jaspatrick

I’ve only watched the regional games and the ACC tournament. Based on that limited sampling, he has been by far the most impressive player I’ve seen. He looks more like the #1 rather than #3 pick. Absolute stud hitter, good defensive catcher, and the rare catcher that is likely the best athlete on the field.

I find Kolek's possible tumble interesting. He has been pegged top three for quite awhile, now Law has him going #8. I'm not worried about possible TJ surgery because his throws so hard. Is it the control or secondary stuff that is at the root of this? I'm a Gordon over Jackson guy just because I see us and most other organizations quickly moving him to RF, which means to be an all-star he would have to hit a ton, where Gordon can contribute in numerous ways (plus D at short, speed, etc.).

So, if the draft shakes out 1. Aiken 2. Rodon 3. Kolek/Nola 4. Gordon, do we take either whoever is left between Kolek/Nola? I get the feeling that we are skipping Kolek (and Jackson) even if there and taking Nola or Newcomb. Law, McDaniel, and Callis have all implied that if Kolek doesn't go 3, which he still has a very good chance of doing, he might fall to the back half of the top 10. As far as pitcher in the top 5 picks because we won't be back for awhile, I think that only applies if you believe he has ace potential. If his "ceiling" is 2/3 starter, which some have said about Nola, why can't you just as easily get that type of guy at pick 10-20 (although probably with lower floor than Nola)?

Klaw was also asked who he'd take at 4 if Rodon, Kolek, and Aiken go in the first three picks. He didn't mention Jackson and said that with Hoffman and Finnegan on the shelf, the next two names he'd look at were Gordon and Erick Fedde, who I hadn't heard mentioned as a top five pick before.

I think Bryant and Appel go somewhere in the top three along with another college hitter. Then we take Stewart over Gray, which will displease some on here and make others happy. I'm not sure which camp I fall into.

Why assume the team that leaked the Gray info wants him? He was tested by MLB and the results of those tests were released to all thirty teams prior to the "leak." I don't think the fact the info is now public will stop a team from taking him that would have taken him before it went public.

He has the top four as Moran, Appel, Bryant, and us taking Gray. He says if the big 3 are gone when we pick, it'll be Stewart or McGuire. With us passing on Stewart, he has him falling all the way to 15.

It can be argued that Stewart, Gray, and Appel have similar ceilings, but Stewart, as a high school pitcher, comes with infinitely more risk. That's why a high school right hander has never gone #1 in the draft, but college pitchers routinely go #1, and that extra risk is why Appel and Gray will before Stewart this year.

This. What did you expect him to say? He's going to try to increase his negotiating leverage as much as possible. I know athletes in general don't care about competition, but A&M currently has the Heisman winner at QB and have recruited higher rated QBs than Stewart in each of their last two recruiting classes who are also waiting for Johnny Football to go pro. I can't see him turning down top five money to "probably" hold a clipboard.

Yeah, even last week when he was throwing better, I saw twitter reports that he was only 90-91 in the first and down to 88-90 in the second. Still putting up great numbers, but against weak competition. I think people still look at what he did at the Cape and hope he can recapture that "stuff" with better coaching, even though he never had that kind of velo before or after that summer. With the fourth pick we're in a wierd spot because of the drop off after the big three prospects. Anyone we take will have some risk, whether it's Manaea, Shipley, or a HS player.

I think his FB was back to normal, as in up from the mid-eighties his previous start, but not back to sitting in the mid-nineties, which he was doing at the Cape. I know he was fantastic this summer and has had good results this year, but with lesser stuff than he showed during the summer and against lesser competition than many of the other top prospects. How was his stuff at Indiana State before this year? Was he thought to be a top draft choice heading into the Cape or was his #1 stuff just around for the one summer?