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.

Posse make high school catcher first selection in minor league draft

The Posse announced today the selection of High School catcher Kyle Skipworth with their first, first round selection. Skipworth was the third player selected in the draft behind Geovany Soto and Aaron Crow.



"We are very excited to add Kyle to our organization. He brings a complete package of a power contact bat that also has the ability to field his position well.", stated GM Shawn Luddington. "Not only was he the top rated available player on our board, but he also plays a position that we are focused on stocking right now".

In the short term the Posse probably do not have a need for a catcher as they have Jorge Posada and Chris Snyder in the majors, but in the minors the story is much different. "We have not had much luck building from within on that position. We came into the season with Hank Conger and Danny Rams. Conger is out currently with an injury and we decided to part ways with Rams as he was not progressing to the level we expect. Kyle and Hank should give us two potential star catchers that will be ready when Jorge retires".

Skipworth is a big bodied catcher who has the potential of outgrowing the position. Right now he has the overall skillset to remain at the position. He has plus bat speed, good power, soft hands and an above-average arm.

Oak Ridges Posse Annual Scouting Trip

Every year the Oak Ridges Posse management team make a spring trip down to Florida to scout some of the prospects in the area. Last year we made visits to Jupiter to see Florida Marlin prospects Chris Volstad and Sean West. We then visited Monsignor Pace High School to see third baseman Chris Marrero and shortstop Adrian Cardenes.

Today we are announcing the 2007 Florida Scouting Schedule.

Wednesday March 14th we will be watching Monarchs prospect Matt Latos toss for Broward Community College. He will be taking the mound and we already received our invite from Broward coach Bob Deutschman.

Friday March 16th we will be attending the University of Miami Hurricans game against Maryland. The Hurricanes have intriging prospects like Yonder Alonso, Jemile Weeks and Ryan Jackson (who we saw play for Gulliver Prep back in 2005)

Tuesday March 20th we will be visiting Posse catching prospect Danny Rams of Gulliver Prep as he takes on Coral Shores.

We also plan on making a trip up to Orlando on the 17th and 18th and therefore may find some time to stop by the Atlanta Braves minor league complex and check out Prickly Pears Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Manatees Van Pope and a few others.

Posse have six prospects named to Preseason All-American first team

Baseball America announced today the 2007 Preseason All-American High School teams today and the Posse had a MDBL leading six prospects on the first team, three prospects on the second team and one prospect on the third team.

Leading the way on the first team are third base prospect Josh Vitters, shortstop prospect Justin Jackson, outfield prospects Jason Heyward and Michael Burgess and pitching prospects Blake Beavan and Matt Harvey. All six of these players are expected to be first round draft selections in June MLB draft.

On the second team are first base prospect Freddie Freeman, catching prospect Danny Rams and third base prospect Matt Dominguez.

Christian Colon is the only Posse prospect on the third team.

Josh Vitters, Cypress (Calif.) HSA treat of last summer's showcase circuit was the five days Vitters spent playing third base opposite Chatsworth (Calif.) High's Matt Dominguez at the Area Code Games. They both have outstanding bat speed and a knack for squaring balls with wood bats, but Vitters' feel for hitting is unrivaled among this year's high school hitters. He's the younger brother of Christian, who signed with the Athletics as a 10th-round pick in 2006 following three years at Fresno State. Josh could be the first high school player drafted this year.

Justin Jackson, Roberson HS, Asheville, N.C.Having played alongside Tigers prospect and 2005 first-round choice Cameron Maybin and growing up as the son of former big leaguer Chuck Jackson, Justin's pedigree is impressive. His swing is longer than Dent's, but he's a more refined player, with savvy, feel, soft hands and an extraordinary arm.

Michael Burgess, Hillsborough HS, TampaBurgess and righthander Rick Porcello were the only unanimous choices as first-teamers this year. A product of the same high school as Doc Gooden and Gary Sheffield, Burgess boasts huge raw power and a ferocious approach at the plate. He was one of three underclassmen to be named to last year's postseason All-America teams and his power will be tough to pass up during the first half of this year's first round.

Jason Heyward, Henry County HS, McDonough, Ga.Like Davis and Burgess, Heyward is a lefthanded hitter with superb athletic ability. He lacks Davis' speed and Burgess' power, but his instincts and feel for all phases of the game are valuable assets. He has never missed a high school game in three years, and led his school to a Georgia Class 4-A title in 2006.

Blake Beavan, Irving (Texas) HSUSA Baseball's junior national team fell a run short of winning a gold medal during the World Junior Championship in Cuba last September, but Beavan put Team USA in position when he dominated Cuba in a showdown in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, in an elimination game. His delivery isn't without its flaws, but he has a nasty two-pitch mix that he delivers from a low-three-quarters arm slot and a big, durable frame.

Matt Harvey, Fitch HS, Groton, Conn.Harvey enters the spring as the top player in the prep class, but not without some debate. He's tall, lean and projectable, has flashed 96 mph heat and owns a filthy, if inconsistent curveball. He wasn't as sharp as Beavan for Team USA in Cuba, and will have fewer opportunities to acquit himself this spring in the chilly New England weather where high school seasons are abbreviated.