MLB Draft tonight

The Baltimore Orioles have the 3rd overall pick in the 1st-round of the Amateur Draft tonight.

One week ago, the consensus across the board was that the O’s would be in position to take Jameson Taillon.

http://baltimoresportsandlife.blogspot.com/2010/06/mlb-mock-drafts.html

It now appears that Tailion could go 2nd overall to Pittsburgh. If that occurs, Orioles Amateur Scouting Director Joe Jordan was quoted in The Baltimore Sun as stating the likely selection will be HS SS Manny Machado.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/2010/06/feeling_the_draft.html

If the Pirates do take Tailion, I think O’s fans should also have the names of SS Christian Colon, and LHP Chris Sale in-mind as possibilities.

Here are a couple of scouting reports on Machado, Colon, and Sale:

Machado:

Draft America.com
http://www.draftamerica.com/mlb-draft.php#p3

Preseason Review:
“Manny Machado is a lean and athletic shortstop, hailing from Brito High School in Miami. Defensively Machado is somewhat like collegian Christian Colon, in that neither project to have great range as pro’s… but both have very good instincts, are graceful in their footwork and mechanics, employ soft hands and good arms, and should be able to stick and be successful big league shortstops.
Offensively, Machado has no problem hitting a good fastball, and making strong consistent contact. He uses an open-stance and while he ‘wraps’ his bat, he has good bat speed and leverage, with some lift in his swing. Many scouts feel he’ll have solid to above-average power, and coupled with outstanding defensive abilities at a prime position, Machado could vault into the Top 10 of the coming draft.”

Update 6/2/10: “All Machado has done this year is fulfill all expectations of him, by- well, everyone. At just three months older than Bryce Harper, the youngster has been compared -somewhat unfairly- to another former mega-prospect, and fellow South Florida prep star shortstop– Alex Rodriguez. Machado has truly grown, both physically, defensively and at bat. He’ll most likely be taken as high as pick two, and no later than pick four. Some scouts have concerns that Machado will outgrow short and slide to third, but may not have the prototypical power for the position. Regardless, he projects as a well-above-average hitter and he’ll await the wise team that calls his name come draft day.”
2010 Stats: 86 AB’s, .639 AVG, 27 2B, 5 3B, 12 HR, 56 RBI, 17 SB

PNR Scouting
http://pnrscouting.com/rankings_2010_draftboard_shortstop.html
http://pnrscouting.com/scoutingreports_2010_machadoma.html/scoutingreports_2010_machadoma.html

5/5/2010 — (Update by Nick James) “Machado has seen his stock bump over the past six months, with public perception moving towards him as the clear-cut top prep positional talent by a fair amount. While he is undoubtedly talented, and possesses a nice blend of current skillset and future projection, I am slightly less optimistic than is Jesse that he’ll stick at SS once he fills-in. Also, while the bat speed is excellent, I am not sold on him being ahead of Nick Castellanos, SS/3B, Archbishop McCarthy HS (Fla.) or Josh Sale, OF, Bishop Blanchet HS (Wa.) in terms of offense package at the prep ranks. I’m less bullish on the future hit/power rating — I’d probably slap a 50/55 on each. With the right organization, Machado’s game could develop at an impressive rate, but there is enough fine-tuning to come for me to place him slightly lower on the draft board than I’ve seen among most national draft publications. He currently ranks #11 on the PnR Mid-Season Top 300, ahead of Castellanos and Sale due to his potential to stick at short and provide more defensive value than the aforementioned duo (giving more cushion if the bat doesn’t develop).”

Colon:

MLB Bonus Baby
http://mlbbonusbaby.com

“Colon may have broken his leg at the end of Team USA’s season, but that was only after he had established himself as the best all-around position player in the 2010 college class. He’s a good fielder with good instincts, a good hitter, and there’s really nothing he’s bad at. People will whine about his lack of dazzling tools, but Colon’s got a solid toolset with a solid skillset with great makeup, and there’s no reason to think he can’t be an above-average Major League shortstop in relatively short order. Assuming he recovers fully from the broken leg, he’s a top ten pick with a good spring.”

PNR Scouting
http://pnrscouting.com/scoutingreports_2010_colonch.html

“Colon is a plus defender with solid arm strength and projects to stick at the six-spot as a pro. That alone would get him plenty of attention as a draft-eligible shortstop. Adding to his value is a contact oriented stroke that could produce a notch above-average hit tool and gap-to-gap pop with perhaps high-single to low-double-digit homerun power. Always a solid defender, he took a nice step forward in 2009 at Fullerton, impressing at the plate. He posted a .357/.442/.529 line and a 1:1 SO:BB ratio while batting at the top of the order, solidifying himself as the lead-off hitter by the end of the season. He has spent 2010 in the same role, and after a slow start (primarily due to his injury-related lay-off over the winter — see updates below). He has worked his slash line up to a solid .335/.441/.623, and has continued his elite strikezone command with 26 BB to just 10 SO in almost 190 PA. Colon has a high floor with some of the best plate discipline and hitting approaches in the class. He should be one of the first college bats selected and is a good bet to be off the board by the middle of the 1st Round.”

Projected Position: SS/2B
Suggested Draft Slot: Early- to Mid-1st Round

Updates:
5/5/2010 — “Colon has progressed nicely in 2010. In the games I’ve seen, the arm-strength again looks solid average to a tick above, which could play at short at the pro ranks. His range is still just average, but the good news is it doesn’t appear to have fallen-off after the broken leg. He is a steady defender on the routine plays and still flashes plus hands. Offensively, Colon has shown more power than expected this year, which is interesting. While he still profiles as a gap-to-gap bat, perhaps there is some chance for him to see his power tool grow as he tightens-up his physique.”

Sale:

Perfect Game USA / David Rawnsley (5/13)
http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=4742

“The Orioles should learn a lesson from the 2008 draft here. I wrote at that point that Tampa Bay would be much better served picking college lefthander Brian Matusz over high-school shortstop Tim Beckham with the first pick. Matusz fell to the Orioles at No. 4, and is now already in their starting rotation and one of the most-prized young arms in the game, while Beckham is hitting below .150 in the Florida State League. Sale (8-0, 1.98, 82 IP/12 BB/114 SO) is a comparable talent to Matusz and could have a similar path to a big-league starting rotation.”