NFC’s 2010 MLB Draft Top 50 Big Board

1) Bryce Harper (JC – C/RF/3B)
legit to quit 80 power and 80 arm/will probably move off C to RF soon to mitigate wear and tear/unparalleled work ethic/extremely athletic/above-average speed
2) Jameson Taillon (HS – RHP)
most likely the best prep pitcher in the last 10 years/plus-plus fastball that has touched 99/plus-plus bender/plus slidepiece/potential for an above-average change/6'7 frame could help keep him healthy
3) Manny Machado (HS – SS)
may stick at SS for the long haul/solid contact hitter with 20+ home run potential/strong arm/runs like a gaylord (like how I used to run)/
4) Chris Sale (COLLEGE – LHP)
southpaw with quality stuff across the board (gasser/hook/change)/scary inverted w a la Mark Prior/6'6 and lanky (needs to eat a sloppy joe or 7)/sidearm release/outstanding command
5) Matt Harvey (COLLEGE – RHP)
mid-90s fastball that has hit 97/98 this season/extreme groundball tendencies/slider, curve, and changeup all flash plus potential/highly touted coming out of Fitch HS in Groton, CT/drafted by Angels in '07 in the 3rd round/struggled first 2 seasons at UNC while refining his mechanics
6) Deck McGuire (COLLEGE – RHP)
"safest" player in the draft/4 pitches that will play up as average or better at the Major League level/great poise/potential plus command
7) Nick Castellanos (HS – 3B)
best contact/power combo in draft/has .300/30 HR potential/should be solid defensively at 3B
8) Austin Wilson (HS – RF)
best power and arm offered in draft not named Harper, Bryce/very athletic/strong commitment to Stanford may scare teams away/one weakness is his trouble recognizing off-speed pitching (this is really blown out of proportion)/excellent swing mechanics
9) Josh Sale (HS – RF/LF/1B)
epical power/not much defensive value to be had anywhere/will hit the ball very, very hard/Travis Snider meets Bobby Borchering (best prep hitter from '09 draft)
10) AJ Cole (HS – RHP)
mid-90s fastball that has touched 96-97 in the past/secondary stuff looks decent but hasn't really moved forward this spring/mechanics are erotic/body is heavenly (no homo)


11) Karsten Whitson (HS – RHP)
similar stuff to Cole/great slider that is better than any one of Cole's off-speed offerings/is pretty tall-and-fall in his delivery, but has a nice step-over and finishes really well/Joba Chamberlain meets Matty Latos
12) Yasmani Grandal (COLLEGE – C)
extremely safe pick b/c he's a catcher who is going to hit/looks decent defensively but his p(l)op times to 2nd have concerned some (possible weak-ish arm)
13) Mike Foltynewicz (HS – RHP)
maybe the best fastball/changeup combo in the entire draft/stellar mechanics for a big guy/taken into consideration that he pitches against Illinois HS competition but that shouldn't knock him to the 40s/50s like you are seeing in other retards' big birds
14) Dylan Covey (HS – RHP)
fastball has fluctuated in velocity/doesn't have the prototypical athletic frame of some of the other highly ranked prep pitchers/does have a solid 4 pitch mix including an amazing bender/strong pitchability and command
15) Anthony Ranaudo (COLLEGE – RHP)
biggest wildcard in the draft/supposed to be the #2 pick after Bryson Harper going into the year/stuff has been down this season/command has been very bad until the last few weeks/has had elbow problems this year and two years ago/Thomas John?/when he's right he has a plus fastball (91-93 touching 95), plus curve, and solid-average changeup/6'7 frame makes it feel like he's breathing on the hitters
16) Stetson Allie (HS – RHP)
best stuff in draft not named Taillon, Jameson/high-90s fastball and hearty high-80s slider/he's this low b/c he has a high chance to end up as a reliever (could blow out his arm and have to be used for only 1 or 2 inning spurts a la K-Mort at IST)
17) Kaleb Cowart (HS – RHP)
extremely athletic fellow who is also a 1st round talent at 3B/low-90s fastball with nice sink/shown signs of a promising slider and splitter
18) Michael Choice (COLLEGE – OF)
huge power but very armsy swing may lead to strikeouts and hurt batting average/strong arm/will be fine in RF if he doesn't have the range for center
19) Drew Pomeranz (COLLEGE – LHP)
lefty with a great fastball/curve/changeup/iffy command
20) Alex Wimmers (COLLEGE – RHP)
decent 3 pitch mix out a polished college fellow/max-effort delivery


21) Justin O’Conner (HS – C)
plus-plus arm (can touch 95 off the mound)/new to catching but shows promise/excellent bat speed/kyute bloody acne
22) Delino DeShields Jr. (HS – CF)
plus-plus speed/plus hit tool/will be delightful in CF/could hit 15-20 HR per year
23) Zach Lee (HS – RHP)
low-to-mid-90s fastball/commitment to play QB and pitch at LSU/changeup and slider both have plus potential/extremely athletic obvi
24) Brett Eibner (COLLEGE – RHP)
really athletic fellows who also plays OF for Our Kansas/fastball, slider, changeup all flash plus potential/fluid delivery
25) Christian Colon (COLLEGE – SS/2B)
will probably move over to 2B/could hit for average and power
26) Jesse Biddle (HS – LHP)
low-90s fastball/really nice changeup/slider or curve may turn into something cuddly/more gas in the tank
27) Scott Frazier (HS – RHP)
fastball touches 94-95/nice changeup/big boy at 6'6/6'7
28) Drew Vettleson (HS – RF)
JD Drew meets Andre Ethier/really erotic blend of pure hit tool and power/probably has enough arm for RF
29) Kolbrin Vitek (COLLEGE – 2B/3B/CF)
No one was aware of this man's existence a month ago/now he has more helium than a hot air balloon/great hit tool/may be athletic enough for CF despite being a 2B/3B at Hairy Ball State
30) Sammy Solis (COLLEGE – LHP)
lefty with average velo but plus movement on the fastball/curve looks good/changeup is excellent (legit plus offering right now)


31) Neon Leon Landry (COLLEGE – CF)
hasn't really lived up to par performance wise but he has a more impressive set of tools than home depot/could end up being a gold-glove caliber CF with 30+ steals/.290/20-25 HR if all goes right
32) James Paxton (COLLEGE – LHP)
lefty who touched 97 last year for Kentucky on numerous occasions/may have a plus bender/velocity has been suspect pitching in Indy ball (didn't sign last year after going in the supplemental 1st to Toronto)
33) Seth Blair (COLLEGE – RHP)
stuff will flash anywhere from average to excellent
34) Jacoby Jones (HS – SS/3B)
strong commitment to LSU/excellent tools across the board/some think his swing is more tailored to a metal bat (whatever that means)
35) Yordy Cabrera (HS – 3B)
big-time raw power/should be fine at 3B (plays SS in HS)/old geezer who turns 20 in September
36) Asher Wojciechowski (COLLEGE – RHP)
heater touches 96 complemented by a plus slider but he doesn't have a 3rd pitch and he lacks movement on his fastball
37) Jesse Hahn (COLLEGE – RHP
mid-90s fastball/curve, change, slider could all be serviceable/mechanics are questionable/elbow concerns this year
38) Chevez Clarke (HS – CF)
Jimmy Rollins in CF/extremely fast/strong arm/elegant swing/nice power for a CF/has had trouble identifying off-speed pitches in HS/swings-and-misses more than you would like
39) Angelo Gumbs (HS – CF)
Gumbo flies under the radar like a submarine with wings/could be a plus power, arm, and speed guy when it's all said and done/appears to be an all tools/crude skills guy
40) Kyle Parker (COLLEGE – RF)
starting QB at Clemson/not much baseball experience/plus power


41) Jedd Gyorko (COLLEGE – 3B/2B)
elite hit tool/not very athletic/there's some Youkilis in there
42) Bryce Brentz (COLLEGE – RF)
massive power demonstrated at Middle Tennesse State/strong arm/don't like how he makes contact with the ball so far out in front, although a credible scout at Project Prospect doesn't seem to have a problem with it
43) Peter Tago (HS – RHP)
low-90s fastball with unbelievable movement/quality of secondary stuff is a question mark/black guy
44) Tony Wolters (HS – SS/2B)
should be an excellent defensive player at 2B/Brian Roberts minus the steroids/knows how to swing a piece of metal/stellar swing mechanics
45) Brandon Workman (COLLEGE – RHP)
Great stuff but horrible mechanics
46) Robbie Aviles (HS – RHP)
good fastball/potential for a devastating changeup/athletic enough to refine his delivery and add velo/just tore a ligament in his pitching elbow and will probably miss a year due to Thomas John
47) Cody Buckel (HS – RHP)
low-90s fastball with the potential for all 3 other pitches to be average or a tick-above
48) Cam Bedrosian (HS – RHP
gasses it up to 96/good slider/may not have an adequate 3rd pitch
49) Nick Kingham (HS – RHP)
solid-average fastball/nice changeup/may not have an adequate 3rd pitch
50) Micah Gibbs (COLLEGE – C)
good catcher/questionable arm/amount of power that he's going to produce is iffy

51) Tyrell Jenkins (HS - RHP)
athletic black guy who touches 95/secondary stuff has nice potential/judging by his delivery, it looks like he picked up a baseball for the first time about a month ago
52) Christian Yelich (HS - 1B)
Nice swing and will play good defense at 1B (which doesn't mean a whole lot)/does the lack of power that he's demonstrated so far mean that he's Casey Krotchman 2.0 at best? IDK my BFF Rose
53) Kellin Deglan (HS - C)
good defensive catcher who can swing a bat/some power potential
54) Reggie Golden (HS - LF)
epical power/cuddly swing/built like a running back
55) Griffin Murphy (HS - LHP)
lefty with average velo on fastball/great movement/potential plus curveball/changeup could be good too/fluid delivery
56) Taijuan Walker (HS - RHP)
Tyrell Jenkins with slightly better mechanics
57) Aaron Sanchez (HS - RHP)
decent fastball/decent curve/looks like he knows what he's doing on the mound
57) Ryan LaMarre (COLLEGE - CF)
really strong tools across the board/great swing/has been terrible in the plate discipline department but that may be because he knows that he can torch any Big Ten pitcher/PD was impressive last year
58) Ryne Stanek (HS - RHP)
haven't seen any video but word on the street is that he has touched 97 recently with a potential plus hook
59) LeVon Washington (JC - LF/2B)
1st rounder last year out of HS to the Rays but did not sign/hasn't lived up to expectations at JuCo/extremely fast with excellent swing that will generate power out of his small frame
60) Marcus Littlewood (HS - SS)
raw tools won't wow you but he may have enough bat and defensive acumen to stick at short and bring value to the table