John Klima | February 8, 2010
I’ll take Money Tools over Moneyball any day of the week. Georgia High School outfielder Kevin Jordan has the athletic ability to possess money tools, which boils down to power and speed. Have a look.
John Klima | September 24, 2009
As we continue our early look at the June 2010 draft here in September 2009, here’s a look at some of the outfielders to follow. As with our pitchers and infielders list, this is a follow sheet and not a ranking service. We’ll give you the basics and let the kids be the final say on what players they become.
John Klima | August 6, 2009
Tyler Kuresa (Oakmont HS, Roseville, Calif.) lined a hard-contact RBI single up the middle in the first inning and Stefan Sabol (Aliso Niguel HS, Calif.) followed with a well-hit RBI double down the third base line. Christian Yelich (Westlake HS, Thousand Oaks, Calif.), an intriguing prospect because of his 6-4, 185 frame, drove a ball to deep center field for a RBI triple in the first inning Thursday for the Brewers Blue (Southern California) against the A’s (Southeast), starting Day 2 of the 2009 Area Code Games at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif.
Yelich won’t be a speed burner any time soon, but he has enough athletic actions to warrant a closer look, and may have grown a bit since the end of the high school season.
The damage was done against A’s starter Nate Foriest (Harpeth HS, Kingston, Tenn.), who pitched with his fastball at 85-87 and with a curveball at 75-76 in the first inning. Listed at 6-2, 190, with a lean, loose and fast arm, Foriest did well for himself by adjusting the second time through the order and turning a showcase into a simulated game environment. He showed that one inning wasn’t worth giving up on him.
John Klima | August 5, 2009
If there is an Opening Day for the Draft season, today is it. The morning and early afternoon batting practice sessions have been completed and the 2009 Area Code Games are under way at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif., and the 2010 Major League Draft is now on the clock.
Scanning the scouting highlights from the morning sessions, in which some 200 hitters participated, here is a handful of noteworthy performers.
The hardest hit ball of the six-hour BP session was possibly hit by Anthony Bryant of Connally HS of Pflugerville, Texas. A left-handed hitter listed at 6-3, 215, Bryant got his loose and easy swing into a pitch to drive it on a solid line off the right-field scoreboard, just to the right of the 387-foot marker.
