Comments on: Baseball America Releases Second Mock Draft

By: KingCobra15

KingCobra15 — Mon, 28 May 2012 03:06:00 +0000

he is throwing 92-94. He is 6’4. Who ever said he won’t be able to add velocity?

By: Douglas Alexander

Douglas Alexander — Sun, 27 May 2012 23:11:00 +0000

This is the thing though, he has to hit GOOD ENOUGH to at least make the majors first. I have serious doubts he will make it. Everybody keeps saying he is just having a down year. Sure, his average was quite a bit higher last season, but it was mostly empty. His OPS is only down .006 points from last season. And by the way his OPS last season was still just .786. That is terrible for a college hitter. You never see hitters out of college with numbers that low getting drafted this high, if they get drafted at all.

I would like somebody to answer just one question for me. When is the last time that a college player sporting a .784 OPS his last two seasons went on to stick at the major league level? I think you would have to look really, really hard to find an example.

By: Alicia Rothermund

Alicia Rothermund — Sun, 27 May 2012 21:09:00 +0000

To answer briefly, the idea of him never adding velocity.

By: Alicia Rothermund

Alicia Rothermund — Sun, 27 May 2012 21:08:00 +0000

But offense is only half of the game. If he plays gold-glove caliber defense, isn’t that valuable as well? If the guy plays D like everyone says he can, then he’s a worth a top-10 pick if he can hit .220-.240. Of course you should pick for upside, but how many legit short-stops are out there and how many prospects actually project to stay at the position?

Also, I would argue that while he hasn’t hit great this season, he had two other seasons where he hit well over .300, so which is real? Gerritt Cole had a 3.00+ ERA last season, now he’s doing even better in A+ because of some mechanical tweaks. The same might be said for Merrero and his swing. Now, I don’t think anyone expects Merrero to be a Jose Reyes hitting .330 and playing great defense, but once again, how valuable is a great defensive short-stop on a team that only expects him to hit 7th or 8th in the lineup?

That being said, I don’t like the idea of the Pirates picking him.

By: Douglas Alexander

Douglas Alexander — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:29:00 +0000

Disagree, I think Merrero is a stretch. He should be a second round pick. His bat has virtually no upside IMO.

By: buccotime57

buccotime57 — Sun, 27 May 2012 17:53:00 +0000

i think we should take his buddy..max fried best left hander in the draft..does anyone know any downsides to fried? I have just heard his curveball is awesome and watched some videos of the guy and it looks devastating…

By: Ian Rothermund

Ian Rothermund — Sun, 27 May 2012 16:12:00 +0000

As a final note, I’m in the camp of taking Giolito if he’s available and all signs point to him being healthy going forward.

By: Ian Rothermund

Ian Rothermund — Sun, 27 May 2012 15:52:00 +0000

I would agree with the assessment that ultimately, Merrero is going to be a, what you see is what you get. He’s going to be drafted by someone. Arguably I would say no ones ever really expected him to end up an offensive juggernaut at the major league level, but for his sake, hopefully he’ll rebound and at least be capable of some consistency

By: szielinski

szielinski — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:55:00 +0000

“…Stratton would be more of a reach than Marrero, who isn’t really much of a reach.”

Both would be reaches, especially Stratton. Giolito, with his damaged elbow, is preferable to either player. So too Shaffer, Hawkins and Checcini.