Sickels Draft Board

by ttnorm on May 18, 2008 1:13 PM EDT

Sickels draft board as of 5/17

1) Buster Posey, C, Florida State: Great bat, has proven to be solid defender.

2) Tim Beckham, SS, Georgia HS: Overall tools package.

3) Kyle Skipworth, C, California HS: Hits, fields, and intuition loves him.

4) Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia: Love him almost as much as Posey.

5) Justin Smoak, 1B, South Carolina: Best college bat but not as valuable defensively as Posey and Beckham.

6) Aaron Crow, RHP, Missouri: Stock has dropped just a hair but still looks great to me.

7) Brian Matusz, LHP, San Diego: Could easily flip with Crow.

8) Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt: Injury knocks him back a couple of notches but still elite.

Hat tip to BTF

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.

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Wow!

It’s crazy to see Alvarez drop so low. However, with that injury he had, one could understand him slipping a lttle bit. So who do the Rays take? C Posey or SS Beckham? Anyone got a coin?

by Rays Rule on May 18, 2008 4:10 PM EDT reply actions

Pedro's agent is Boras. He'll want 10+ mil.

"I've seen many, many blue skies turn gray, but the sun will eventually return, and so will I. So will I." - Carlos Pena

by R.J. Anderson on May 18, 2008 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Bear in mind

Sickels says:

Here is a look at my current draft board. THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION OR PROJECTION OF THE FIRST ROUND. This is my current personal opinion of these players.

RJ is not an elitist douchebag who hates scouting

by ttnorm on May 18, 2008 6:43 PM EDT reply actions

then Boras should not be an issue

9 = 8

by websterjtc on May 19, 2008 9:15 AM EDT up reply actions

... i like T Beckham… believe me I like the toolsy type, but he could be the third Upton brother, or he could be Chris Nelson (as in, more of a project than we are looking for)... plus, i still believe in Briggy

by daveh33 on May 18, 2008 6:57 PM EDT reply actions

Smoak

It caught my eye that Sickels believes Smoak is the best college bat. I thought that belonged to Alvarez.

RJ is not an elitist douchebag who hates scouting

by ttnorm on May 18, 2008 7:51 PM EDT reply actions

It was close

before the season. KLaw liked Smoak better all along. He’s a plus defender at 1st and he can absolutely rake. The biggest concern he has how high of an average he’s going to hit for. Smoak was considered a very good prospect out of HS, he fell due to signability concerns. I could see an argument for Smoak being the top college bat. And his numbers are much better than Alvarez.

Tools Whore

Sign Bonds!

by Tyler on May 18, 2008 8:38 PM EDT up reply actions

No doubt Smoak is a top talent, but...

Even with the recovery from injury, Alvarez conference numbers were about even with Smoak. Plus, Sarge Frye (USC) is reputed to be a hitter’s park by most in the SEC, although the Boyd’s World 2004-07 park factor study disputes that general assumption.

SEC conference-only statistics (final):
Alvarez: .400 / .481 / .700
Smoak: .407 / .511 / .681
Beckham: .391 / .521 / .872

Longlorious.

by RATW on May 18, 2008 9:50 PM EDT up reply actions