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College crop stumbling; preps moving up... Jackie Bradley, Jr. (Univ. of South Carolina) entered the season as the poster child for "safe",
with a a solid tool set across the board, including a plus-plus arm and the potential for plus defense in center field.
After a strong first month, JBJ saw his offensive game slip (in small part due to a continued early-count focus on yanking
the ball), and last week had his season potentially brought to a close when he injured his wrist diving for a ball in the
outfield. While the tools and smarts are still there, the lack of growth between summer 2010 and spring 2011 is at least
a little disappointing, and leads a list of frustrating first halves for collegiate outfielders. Kyle Gaedele (Valparaiso Univ.) and Alex Dickerson (Indiana
Univ.) have each failed to step-up and claim a Day 1 spot on the DSS draft board. Dickerson, maybe a better fit
at first base, has put his hit tool on display while failing to produce the in-game power that we saw equally absent this
past summer with Team USA. Gaedele, perhaps the best pure power bat in the draft, is hitting with some authority, but
has had the length in his swing exposed some, furthering questions as to whether his contact rate will allow the power to
play at the pro ranks. George Springer (Univ. of Connecticut), Brian Goodwin (Miami
Dade Coll.), Zach Cone (Univ. of Georgia) and Jason Coats (Texas Christian
Univ.) have each had up-and-down stretches over the first two months. Springer showed the same swing and balance
issues at the beginning of the year that were prominently showcased last summer, but recently has cleaned-up his load some
and has further improved his contact rate. The question for the uber-ceilinged center fielder will be whether he can
continue to make adjustments against advanced pitching, and whether or not his inconsistent offensive approach can be refined. Derek "Bubba"
Starling (Gardner-Edgerton HS, Gardner, Kan.), Joshua Bell (Jesuit Coll. Prep, Dallas,
Texas) and Derek Fisher (Cedar Crest HS, Lebanon, Penn.) have each put themselves
easily into Day 1 consideration, with all three having the potential to come off the board in the first 33 picks. The
preseason top 30 outfielder write-up noted Johnny Eierman (Warsaw HS, Warsaw,
Mo.) could fit very well in center field given his speed and arm. Eierman has continued to show well against over-matched Missouri
competition, and his power potential combined with a chance for above-average defense up-the-middle make him one of the most
underrated Day 1 candidates in the country. The
April 17 DSS Draft Blog entry explores nine of the below shortstops in more detail via a midseason stock up/stock down/stock hold piece.
The rankings below represent DiamondScape Scouting's midseason
positional ranking for 2011 Rule 4 Draft-eligible amateurs only, with
their preseason rankings in parentheses (green indicating a rise, red a fall and blue a
hold in position): - Derek "Bubba" Starling | Gardner-Edgerton HS, Gardner, Kan. (1)
- George Springer | Univ. of Connecticut
(3)
- Joshua Bell
| Jesuit Coll. Prep., Dallas, Texas (5)
- Derek Fisher | Cedar Crest HS, Lebanon, Penn. (8)
- Jackie Bradley, Jr. | Univ. of South Carolina (2)
- Brian Goodwin | Miami
Dade Coll. (4)
- Brandon Nimmo | East HS, Cheyenne, Wyo. (9)
- Mikie
Mahtook | Louisiana St. Univ. (17)
- Zach Cone | Univ. of Georgia (6)
- Jason
Coats | Texas Christian Univ. (7)
- Charles Tilson | New Trier Township HS, Winnetka, Ill. (11)
- Dwight Smith | McIntosh HS, Peachtree City, Ga. (13)
- Jake Cave | Kecoughtan
HS, Hampton, Va. (14)
- Johnny Eierman | Warsaw HS, Warsaw, Mo. (21)
- Billy
Flamion | Central Catholic HS, Modesto, Calif. (16)
- Shon Carson | Lake City HS, Lake
City, S.C. (19)
- Kyle Gaedele | Valparaiso Univ. (10)
- Travis
Harrison | Tustin HS, Tustin, Calif. (20)
- Aaron Brown | Chatsworth HS, Chatsworth, Calif. (22)
- Alex Dickerson | Indiana Univ. (12)
- Kes Carter | Western Kentucky
Univ. (NR)
- Eric
Snyder | Edison HS, Huntington Beach, Calif. (23)
- Roman Quinn | Port St. Joe HS,
Port St. Joe, Fla. (24)
- Joshua Tobias | Southeast Guilford HS, Greensboro, N.C. (27)
- Jacob Anderson | Chino HS, Chino, Calif. (29)
- Nick Martini | Kansas St. Univ.
(15)
- Jo-El Bennett
| Houston County HS, Columbia, Ala. (26)
- Shawon Dunston, Jr. | Valley Christian HS, San Jose, Calif. (30)
- Senquez Golson | Pascagoula HS,
Pascagoula, Miss. (NR)
- Johnny Ruettiger | Arizona St. Univ. (25)
Dropped Out:
Zach Wilson | Arizona St. Univ. (18); Desmond Henry | Centennial HS, Compton, Calif. (28) | Top tools | | Hit: | Derek "Bubba" Starling | Gardner-Edgerton HS, Gardner, Kan.
| Power: | Kyle
Gaedele | Valparaiso Univ. | | Speed: | Roman Quinn
| Port St. Joe HS, Port St. Joe, Fla. | | Arm: | Jackie Bradley, Jr. | Univ. of South Carolina | | Defense: | Jackie
Bradley, Jr. | Univ. of South Carolina |
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| Copyright DiamondScape Baseball LLC |
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| Derek "Bubba" Starling (photo by Nick J. Faleris) |
Top Prospect: Bubba Starling | Gardner-Edgerton HS (Kan.)
Scouting Report Summary (full scouting report here): Starling
has the potential to develop into a truly elite talent in every respect. He is the class'
best athlete, and while he has not devoted his attention to baseball
yet he is far from an "athlete first"-type of player. The most encouraging aspect of his performance last
summer was not the jaw-dropping SPARQ testing, impressive in-game displays, or even the mature approach considering his
experience. Rather, what sets Starling apart is the strides he was able to make between
June and August, and the ferocity with which he was able to devour instruction, digest it and
apply it to his game. His swing, still in need of fine-tuning at the Area Code Games, was
cleaner than it showed at the Tournament of Stars a little over a month earlier -- particularly in his weight
transfer. He circled the ball better in the outfield and showed more confidence in his actions at the plate after
logging dozens of plate appearances throughout the summer months against the country's (and
in some cases, the world's) top high school/18U talent. There is, of course, risk in
committing a large sum of money to a high school player with unrefined skills. If ever there
is a time to do it, however, it's when you come across an unrefined talent that displays elite
athleticism, a knack for picking-up instruction and the competitive drive to push until he masters something -- that's
exactly what you have in Bubba. For organizations adept at molding young talent, Starling
is as promising a ball of clay as you are going to find. Preseason Rankings
Positional Rankings: Top 300:
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