Down on the Farm: Monday July 21st

Star of the Day:
Justin Jackson - SS - Lansing Lugnuts
Jackson has to be the hottest Lugnut prospect. He had another 3 for 5 game and hit his 7th homerun of the year. He was able to score twice in the game and added 5 RBIs. Over the last 10 games he has hit .475. In the month of July he is hitting .356/.413/.589.


AAA:
Michael Aubrey - 1B - Buffalo Bisons
Aubrey went 2 for 3 with a double, a run and an RBI. Over the last 10 games he is hitting .375.

High A:
Jordan Walden - SP - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Walden was finally promoted to High A and continued his consistently great pitching. He went 6 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits, 3 walks and he struck out 3.

Low A:
Michael Burgess - RF - Hagerstown Suns
Burgess is hitting .269/.360/.521 after going 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Matt Dominguez - 3B - Greensboro Grasshoppers
Matt went 1 for 4 with a walk and a run batted in. On the year he is hitting .301/.368/.435.

Jason Heyward - RF - Rome Braves
After a few games where he only pinch hit, Heyward bounced back with a 2 for 5 game. He doubled once, and was able to both score a run and drive one in.

Rookie:
Isaac Galloway - CF - Florida Marlins
Galloway seems to be coming along lately as he has hit .244 over the last 10 games. Today he went 3 for 5 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI.

Aaron Hicks - CF - GCL Twins
Hicks went 0 for 3 on the day, but was able to walk twice, steal his 4th base and score a run. On the season he is hitting .304/.402/.392. He is proving he can hit for average and shows patience, but power is currently lacking behind.

Devin Shepherd - LF - GCL Cardinals
Shepherd went 2 for 3 with a walk. One of his hits went for a double and he was able to drive in a run. On the year he is hitting .325/.400/.425.

Kyle Skipworth - C - GCL Marlins
Skipworth went 2 for 5 with a double, 2 runs scored and an RBI.

Down on the Farm: Sunday July 20th

Star of the Day:
Jeff Niemann - SP - Durham Bulls
Niemann continues his hot streak as he tossed 7 innings of shutout baseball. He allowed 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5 batters. He could be seeing a promotion in the near future.

High A:
Hank Conger - DH - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Conger extended his hitting streak to eight games with a 1 for 4 game. His one hit was a double which drove in a run. He also scored a run.

Low A:
Dellin Betances - SP - Charleston RiverDogs
Dellin had a great start, going 6 shutout innings. He allowed only 2 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. Since being moved back to Charleston he has tossed 20 innings, allowing 14 hits, 9 walks and has struck out 23.

Matt Dominguez - 3B - Greensboro Grasshoppers
Dominguez extended his hit streak to 6 games with a 2 for 4 game with 2 RBI's. He has made this list for 4 consecutive days.

Justin Jackson - SS - Lansing Lugnuts
Jackson went 2 for 4 with a walk. He was also able to score a run.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - CF - GCL Twins
Hicks went 2 for 4 today with a RBI and 2 stolen bases.

Down on the Farm : Sunday July 13th

Prospect of the Day:
Jeff Niemann - SP - Durham Bulls
Niemann tossed 6 innings of 2 hit ball today. He was throwing hard but struggled with control as he walked 4 and struck out 5. So far in July he is 1-1 over 21 innings. He has allowed 15 hits, walked 8 and struck out 24 with a 2.14 ERA.

Low A:
Matt Dominguez - 3B - Greensboro Grasshoppers
Dominguez hit a single to score 2 runs today, going 1 for 3 in the game.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - CF - GCL Twins
Hicks went 1 for 4 with a RBI, a walk and he got his first professional stolen base. On the year he is hitting .309/.406/.412.

Down on the Farm : Saturday July 12th

Prospect of the Day:
Yu Darvish - SP - Nippon Ham Fighters
Another start for Yu and another complete game. Darvish tossed his seventh complete game, allowing 6 hits while walking 1 and striking out 9. Scary thing is this is close to an average start for Yu who average 6 hits, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts per game.

Low A:
Blake Beavan - SP - Clinton LumberKings
Beavan has extended his scoreless streak to 13 innings. He tossed 6 innings tonight allowing 5 hits and no walks. He struck out only one batter, but seems be on track over his last 10 starts as he has a 1.94 ERA and a WHIP slightly under 1.00.

Michael Burgess - RF - Hagerstown Suns
Michael finally ended his homerun streak, but he still went 2 for 4 with a double. He is now hitting .266/.360/.528 on the year.

Justin Jackson - SS - Lansing Lugnuts
This is becoming a habit for Jackson...finally! Jackson went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Short Season:
Josh Vitters - 3B - Boise Hawks
Vitters had another multi-RBI game in a row. This time he went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - CF - GCL Twins
Not a great game but it still qualifies. He went 2 for 6 with a run scored.

Down on the Farm : Friday July 11th

Prospect of the Day:
Michael Burgess - RF - Hagerstown Suns
For the third day in a row, Michael Burgess knocked out a homerun. This time he did more then single run damage as he walked twice, scored twice and drove in 3 runs.

Low A:
Justin Jackson - SS - Lansing Lugnuts
Jackson went 1 for 3 today with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - CF - GCL Twins
Hicks continues his consistency in all areas of the game. Today he went 1 for 3 with 2 walks. He was able to come around and score twice and also drove in a run.

Kyle Skipworth - C - GCL Marlins
Skipworth has had a tough go of it this year with this being only his second time making the list. He went 1 for 3 on the game, with a walk, a run scored and an RBI.

Down on the Farm : Sunday July 6th

Star of the Day:
Josh Vitters - 3B - Boise Hawks
Vitters went 3 for 3 today with 2 walks. One of his hits went for a double and he drove in 2 runs. On the season Vitters is hitting .357/.395/.529 over 70 ABs.

Low A:
Justin Jackson - SS - Lansing Lugnuts
Jackson has a carbon copy game for the second time in last 4 days. He went 2 for 5 with a double and a homerun. His homerun was a solo shot this time.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - RF - GCL Twins
Not many games will be as good as his last one, but he added another nice multi-hit game. This time he went 3 for 5, scoring 2 runs and adding his 10th RBI of the season.

Down on the Farm : Saturday July 5th

Star of the Day:
Blake Beavan - SP - Clinton LumberKings
This may be Beavan's best start of the season. He only allowed 3 runners, all hits, over 7 shutout innings while striking out 5. He now has only allowed 72 runners (64 hits and 8 walks) over 69.2 innings, with a 2.84 ERA.

High A:
Hank Conger - C - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Conger returned after missing the last 12 days. He went 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

Low A:
Jason Heyward - RF - Rome Braves
After a few days off, Heyward had his third game in a row with 3 hits. This time he went 3 for 5 with a run scored, a double and a stolen base.

Dellin Betances - SP - Charleston RiverDogs
Betances was horrible during his demotion to the GCL, but must have showed something as he was sent back to Low A ball and he had a very good start. He went 5 innings and allowed only 3 hits while allowing 2 runs and striking out 6. His biggest problem has been control and tonight he only walked one batter.

Michael Burgess - RF - Hagerstown Suns
Burgess showed his patience today going 0 for 1 on the game with 3 walks. He was able to score a run. On the season he is hitting .261/.350/.505. He has demonstrated a good eye at the plate and the ability to hit the ball hard when he makes contact.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - RF - GCL Twins
Hicks has the best game of his 10 game career, by going 4 for 7. Two of his hits went for extra bases, with the homerun being the first of his career. He scored 3 times and drove in 4 runs.

Tim Beckham - SS - Princeton Devil Rays
Beckham went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. He is not off to the greatest start but one positive is he is showing good patience.

Down on the Farm : Thursday July 3rd

Star of the Day:
Jeff Niemann - SP - Durham Bulls
Niemann may have had the best start of his career. He tossed a complete game over 9 innings, allowing only 7 hits, 1 run and 1 walk. He struck out 12 batters in the process. On the season he is 6-2 in the minors allowing 74 runners over 64.2 innings and striking out 63.

AAA:
Michael Aubrey - 1B - Buffalo Bisons
Aubrey went 2 for 5, while scoring a run and adding a walk.

AA:
Jeremy Hellickson - SP - Montgomery Biscuits
After a really bad first start in AA, Jeremy was okay today. He tossed 4 innings of 5 hit ball and allowed 2 runs. He has not allowed a walk in AA (over 8.2 innings) after only allowing 5 over 76.2 High A innings.

Low A:
Justin Jackson - SS - Lansing Lugnuts
Jackson went 1 for 4 today with a walk and a run scored.

Neftali Feliz - SP - Clinton LumberKings
After the worst start of his season, Neftali bounced back by throwing 3 perfect innings while striking out 5 batters. Why did he only toss 3 innings? Well, he is being promoted to AA, skipping past High A ball. On the season he has tossed 82 innings, allowing only 55 hits, 28 walks and striking out 106 batters.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - RF - GCL Twins
Hicks continues to show very good patience at the plate. He walked twice today to give him seven on the season, in only 36 ABs. He also went 1 for 3 at the plate, with his hit be a run scoring triple. His first triple of his career.

Isaac Galloway - CF - GCL Marlins
Galloway went 2 for 5 today. He also scored a run.

Down on the Farm : Tuesday July 1st

Star of the Day:
Jason Heyward - RF - Rome Braves
Heyward has taken a few days off from this list, but has come back with a bang. He went 3 for 4 today, hitting his 8th homerun on the season. He scored twice, walked once and drove in 5 runners.

AAA:
Michael Aubrey - 1B - Buffalo Bisons
Aubrey has been slumping since coming back from injury, but he finally started hitting the ball today. He went 3 for 5 with all three hits for singles and he drove in a run.

Matt Dominguez - 3B - Greensboro Grasshoppers
After a few bad days, Matt went 1 for 2 with 2 walks and he scored a couple runs.

Short Season:
Josh Vitters - 3B - Boise Hawks
Vitters went 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - RF - GCL Twins
After a couple "0 for" games, Hicks broke out with a 2 for 4 performance. He added a walk, a double, and both scored and drove a run in.

Down on the Farm : Thursday June 26th

Star of the Day:
Matt Dominguez - 3B - Greensboro Grasshoppers
Dominguez only was able to get one hit today but it went for a grandslam.

AA:
Cameron Maybin - CF - Carolina Mudcats
Maybin went 1 for 4 with a walk, an RBI and a stolen base.

Low A:
Jason Heyward - RF - Rome Braves
Not the typical 1 for 3 or 2 for 4 game for Heyward, but he is active in the game. Heyward goes 1 for 5 with 2 walks. He scored twice in the game and added his 12th stolen base on the season.

Short Season:
Josh Vitters - 3B - Boise Hawks
Vitters went 2 for 4 on the day. He hit a double scored a run and added a walk.

Rookie:
Aaron Hicks - RF - GCL Twins
Hicks has been the best of the 2008 drafted players for the Posse. Today he went 1 for 3, with an RBI and a couple of walks.


Juan Duran - RF - DSL Reds
Duran went 1 for 3 with a walk. He drove in 2 runs on his lone single.

Down on the Farm: Monday June 23rd

Star of the Day:
Jeremy Hellickson - SP - Vero Beach Rays
Hellickson has just been awesome his last three appearances. After fighting through a blister for 2 starts (where he threw 7 innings in total, allowing only 1 hit, no walks and striking out 10), he came back to throw 7 shut out innings last night allowing only 1 runner (via hit) and striking out 4. After throwing 76.2 innings in High A ball this year, allowing only 69 runners and striking out 83, Hellickson was promoted to AA Montgomery.

AAA:
Jeff Niemann - SP - Durham Bulls
With Hellickson and Price on his heals I am not sure if Niemann will ever make it in Tampa Bay. Fighting back from an injury (what else is new), Niemann tossed 5 innings of 2 hit ball. The good news is that he gave up no runs. The bad news is he walked 5.

Low A:
Jason Heyward - RF - Rome Braves
Heyward went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. He is now hitting .332/.390/.490 on the season.

Neftali Feliz - SP - Clinton LumberKings
Most nights a performance like this would get you the Player of the Day, but Feliz was upstaged by the Hellickson promotion. Feliz went 6 innings allowing only 5 baserunners and striking out 10 players. Feliz has had back to back double digit strikeout performances and has only allowed 6 earned runs over his last 53 innings pitched.

Short Season:
Aaron Hicks - CF - GCL Twins
Hicks made his professional debut going 2 for 4 with a couple singles.

Neil Ramirez - SP - Spokane Indians
Ramirez makes this list for the first time. After a rough first start for 2008, he bounces back allowing only 4 runners (2 hits and 2 walks) over 5 innings of 1 run ball. In the process, Ramirez struck out 6 batters.

Posse prospects signs with Twins

Today the Minnesota Twins announced the signing of Posse prospect outfielder Aaron Hicks. Hicks was a first round draft selection of the Minnesota Twins, and was chosen as an outfielder. He is a five-tool talented prospect that most likely will be targeted for right field in the Twins organization, which also is where Posse management would prefer to see him play. "We are very happy to hear that Aaron was able to come to terms with the Twins. This means he will most likely be a valuable resource to the Posse franchise sooner than if he went the college route.", stated GM Luddington.

Hicks, who is a switch-hitter and throws righthanded, batted .473 (44-for-134) with 12 doubles, five triples, 50 runs scored, 37 walks, four home runs, 23 rbi and 37 stolen bases in 34 games. The righthander also had a record of 8-2, 1.16 (72.1 ip, 12 er) with 112 strikeouts and a batting average against of .157 (41-for-261) as a senior for Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. He was a 2007 Aflac All-American and his high school team began the 2008 season in defense of their national title ranked number one overall in the Baseball America/National High School Baseball Coaches Association Poll.

Hicks, 18, has a batting average of .407 (114-for-280), with six home runs, 24 doubles, 10 triples, 53 rbi and 107 stolen bases in 97 games over his last three high school seasons. He was named to the second team of the Louisville Slugger Preseason High School All-American Team and is a product of Major League Baseball's Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California.

He will start his professional career with the Gulf Coast League Twins after signing for approximately $1.7M.

Day 1 of MLB Draft has some Ups and Downs for the Posse

Well the first day of the MLB draft had some highlights and some lowlights for the Oak Ridges Posse. The best news of the day came with four Oak Ridges Posse being taken in the first round, with Tim Beckham leading off the round to Tampa Bay and Casey Kelly closing out the round to Boston.

Beckham going to Tampa Bay is very good news. The Rays have a very good young team and will probably move Beckham quite quick. He is a natural shortstop that should end up batting around #2 in the lineup with protection from the like of BJ Upton, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena.

Posse management is ecstatic to have Kelly going to Boston. The Red Sox have been a great drafting organization the last few years and will be willing to buy Casey out of his Tennessee scholarship. He will have a ton of shortstop competition in Boston against the likes Jed Lowrie and Oscar Tejeda.

In between those two the Posse had two other players go in the first with Kyle Skipworth going to the Florida Marlins and Aaron Hicks going as an OFer to the Minnesota Twins. Skipworth to the Marlins was a very pleasant surprise as they do a great job developing their youngsters, and there are no obstacles at catcher for Skipworth. The same could be said for Hicks as he will now stay in the OF, probably in RF, where the Twins will try and develop the toolsy star. There are no obstacles out there for Hicks, except with the Twins checkered past for developing prep players. For every Joe Mauer (who no one could screw up) there has been a Eduardo Morlan, Kyle Waldrop, Danny Rams, Chris Parmelee and Michael Restovich.

For all the positives there were some negatives as well. As expected, prep pitcher Alex Meyer proved to be a nearly impossible sign and has gone undrafted. He will most likely attend University of Kentucky and be the #1 rated college freshman. Also joining UofK's pitching staff will be fellow undrafted prep pitcher Daniel Webb. Third baseman Harold Martinez saw his stock tank in the last couple months and it looks like he will be heading to University of Miami. There is still a chance that both Webb and Martinez could be drafted, but a team will most likely have to go about slot to keep them from college.

The biggest surprise in my opinion was Isaac Galloway, who has gone undrafted. There has been no noise of him being a difficult sign and I really thought he would go in the second round. He did not and it will probably take a team willing to go above slot to buy him away from San Diego State. Come on Boston, New York, Anahiem or Chicago!!!

One player that did slide to the second round was Tim Melville. Melville was drafted by the Kansas City Royals...who had a great first day. He is going to want top 15 money and it sounds like the Royals are willing to pay it given they used an early second rounder on him.

The last player on the draft board for the Posse is JUCO outfielder Devin Shepherd. Shepherd was a top 2006 prospect who was considered a tough sign for Minnesota. He went to Oklahoma, left the team half way through the year. Then he committed to North Carolina State only to back out and spend 2007-8 at College of Southern Nevada. After a rough start to the year he came on strong at the end hitting for .343 with good on base. What has not developed is his power (which should be there) and his maturity. In November Devin committed to Oregon State only to be rumored to change his mind and commit to UC Santa Barbara. I really expect Shepherd to slide in this draft now and he will attend college again.

Looking toward tomorrow's MLB Draft

As is the case every year, one of the Posse managements favorite days of the year is the MLB draft. Each year, the Posse have a good group of prospects in the draft and this year is no different.



This year the Posse expect to have at least four players chosen in the first round, including a couple in the top ten selections. The number in the first round could reach as high as six if signability concerns decrease.


Leading the charge this year is shortstop Tim Beckham. Beckham is a probable top five pick in this draft and could go as high as first overall. He brings a complete game to the field with very strong defensive skills and a complete game with the bat. Posse management see Beckham competing with Justin Jackson as the future after Derek Jeter.


Also expected to go in the top ten selections is recently drafted Kyle Skipworth. Skipworth will be drafted as a catcher and brings a very strong bat to the field. He has the ability to hit for both average and power. He also has very good defensive abilities and the only concern with him sticking at catcher is whether he gets too big for the position. Posse management hopes he can stay at catcher and compete with Chris Snyder as the successor to Jorge Posada.


The third of the first round probables is pitching prospect Tim Melville. Melville is probably the top rated high school pitcher in this draft with both a plus curveball and plus fastball which he delivers cleanly from hit 6'5" body. Historically teams do not like to take prep pitching prospects in the first round, but that mold was shattered last year with eight selected last year and many of them are seen as top of the rotation starters.


The next four prospects will be really interesting to see where they end up, and for very different reasons. Aaron Hicks leads that group as probably a first round candidate as a toolsy outfielder or a first round candidate as a power pitcher. The question is not whether he goes in the first round but whether he is drafted as an outfielder or pitcher. Posse management is hoping as an outfielder, and that Hicks will have a future role in either centerfield or right field.

Casey Kelly could go in the first round or could go completely undrafted. Kelly brings great defensive skills at shortstop and also brings a potential power bat to the position. He is a great athlete, which is part of the problem as he is also a highly recruited quarterback and could go to Tennessee as a starting shortstop and quarterback. Posse management is hoping he could become a third shortstop prospect with Jackson and Beckham.


Alex Meyer is probably the one that will fall the most from this group. He is still a first round talent, as the 6'7" righthander has a plus fastball and nasty breaking ball. The challenge is he wants to go to college and many will waste a high draft pick on that risk. Meyer will probably either go undrafted or will be taken with a 5th-10th rounder by a team willing to spend. The only way he will not go to Kentucky is if hr is offered first round money.


Isaac Galloway has long be thought of a first round talent, but some concern over his ability to hit has decreased his stock this spring. Galloway has the tools to be a strong offensive player as he has plus bat speed and typically makes solid contact. Whichever team drafts him will probably have to adjust his swing to bring some power into his game. Defensively, Galloway is a gold glove potential centerfielder. Posse management hopes this Torii Hunter clone can make the necessary adjustments to become their Torii Hunter of the future.


Daniel Webb is a power pitching prospect that currently is a work in progress on his secondary pitches. Webb has the ability of being a top of the rotation starter if he learns to throw some secondary pitches or could end up being a closer. Posse management expect he will be drafted in the second to fifth rounds, will start of as a starter but will eventually make the majors as a reliever.


Oh how one's stock can drop...from the next ARod to the next University of Miami third baseman. That is the story of Harold Martinez. Six months ago Martinez was a first round talent that had the tools to become a top five selection. After a horrible senior season, he will most likely be drafted late and will head to Miami. The only way that path will be changed is if someone believes a few tweaks could take advantage of his raw skillset.

Posse get busy in Minor League Draft

Unlike past years, the Posse entered the MDBL minor draft with only four spots available to be filled but that did not mean they were not busy. Posse management made three selections in the draft portion and also completed two trades that brought some additional young options to the fold and some picks for the future.


"We entered this draft with specific players we wanted to acquire and we are happy to say we got many of the guys we were targeting", stated GM Luddington.


The Posse had two selections in the first round (including the 9th overall selection) and then had to wait until the compensation round to make their third selection. With their first selection they went for 17 year old Seattle shortstop Carlos Triunfel. Triunfel was signed as an internation free agent in 2006 by the Mariners and was assigned to Low A Wisconsin, which is quite rare for a young 17 year old. Baseball America currently projects Triunfel to be a 5-tool premium position player, and so far he is demonstrating many of the tools. Currently Triunfel is showing he has a very mature bat as he has demonstrated the ability to hit both fastballs and offspeed pitches and uses the whole field. He also has demonstrate very good range defensively and a great arm. What Carlos has not shown yet is the ability to take a walk, which may never come, and the ability to hit for power, which is expected to come. "We are extremely excited about Carlos. Only one other player on our list received a rating similar to Carlos. We expect he will replace Derek Jeter in a few years.", claimed GM Luddington.


To conclude the first round the Posse went the usual route they go for during the draft and that is to select the top talented "next draft" prospects. California High School junior Isaac Galloway was the first target on that list. Galloway is a 5-tool prospect that has the ability to hit for both power and steal bases. His package seems to be very similar to current Posse prospect Andrew McCutchen. Posse management then orchestrated a trade, which could not be completed until after the draft, by sending recently acquired prospects Carlos Gonzalez, Joel Guzman and CJ Henry to the Rampage for the next pick after Galloway, a compensation pick, a player acquired through the auction and the Rampage 2008 1st round minor league draft pick. With the sandwich pick just acquired they Rampage selected on behalf of the Posse, California high school junior Aaron Hicks. "To be honest, the direction of the first round really forced us to react.", stated GM Luddington. "So many high schoolers went in the first round, and when the Millers took Eric Hosmer (who we rated #3 on our 2008 high school list) we got worried that we would not get our top two 2008's. We got Galloway with one, but did not think Hicks would make it until our next pick in the compensation round. Giving up Gonzalez was difficult but with current outfield youngsters Quentin, Maybin, McCutchen and Marrero we figured we could afford to. Guzman and Henry were really throw in's to balance out the rosters to 36. In return, we got Hicks who we covet, we got what should amount to a top 3 pick in the 2008 draft and we knew we probably would get a couple solid pitching prospects late".


The Posse did not pick again until the compensation round where they made two selection. The first one was made by the Posse and they took another high school junior, but this time it was Harold Martinez from Florida. "We have been following Martinez probably longer then any prospect since we took over the reigns in Oak Ridges. In our opinion Martinez and Triunfel are very similar players, and both have the tools to be superstars. This allows us to be extremely deep at SS as both join Justin Jackson on our depth chart" With the second compensation pick, the Posse had the Rampage select Yu Darvish from Japan. This is actually the second time GM Luddington has drafted Yu Darvish, with the first time being when Darvish was a high school senior in Japan and GM Luddington was running the show for NAFTA. "There is no pitcher I wanted in this draft more then Yu, but I also knew I could get him later in the draft. I first draft Darvish because I knew he had the talent and rolled the dice that he may come to the majors instead of the Japanese league. That did not pay off, but I knew that in a few more years I would re-acquire him.", claimed FM Luddington. Darvish was draft 1st overall, and at the age of 20 is already in his third full season in Japan. So far he is the "next one" in Japan as he already has started 10 games, tossed 80 innings, allowed opponents to bat only .167 against him, walked only 19 batters, struck out 9.11 players per 9 innings and compiled a 2.03 ERA....and he is only 20! Darvish cannot become a free agent for 6 more years, but he is expected to be posted earlier then that. When asked about how long it will be until Darvish will be in a Posse uniform Luddington stated "It is worth the wait. Any high schooler is probably 4-5 years away anyways, wo there is not much of a difference. Just a more experienced and proven option."


In the midst of the compensation round, the Posse made another trade, but this one was much more surprising as they dealt top high school senior Matt Harvey to the Pioneers for Los Angeles Angels Korean youngster Young-Il Jung and the Pioneers 1st and 2nd rounders in the 2008 minor league draft. "Basically we were approached by the Pioneers about acquiring Harvey. We love Harvey's talent but also recognize that Matt's family are very close with the Pioneers management. We actually feel that Jung has as much talent as Matt and were able to acquire another 1st round pick for next year.". Sounds like a win-win trade! Jung is a 17 year old pitcher that has three above average offerings and has the ability to become a #2 or #3 starter. He currently is pitching extremely well in extended spring.


In the auction round the Posse picked up two more players, taking high school junior Casey Kelly and high school senior Neil Ramirez. Ramirez was the final player acquired in the Rampage trade and has the pure stuff to be a top of the rotation starter but so far has not shown any consistency. Casey Kelly was ranked 5th on the Rampage's high school junior draft board, but also brings a ton of doubters with him. Kelly is an incredibe athlete who can be a top notch baseball prospect as either a pitcher or as a hitter. He has a large frame and will probably outgrow shortstop, but a move to either third base or right field is an option. He has all the tools to do either. He also happens to be one of the top pitching prospects, as evidence by taking the ball in the Florida 6A finals and throwing a complete game 2 hit shutout including striking out top high school senior Michael Main 3 times. What raises questions around Kelly is that he also plays quarterback in football and may not be willing to give up that sport. The good news is he is not being recruited by many top football programs (Alabama, Duke, Ole Miss, Rutgers, South Florida, Tennessee and UCF).


"We are extremely happy with this draft. We acquired top talent at key positions which is always our goal", stated GM Luddington. The Posse also have three first round picks and two second round picks in 2008.