Draft Day 2008: A few thoughts from elsewhere (UPDATED)

Seattle made six picks on the first day of the draft.

Prospect Insider has a few posts. Neither Jason nor Jonathan hold back. To excerpt either would be a disservice.

Here is Larry Stone's article in the Seattle Times about Joshua Fields, Seattle's #1 pick.

"Fields should be one of the first players from this draft to reach the majors, and could get there as quick as Brandon Morrow did," said Jim Callis, executive editor of Baseball America. "His fastball-curveball combination can be pretty unhittable. If he throws enough strikes in spring training, the Mariners will be very tempted to keep him next year."

Looking at a fastball that registers in the mid- to high-90 mph range, and what Mariners scouts refer to as a "power curve" in Fields' repertoire, the club definitely is eyeing him as a late-inning reliever.

"You'd like to say he's close," said Bob Fontaine, the Mariners' vice president of scouting. "I wouldn't want to say a month, a year, two years. But you've got to think, with that kind of stuff as a reliever, you're closer than if you're a starter. A lot of it depends on when he gets started."

Signing Fields could be a challenge, considering that Scott Boras is his adviser, and considering that the Braves couldn't sign him last year after they picked him in the second round (69th overall).

Added: USS MARINER recaps day one. So, does Mariner Minors.

Draft Day 2008

If you aren't already doing so, mlb.com has a draft tracker going on their website.

The Mariners took Josh Fields with the 20th overall pick. Fields is a closer at the University of Georgia and pitches in the low to mid-90s.

Jay at Mariner Minors has a draft primer that I meant to post this morning and is doing a live blog of the draft right now.

I'm sure that Jason at Prospect Insider will have a few things up later today.

Badger State in the draft

Baseball America is doing a state-by-state preview of the upcoming MLB entry draft. It is behind the subscriber wall, but the title and the lede probably tell you all you need to know.

Badger State probably won't have any early-round picks

Wisconsin has been good for at least one early-round pick in each of the last four drafts, from Erik Cordier (Royals, second round in 2004) to Greg Reinhard (Rays, sixth in 2005) to Tony Butler (Mariners, third in 2006) to Ryan Zimmermann (Nationals, second in 2007) and Andrew Paulauskas (Marlins, seventh in 2007). But the Badger State is barren this time around and may not have a single player chosen in the first 15 rounds.

St. Norbert shortstop Adam Frost is considered the top draft prospect in the state by BA. Here is the write up on a Fox Cities High Schooler who may go:

The best high school prospect in the state is righthander Phil Schreiber [Kaukauna HS]. He repeats his mechanics well and has a sturdy frame, but he's also just 6 feet and 185 pounds and operates at 86-88 mph with his fastball. He showed more velocity last summer in showcases. He'll flash a hard slider but he often gets under it, costing him velocity and break. Schreiber will attend Iowa if he doesn't turn pro.

Are you mocking me?

No. It's just Jim Callis and his mock first round of the 2008 draft at the Baseball America website.

Let's take a look at his thinking for Seattle.

20. MARINERS. Seattle grabbed a high school righthander with Phillippe Aumont at No. 11 last year, and they could go for another in 2008, especially if none of them have gone off the board yet. That would give the Mariners their choice of Melville, Ethan Martin (Georgia) and Jake Odorizzi (Illinois). If they wanted to try to duplicate their success with Brandon Morrow, they could go for Texas Christian closer Andrew Cashner.

Projected Pick: TIM MELVILLE.

Mellville? Who?

Up in the St. Louis pick (#13), Callis mentions Mellville as the best local high school prospect in the draft. Since Callis is talking about the Cardinals, that would mean a Missouri high schooler, right?

His profile is hidden behind the subscription wall, but here is a taste on Mellville, who is out of Holt High School in Wentzville, MO.

Melville hasn't pitched as well as he did last summer, when he tore up the showcase circuit, with his velocity slightly down and his curveball losing some tightness. He struggled in his first two starts but was throwing better as the draft approached, operating from 91-94 mph with his fastball and flashing a plus curve on a more regular basis.

Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider also has a Mock Draft, it has a table and everything!

He has the best player available (based on other sources) at #20 as Casey Kelley, a shortstop/RHP. He the best player available (based on his own observations) as Jake Ordozzi, a RHP. He has the pick as 3B/RHP Ethan Martin.