[情報] Draft Tracker: April 22
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/draft-tracker/2009/267997.html
Draft Tracker: April 22
Three Up
Rex Brothers, lhp, Lipscomb
Coming into the season ranked No. 77 on our college Top 100 list, Brothers
has been skyrocketing up with some added oomph on his fastball and some
impressive showings in front of the right people.
"He's been phenomenal, man," Lipscomb assistant coach Chris Collins said. "We
haven't seen an arm from the left or the right that's been better than him.
Obviously, the velocity is there. He's pitching at 93, 94 at times and he's
touching 96. Even at our level, you just don't see lefthanded velocity that
often. But, what's bigger than that is that his slider is 86-88 and just
sharp and late with that typical, big-time slider action from the left side.
That's been the difference for him this year versus last year is that he's
been able to locate that and throw it where he wants to."
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Brothers works fast, gets a lot of power from his
thick thighs and, along with his plus fastball and slider, mixes in an
average changeup to keep hitters honest.
"Now, if we could just score for him," head coach Jeff Forehand said. "We've
scored two runs in his last 24 innings. It's going to be funny that the best
pitcher in our conference is going to have a losing record."
It could end up that way. With a bevy of scouts—including 15 scouting
directors—in the stands on April 3, Brothers hung right with Kennesaw
State's Kyle Heckathorn, striking out 12 with no walks in an eight-inning
complete game, but Lipscomb was edged out, 2-1. The next Friday, April 10,
Brothers went the distance again against North Florida, allowing one run on
two hits while striking out 14, but his Bisons lost 1-0. Last week, Brothers
took yet another tough loss, giving up two runs over seven innings. On the
season, he's 4-4, 2.37 with 94 strikeouts and 29 walks over 65 innings.
Brothers is handing the increased attention well and taking everything in
stride.
"You wouldn't know if he was a Tuesday starter or one of the best
lefthanders in the country," Collins said. "He's just a down-home, really
respectful kid—just your typical country boy. He was raised well, he's
really grounded and you wouldn't know that he's about to make millions of
dollars."
Eric Arnett, rhp, Indiana
Coming into the season, most believed Indiana's top player would be
All-American catcher Josh Phegley. However, his 6-foot-5, 225-pound
batterymate Arnett may have leapfrogged him as the first Hoosier off the
board come draft day.
"He's unbelievable. There's crosscheckers in every week now, he's been
blowing up," Indiana assistant coach Ty Neal said. "He's just gotten
stronger, and he's gotten better every year. Before, he was a 92 (mph) guy
and the ball was flat in the zone. Now, he's bigger and stronger, the
slider's a little better and he's starting to miss bats and beat guys with
his fastball."
Arnett's fastball is touching 96 this spring and he's maintaining the gas
late in games. Neal said during a 10-inning complete game against Illinois on
April 3, he was still dialing it up to 94 in the ninth inning.
Right now, Arnett is throwing mostly fastballs and sliders. He occasionally
mixes in a splitter that he uses a changeup, but the fastball and slider are
his bread and butter. Neal said the coaches haven't worked with Arnett on
other pitches because all he's needed this year are the two.
So far this season, Arnett is 8-1, 1.94 with 69 strikeout and 19 walks over
70 innings, including four complete games.
He uses his height to his advantage, getting good plane on a fastball that
bores in to righthanded batters. His 84-85 mph slider has great two-plane
break and misses a lot of bats because it's hard and hitters move their hands
early, thinking it's a fastball.
Angelo Songco, of, Loyola Marymount
Angelo Songco wasn't drafted out of high school, but all he's done at Loyola
Marymount is hit. As a freshman, he played in all 56 of the Lions' games and
hit .321/.405/.528. The next year, he improved upon those numbers by hitting
.356/.432/.681 with 15 home runs. He proved the power wasn't a fluke by
winning the Cape Cod League all-star game home run derby.
Songco continues to make improvements this year. Over his first 158 at-bats,
he's hitting .373/.500/.715 with 12 home runs.
Loyola Marymount head coach Jason Gill told BA in March that he's never
coached a swing like Songco's. He said Songco is a legitimate big league
hitter that will probably have to move to left field as a professional, but
the bat will play there. He has power to all fields, he can drive the ball
the other way and he's hard to pitch to because he's a smart hitter with a
good plan at the plate.
Gill also praised Songco's leadership.
"He's the most positive guy on our team," Gill said. "When we were going
through that (losing) streak, the coaching staff was preaching, 'Stay with
it, it's a grind.' Everybody on our team lost their poise at one point during
that streak except him. I know I did. In Hawaii I was losing it, and he came
in and said 'It doesn't matter, we're going to get them.' He's great in the
clubhouse, and he leads by example."
Three Down
Kentrail Davis, of, Tennessee
Davis entered the season as the best draft-eligible power and speed
combination in college baseball. As a freshman last year, he hit
.330/.435/.583, becoming the fist Volunteer since 2002 to win the team's
Triple Crown. His 13 home runs were more than Todd Helton hit as a freshman,
and he followed that up by playing for the USA Baseball national team that
went 24-0 last summer.
Davis hasn't progressed much this year. He's hitting .301/.434/.536 with six
home runs and just three stolen bases. A rival coach who saw him recently
said Davis looked to be pressing.
"He looked like a guy who was struggling," the coach said. "He's expanding
his strike zone, swinging at pitches that are balls, then missing pitches
that he should hit. He did have one good game that I saw, laced a couple of
doubles, and you can really see the bat speed, it's premium bat speed. But
right now, it's just not happening consistently for him."
Often compared physically to Kirby Puckett, the 5-foot-9, 200-pound Davis
doesn't have the prototypical center-field body.
"You struggle with him—what is he?" a talent evaluator said. "You would like
him to be a center fielder—his overall tools and being a power-speed guy
would make a real good fit—but he doesn't really look the part. He's so
thick and very strong."
Overall, the combination of Davis being advised by Scott Boras, having the
extra leverage of being a draft-eligible sophomore and not putting up
over-the-top numbers this year means that his price will likely overmatch his
recommended bonus.
Ryan Jackson, ss, Miami
Jackson's calling card has always been his defense. With a lean, athletic
6-foot-3, 185-pound frame, Jackson has the range, soft hands and arm strength
necessary to play shortstop. His actions are extremely smooth and he makes
everything look easy in the field.
The questions surrounding Jackson's future have always been with his bat and
he's not doing anything to quiet the doubters this spring. Hitting mostly in
the nine-hole for the Hurricanes, Jackson is hitting a soft .260/.368/.390, a
dramatic decline from his .360/.422/.496 line last year.
Jackson's pedigree and track record are in his favor and teams are always
looking for good defenders up the middle, but he's hitting his way out of the
first round, and his below-average speed hurts him as well.
"I don't think Jackson's ever going to hit," an American League area scout
said. "Plus, he's a 30, 35 runner—he can't run. He'll give you 4.5, 4.6
(seconds) down the line all the time. For a skinny righthanded hitter with a
weak bat, you'd better be running. Maybe underway he's a 45 or maybe, maybe a
50. His range plays better than that. Jackson's got a bad swing, length, a
bad front arm, he doesn't have authority through the zone. There was talk he
could go in the first round, but if he keeps hitting .250 he won't go in the
first round."
Jason Stoffel, rhp, Arizona
Jason Stoffel came into the season as the top reliever in this year's draft
class. He's Arizona's all-time leader in saves and has a career 173-43
strikeout-walk ratio over 127 innings.
Stoffel's stuff has been down a tick recently. He'll show his usual 94-95 mph
fastball at times, but other times he'll top out at 93. Worse yet, it's been
straight and he's been hit hard. Through 25 appearances so far this season,
Stoffel is 1-1, 4.54 with seven saves, 39 strikeouts and 15 walks over 36
innings. In Pacific-10 Conferece play, he's really struggled, giving up 15
runs over 13 innings with seven strikeouts, 10 walks and a 10.12 ERA.
"He's not the same kid (he was over the last two years)," said one coach
whose team has faced the Wildcats. "His breaking ball really didn't seem the
same."
The hammer curveball used to be a plus offering for Stoffel, but the pitch
has regressed, and he hasn't been able to get by on his fastball alone. While
any pitcher can look bad over just 13 innings, some teams are also wondering
if Stoffel has the drive and mental toughness to pitch in high-pressure
situations at the big league level. After his freshman season, he turned down
the opportunity to pitch in the Cape Cod League and then last summer passed
on pitching for Team USA.
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