CWS and NBA Draft coverage

Hey everybody, it's been a very long time since I've had a chance to write. My time has been greatly diminished in the past few weeks starting a new job and with my trip to Omaha. I promise to start writing more frequently in the coming months. 

There has been a multitude of stories that have been out there in past few weeks. The USA soccer team in South Africa (disappointing), TCU making the semi-finals of the CWS (exhilarating), the NBA draft, Vince Young getting in trouble, and the Texas Rangers becoming the hottest team in all of baseball led by MVP candidate Josh Hamilton. I can't catch up on everything right now so I'd like to hit on 2 things tonight. I want to start with a few thoughts on the CWS and the TCU Horned Frogs. 

• First off, I am ecstatic that I was able to see the final CWS at historical Rosenblatt Stadium. The stadium architecture is from a different era similar to the styles of Fenway and old Tiger Stadium, albeit on a smaller scale. The atmosphere of the college game is much different than a pro game. The players all have a sense of awe and excitement when they play that is different than the professional athletes. Whether it's the left fielder throwing a beach ball back into the stands to wild applause from the crowd or Kyle Parker actually acknowledging a fan's question on whether or not he would go pro, the college players act as if they are just living a dream. It's a great thing to witness and I would recommend it to anybody considering going. 
• Now as to what I saw while I was there. TCU was obviously the fan favorite from the time they arrived in Omaha. All of the shops were selling out of TCU shirts and hats by the 2nd day. Matt Purke started the Series off with a dominating performance in game 1 of Florida State. Purke, a left-hander, throws in the low to mid 90's and looked to have an extremely advanced breaking ball. He threw his change-up in all counts and looked confident in all 3 pitches. He pitches with a certain confidence that borders on arrogance, but in a good way. Purke sprints on and off the field and is an extremely high energy pitcher who reminds me of CJ Wilson. This was obvious in the Super Regionals against Texas as well. There is little doubt in my mind that Purke should be a top 10-15 pick in next year's draft, and a guy that the Rangers will very much wish they had been able to sign. 
• TCU is a very deep team who will be very good next year as well. They have a few legit prospects for next year's draft behind Purke. Soph OF Jason Coats, Soph SS Taylor Fetherston, Soph P Kyle Winkler, and Soph P Kaleb Merck all impressed this season, and should be key cogs next year as well.  TCU will have to replace three great players in 1B Matt Curry, C Bryan Holaday (maybe the best C in the NCAA), and SP Steven Maxwell (MWC Pitcher of the Year). These 3 won't be easy to replace but expect TCU to continue to recruit well, and stay on the national radar for the near future. 
• UCLA has the best pitching staff in all of College Baseball. I know they lost tonight to South Carolina, but I believe they are the best team there. Former Yankee first rounder Gerrit Cole (Soph), Trevor Bauer (Soph), Rob Rasmussen (2nd round pick this year by Marlins), Garret Claypool (SR), and Closer Dan Klein (Soph) make up the best staff in college baseball. I saw Bauer, Cole, and Klein pitch, and all looked unhittable.  Bauer and Cole both hit 96 on the radar gun as late as the 6th inning. Cole's slider looked unhittable against TCU, and Bauer curveball looked nearly as filthy against Florida. I would not be surprised at all to see Bauer and Cole in the 1st round mix next year come draft time. 

I could write all day about what I saw in Omaha last week. I could give a detailed outlook on every team as well as a good number of players. I would love to write about 1st round pick Kyle Parker's showing, or the power that Rangers 18th round pick Garrett Buechele displayed but I can't do all that here. If you have any specific thoughts or questions, drop me a comment and I'll get to em. 

The 2010 NBA Draft

Next let's take a quick look at what the Mavs did in the Draft this year. For a team coming in with no 1st round picks they did extremely well. The Mavs gave the Grizzlies $3 million for the rights to the 25th pick where the Mavericks drafted SG Dominique Jones from South Florida University. The Mavericks used their 2nd round choice on C Soloman Alabi but immediately sent him to Toronto for a 2013 2nd round pick. That could be a good deal as Toronto is expected to slide after losing Bosh via Free Agency. GM Donnie Nelson called Mark Cuban the "MVP of the draft"  after the deal that allowed the the Mavericks to get Jones. Here's why:

Dominique Jones is a huge sign for the Dallas Mavericks. Jones could quickly become the guy I think we've been missing on the wing for years. Jones, a 6' 4" 215 pound 2-guard, proved he could be a big time scorer in the toughest conference in college basketball, the Big East. Jones led USF in scoring all 3 years he was there and is 5th all-time. Jones was a 1st-Team All Big East player and a finalist for the Wooden and Naismith Awards. Jones was also the only player at the Division 1 level to average 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game this year. 

Jones already has an NBA ready body, and has proven he can handle physical play. Jones was without a doubt the best player on his team in college and frequently saw face guarding and double teams from some of the best Defensive teams in the country while still putting up tremendous numbers. One thing that Jones gives Dallas is the ability to drive the basketball and get to the line. Jones is 1st in school history in free throws attempted while shooting 75%. Jones is able to use his size and physicality to get to the rim and get fouled. The only guy the Mavs have who can break down an opponent and get to the rim consistently is Roddy B. Jones could be the athletic scoring 2-guard the Mavs have been looking for ever since Finley left in 2005. 

Jones does have some weaknesses. He has never been considered a lock down defender. In order to play the 2 in the NBA he's going to have to guard guys like Kobe, Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Wade and others. The Mavericks have Caron and Marion who can guard some of those guys now, but at some point Jones is going to have to be the man. He also is going to have to work on his shooting range. Jones was only a 31% shooter this year from 3. Jones is going to need to be able to at least hit in the mid 30 %'s to keep people honest and take his game to the next level. 

Dominique Jones was a guy I really fell in love with during the college season. I loved watching him play the few times USF was on TV. He's a guy who can be a dynamic scorer and a game changer. He is one of the few guys I watched this year at the college level where I really wanted to see what he was going to do next. There was a span in early January where his point totals went like this: 26, 30, 28, 20, 21, 48, 28, 37, 29. In all of these games, except 1 vs Cincinnati, Jones went to the line more than 10 times!! 

Jones has the ability to make a difference in Dallas for the next many years. Jones has already been assigned to play in the Vegas summer league where he will pair up with Roddy B at the starting guard positions. Don't be surprised if they are suiting up in the Dallas starting lineup for the majority of the next decade. 

Rangers Add New Players to System

The MLB 1st year player draft concluded today with rounds 31-50. As I expected their were some very big surprises throughout the draft. Some guys fell much further than expected (Cox) while others were taken much higher than originally thought (Loux). My mock draft, as I assumed, pegged only 5 guys completely correct, with 7 guys getting drafted by the team I originally had them going to. The Rangers definitely made some surprise picks in the early rounds. It was quite obvious early that they were working with a well defined budget, and had a plan of how to work with that budget. Let's take a look at the Rangers top picks:

1.15 Josh Skole, OF, Blessed Trinity High School (GA)- Skole is an extremely toolsy OF who has drawn Grady Sizemore comparisons. He has signed with Georgia Tech to play Safety on the football team and CF for the baseball team. This was a genius pick by the front office when taking into account the budget. Because of Skole's football scholarship the Rangers are able to spread Skole's signing bonus out over a 5 year span, thus saving us money for this year. Skole was considered an easy sign, and in fact has already signed a contract and will be in Arizona working out next week.
Skole was injured for almost the entire season with an ankle injury and only played 6 games in the playoffs. His stats for the 6 games: 452 avg, 6 home runs, 21 RBI's. Skole was clocked at 4.48 in the 40 yd dash and is considered an outstanding athlete who consistently drives the baseball. The Rangers insist Skole was not a signability pick, but was in fact on top of their draft board. Daniels believes that had Skole not been injured all year he would have gone in the top 15 picks. Skole had more helium in the weeks leading up to the draft than any other player and was even rumored to be a possibly Bluejay target at #11.

1.22 Kellin Deglan, C, R.E. Mountain Secondary School (British Columbia)- Deglan is a rare high school catching prospect from Canada. High school catchers are by the far the riskiest position to draft in the first round. However, Deglan is considered to be an advanced catcher both at the plate and behind it. Deglan has excellent pop times at just under 2 seconds and is considered quite athletic behind the plate. He is a lefty hitter who drives the ball, but is more of a line drive hitter at this point of his career. Deglan has played for the Canadian U-18 international team in tournaments all over the world and has looked very good. The Rangers are very high on his leadership and makeup and believe he can be an above average catcher in the major leagues. Deglan has already signed a contract with the Rangers which is reported at just under 1 Mil, or slightly under-slot.

1-supp (45) Luke Jackson, P, Calvary Christian Academy (FLA)- Jackson, 6'2 180, is another guy who had a lot of helium coming into draft day. He was originally considered a 4-6 round pick but shot up the draft boards and was being connected to multiple teams in the supplemental round and 2nd round. Jackson is relatively raw, having not started pitching or playing baseball full-time until the 9th grade. Jackson sits between 91-94 and touched 96 this year. His curveball and changeup are still inconsistent, but most prep pitchers are. Jackson may be a tougher sign than the first two with his University of Miami commit.

1-supp (49) Mike Olt, 3B, University of Connecticut- Olt has awesome power having set the UConn school record with 48 career homers as well as winning the Big East's 1st Home Run Derby. Olt, a former shortstop, is also considered to be an outstanding defensive player at the hot corner. His biggest weakness is his ability to make consistent contact having struck out 54 times in 264 AB's in a relatively weaker conference up north. Olt's profile resembles that of last years 2nd round pick Tommy Mendonca very strongly. The Rangers have spent picks in the top 2 rounds on 3B 4 times in the past 5 years (Olt, Mendonca, Matt West, Johnny Wittleman) hoping one of them pans out. The other 3 haven't shown much improvement at all this year. Maybe Olt will be the breakout 3B the team is looking for.

Others of note:

2.22 Cody Buckel, P, Royal HS (CAL)- Undersized pitcher out of California sits 92-94 and has decent movement. His biggest selling point is that he has control over 3 breaking pitches: curveball, changeup, and cutter. Buckel is considered somewhat of an overdraft, but the Rangers like undersized pitchers (Kiker, Ross, Erlin), and his mix of breaking pitches could get him to the bigs.

3.22 Jordan Aikins, OF, Union Grove HS (GA)- Aikins is considered the best athlete out of Georgia this year (which means a lot). He signed with Central Florida to play WR and CF and is considered by most to be a difficult sign. Aikins is somewhat raw, but has a plus arm, plus speed and good bat speed. There was a report out today saying Aikins is actually leaning towards signing with Texas rather than playing football which would be a nice steal for Texas.

5.22 Justin Grimm, P, University of Georgia- Grimm, 6'4" 195, was the closer for a bad Georgia team. Grimm has excellent stuff including a fastball that sits around 95. He also is very wild and has been extremely inconsistent at Georgia posting a career 5.8 era. If Grimm can harness his stuff he could be a solid reliever down the road.

7.22 James Reyes, P, Elon College- Reyes is another undersized pitcher at 5'10", but was dominant at times at Elon. His lefthanded sinker sits between 88-91 and has tons of movement. Early in the year he was overthrowing it which caused it to lose movement which made him less effective. He could be an interesting guy to watch.

9.22 Zach Osborne, P, Louisiana Layfayette- Osborne was the top starter for a solid ULL team. He shut out Rice 1-0 in his only regional start and obviously has pretty good stuff.

18.22 Garrett Buechele, 3B, Oklahoma- Garrett is the son of former Ranger 3B and current Frisco manager Steve Buechele. Garrett is the top hitter for an Oklahoma team who is competing in the super regional this weekend hitting 16 home runs this year.

30.22 Brian Ragira, OF, Arlington Martin HS (TEX)- Ragira is one of the best prep power hitters this year. He is considered a near impossible sign with a very strong commitment to Stanford. If there was any way we could talk him out of that, our draft would instantly look a lot better. Ragira is expected to be a 1st rounder in 2013.


The draft could have gone better for the Rangers had they had the money they usually have. However, considering the circumstances, the Rangers did an excellent job in the draft grabbing multiple guys with extremely high upside. It's no secret the Rangers love athletes and they added a couple top of the line athletes in Skole, Aikins, and even Deglan when factoring in his position. Time will tell how good this draft really was.

MLB Mock Draft

In just under 3 hours the MLB draft will begin. Tonight the 1st round and 1st round supplemental rounds will be broadcasted live. The Rangers possess 4 of the first 50 picks tonight. Only the Angels hold as many as 4 picks tonight. The MLB draft is notoriously much harder to predict than the NBA and NFL drafts. This is mainly because teams are not allowed to trade picks, and some players require high bonuses to be bought out of college commitments. In baseball, unlike other sports, players can be drafted out of high school but choose to go to college rather than sign with a MLB team. This signability of different players is a huge issue in the MLB draft and one that has been deemed a problem for the Rangers by many experts. Jon Daniels has stated that there is room in the budget to go over slot to sign players. We will find out just how true that is in just a few hours. 

With the MLB draft being so hard to predict there have been more than 15 different players connected to the Rangers for these 4 picks. Of course, that means nothing. Last year the Rangers drafted Purke and Scheppers, both surprises to most experts, and the year before they drafted Smoak who wasn't on people's radar for the Rangers. Because of this I hadn't planned on even doing a mock draft, but I think I will just to see how I would do. 

1. Nationals- Bryce Harper, C: Easiest pick to make. This is pretty much a lock. Harper is considered a once in a generation type player. (Klaw, Sickels, Seller: Harper)

2. Pirates- Jameson Taillon, P- Best pitcher in the draft from The Woodlands High School in Houston. Considered a better prospect than former Woodlands pitcher Kyle Drabek. Throws 3 plus pitches. Also a possibility: Manny Machado. (Klaw, Sickels: Taillon, Seller: Machado)

3. Orioles- Manny Machado, SS- If Pirates take Taillon, then the Orioles should take Machado. These 2 could flip.(Klaw, Sickels: Machado, Seller: Taillon)

4. Royals- Yasmani Grandal, C- Report came out that Royals have made an agreement with Grandal this week. (Klaw, Sickels: Grandal, Seller: Pomeranz)

5. Indians- Drew Pomeranz, P- The Indians have been linked to Chris Sale all year, but with Grandal going to KC Pomeranz will fall to Cleveland and he is the best player available. (Klaw, Sickels: Pomeranz, Seller:C. Sale)

6. Diamondbacks- Chris Sale, P- The Diamondbacks are expected to take whichever lefty the Indians don't take. Sale therefore is the pick here. (Klaw: Loux, Sickels: Sale, Seller: McGuire)

7. Mets- Justin O'Connor, C- O'Connor has been linked to the Rangers for awhile and probably shouldn't be this high. The Mets however, are notoriously cheap in the draft and won't go over slot. O'Connor fits that price. (Klaw, Seller: Cox Sickels: O'Connor)

8. Astros- Zach Cox, 3B- Cox is maybe the best hitter in all of college baseball and 3B is a need position for the Astros. Josh Sale and Michael Choice are also possibilities here. (Sickels: J Sale, KLaw: Deshields, Sellers: Choice)

9. Padres- Kolbrin Vitek, 2b- Vitek is a speedy 2B from Ball St. who shows good pop. This pick should be Vitek or Choice. I'll take Vitek. (KLaw, Seller: Vitek, Sickels: Choice)

10. Athletics- Michael Choice, OF- Choice becomes the highest ever drafted UTA player here. Colon, MI, is another option but the A's drafted middle infielders in the 1st round the last 2 years. (Klaw: C Sale, Sickels: Colon, Sellers: Covey)

11. Bluejays- Josh Sale, OF- The Bluejays like athletes. They would love to get Austin Wilson, but he has HUGE signability issues. With Choice, Cox, and Vitek off the board here I say they take Sale over Delino Deshields and Whitson. (KLaw: Choice, Sickels:Deshields, Seller: Whitson)

12. Reds- Derek McGuire, P- The Reds are almost certainly going to take a college player. Colon is a possibility, as well as pitchers Workman, Wimmers, and McGuire. (KLaw: McGuire, Sickels: Wimmers, Seller: Grandal)

13. Whitesox- Brandon Workman,P- The Whitesox are also expected to take a college pitcher here. With McGuire gone the possibilities include Workman, Wimmers, Wojciechowski, Harvey, and Loux. I'm leaning towards Texas stud Brandon Workman right now. (KLaw:Wojciechowski, Sickels, Seller: Workman)

14. Brewers- Matt Harvey, P- The Brewers are also in the market for a college pitcher. Harvey has tons of upside, but comes with a good amount of risk as well. A higher risk/reward guy than Wimmers, another possibility. (KLaw, Seller: Harvey, Sickels: Jesse Biddle)

15. Rangers- Karsten Whitson, P- Whitson would be a huge pick here. Whitson is expected to be drafted higher but if the draft works out the way I peg it, then he will fall to here. Don't expect the Rangers to let this sort of talent pass them up. Other options include Wimmers,Wojciechowski, and since  gone Harvey, Vitek, and Workman. (KLaw: Workman, Sickels: Vitek, Seller: Wimmers)

16. Cubs- Alex Wimmers, P- The Cubs are expected to go college pitcher. I think Wimmers is the best left. (KLaw, Seller: O'Conner, Sickels: McGuire)

17. Rays- Christian Colon, SS/2B- Colon is a premier player at a position that is thin in the Rays system. He makes sense here to me. (KLaw: Colon, Sickels: Josh Skole, Seller: Josh Sale)

18. Angels- Dylan Covey, P- The Angels are supposed to be looking at high school pitching here. Covey, a tough sign, is the best left. Other possibilities are Stetson Allie and AJ Cole. (KLaw: Covey, Sickels: Allie, Seller: Cole)

19. Astros- Delino DeShields, OF- DeShields is a guy the Astros will think about taking with their first pick. If he's still here they will take him. Sale would be a great pick if he's here. Golden, another athletic OF, could be the pick if DeShields is gone. (KLaw: Josh Sale, Sickels: Reggie Golden, Seller: DeShields)

20. Boston RedSox- Anthony Renaudo, P- Renaudo was a top 5 pick coming into the year but he's missed a large part of the year being hurt, and has been ineffective when he has pitched. Te RedSox are apparently still very high on him though. (KLaw, Seller: Renaudo, Sickels: Cox)

21. Twins- Asher Wojciechowski, P- The Twins are notoriously hard to predict. They are team who does things their own way and aren't swayed by public opinion.Wojciechowski is a guy who has been linked to them over the past few weeks. (KLaw: Wimmers, Sickels:Wojciechowski, Seller: Brentz)

22. Rangers- Kaleb Cowart, P/3B: Cowart is a guy who is expected to demand over $3 Mil, which may make this an impossibility. But, the Rangers are one of the few teams that may let him play 3B which he wants to do. This could make him more signable. This would be a risk for Texas I don't know if they'll take. (KLaw: Whitson, Sickels: Loux, Seller: Cowart)

23. Marlins- Aaron Sanchez, P- Local kid who has been linked strongly to the Marlins. (KLaw: Sanchez, Sickels: Whitson, Seller: Eibner)

24. Giants- Bryce Brentz, OF- If Brentz lasts this long I think the Giants will take him. The Giants are almost certain to take a bat. Brentz is a proven college hitter. Other possibilities include Gyorko and Yordy Cabrera. (KLaw: Gyorko, Sickels: Brentz, Seller: Colon) 

25. Cardinals- Sammy Solis, P- Reports say that the Cardinals love Solis and he will not be available at their next pick. (KLaw: Solis, Sickels: AJ Cole, Seller: Allie)

26. Rockies-   Jesse Hahn, P- The Rockies loved Hahn before the draft, but wasn't expected to fall. With an injury this spring he is considered more of a supplemental pick. The Rockies would love to get him. (KLaw: Allie, Sickels: Kyle Parker, Seller: Hahn)

27. Phillies- Austin Wilson, OF- The Phillies love drafting athletic kids and I think they take a chance on a kid with this much talent here. (KLaw: Biddle, Sickels: Yelich, Seller: Wilson)

28. Dodgers- Cam Bedrosian, P- The Dodgers may not have much money with the financial situation their. Bedrosian should sign close to slot. (KLaw: Cowart, Sickels: Jenkins, Seller: Sanchez)

29. Angels- Peter Tago, P- The Angels love drafting area kids and go with another SoCal kid here. (KLaw, Sickels: Tago, Seller: Castellanos) 

30. Angels- Stetson Allie, P- If this flame-throwing high school kid falls to the Angels they will be very excited. I will not be. (KLaw: Bedrosian, Sickels: Covey, Seller: Blair)

31. Rays- Michael Kvasnicka, C- This pick is unprotected and the Rays are expected to take an easy sign. Kvasnicka would be one. (KLaw: Kvasnicka, Sickels:Eibner, Seller- Wojciechowski)

32. Yankees- Tyrell Jenkins, P- The Yankees are expected to take a risk on one of the two multi-sport athletes from Texas. Jenkins has signed with Baylor to play football and baseball, and Zac Lee has signed with LSU to play QB and baseball. I'm going with Jenkins because I think he's more signable. (KLaw: Jenkins, Sickels: Gyorko, Seller: Lee)

Well the draft is in about an hour. Let's see how I do. Go Rangers!!

Who Holds the Power in the NBA: Players or Owners?

I know the finals start tomorrow evening, but already the majority of fans' thoughts rest on the upcoming free agency class. This class is expected to be the biggest and most talented group ever assembled. With superstars like Lebron, DWade, Amare, Dirk, Bosh, and Joe Johnson all being available, many teams believe they have a shot at changing their franchise's fortunes. The Knicks, Bulls, Nets, Clippers, Heat, and Cavs in particular believe they have a shot at obtaining at least 1 superstar, having freed up cap room to offer max deals this summer. The owners and GM's of teams all across the league are brainstorming for new ways to sell these guys on why their team is the best choice. All of these guys will receive competitive offers from teams all across the league. With this many high profile players being available, the power in the league could shift dramatically in just one off-season. Every owner with cap space believes they have a shot to land Lebron or Wade or Bosh by throwing millions of dollars his way. The question that comes into play here though, is who really holds the power?

Lebron and Wade have both been quoted as saying they would get together this off-season with other free agents and discuss where each would land. An adviser for Chris Bosh has stated that he would follow Lebron to New York or Chicago, or he would follow Wade to New York or Miami if either happened. Lebron has publicly stated how good he thought he would be playing with Chris Bosh. In all of this talking there is no mention of owners or contracts. It's all about where each guy want to play and who he want to play with. Is it out of the question for Lebron to tell the Knicks, "I'll sign, but only if you bring on Bosh"? I think not. If Wade and Lebron are serious about sitting down with other free agents and discussing what they want to do, then this could easily become the most interesting off-season of all time. For the first time I can remember, the power, this year, will truly be with the players.

Lebron James is going to get max offers that differ by only a few million dollars from at least 5 teams. Wade will be the same way. Amare, Johnson, Dirk, Bosh, and other free agents will all wait to see what those 2 guys do. Expect their to be numerous conversations between all of them about where they might land and who might be following. If Lebron and Wade decide to wait until late July or August to decide they will essentially handcuff the owners and the entire NBA for as long as they want. There will be very, very few deals done before Lebron's.

Free agency was designed to allow the players to choose where they want to play. It gave the players power to do as they chose. It weakened the stranglehold organizations had on players. It did not however swing the power away from the owners. How often does a player in any sport take less money from a team because the player likes one team better. Not very often. It does happen. Michael Young did it for Texas. Steve Nash would have for the Mavs if Cuban would have put up the money. My point is that most free agents go the higher bidder. That may not be the case this year. The Cavs and Heat will be the highest bidders for Lebron and Wade. In the NBA, no team can offer a bid higher than the player's current team. If it was only about money then we wouldn't be asking so many questions about what's going to happen. That's what makes it so interesting. It's also what is driving owners crazy. Their pocketbooks become less meaningful.

Starting July 1st when players can officially opt out of contracts and become free agents, the NBA is going to be worth paying extremely close attention to. Lottery teams could become finals favorites and conference finalists could become lottery teams. There is absolutely no way anybody can accurately predict what is going to happen in the coming months. I have an idea on certain guys, but everything could change at any moment. But if there is one thing I know, Lebron, Wade, and the rest of this free agent class are in control of their own destination.