DRAFT STRATEGY: The Braves wanted offensive-oriented position players, but in their hearts, will never be able to resist an athlete they think can hit. Prep shortstop Matt Lipka fits the bill, a hard-nosed player with above-average speed, hands, defense and range. He would have the arm for short in the future, though I imagine his future role at second or short might be influenced by whatever players the Braves bring in from Latin America. Either way, he will be an offensive-oriented middle infielder with tools that play on both sides of the ball. Jacksonville State outfielder Todd Cunningham played his college ball in the city where Henry Aaron tore up Double-A in 1953, so that’s a good omen. Pitt third baseman Joe Leonard was one of two good third baseman in the Big East, and someone has to take Chipper’s job in the next few years. That’s also why you saw the Braves take Long Beach State third baseman Joey Terdoslavich, who some California scouts thought had the best raw power in the state this year.

RISK/REWARD: Some teams shied away from Crenshaw HS outfielder Le’jon Baker, partly because many scouts didn’t think he would hit. But Baker, a former All-City football player in Los Angeles, is a guy made for Braves player development. His high hips and athletic features lead to speed, bat speed, and power projection. Baker hasn’t played much baseball and it shows up in his timing at the plate. He’s an aggressive base runner who likes to play the game. He doesn’t throw very well right now, but his arm is one of the few that should grade up in the coming years. He’s going to take some lumps as a young pro in all likelihood, but if he can stay with it, and the Braves can stay with him, he’s got a chance to be a very special player.

A GOOD GET IF YOU CAN SIGN HIM: Stefan Sabol has been buried by some offensively, and even when I’ve said he won’t be a power hitter, I still think he’s going to put the ball in play. With a firm commitment to Oregon and a price tag known on the street to be high, Sabol isn’t an easy sign, but the Braves can’t resist high school players. Sabol has athletic ability, runs enough, sprays the ball enough, and has room for development. That’s Atlanta’s kind of sign, if they want to pay for it. Georgia second baseman Zach Alvord, another Aflac player, falls into the same category. Kansas LHP Albert Minnis fits the profile as a crafty lefty, but he’s got to be bought out of Wichita State.

GUYS WHO MIGHT SURPRISE: Virgina second baseman Phil Gosselin hit every time I saw him on the Cape. He won’t wow you with tools, but could find his way as a rugged second baseman who can play defense and put the ball in play.

IF I HAD MY PICK: Lipka would be the guy. I liked him in the summer. I once misread his height and weight, saw his photo and realized, wow this little guy is bigger than I am, and I am mysteriously tall. He was a comparatively easy sign for a guy with multiple tools, of which his skill package is extremely rare in domestic high school middle infielders. I like the football background, because I like guys who won’t ask out because of a hangnail.

SUMMARY: Professor Kemp and the University of the Atlanta Braves have a whole new crop of students to train. Paul Snyder’s blood run deeps here – get tools, get them young, develop and train them. The Braves went for a few college bats to help fill more immediate needs in the coming years at the big league level. If one of the college third base bats pop, if they find Chipper’s replacement from this draft (and it might even be Lipka), if they get one other everyday player from these college players, the Braves will call it a day and a good draft down the road. Baker might be the steal of the draft in the coming years.

OLD SCHOOL SCOUTING GRADE: B+

Watch Matt Lipka Video
Read Matt Lipka Q&A
Read Matt Lipka Scouting Report
Watch more Matt Lipka Video

Minor has arm power and strength, but his movement and command, not his velocity, are going to be his weapons.  I watched his bullpen and saw fastball command that is ready to be tested in the major leagues once he masters major league consistency. He threw two fastball variations in his pre-game, both of which will be weapons for him as a major leaguer.

Minor’s fastball has cut action on the right side of the plate, but it needs more power for it to be as effective a major league weapon as it can possibly be. He cuts the plate in half with a fastball with sinking action to the middle of the plate. Minor adores throwing his change-up, which in game was a steady 81, and will be a mainstay for him against right-handed hitters.

Minor’s non-televised bullpen was far better than his TV start, which was marked by over-striding created by overthrowing. Sometimes, a player’s mistakes give you a very interesting insight into what makes them good in the first place.

In Minor’s case, bad mistakes took away what he has that is good.

The home run Brandon Allen hit against him is an example. Allen is a strong left-handed hitter, but an incomplete overall hitter. He’s armsy and wants extension, because his hands don’t work well enough.

Minor overthrew and hung a fastball. He took away everything that got him there. In the words of a wise man or two, dance with the lady who brought you to the dance.

Minor did not bring his mechanics into this game with him and this is the mark of an inexperienced pro. The Braves have six starting pitchers signed for 2010, so Minor can have some minor league innings to weed out the mistakes that didn’t hurt as much in college.

These are not fatal flaws, but it would have been nice to see Minor pitch with his premier stuff.  One minor flaw that should be addressed is that Minor slightly hooks his wrist as he breaks his hands. It’s not very pronounced and you can’t see it on TV or on video, but it won’t help him hide the ball and will be a disadvantage his power will not afford him the luxury to continue in the major leagues.

I like Minor and I think he should become a quality No. 1 or No. 2 starter in time.

GRADES for November 7 bullpen and game outing:
Fastball velocity                55/60
Fastball command             45/55
Fastball movement           45/55
Change-up velocity          50/50
Change-up command      45/55
Change-up movement    45/55
Overall Future Potential:    55

What the Grades Mean

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: A beast: 6-4, LHH, long, thick, built legs and upper body; looks like he was born in a weight room; strong forearms and grip.

STRENGTHS: Pure, raw left-handed power. Fast hands, big MLB body, SUPER aggressive; majority of power is pull; has ability to show SA power; should learn to use entire field as he grows; possesses bat speed to cover outer half of plate; just learning what it takes.

WEAKNESSES: Slight hitch in swing; likes to drop hands and pick up as part of trigger; shouldn’t be completely eliminated as part of player’s mechanism, but will need to be tempered as he advances. Below-average fielder and thrower; possesses enough athleticism to wear a glove and return ball to infield. Must raise other skills to average major league levels. Below-average speed. Won’t ever be above-average contact hitter; you’ll have to take some strikeouts, but power upside is enormous.

SUMMARY: Should become middle-of-the-order power bat on a contending team; possesses premium left-handed power. Won’t have to get it all to hit each home run; just needs to make enough contact at ML level; possesses tools to do so.

Overall Future Potential:  60

What the Grades Mean

Read Cody Johnson Q&A

(Myrtle Beach Pelicans)

The ball sounds like a gun shot coming off Cody Johnson’s bat. His power is as close to 80-raw as you’ll find in a young player, and he’s left-handed to boot. He’ll turn 21 in August and by the time he does, he will already have had more than 1,000 professional at-bats and more than 60 home runs. Welcome to player development done right.

Johnson was a first round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2006, the 24^th overall pick in the draft. He has hit for power at every step along the way of the lower tiers of the Braves minor league system, hitting 17 home runs in Danville in 2007 and 26 in Rome in 2008. He got pull happy in 2008 and saw his strikeout numbers sky rocket, but he’s brought them back to earth at Myrtle Beach in 2009, while keeping his share of balls in orbit.

Listed at 6-4, 195, Johnson has the brooding physique of a middle-of-the-order menace. He generates his power from his bat speed and strong hands. He has a little hitch in his hands that is part of his trigger. It’s something he probably won’t completely eliminate but will need to smooth out just enough to continue developing.  He won’t make anyone forget Chipper Jones as a contact hitter, but this C.J. has a chance to stay in Atlanta’s lineup for years to come if he can continue to level out his strikeouts and maintain a steady approach. His power plays. He reached July 2009 with a .274 average and 20 home runs in 71 games.

Just a few hours before Johnson put on a BP for the ages at Lake Elsinore during the California-Carolina League All-Star game, Baseball Beginnings caught up with him.

Baseball Beginnings: The Braves like to get them while they’re young, and you were 17 when you signed. What was it like to begin playing professionally so early?
Johnson: It was a bit of a culture shock when I first signed, just going from high school and the sheltered life, being 17 and out on your own for the first time. You have to be a professional on and off the field, while still being able to enjoy yourself and have fun. You can’t completely consume yourself with baseball because over six or seven months, it will drive you crazy. But you have to learn how to handle yourself on and off the field.

Baseball Beginnings: What about on the field?
Johnson: I feel like I’ve gotten better after each year. Physically I’ve gotten bigger and stronger and it has allowed me to do differing things at the plate. As a hitter, I’ve learned more about how pitchers are going to pitch me and what I have to do to make the adjustments to how they will pitch me.

Baseball Beginnings: What has been the biggest challenge for you as a hitter?
Johnson: I’d say adjusting to the different kinds of pitching. Coming out of high school, you don’t see any situational lefties coming in just to pitch to you. You don’t see fresh arms. You have to learn how they’re going to attack you and how to handle how they attack you. It’s an on-going thing.

Baseball Beginnings: What about defensively?
Johnson: That’s been an adventure. I was an infielder, a first baseman, in high school. The Braves flipped me out to left field. So it’s been about gradually learning the position. I’ve worked a lot with our outfield instructor, Lynn Jones, and he’s helped me come a long way. I feel a lot more comfortable and I give him the credit for making me a better outfielder. I feel a lot better than I used to out there and I think I’m getting better every day.

Baseball Beginnings: Do you feel confident enough that your power will play in the big leagues, but that you’ll need to raise the surrounding tools to at least average levels to be able to compete every day?
Johnson: Absolutely. Defense is probably the weakest part of my game, but I still feel like I can hold my own. I feel like I’ll be able to hold my own at the big league level. I think I’ll be able to hit.

Baseball Beginnings: Describe what it is like to be a Braves minor leaguer, especially for someone who grew up in the South?
Johnson: I can’t speak for any other organization, but the Braves treat us great. All the way from Spring Training in Orlando, to our cities during the year, everything is great. Our field staff and our front office staff, you can’t ask for anything more in terms of the instruction you get.

Baseball Beginnings: How is the Myrtle Beach park to hit at?
Johnson: Myrtle is more known as a pitcher’s park. We usually get a nice breeze coming in from the ocean but the wind blows in. They added some seats down the left-field line and made it a little shorter. The wind usually blows in from right.

Baseball Beginnings: Does that make it harder for you to hit as a left-hander?
Johnson: It can, but it gets you back to thinking about going up the middle or to shoot for the (left-center) gap and go opposite field.

Baseball Beginnings: How do you feel about your strikeout rates? You look like the kind of hitter who will probably always have some strikeouts to go with your game, but do you think that it’s something that can prevent you from becoming an everyday major league player?
Johnson: I’m comfortable with my strikeout rate this season because I feel like I’ve cut it down so much from last year. My goal last year was just to finish under 100 at the All-Star break. I had 98 strikeouts at the break and cut it down at the break to (79). So I feel like I’m learning the Carolina League and learning the pitchers and doing a better job of making contact. I think I’m better off than I was a year ago.

Read Cody Johnson Scouting Report

When one of these games goes 10 innings and features 25 strikeouts, it’s safe to say that either the wind was blowing in or the pitchers were throwing somewhat controlled smoke — or perhaps a combination of both.

Baseball Beginnings scouted the California-Carolina League All-Star game Tuesday night at Lake Elsinore. We were in the house at 2 p.m., we believe before any pro scouts were in the joint. We collected several interviews, most notably with Giants prospect Buster Posey, Royals prospect Mike Moustakas and Braves prospect Cody Johnson.

We’ll get to those stories in the coming days, but before they kick me out of the press box and make me hop the barbed-wire fence, I have to report what mattered most Tuesday night, the pitching. Read the story after the jump, and I hope that wearing shorts today wasn’t a bad idea. (Ah, the joys of online digital journalism as opposed to print. Personality plays!)

The best arms were seen on the Carolina League roster, where left-hander Daniel Duffy (Wilmington/Royals) had the best complete prospect package on either team’s mound. Duffy, a third-round pick in 2007 from Cabrillo High in Lompoc, is listed at 6-2 but looks taller on the mound with long legs and arms combined with a straight and clean over-the-top delivery. His body type and delivery combine to make him look larger on the mound than he really is, and the downhill plane he generates is going to be a legitimate weapon for him as he advances.

Duffy threw the sixth inning and gave a fastball that started at 88-91 and then quickly gained steam. He bumped up to 91-92 and topped at 96 on the fastest gun. His best fastballs worked with late life and glove-side movement. His slider at 88 is a tangible breaking ball for him at the faster levels, but his curveball will need work based on this look. He touched 71 with his curveball, which had some bite but will need more as he advances.

Left-hander Eric Berger (Kinston/Indians) from the University of Arizona, pitched at 88-92 in his one inning, averaging at 90 with natural arm-side sink, his best weapon. His primary off-speed pitch in this look was a 76 slider, with a look at a 76 change-up. He has a long way to go, but he showed how he could be the kind of pitcher to perform above what his physical grades would allow and could develop into a crafty middle of the rotation starter. He has too many things going for him to shove him in the bullpen as a pure lefty-lefty arm, but his lack of physicality (Berger is listed at 6-2, 205) will have to be overcome. He has some stuff to work with and the question is if it will be enough. His command and control may allow him to achieve this, with both skills warranting at least a 50 future grade. At the very worst this pitcher has organizational value and is worth holding for depth.

One interesting arm is right-hander Ryne Miller (Salem/Red Sox), who was signed as a non-drafted free agent in July, 2007. Miller has the frame (6-4, 230) and Texas pedigree (Odessa is listed as his hometown), but he won’t destroy a radar gun. However, that doesn’t automatically knock him out of a potential big league glimpse. He showed some pitch-ability with his fastball at 88-91 with a bump to 92. His change-up at 79 is what will get him to Boston if it’s going to happen. He struck out five in his two-inning look, pitching with command and control that might project to about the 55 range if you really like him. If nothing else, Miller will have very good organizational value for the Red Sox and provide depth. He won’t be an impact arm, but he is talented enough to one day find a way to contribute modestly at the big league level. He’s an older pitcher for his level, at 24, which doesn’t bode well.

Alexander Torres (Rancho Cucumonga/Angels) is the little guy with the big arm and was the best left-handed prospect the California League had to offer. A slight Venezuelan listed at just 5-10 and 185, he has a limber body with above-average arm speed. He pitched at 91-93, with the left-hander hitting 95 with sink and life. He was effective at a maximum velocity of 93, with glove-side tail. Throwing from a ¾ arm slot, he has the makings of the curveball he’ll need at the major league level, but the pitch needs work. His curveball in his inning wasn’t major league quality. It was too slushy for the big leagues and not as sharp as it needs to be. Regardless, Torres, 22, will need to prove that his slight frame is durable enough to withstand the rigors of 180 innings. More likely, with his raw stuff and makings of a second pitch but not a third, he profiles best as a Scioscia-preferred power set-up bullpen arm in Anaheim in the coming years and should be regarded as a definite prospect. He was the best pure power arm I wrote up tonight.

Lake Elsinore right-hander Jeremy McBryde (Padres), signed as a non-drafted junior college pitcher from Rose State in Oklahoma, is another Cal League starter who profiles as bullpen help. Pitching at 91 with a bump to 94, his slight stature (6-2) but husky body type (220 pounds) gives him the look of a power arm out of the pen. He dropped in a change-up as his primary off-speed pitch at 77-84. His aggressive, fast repeat, ¾ arm slot delivery make him better suited for a bullpen role. He might be the best right-handed closer candidate from this game. His average body will scare some teams away, but his stuff could play at the major league level at some point if he can master some consistency.

Starter Cory Luebke of Lake Elsinore (Padres) is a former Ohio State pitcher who was a first-round supplemental pick in 2007. He showed the raw makings of a No. 2 or No. 3 left-handed starter, but will need to improve upon both command and control. He would have been hit had he been pitching for the Padres in Dodger Stadium Tuesday night. Instead he snuck by with below-average command and control against the Carolina League kids.

Luebke worked his fastball into an 88-90 range with a bump to 92, but don’t expect a power arm immediately. Listed at 6-4 and 200 pounds, he’s a definite prospect because he can hit the low 90s from the left side and he has a durable frame. But at age 24 and in his third year of pro ball, he should be more consistent than this.

From the right side, Lake Elsinore’s Wynn Pelzer won’t turn on every organization because of his modest 6-1, 205, frame and funky arm action. But Pelzer, who played at the University of South Carolina, is an above-average athlete with athletic actions on the mound. He showed the ability to be a fifth infielder by cutting off a slow roller to his right to throw a jammed batter out. On a JUGS gun, Pelzer hit 96 with a fastball located on the outside corner.

This begs the question: if Pelzer really can put 96 exactly where he wants it, what the hell is he doing in the Cal League?

Pelzer’s second pitch is a possible put-away slider, which has the makings of a hard 88 mph offering. One knock Pelzer will have to deal with is that he is a max effort pitcher. His body type doesn’t remind one of Tom Gordon, but the Padres’ prospect does remind one of Gordon in the sense that he’s little, throws hard, and is a better athlete than a lot of pitchers. Pelzer will have to basically shove the ball up front office types to prove he belongs. He’s not a definite, but he is an average prospect to be sure.

Left-hander Pat McAnaney, an Arizona Diamondbacks’ 8^th round-pick in 2008 from the University of Virginia, was in the right place at the right time to find a win. A starter clearly slated as long man for this game, McAnaney won’t destroy you with velocity, but his command and control skills both project to 60 grades at the major league level if you really like him.

The problem with these crafty, durable, reliable and hard-working left-handers is that is the command and control is slightly off on any given night, it will hard to compensate at the big league level, much less the Cal League level. That single in Elsinore is a 400-foot folly in the big leagues.

McAnaney pitched with his fastball at 86-88 and his best pitch stuff wise is his 77-81 slider with major league bite. McAnaney will live and die with that slider for now, but he’s going to need a third pitch to survive in the big leagues. He takes a little off that slider to throw a slushy little 77 mph slurve for strikes, but it needs to be better for him to succeed at the higher levels. In the best case scenario, he’s got the makings of a reliable back-of-the-rotation big league starter and has the durable frame (6-3, 185) to make it work. He has a very easy and loose arm action and he gets downhill plane, but it’s his precision that will make a mark.