Baseball America released their third mock draft on Friday morning and they have Indiana catcher Kyle Schwarber going to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s a familiar name from BA, but not who they had in their last mock draft for the Pirates. They had prep outfielder Monte Harrison(see more below), who they now moved up to the 16th spot.
Schwarber went 1-for-3 with a homer, walk and stolen base yesterday. The homer was his 11th of the season and the stolen base was his ninth, though speed won’t be a part of his game in the pros. He went 0-for-4 in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament. We covered Schwarber in our third draft preview, complete with a scouting report and video. Basically, he is a big lefty bat that would fit well at PNC and will likely end up at first base in the pros, though some give him a shot at a corner outfield spot due to his arm.
News and Notes
Yesterday, we posted our fourth draft preview featuring Virginia outfielder Derek Fisher, Vanderbilt pitcher Tyler Beede, prep pitcher Sean Reid-Foley and prep outfielder Monte Harrison.
Tyler Beede pitched yesterday and did not have a good day due to some control issues. It was an elimination game from the SEC Tournament, so a lot of people were watching to see how he would handle the big game situation. He took the loss, allowing four runs(three earned) over six innings, giving up just three hits, but he walked five and hit two batters. Beede had four strikeouts. Baseball America still has him going 12th in today’s mock draft.
Derek Fisher went 1-for-5, though that one hit was his third home run of the season. Virginia lost to Maryland behind the pitching of Jake Stinnett, who was a 29th round draft pick of the Pirates last year. Stinnett has pitched great most of this season and he could be drafted as high as the second round. Baseball America has Fisher 31st in their latest mock draft.
In our first draft preview, we covered Hartford pitcher Sean Newcomb, who now looks like he will go in the 10-15 range and he didn’t do anything to hurt his draft stock yesterday against Binghamton in the American East Tournament. In seven innings, he gave up one unearned run on two hits and four walks, while picking up a career-high 14 strikeouts. He threw 121 pitches, 76 for strikes. He hit 97 MPH according to those at the game. Baseball America has him 10th in their new mock draft.
Also covered with Newcomb in that first draft preview, was Wichita State first baseman Casey Gillaspie. He had four Missouri Valley Conference games this week, including a Thursday doubleheader. On Tuesday, he went 0-for-4 with a walk. Wednesday he was 0-for-2 with three walks. On Thursday, he was 2-for-8 with two walks. He got on base via walks, but a 2-for-14 with no RBIs in tournament play doesn’t look good this time of year. Baseball America has him 28th in the new mock draft. Gillaspie has been linked to the Pirates numerous times this year.
Baseball America released their top 200 draft prospect list, with scouting reports and videos for many of the players. Definitely worth checking out and saving for draft day when they get past the first couple rounds.
