwich rd pick. I also like J. Mier but would prefer LeMahieu. In the 1st I really like Matzek, the big HS LH along with Ackley (for CF) and Tate. That's all assuming something crazy doesn't happen like Strasburg, Green, White falling.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

Not to turn this into another "best player available argument", but I'd love to see a sweet pitcher fall into our lap at #8.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

They need the college arm. The need a kid who will be ready when Arroyo and Harang's deals are up.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

I'm really indifferent over a good arm or an SS, if there's one you're really sure is going to be an above average player at the position. If you don't develop one of those from within, you're going to have to burn a good starter or the equivalent money anyway to acquire one either through trade or free agency.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

I am down for this.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

I'd say it's way more likely to be a pitcher than anything at this point. There is very few positional players in the top 10-12. BA has 3 in their top 14 players and all 3 are more likely to be gone than not, 2 of them Green & Ackley almost assuredly, Tate (HS OF/CFB commit) being the 3rd. I'd say to expect anything other than a pitcher at #8 is a fruitless exercise.

All LHP's denoted *

Top pitchers College:
Steven Strasburg 6-5 Jr RHP SDSU
Alex White 6-3 Jr. RHP NC
Aaron Crow 6-2 RHP (Re-entry) Ft. Worth Cats
Mike Minor 6-4 Jr. *LHP Vandy
Kendal Volz 6-4 Jr. RHP Baylor
Kyle Gibson 6-6 Jr. RHP Mizzo

Top pitchers HS:
Tyler Matzek 6-3 *LHP Capistrano Valley HS Mission Viejo Ca.
Matt Purke 6-3 *LHP Klein HS Tx
Shelby Miller 6-3 RHP Brownwood HS Tx
Jacob Turner 6-4 RHP Wesminster Christian Aca. St. Louis
Zack Wheeler 6-4 RHP East Paulding HS Dallas, Ga.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

Im hoping with the Reds top 5 picks they pick the best pitchers available, thats what I'd like to see, guys who are starters that throw very hard.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

I second that if you have arms a plenty you can acquire any other position.:thumbup:

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

Agree. Aaron Crow would be a good pick.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

McMillan, Cardenas, Concepcion, Larkin. None acquired; all from within.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

I'd like to see the select 7 or 8 HS & College SSs throughout the draft in 09 (as long as they're worthy of the picks). Maybe even take a gamble on a kid later in the draft with signability questions. If there's another foray into theLatin market, similar to this past year, maybe there's a worthy SS. Davey's still a bit of a god in the region(especially in Venezuela). If there is a target down there, he might be able to help "recruit " them.

Shortstops are usually among the best athletes on both HS & College squads so you hope that you get at least 3 or 4 good ones to re-stock the system at the position. The nice thing about SS is you can usually convert the others elsewhere, INF, OF and because the position usually requires solid arm strength, even pitcher.

I agree with others though that say we really need to grow them from within because the apparent cost in talent now to land a good major league-ready one is prohibitive.

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

You forgot Castro. :D

Re: 2009 MLB draft
 

Aaron Crow's mechanics frighten me.