Steve Bernhardt: Draft ReportFollow the first round of the draft right here! I'll be highlighting select players as they come off the board. Click on the player's name to view video footage.
10:24 PM- Nick Castellanos comes off the board, heading to Detroit! Check out our video showing how Nick...
Built his way to Greatness.
10:00 PM - The first round is over with the Compensation Round on deck...There are some top high school prospects still on the board including
Nick Castellanos,
Stetson Allie and
Austin Wilson, all players from the Under Armour All-America Game.
9:47 PM - The Angels are loading up on high school talent. With the 3oth overall pick, they select
Chevez Clarke, a switch hitting OF from Georgia. Check out the scouting report on Chevy from the Under Armour All-America Game:
8/6/2009 - Under Armour All-America Game: A dynamic athlete with present tools and strength. He is already a plus runner and with some refinements will be a future ML centerfielder. At the plate, has a good feel for the barrel from both sides of the plate making consistent line drive contact. He has quick hands and an advanced feel for the strike zone making him profile as a future top-of-the-order guy. First round talent who is committed to Georgia Tech.
9:37 PM - As I've said before,
when in doubt, draft a QB...Zach Lee and Kyle Parker are two of the last three picks. Parker, a QB at Clemson and Lee a high school stud QB headed to LSU.
9:20 PM - The St. Louis Cardinals take Zack Cox, a standout 3B from the University of Arkansas. Cox attended the
Cape Cod High School Classic in 2007, where he impressed both as a position player and a hard throwing RHP.
9:03 PM - The Rangers take
Kellin Deglan, a player that has been steadily rising on draft boards over the past year since his appearance in the Under Armour All-America Game in 2009. The top high school position player in Canada, check out our report on Deglan:
8/6/2009 - Under Armour All-America Game: Catcher with a tall, lean frame. Catch and throw skills will be sufficient to stay behind the plate. Arm plays with on line carry. Best tool is his smooth LH stroke with some natural lift. He uses the whole field and catches up to velocity without issue. He will continue to develop power as he physically matures and gains strength which will also help his durability behind the plate. Committed to Florida International.
8:58 PM - Alex Wimmers is taken by the Minnesota Twins with the 21st overall pick in this year's draft. The Twins seem thrilled that he fell to them. His command and secondary pitches should play well at the next level. Should be interesting to see if the Rangers reach again like they did with Skole, or take a top 25 prospect.
8:37 PM - Josh Sale, an OF from Washington is taken by the Tampa Bay Rays. Sale has a strong, compact build with big forearms and big power. His LH stroke is a bit stiff at times, but he generates plus bat speed and makes hard contact especially to the pull side. He has played 3B for his high school team but figures to shift to LF in pro ball to allow him to relax and concentrate on what he does best – hit. He is committed to attend Gonzaga in the fall.
8:21 PM - Dylan Covey, selected by the Milwaukee Brewers, is a right-hander who pitches for Manantha HS in California. Covey is an athletically built 6’2”, 195-pounder who is in control on the mound. He throws a low 90s fastball with some tail along with both a power curve ball and a solid change-up. This quality three pitch mix has allowed him to cruise through the high school season this spring, piling up strikeout totals. Covey is committed to the University of San Diego and is ranked
5th overall on Baseball Factory’s Top 100.
8:11 PM - The ACC Player of the Year, Yasmani Grandal goes to the Cincinnati Reds. One of many players from the University of Miami that will likely be drafted over the next few days.
7:54 PM - Karsten Whitsonis off the board. The second high school pitcher taken in this year's draft. Check out the scouting report from the 2009 Under Armour All-America Game:
8/6/2009 - Under Armour All-America Game Whitson has an ideal pitcher’s frame and is a strong righty with a loose, live arm. He pounds the strike zone with a 90-96 mph fastball that requires little effort. He also throws a sharp slider at 78-81, giving him two above average offerings and making him one of the top pitchers in the 2010 class and a first round arm. Committed to Florida
7:48 PM - Delino Deshields, Jr. selected by the Houston Astros. Deshields impressed our scouts at the Under Armour Southeast Tournament back in 2009, playing summer ball for the Atlanta Blue Jays. This year's
Under Armour Southeast Tournament gets underway on August 11.
7:37 PM - Barrett Loux goes to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a bit of a surprise pick. Check out the
mock draft from Frankie Piliere on Fanhouse.com. He had Loux as the 23rd overall. You can also see some
additional draft coverage on Fanhouse.com that I participated in last week.
7:26 PM - The Royals select Christian Colon, the first player selected from a four-year college. We first saw Colon as a high school junior when he attended the
Team One Futures Showcasein 2005.
7:21 PM - The Orioles select Manny Machado. The top shortstop that has emerged in this year’s high school group, he seems to have the best chance to actually stick at SS with his sure hands, plus arm and playable range. His actions are easy and fluid, and though some teams are concerned that his frame will fill out to a point that a shift to 3B is necessary, the Orioles must be convinced that he is their shortstop of the future. At the plate Machado has good barrel accuracy with quick hands and shows flashes of pull power that will continue to develop.
7:16 PM - The Pirates select
Jameson Taillon, the top pitcher in the 2010 high school class. Here is his scouting report from the Under Armour All-America Game:
8/6/2009 - Under Armour All-America Game The top arm in the 2010 class, Taillon is a big, strong RHP with an intimidating presence. He combines mid 90s velocity with a hard breaking curveball that is his out pitch. Being from Texas, his body and stuff have garnered Roger Clemens comparisons. He attended an Under Armour National Tryout in Irving, TX and subsequently pitched for the Baseball Factory in the Arizona Sophomore Fall Classic in Peoria. He has committed to Rice. Taillon was an MVP of the Under Armour All-America Game and has already touched 100mph this spring.
7:10 PM- The draft is underway, and after what seems like three years of waiting,
Bryce Harperhas finally been selected as the number one pick. No surprises here. The Nationals now have the rights to what many believe to be the two best prospects in baseball. Let's look back...here is the scouting report that our staff put together back in 2008, when we first saw Bryce as a high school freshman:
2/24/2008 -
Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout - Las Vegas: Bryce is a tall strong athletic catcher/SS who still has tons more time to improve and get better. Behind the plate, shows well above arm action and release with pop times in the 1.88 range. Hands are soft while receiving and body gets down quickly to block balls in the dirt. He is a way ahead of the competition behind the plate. At SS, shows a loose arm and soft hands. Gets rid of the ball quickly and turns the double play well. Not too many holes in his defensive game. Swing is easy with power to all fields. Ball flies off his bat. Has bat speed and creates good backspin on the ball. Quite simply, Bryce is a stud and only a 2011 grad.
Steve Bernhardt is quickly becoming known on a national level as one of the top authorities on high school baseball prospects. Steve was chosen by MLB.com as a special consultant for their 2008 and 2009 Pre-Draft coverage. In addition, over the past three years Steve has been the liaison with Baseball America providing thousands of scouting reports on players from the 200+ Baseball Factory and Team One events nationwide that he oversees.
Steve has also chosen the Top 36 High School Baseball Players each year for the Under Armour All-America Game, powered by Baseball Factory. From the 2008 game 29 of the All-Americans were selected in the 2009 MLB draft including seven in the first round.
Currently, Steve oversees the Baseball Factory Top 100, presented by Under Armour which ranks the top high school prospects in the country. Steve has also been featured on the nationally syndicated Diamond Gems Baseball program that airs in thirty cities across America. Steve has also made appearances in the last year on the following programs: Mark Viviano Show – ESPN Radio, 1300 AM, John Thompson Show – 980 AM, Anita Marks Show – ESPN Radio, 1200 AM/MASN TV, Jeremy Kahn: “Playermakers” – 105.7 FM, Bob Harvey: “WNST” – 1570 AM, Grant Paulsen Show – XM Radio
Labels: bryce harper, chevez clarke, christian colon, draft report, jameson taillon, karsten whitson, kellin deglan, manny machado, MLB Draft, steve bernhardt, zack cox