InfraRen

Jim Callis wrote about him in his latest Ask BA, answering "Who has the best fallback plan in this draft" "The 2013 draftee with the best fallback plan is New Castle (Ind.) High’s Trey Ball, who likely will be a top-10-overall choice as a lefthanded pitcher. Coming into the year, scouts were split on whether Ball had a brighter future as an outfielder or a pitcher. He has put that debate to rest by showing a 91-94 mph fastball and an improved curveball this spring, but he also would merit a second- or third-round selecton as a position player. He projects as an athletic right fielder with above-average lefthanded power potential and arm strength." Ask BA: Ball Tops Draft's Two-Way Stars - BaseballAmerica.com

McGuire

This excites AND terrifies me. I'll be overjoyed with Stewart but very disappointed with McGuire.

@DarrenWolfson: #MNTwins are bringing players into town for looks before the Draft. One coming, per a source: HS LHP Hunter Green. He'd be in mix at No. 43.

@DFicociello25: Word on the street is @Dbax24 just got called up to AA for the Twins? Way to rep! #TeamStrelitz haha

@CRKernels: Jose Berrios has struck out 8 through 4.

New SBNation mock today has us taking him: I'm not a big fan of the "need-now" reasoning, would rather go highest potential (Stewart) but I get it... 2013 MLB Mock Draft, Version 2.0 - Minor League Ball

Your dream is uber-dreamy. Hey, never know - I NEVER thought the Vikings would get the 3 guys they got in the 1st round this year. You never know! Yanks are probably biggest threat end of round 1.

Jon Heyman tweeted he's done for the year today. I understand the risks with this guy, but the potential he flashed has me wondering a bit - will we (and other teams) regret passing on him? With the injury reveal, it's a fair bet that this caused his "fall" this season in scouts eyes. His numbers were still dang good tho. The baseball draft is different. You draft a guy for what he CAN be, and Manaea could definitely be your #1 ace. It's too bad this injury has clouded his stock. Who knows. Maybe the Twins DO think that way. If the injury isnt too fearsome long-term, why not? I had written him off these past couple weeks but if somehow we did take him, I'd get it and even be pretty happy about it.

Say the Twins take Kohl Stewart (or another pitcher) at #4: if Ryan Boldt gets past the first round (because of injury) I'd be in favor of picking him in the 2nd. Obviously they'd have to know if he'd sign or not but I feel the home-state team would have a better shot at getting him to. Kid is a legit five tool guy. Probably wont develop a lot of power, but sounds like he's a devoted/diligent worker so who knows. Saw Thrylos pine for Hunter Dozier there too, that'd also be a mighty fine pick.

These are great!

Yeah, it'll just be something kind of fun to look at during 1st, 2nd days of draft and see if anyone we draft is on the list.

Baseball America’s Best Tools list for the 2013 draft, with candidates drawn from the top 250 prospects on the BA 500. Compiled by Jim Callis, Aaron Fitt, Conor Glassey, John Manuel and Nathan Rode. BEST ATHLETE COLLEGE: JaCoby Jones, Aaron Judge, Adam Engel HIGH SCHOOL: Austin Meadows, Kohl Stewart, Trey Ball BEST PURE HITTER COLLEGE: D.J. Peterson, Colin Moran, Phillip Ervin HIGH SCHOOL: Dominic Smith, Austin Meadows, Billy McKinney BEST POWER HITTER COLLEGE: Kris Bryant, D.J. Peterson, Hunter Renfroe HIGH SCHOOL: Clint Frazier, Rowdy Tellez, Joey Martarano BEST STRIKE-ZONE JUDGEMENT COLLEGE: Colin Moran, D.J. Peterson, Kris Bryant HIGH SCHOOL: Austin Meadows, Dominic Smith, Rowdy Tellez FASTEST RUNNER COLLEGE: Adam Engel, Colin Bray, JaCoby Jones HIGH SCHOOL: Matt McPhearson, Stephen Wrenn, Josh Hart BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER COLLEGE: Michael Lorenzen, Adam Engel, Stuart Turner HIGH SCHOOL: Luis Guillorme, Reese McGuire, Oscar Mercado BEST ARM COLLEGE: Michael Lorenzen, Austin Wilson, Hunter Renfroe HIGH SCHOOL: Clint Frazier, Brian Navaretto, Jan Hernandez BEST FASTBALL COLLEGE: Jonathan Gray, Mark Appel, Jason Hursh HIGH SCHOOL: Kohl Stewart, Phil Bickford, Chandler Eden BEST SECONDARY PITCH COLLEGE: Andrew Mitchell, Marco Gonzales, Mark Appel HIGH SCHOOL: Rob Kaminsky, Ian Clarkin, Hunter Green BEST COMMAND COLLEGE: Marco Gonzales, Kent Emanuel, Trevor Williams HIGH SCHOOL: Kyle Serrano, Hunter Green, Sean Brady CLOSEST TO THE MAJORS COLLEGE: Mark Appel, Jonathan Gray, Colin Moran HIGH SCHOOL: Clint Frazier, Austin Meadows, Kohl Stewart

Jim Callis (Baseball America) Mock Draft 2.0 (Top 5) Indiana State lefthander Sean Manaea has gone from a potential No. 1 overall pick to the biggest question mark in the 2013 draft. After displaying an explosive mid-90s fastball in the Cape Cod League last summer, he has battled ankle and hip injuries and pitched at 88-93 mph for much of the spring. Teams picking outside the top 10 initially didn’t spend a lot of time scouting Manaea because they figured they wouldn’t have a chance to select him. When his draft stock began to tip, those clubs had to scramble to evaluate him. http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/sean-manaea-2013-300x211.jpg Sean Manaea Scouts flocked to see Manaea pitch Tuesday morning in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, but he felt stiffness in his shoulder while warming up before the first inning. He left without throwing an official pitch, and whether he’ll take the mound again before the draft is in question. The Sycamores need a victory on Friday to reach the MVC tournament finals on Saturday, when Manaea conceivably could pitch. Indiana State won’t advance to the NCAA regional playoffs without winning their conference tourney. The Boras Corp. is advising Manaea, so teams worry that his asking price could be higher than they believe his spring performance would merit. Add in the health questions, and there’s no telling where he might go in the draft. Manaea looked dominant in the Cape League but carries more risk than some clubs will be comfortable with in the first round. Scott Boras has cut several lucrative deals with the Nationals, but their first choice doesn’t come until the No. 62 overall pick and they have MLB’s smallest bonus pool for the first 10 rounds ($2,737,200). There’s never enough college pitching available to sate clubs, and Manaea’s cloudy status is a blow in a year when the depth of first-round-caliber college arms is shallower than usual. The good news on that front is that two more likely first-rounders have emerged, with righthanders Alex Gonzalez (Oral Roberts) and Alex Balog (San Francisco) rising up draft boards. Two weeks before the draft, here’s our forecast for the first round: http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HoustonAstros.png1. HOUSTON ASTROS: Houston has narrowed its field to five: the top two college pitchers (Oklahoma’s Jonathan Gray and Stanford’s Mark Appel), the top two college bats (San Diego third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant and North Carolina third baseman Colin Moran) and a fifth option, presumed to be Georgia high school outfielder Clint Frazier. Rumors persist that the Astros might prefer to redistribute bonus-pool money by striking a deal with one of the hitters, and owner Jim Crane and GM Jeff Luhnow have been spotted scouting Moran. Most industry sources, however, continue to believe the choice will come down to Gray or Appel, whom Houston also considered with the No. 1 pick last year. They’re close enough in talent that asking price could be a deciding factor, though either will command significantly more than the $4.8 million Carlos Correa got as the top choice in 2013. PROJECTED PICK: Jonathan Gray (Mock Draft 1.0: Mark Appel). http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/3ds_cubs79.jpg2. CHICAGO CUBS: Chicago is looking at the same four college players that Houston is evaluating. The Cubs have an acute need for pitching and have had scouting eyes on Appel and Gray throughout the spring. It’s not clear whom they would prefer between Gray and Appel if the Astros opt for a hitter. PROJECTED PICK: Mark Appel (Mock Draft 1.0: Jonathan Gray). http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/3ds_rockies85.jpg3. COLORADO ROCKIES: Gray, Appel and Bryant are the consensus top three prospects in the draft, so the obvious move would be to take the guy Houston and Chicago leave on the board, even though the Rockies probably would prefer a pitcher in a perfect world. Colorado also could consider Moran. PROJECTED PICK: Kris Bryant (Unchanged). http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/3ds_twins81.jpg4. MINNESOTA TWINS: Unless one of the big three falls, pitching-needy Minnesota appears focused most on Texas high school righthander Kohl Stewart. The Twins could save money with Washington prep catcher Reese McGuire, and Indiana high school lefty Trey Ball and Moran also are in the mix. PROJECTED PICK: Kohl Stewart (Unchanged). http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/3ds_indians83.jpg5. CLEVELAND INDIANS: Right now, the most credible top-five projection is that Cleveland will take Moran. If he goes in the top four, the Indians could turn to Nevada righthander Braden Shipley or Ball, or they could explore Georgia high school outfielders Frazier and Austin Meadows. PROJECTED PICK: Colin Moran (Mock Draft 1.0: Braden Shipley). Rest of the first round: Mock Draft 2.0: Shades Of Gray - BaseballAmerica.com

^ I like it. The Moran #1 dream is fun to dream about, but I doubt it actually happens. If so, I think Stewart is our guy. As long as we don't do the dumb McGuire thing...

Good deal!

[h=6]Twins Twerp (Cando, ND)[/h] How far does Manaea fall with the latest injury? Does he just demand a high figure and then go back to college to prove himself top 5 worthy? [h=6]Klaw (1:38 PM) [/h] That's exactly what I think happens. Or he gets picked high in the second round by a team that saved some money on its first pick (cough Houston cough).

Ryan (Denver) Pretty much every mock draft I've seen has the same 3 guys in the same order at the top. Do you think there is any chance that the Astros or Cubs take Bryant or another bat? Klaw (1:10 PM) My mock explicitly mentioned Moran as a candidate at the first pick. I think there's at least a 25% chance he's the guy there, maybe higher. That would jumble the top five a little - the Cubs would take Appel, then the Rockies might take Gray over Bryant, and Cleveland would hope to get Bryant if the Twins stick with Stewart.

From Keith Law's Chat Today: Ryan (Denver) Pretty much every mock draft I've seen has the same 3 guys in the same order at the top. Do you think there is any chance that the Astros or Cubs take Bryant or another bat? Klaw (1:10 PM) My mock explicitly mentioned Moran as a candidate at the first pick. I think there's at least a 25% chance he's the guy there, maybe higher. That would jumble the top five a little - the Cubs would take Appel, then the Rockies might take Gray over Bryant, and Cleveland would hope to get Bryant if the Twins stick with Stewart.

Generica baseball chat, but I'm sure it'll be draft-loaded ff anyone is interested! Chat: Chat with Keith Law - SportsNation - ESPN

Jeff Dubay to Paul Molitor: "One word answer. Can Byron Buxton be a 30-30 guy in the major leagues?" Molitor: "Yes." It was a quick yes, too

New Jim Callis Mock coming today, will make sure to post when it hits.

Nope. I'd bet they all would.

He's my choice if the Big 3 go 1-2-3. The more I've asked around, I'm fully convinced there's no worry that this guy will sign if we take him.

Yup. Stewart is my pick if the Big 3 are gone - good read!