OFFICIAL 2012 DRAFT DISCUSSION THREAD

It's that time again. Anything and everything draft related, post in this thread. It's always a blast to discuss picks here just after they're drafted.

While the crop can't hold a candle to last year's, there are still many talented players to be had this year.

Which players are you most looking forward to seeing which teams draft them?

For me, four come to mind:

1) Andrew Heaney. Arguably the top collegiate lefty this year, and plenty projectable.

2) Lewis Brinson. Possible 5-tool outfielder, might sneak into the bottom of the 1st round, more likely the sandwich round.

3) Pierce Johnson. Been reading great things about him, and put up some insane starts for Missouri State. Needs to stay healthy, though.

4) Lucas Giolito. I love the uncertainty of the wildcard. No one knows where he'll go, just that he's quite gifted and as of now, we don't know how healthy he is. Hopefully he's gotten a clean bill of health.

I would be happy to see the Rays take any of these guys.

And remember - this year, the signing deadline comes a month early, on 7/13. This will give Topps and Panini that much more time to get these kids' autographs on cards.

How about you? Who will you be watching in particular?

Travis Jankowski

If Appel goes to the Astros I think that the Twins pick will really shake up how the rest of the draft goes. I'm assuming they're down to Buxton, Gausman, and Correa. Of those guys I would be happy with Gausman or Buxton but I would rather them draft Buxton and get the pitching they desperately need with their other picks in the first few rounds.

Peter O'Brien. Rumblings that he could be a back end of the 1st round pick, by a team who will sign him for well under slot

Other Miami guys who I'll be watching--I expect all of them to be drafted and all to sign. Hard to convince a Jr. to come back to school and pay $50k to be at UM
Steven Ewing (Jr)--gave up 6 ER in 2/3 of an inning of his regional start
Steven Perez (Jr)
Eric Whaley (Jr)
Michael Broad (Jr)

Seth Streich from Ohio. Good guy, been around him for the past 3 years. Projected 8-10th round pick. I could see him as a guy a team takes earlier and signs to a below slot deal to save money.

And Victor Roache. I think this guy could be a steal the way he has fallen due to injury.

Well, obviously am interested in who the M's get at #3. Buxton, Correa and Giolito are the top tier of guys I'd like them to take, followed by Zimmer and Zunino.

Lance McCullers - I sold my Superfractor Auto, but I still am interested, because with his stuff and fresh arm, he could be underrated and a steal.

Corey Seager - Was my favorite guy on the 16U USA team, so been keeping tabs on him since then. Wish I would have bought in, still looking for the Superfractor Auto.

Marcus Stroman - Kind of like a shorter, more polished college version of McCullers.

Jameis Winston - Top QB recruit with great potential on the diamond.

Peter O'Brien - Slugging catcher who hit with wood for Team USA, then moved to a big school/conference and improved, including on defense. Oh, and I have his Superfractor Patch/Auto.

And there are others, and guys I'll discover/learn more about after they're drafted.

Mike Zunino. I think he is the best player in the draft.

I will be curious to see who the Cubs go after. My gut tells me it will be Almora, but there are a few guys I wouldn't be too upset if they went a different direction. My first choice would have been Correa, but the way things look right now, the Cubs are pretty well set up the middle. Heaney might be considered a reach at 6, but it would be cool to see a local (to me that is) college kid get drafted by my favorite team. If Zunino falls to them at 6, I think he would be a very solid choice as well.

I think baseball, more than any other sport we don't have a ton of knowledge about these guys coming into the draft. In past years, sure we root for guys to go to our favorite teams, but with so much of the draft being occupied by high school kids, who we may have seen some video on; sure there are college guys, but college baseball has no where near the exposure of college basketball or college football. More than any other sport there is a huge gap between casual fan, expert, and the team, making it really difficult to make an accurate assessment (at least for me) of how your favorite team fared on draft day. It takes more than a year to even get a slight glimpse into the future of what these players will become. I always read the blacklash on these websites when a player drops, or just killing a pick, but these scouts have way more information than we do when it comes to amateur baseball, unfortunately. This year I think it will be even more difficult to get a handle on how things will go because of the new CBA and the mystery of which directions teams will go and how they are willing to spend through the draft with limitations on them now. No matter what it will be fun to watch, but I really wish MLB put a little more effort into it. Its great that MLB network has been broadcasting it the past few years, but the reason why other sports drafts are more successful is because it is entertainment, there is suspense and there is a possibility that your big league team could be affected. I really wish draft picks could be traded, I know there would have to be certain rules and regulations so bad teams wouldn't just sell their picks away to good teams, obviously you want teams that can't afford to spend, to build through the draft. But I think it would be great to watch a team trade up to get a player they really like and put a lot of chips on the line, I think it would make for great television. Sorry for my long rant.

On a side night I am interested to see where Chase Dejong goes. He is a friend of the family.

Courtney Hawkins.

Hoping Carlos Correa falls to the Padres at #7, but if that doesn't happen I would love for them to take a chance on Giolito.

The most interesting thing to me is that Giolito slot machine. He could literally go anywhere from pick 3 to mid 20s. To me, that's pretty interesting.

Seiya said:

Hoping Carlos Correa falls to the Padres at #7, but if that doesn't happen I would love for them to take a chance on Giolito.

Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly although my gut tells me we'll end up with Almora.

Anyone know anything about Matthew Tulley from Lowell, Mass? Coached him in rec ball, he was an outstanding pitcher. Dominated in high school, has a FB that has reached 93 this year. Threw a 1-0 shutout today in the Mass State tournament. He had offers from Virginia Tech, Uconn, South Florida, Boston College, Virginia, Georgia Southern and St. Johns. He chose Virginia Tech and is set to pitch there next year. Any shot of him getting drafted?

My personal 5 to watch for the draft....

Albert Almora
Nelson Rodriguez
Lance McCullers
Courtney Hawkins
Tom Murphy

Tons of guys I will be watching.....a few are as follows:

1. Who will the NYY select(fav team) in the 1st round, alot of guys I am hoping they will select the prices are sure to skyrocket if their 1st rounder has cards

2. Stryker Trahan one of the most intriguing players in the draft for me personally, whoever lands him will be happy

3. Where will Giolito fall to(or will he) very unfortunate he was injured...would say he was a lock for 1st RH HS pitcher to go #1 dont think this has ever happened in recent history

4. Big fan of the USA baseball program so cant wait to see where any/all of the USA players land....for once some of these guys have chrome autos so should see some nice spikes in the next few week on early picks

5. Buxton is going...? The more info I get on him...the more I like him. Tools are off the charts...with the muddied waters in the top 5 cant see how any team could take a flyer on this kid!

Anyways I will be dialed in at draft time Mon....cant wait!

Jaypers said:

It's that time again. Anything and everything draft related, post in this thread. It's always a blast to discuss picks here just after they're drafted.

While the crop can't hold a candle to last year's, there are still many talented players to be had this year.

Which players are you most looking forward to seeing which teams draft them?

For me, four come to mind:

1) Andrew Heaney. Arguably the top collegiate lefty this year, and plenty projectable.

2) Lewis Brinson. Possible 5-tool outfielder, might sneak into the bottom of the 1st round, more likely the sandwich round.

3) Pierce Johnson. Been reading great things about him, and put up some insane starts for Missouri State. Needs to stay healthy, though.

4) Lucas Giolito. I love the uncertainty of the wildcard. No one knows where he'll go, just that he's quite gifted and as of now, we don't know how healthy he is. Hopefully he's gotten a clean bill of health.

I would be happy to see the Rays take any of these guys.

And remember - this year, the signing deadline comes a month early, on 7/13. This will give Topps and Panini that much more time to get these kids' autographs on cards.

How about you? Who will you be watching in particular?

Click to expand...

Outside the lines, baseball would be 100x more interesting if you could trade draft picks. Even if they made a rule that you could only trade draft picks within the first 5 or 10 rounds.

Pretty interested to see which way the Cubs go with Theo's fingerprints all over this Draft.

I say Heaney...