Sunday, August 05, 2007

MPH Draft Database: Rounds 1 to 5

I was hoping to put in their stats for the Mets, but figured you guys didn't want to wait any more. So here it is, Part 1 of the first annual MPH Draft Database.

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Round 1, Pick 42: Eddie Kunz
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Eddie Kunz - (RHP - Oregon State University)

Here are some differing scouting reports on Kunz:

He has average command and throws from a three-quarters arm slot out of the bullpen.
He lacks a true weapon against good left-handed batters but his sinker will induce
a lot of ground balls and chew up bats in pro ball."

He has a solid fastball that reaches the mid 90s, with some nice movement.
Has a bit of a slider, but nothing else. Good control though, and gets
lot of ground balls.

Fastball: Kunz threw a heavy fastball that ran up to 94 mph.
FB Movement: He keeps his fastball down in the zone, and it has some above-average sink to it.
Slider: His slider sits in the 80-82 mph range. It's a true slider, with a short, late break and hard bite.
Control: Kunz commanded his fastball and slider well over the weekend, particularly in his second outing, on Sunday.
Poise: Above average. He came into both situations and threw strikes.
Physical Description: Big right-hander who throws from three-quarters arm slot.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: Command and poise. Kunz comes into games and pounds his heavy fastball to the bottom of the strike zone. He gets a lot of ground balls and his stuff will break bats at the pro level.
Weaknesses: He doesn't have a third pitch to attack left-handed hitters.
Summary: Kunz's package of stuff is well-suited to the back of a
but the lack of the third pitch may keep him from closing as a pro.
His future may be as a setup man who can pound his sinker-slider
in on right-handed hitters.

He probably doesn't fit there, but his big-time fastball will fit in the Mets
bullpen by next season. Solid, unspectacular pick.

Kunz has plus stuff and closer-quality velocity. He's a behemoth at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds
and will have to watch his body and his weight as a pro. His loose arm and
low arm angle produce 94-96 mph fastballs, and some scouts think a
cleaner body and more consistent mechanics would give him even more velocity.
Kunz throws a changeup to lefthanders that's effective, and at times his
change is ahead of his flat slider.

And here is a scouting report from Kunz himself:

Fstball sits around 95, 96 MPH. Slider sits around low to mid 80s. Changeup is probably around mid to upper 70s. He likes his changeup as his second pitch, and throws a hard sinking fastball. Slider is in development. He sees himself as an Eric Gagne type, similiar sink on his ball, and similiar body type.


2007: 3-1, 2.91 era, 31 G, 12 SVs, 46.1 IP, 31 H, 18 BBs, 37 Ks, BAA .194
2006: 5-1, 3.61 era, 29 G, 42.1 IP, 39 H, 21 BBs, 30 Ks, 1.42 WHIP
2005: 2-0, 1.51 era, 13 G, 11.2 IP, 7 G, 7 BBs, 14 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
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Round 1, Pick 47: Nathan Vineyard

Nathan Vineyard (LHP - Woodland HS, Georgia)

Fastball: Vineyard's fastball sat in the 88-91 mph range.
Fastball movement: Vineyard has average life to his fastball.
Slider: Right now, Vineyard's slider is average, but it's already an out pitch.
Changeup: Vineyard's change is below-average now, but projects to be an average offering.
Control: He's got below-average command currently, but with a good delivery, projects to have average or above-average command in the future.
Poise: He's got good athletic actions on the mound and excellent aggressiveness in attacking hitters.
Physical Description: The decently sized southpaw has a Jamie Walker-type body.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: He has the chance to have a three-pitch mix. He's got a good delivery and is athletic on the mound.
Weaknesses: He needs more movement on his fastball because there's not a lot of projection to it.
Summary: This is turning out to be a pretty good draft for high school lefties and Vineyard adds to the depth at the position. He has the chance to have a good three-pitch mix with a slider that is an out pitch right now. While there's not a ton of projection to make, he should improve on things like command and fastball movement. He might be a tick behind the top prep southpaws on draft day, but he won't fall too far.

Here is how Vineyard sees/describes himself:

Low to mid 90s fastball, sits around 93, with a hard 84-86 slider. His secondary pitches are both around 76-79, a circle change and a curveball. His slider is his best pitch, which he compares to Randy Johnson's, while his curveball needs the most work.

2007: 9-3, 1.19 era, 12 GS, 6 CG, 70.2 IP, 39 H, 12 BBs, 130 Ks; .429/.547/.714, 13 2b, 3b, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 22/7 BB/K
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Round 2, Pick 77: Scott Moviel

Scott Moviel (RHP - Saint Edward HS, Ohio)

Fastball: Moviel threw his fastball in the 88-92 mph range and threw it consistently at 90 mph.
Curve: Moviel's curve has the chance to be a good offering, but he gets in front of it a little too much and his mechanics sometime get in the way of consistently delivering the pitch.
Changeup: He showed a changeup, but he didn't throw it much in this outing.
Control: With all that can go wrong with a 6-foot-10 pitcher's delivery, Moviel can struggle with his command when his mechanics go awry.
Poise: Moviel had very good mound presence and stands out there like he wants to win.
Physical Description: Big, imposing right-hander, much like NC State starter Andrew Brackman. Like Brackman, Moviel could be headed to NC State and is a former basketball player, so he's fairly athletic, especially for someone his size. He's very coordinated and has surprising quickness.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: The body plus the arm strength. At 6-10, Moviel could have the ability to throw a plus, plus fastball to go along with an above-average curve. It's all about projectability.
Weaknesses: He's a project. He struggles with inconsistency and guys his size have to make sure they have everything completely together for everything to work properly. His pitches past his fastball lag behind currently.
Summary: Moviel is a huge 6-foot-10 right-hander who'll be a bit of a project for whichever team takes him. He is fairly athletic and used to play basketball, but as is often the case with pitchers his size, he struggles to repeat his delivery and maintain his mechanics. He does have a solid average fastball, a curve that could become a good pitch with some help and a changeup he doesn't throw much. Finding consistency will be the key to Moviel's success. Some pitchers his size have found it, others have not.

Moviel was 6-2 this season with a 1.62 era for the Eagles with 102 strikeouts in 50.1 IP

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Round 2, Pick 93: Brant Rustich

Brant Rustich (RHP - UCLA)

Fastball: Rustich features a fastball that sits in the 93-94 mph range.
Slider: Rustich's slider is a plus pitch at times.
Changeup: Rustich has thrown a changeup in the past, but didn't throw one in the weekend series against Winthrop.
Split-fingered fastball: He's thrown a split in the past, but didn't in his two outings over the weekend, perhaps scrapping it because of 2006 finger surgery.
Control: The closer commanded both pitches well over the weekend.
Physical Description: Big, imposing presence on the mound.
Medical Update: Rustich pitched in just six games in 2006 before a finger injury forced him to red shirt. He had surgery, but seemed to throw fine in the opening weekend, albeit without the split.
Strengths: Good two-pitch mix, presence for back bullpen.
Weaknesses: He doesn't have the pure power stuff necessarily to be a big league closer and he lacks deception. Some felt he'd have more value as a starter.
Summary: Overall, it was a good opening weekend for Rustich, who answered some questions about his finger. His delivery had improved from the previous year, with a slightly higher arm slot.

Here is how Rustich sees/describes himself:

He throws a 2 and 4 seam fastball, between 92-96, his 2 seamer has great movement on it, and he calls it his best pitch. He has enjoyed success with it when using it against wood bats. His second best pitch is his slider, which ranges between 85 and 89. He calls it his out pitch. His changeup has been called a splitter, due to the down break on it, which is comparable (as Kunz was earlier) to Gagne's change. Rustich feels he needs to work on his fastball command, and also work on his change. He would most compare himself, however, to Jonathan Papelbon.

2007: 3-2, 6.67 era, 20 G, 1 GS, 29.2 IP, 31 H, 20 BBs, 28 Ks, BAA .265
2006: 1-0, 1.50 era, 6 G, 6 IP, 7 H, 2 BBs, 10 Ks
2005: 2-7, 5.23 era, 21 G, 11 GS, 62 IP, 71 H, 38 BBs, 53 Ks
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Round 3, Pick 99: Eric Niesen

Eric Niesen (LHP - Wake Forest)

Fastball: Since moving into the bullpen, Niesen's fastball has been a plus, touching the mid-90s.
Slider: Some like his slider, but others grade it as below-average.
Changeup: Niesen's change is a below-average pitch.
Control: His command is below-average as well.
Physical Description: Niesen is a small lefty with a low three-quarters arm angle and fits a Dan Reichert-type body mold.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: Plus velocity on his fastball with an interesting arm angle.
Weaknesses: None of his other pitches grade out average or above.
Summary: Niesen has found success since moving into Wake Forest's bullpen earlier in the season. His fastball has picked up a few notches, and he throws it with a three-quarter arm angle. That being said, he lacks deception for a lefty reliever and his other pitches lag behind the fastball.

Here is how Niesen sees/describes himself:

He throws a fastball, slider and changeup. His fastball sits 93-94, topping out at 95. His slider and changeup both sit in the 78-83 range. He feels he needs to work on his consistency with his offspeed pitches. He compares himself to Billy Wagner in terms of the guy he wants to pitch like.

2007: 6-5, 3.00 era, 30 G, 7 GS, 84 IP, 66 H, 38 BBs, 83 Ks, BAA .218
2006: 3-2, 4.68 era, 22 G, 9 GS, 57.2 IP, 49 H, 35 BBs, 50 Ks
2005: 5-2, 7.43 era, 33 G, 3 GS, 49.2 IP, 59 H, 28 BBs, 55 Ks
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Round 3, Pick 123: Stephen Clyne

Stephen Clyne (RHP - Clemson)

2007: 5-2, 2.58 era, 31 G, 45.1 IP, 44 H, 18 BBs, 48 Ks, BAA .260
2006: 1-1, 2.59 era, 16 G, 24.1 IP, 17 H, 5 BBs, 26 Ks
2005: 2-0, 3.45 era, 19 G, 28.2 IP, 29 H, 11 BBs, 30 Ks
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Round 4, Pick 153: Richard Lucas

Richard Lucas (3B - Wolfson Senior HS)

Richard batted .338 with 7 homers in his senior season at Wolfson, he is currently playing for the GCL Mets.
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Round 5, Pick 183: Zach Lutz

Zach Lutz (3B - Alvernia College, Pa)

2007: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 5th round (183rd overall) of the 2007 First Year Player Draft...Started in 40 games for the Crusaders...finished 7th in DIII with a .454 batting average...finished 8th in DIII with 12 home runs...ended 2nd in DIII in slugging percentage with a .858 mark...ended 4th in DIII in RBI's per game with 1.49/game...finished 27th in DIII in walks per game with .82/game...also finished 30th in runs per game (1.26) and 91st in doubles per game (.38/game)...had a team season-high 6 hits against Montclair State (3/15 07)...had 17 multiple RBI games...also went 4-2 from the rubber, with a 5.18 ERA in 5 starts...NBCWA National Position Player Of The Year...D3baseball.com National Player of the Year...PAC Player of the Year...Second Team All-American (Utility)...All-PAC First Team infielder...Named PAC Player of the Week (3/19) batted .536 (15-28) with 10 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, and 15 RBIs as the Crusaders started the season 5-3.

Zach compares himself to David Eckstein. He says he may not have the tools other players have, but he always hustles. Sometimes to a fault, as even after games, he will work out, sometimes to excess, causing him to fatigue. The Mets will be using him around the field, from 3rd, to 1st and the OF. He has also played 2nd in his HS and college career.

2007: 64 for 141, 49 runs, 15 2b, 3 3b, 12 HR, 58 RBI, 32/9 BB/K, 10/10 SBs, .454/.541/.858

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