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Thread: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

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    BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    More ammo against drafting catchers in the first round:

    --

    As a Reds fan, I'm hoping Devin Mesoraco eventually develops into a poor man's Russell Martin. Taking a high school catcher in the first round is risky, and drafting one from a cold-weather state is even riskier. Can you give me the development path of some recent high school catchers taken in the first round?

    Rob Yontz
    St. Louis


    Martin, a third baseman at Chipola (Fla.) JC, was a steal for the Dodgers as a 17th-round pick in 2002. If Mesoraco develops close to as quickly and as well as Martin did, he'll make the Reds happy. He'll also buck the trend of high school first-round catchers falling by the wayside.

    Since I started working full-time for Baseball America in 1989, 16 prep catchers have gone in the first round, and just two have become all-stars behind the plate. Not coincidentally, Joe Mauer was the No. 1 overall choice in the 2001 draft, while Mike Lieberthal went No. 3 in 1990. Being a lofty pick is no guarantee, though, because Ben Davis and Tyler Houston were No. 2 overall selections. Daric Barton, Houston, Paul Konerko, Neil Walker and Jayson Werth wound up changing positions, while Ramon Castro, Ryan Christianson, Davis, Scott Heard and Mark Johnson were busts.

    The most recent high school first-round backstops aren't any more encouraging. Brandon Snyder has moved from behind the plate. Scouts believe that Hank Conger and Max Sapp may have to do the same, and Conger hasn't been able to stay healthy, while Sapp hasn't had much success as a hitter.

    Mesoraco has yet to light up pro ball, either. He batted .219/.270/.310 with one homer in 40 games in his debut last summer in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, and he has spent all of this season in extended spring training.

    The track record of college first-round catchers isn't much better. Surprisingly, just 11 college backstops have gone in the first round of the last 19 drafts. Of that group, only Charles Johnson and Dan Wilson have become all-star catchers. Jon Farrell, Mitch Maier, Eric Munson, David Parrish and Alan Zinter were disappointments, while Landon Powell hasn't been able to stay healthy. With Kenji Johjima signed through 2011, Jeff Clement will have to help the Mariners as a first baseman/DH. The jury is still out on 2007 picks J.P. Arencibia and Matt Wieters, though Wieters looks like a possible superstar.

    http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...08/266022.html
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  3. #2
    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    More ammo? That just sounds like a repeat of what we all already know.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by dougdirt View Post
    More ammo? That just sounds like a repeat of what we all already know.
    Good, then I'll repeat that it was a bad pick then and a bad pick now.
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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by Benihana View Post
    Good, then I'll repeat that it was a bad pick then and a bad pick now.
    Bad pick is different than very risky pick. Bad pick is Matt Bush #1 overall. Risky pick is Mesoraco. Quite a difference between the two.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by dougdirt View Post
    Bad pick is different than very risky pick. Bad pick is Matt Bush #1 overall. Risky pick is Mesoraco. Quite a difference between the two.
    Maybe not in a couple of years.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by edabbs44 View Post
    Maybe not in a couple of years.
    Yeah, maybe. What's the point of this? The title of this thread should have been "BA on drafting catchers in the first round (mentions Mesoraco)".
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    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by edabbs44 View Post
    Maybe not in a couple of years.
    Maybe, but unlike a bad pick, its going to take time to figure that one out. Matt Bush went #1 overall and wasn't even seen as a first round talent by some. Thats a bad pick. Mesoraco on the flip side was a first round talent to everyone, he just plays a risky position.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by Blue View Post
    Yeah, maybe. What's the point of this? The title of this thread should have been "BA on drafting catchers in the first round (mentions Mesoraco)".
    Isn't that basically what it is?
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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Nice article. Thanks for posting.

    It just confirms one more time that it was a bad pick.


    There were a lot better catchers than him that could have been drafted.
    Last edited by Kingspoint; 05-05-2008 at 09:03 PM.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by Kingspoint View Post
    Nice article. Thanks for posting.

    It just confirms one more time that it was a bad pick.
    It doesn't do anything like that.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by dougdirt View Post
    Maybe, but unlike a bad pick, its going to take time to figure that one out. Matt Bush went #1 overall and wasn't even seen as a first round talent by some. Thats a bad pick. Mesoraco on the flip side was a first round talent to everyone, he just plays a risky position.
    BA had Bush as a top 10 prospect in the draft. I believe he was 7 or 8 overall.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by edabbs44 View Post
    BA had Bush as a top 10 prospect in the draft. I believe he was 7 or 8 overall.
    I said some people. I know that I have read at least 1 team had him as the 34th best prospect coming into the draft. While that could be supplemental first round, its still pretty far down there.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    No way I'm counting out Mesoraco now. He has huge upside. He has more tools than a major league catcher should have. He played last year with injured hands. Give the guy this year to get it together or not.

    I was shocked too when the Reds picked him first, pretty disappointed, but I'm waiting to see how it turns out before dogging the Reds on this pick.

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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by Red Daddy View Post
    No way I'm counting out Mesoraco now. He has huge upside. He has more tools than a major league catcher should have. He played last year with injured hands. Give the guy this year to get it together or not.

    I was shocked too when the Reds picked him first, pretty disappointed, but I'm waiting to see how it turns out before dogging the Reds on this pick.
    No one is "counting out Mesoraco now" just as no one is counting out Stubbs now. I really hope both of these guys come on strong, defy the odds, and prove all the naysayers wrong. However, you have to look at the pick in it's context, and with all of the information available at the time, it was a bad choice drafting these guys where they did. That's all I'm saying.

    And if Mesoraco isn't dazzling us in rookie ball this summer, his star will start to fade real fast.
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    Re: BA on Mesoraco and drafting catchers in the first round

    Quote Originally Posted by Benihana View Post
    No one is "counting out Mesoraco now" just as no one is counting out Stubbs now. I really hope both of these guys come on strong, defy the odds, and prove all the naysayers wrong. However, you have to look at the pick in it's context, and with all of the information available at the time, it was a bad choice drafting these guys where they did. That's all I'm saying.

    And if Mesoraco isn't dazzling us in rookie ball this summer, his star will start to fade real fast.
    What information are you talking about?

    Mesoraco - Good plate discipline, good bat speed, above average power, very good defensive tools....

    Stubbs - Very good defensive tools, great speed, raw power, good plate discipline and needs work on his swing.

    So Mesoraco was a bad choice at the time because he is a catcher? Stubbs was a bad pick at the time because he needed work on his swing but Tim Lincecum was a slam dunk because he only needed to hone in his control? Color me confused.


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