Continuing our sneak peak at the 2011 MLB Draft here in September, eight months before the draft, here is the first look at infielders. We’ve divided up the prospects by first basemen, third basemen and middle infielders. As we said in our 2010 High School Pitchers Draft Prospect List, always take follow-lists with a grain of salt simply because of the nature of baseball. Some will rise, some will fall, and some will come out of nowhere, guys who should be here, that we haven’t seen or heard of yet.
This is an annual thing we do every Fall. We take a look at all our scouting notes from the past several months and come up with the “First Looks” list. These aren’t rankings, because we’re not into the torch and pitchfork mentality, but these are the players we have seen along the way that look like potential draft picks or Division I college players. These are written in late September 2010, so if you find these in June 2011 and wonder why a guy is or isn’t here, it’s because of the date. If you are just finding Baseball Beginnings through this list, make sure to hang around. I guarantee you, many times, we’ll have more on a player than you ever thought you would find.
FIRST BASEMEN
Rouric Bridgewater, 1B, L/R, 6-2, 200 (Diamond Ranch HS, CA)
Raw left-handed power.
Daniel Camarena, 1B, L/L, 6-2, 200 (Cathedral Catholic HS, CA)
Two-way guy, shows ability to spray opposite field gaps with wood. Average speed, which is unusual for a first baseman.
Trevor Gretzky, 1B, L/R, 6-4, 190 (Oaks Christian HS, CA)
Rangy and lean left-handed hitter needs at-bats and repetition to tap into his hand strength and bat speed.
Trevor Mitsui, 1B, R/R, 6-4, 210 (Shorewood HS, WA)
Big corner target at first, really liked strong hands and sound I got in BP.
Elliot Richoux, 1B, L/R, 6-1, 210 (The Woodlands HS, TX)
Raw left-handed power.
MIDDLE INFIELDERS
Brian Anderson, SS, R/R, 6-3, 175 (Deer Creek HS, OK)
Lanky and handsy offensively, some physical projection.
Javier Baez, 2B, R/R, 6-1, 185 (Arlington Country Day School, FL)
Solid slap guy who is best when not lifting the ball, showed stiff hands in this look, adequate glove and range, speed would need to come up a notch.
Johnny Eierman, SS, R/R, 6-1, 195 (Warsaw HS, MO)
Solid across the board with arm, glove and range. Medium build, line-drive hitter, used whole field, limited power.
Phillip Evans, R/R, 5-10, 180 (La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad)
Might be best pure HS infield defender in 2010, playable arm, serviceable contact, average speed.
Dante Flores, SS, L/R, 5-10, 155 (St. John Bosco HS, CA)
Bat speed and hand strength, solid average run, throw and fielding tools. Flashy player.
Erik Forgione, 2B, S/R, 6-1, 165 (WF West, WA)
Lanky and wiry, plus speed, range, bat behind the glove in this look.
Kenny Gaines Jr, SS, R/R, 6-0, 160 (Luella HS, GA)
Plus range, fielding ability, average arm could grade up, solid average accuracy, hand speed with the bat, needs at-bats and repetition, bat behind the glove in this look
Ricky Jacquez, 2B, R/R, 5-9, 160 (Franklin HS, TX)
Little rangy second baseman with average speed, slap hitter, too much pull in my looks.
Zac LaNeve, SS, R/R, 6-1, 175 (Pine-Richards HS, PA)
I heard people bury this guy, but he had range to his right, so that means he’s got a shot to stay at short. Average runner who can shed a few milliseconds off what I had. Put the ball in play with solid spray. Not a lot of raw power.
Francisco Lindor, S/R, 5-11, 175 (Montverde Academy, FL)
All the pop comes from his wrists, half-speed infield didn’t give me good feel for him defensively.
Christian Lopes, R/R, 6-0, 180 (Edison HS, CA)
Might be best pure contact bat in HS ranks in 2011. Solid run, throw, fielding tools.
Brandon Martin R/R, 5-10, 160 (Santiago HS, CA)
Athletic and rangy, plus arm, solid runner, bat must continue developing
Chris McFarland, R/R, 6-1, 195 (Lufkin HS, TX)
Athletic, great hands with glove and bat, quick release, puts ball in play, runs like hell.
Drake Roberts, SS, R/R, 5-8, 155 (Brenham HS, TX)
Size won’t scare off the team that likes the bat.
Mason Snyder, SS, R/R, 5-11, 165 (Marquette HS, IL)
Sparkplug type, grinder.
Drew Stankiewicz, 2B, S/R, 5-9, 160 (Gilbert HS, AZ)
Best infield hands at the Area Code games. A guy you have to watch play, forget about scouting, to get why he’s good at being an infielder.
Trevor Story, INF-OF, R/R, 6-2, 195 (Irving HS, TX)
Flip a coin, but watch the arm, and the bat has upside.
Josh Tobias, S/R, 5-10, 194 (Southeast Guilford HS, N.C.)
Solid contact hitter, moves well around second base.
THIRD BASEMEN
Ahmad Christian, 3B, R/R, 5-10, 195 (Trinity Christian Academy, FL)
Plus fielding and range, arm is enough, running can grade up a notch, offense needs to catch up to glove and athletic ability.
Matt Dean, 3B, R/R, 6-3, 190 (The Colony HS, TX)
Didn’t show very well offensively in August, but the raw right-handed power is there if he can get to it. Great arm, great body, bends knees on grounders, if the bat is an issue, please put him on the mound.
Tyler Goeddel, 3B, R/R, 6-4, 170 (St. Francis HS, CA)
Wiry and strong, physical projectable, power upside, runs well, could stay at 3B.
Travis Harrison, 3B, R/R, 6-2, 215 (Tustin HS, CA)
Plus raw right-handed power, has shown some defensive progress.
Austin Slater, 3B, R/R, 6-2, 190 (The Bolles School, FL)
Rangy body, physical projection here, has OK hands but swing too long in this look, looks like a gap guy trying to lift everything. Average infield actions in this look, looked more like a corner than a shortstop.
Taylor Sparks, 3B, R/R, 6-3, 205 (St. John Bosco HS, CA)
Big, rangy corner prospect, raw power intriguing, runs better than it looks, limited range at 3B in my looks.
