Ackley is the North Carolina starting first baseman. The guy can absolutely rake there's no question about that. He hit .419 as a sophomore last season and is currently hitting over .400 this season. The question isn't whether or not he can hit. The question is how much power he can hit for and where is his defensive home. The reason why he is at first base isn't because of the fact or due to the fact that he's un-athletic. It's because he was recovering from Tommy John surgery so they put him there in order to take the stress of his arm. Scouts think he has the athleticism to play center field but scouts want to see him play there this spring. Either way he figures to switch to a corner OF as a pro and he personally reminds me of J's favorite Andre Eithier. After looking at him on youtube I tend to agree that his swing isn't very condusive to power.
Green is an interesting case, last August his draft stock was hotter than a Lil Wayne single. After a mediocre season in this fall at USC scouts are starting to question how "elite" of a talent he really is. Coming off his Cape Cod league MVP campaign he was compared to scouts as a Tulowitzki/Longoria hybrid which sounds like an all star shortstop. Since then he's faltered a bit and scouts are starting to over disect his game. He is far big (around 6'2 215) but similar to Tulowitzki he has average range but an above average arm. He profiles anywhere from the 2-5 hole in a lineup. The most glaring alarm about him is his heap of strikeouts and inability to make consistent contact this season. In that sense he's similar to 08 Giants draft pick Brandon Crawford. My guess is that he falls to them, it'll be between he, Zack Wheeler add Aaron Crow. (First round possibilities is tomorrows post)
Tate is the ultimate tease, a true five tool potential stud that oozes power and speed. In many ways Tate is similar to Marlins Center Fielder Cameron Maybin. Both were highly regarded athletes coming out of high school and figure to be top 7 picks. Tate, who hails from Georgia is also an outstanding football prospect who was recruited to play safety as USC before signing to North Carolina to play QB and Center Field for the Tar Heels. His true love is baseball and he will sign if he goes as high as six, he will most likely use his scholarship as leverage but won't turn down 4 million. He is also similar to last years first round pick of the Twins Aaron Hicks but offers more power potential. Like many two way players, and high school players he's quite raw and still growing into his massive potential. He is clearly an outstanding athlete and has every premium tool you could ask for at a premium position nonetheless. When the Giants are on the clock he will be a very tempting option to pass up between now and June 9th I may change my mind.
Well folks thats all for tonight. This isn't a summary of all first round hitters but merely ones the Giants would consider at their position I will do a more comprehensive breakdown on the whole draft later along with some late round sleepers. Tomorrow I will do a post on probable pitchers.
1 comment:
I know nothing about amateur players but from what you described Tate does sound very good. The giants already have too many players with power potential who strike out a lot with power so from what you described of Green, he scares me. We need a ss for the future,and with Brian Bocock the closest thing we've got to it we def should go with a SS if there is one of value that high up.
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