In
the weeks leading up to the draft, Perfect Game will be providing a
detailed overview of each state in the U.S., including the District
of Columbia, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. These overviews will
list the state's strengths, weaknesses and the players with the best
tools, as well as providing scouting reports on all Group 1 and 2
players as ranked in Perfect Game's state-by-state scouting lists.
Contributing: David
Rawnsley
Massachusetts State-by-State List
2011 Massachusetts Overview
Massachusetts
Overview:
Rare
Lean Year for Massachusetts in Draft
Massachusetts
has produced some noteworthy draft classes over the last 2-3 years,
but the 2012 crop is not likely to be remembered as one. Only two
players, both from the high-school ranks, are projected to be drafted
in the top 10 rounds.
That’s
in contrast to 2011, when righthander Tyler Beede, an unsigned
first-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays, highlighted a banner crop
of high-school pitching prospects, and the college crop in that draft
was so deep that 13 players were drafted. It’s also in contrast to
2009, when Boston College produced a pair of first-rounders,
including catcher Tony Sanchez, the fourth overall pick that year;
and even 2010, when Boston College had three players taken in the top
10 rounds, and a school record six overall.
The
only way this year’s crop even resembles any of its immediate
predecessors has to do with the projected top pick, outfielder Rhett
Wiseman, pegged to go in Rounds 3-4. He is a Vanderbilt recruit, much
like Beede, who was somewhat of a surprise first-round selection a
year ago—and even a bigger surprise when he became the only
first-rounder from 2011 not to sign. In fact, none of the six
high-school players drafted last year from Massachusetts signed pro
contracts.
This
year’s college crop is top-heavy with players who were eligible for
the draft a year ago, but went undrafted—the one exception being
Northeastern University lefthander Andrew Leenhouts, an unsigned
43rd-round
selection of the Miami Marlins. The top-ranked college player,
Massachusetts junior righthander Dennis Torres, not only was not
drafted a year ago but had never even been so much as scouted until
that point in his development, and his emergence this spring into a
legitimate prospect ranks as one of the better tests of perseverance
among any player in this year’s draft pool.
Boston
College dominated every draft in Massachusetts from 2008-10, but will
be a non-factor in the early rounds for the second year in a row.
That is pretty much in keeping with the club’s 17-33 and 22-33
records overall the last two seasons. The school’s best prospects
are righhthander Matt Brazis and shortstop Anthony Melchionda, both
seniors that are candidates to be drafted after the 10th round.
No
Massachusetts Division I team advanced to the NCAA Division I
tournament this year, and the in-state team that enjoyed the greatest
success may have been little Wheaton College, which advanced all the
way to the Division III World Series championship game before being
eliminated by two-time champion Marietta (Ohio).
Massachusetts
in a nutshell:
STRENGTH:
Deep pool of college seniors.
WEAKNESS:
Front-line college talent.
OVERALL
RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 2.
BEST
COLLEGE TEAM:
Holy Cross.
BEST
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM:
Boston College HS, Dorchester.
BEST
OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Massachusetts Connection:
Daniel Langfield, rhp, University of Memphis (Attended high school in
Somerset).
Top
2013 Prospect:
Tom Bourdon, of, Boston College.
Top
2014
Prospect:
Justin Bellinger, 1b, St. Sebastian’s HS, Weston.
HIGHEST
DRAFT PICKS
Draft
History:
Joe Coleman, rhp, Natick HS (1965, Senators/1st round, 3rd pick).
2006
Draft: Adam
Ottavino, rhp, Northeastern University (Cardinals/1st round, 30th pick).
2007
Draft: Jack
McGeary, lhp, Roxbury Latin HS, Newton (Nationals/6th round).
2008
Draft: Dan
Houston, rhp, Boston College (Rockies/7th round).
2009
Draft: Tony
Sanchez, c, Boston College (Pirates/1st round, 4th pick).
2010
Draft: Patrick
Dean, lhp, Boston College (Twins/3rd round).
2011
Draft: Tyler
Beede, rhp, Lawrence Academy, Groton (Blue Jays/1st round, 18th pick).
2011
DRAFT OVERVIEW
College
Players Drafted/Signed:
13/12.
Junior
College Players Drafted/Signed:
0/0.
High
School Players Drafted/Signed:
6/0.
TOP
PROSPECTS, GROUPS ONE and TWO
GROUP ONE (Projected
ELITE-Round Draft / Rounds 1-3)
None
GROUP TWO (Projected
HIGH-Round Draft / Rounds 4-10)
1. RHETT WISEMAN,
of, Buckingham, Browne & Nichols HS, Mansfield
Wiseman
was one of the most-active participants on the elite high-school
showcase/tournament schedule last summer and fall, and it represented
both valuable exposure and experience for a top prospect from New
England as scouts gained a better feel for what Wiseman can do
against top-level competition. He generally showed a
potentially-dynamic combination of power and speed, and Wiseman’s
appeal was further enhanced by hitting from the left side of the
plate. The tightly-wound, 6-foot-1, 195-pound Wiseman grades out as
an above-average runner as he has been timed as low as 3.63 seconds
to first base on a bunt, 4.07 on a full swing and 6.51 in the 60. His
swing has some effort to it, a term more commonly used with pitchers
than position players, but Wiseman has shown the aptitude to adjust
well to off-speed pitches and still makes consistent hard contact
against 90-plus velocity. The ball comes off his bat as hard as any
player in the country when he squares it up. Any notion of toning
down Wiseman’s swing is probably not an option for future coaches
as he is an all-out, 100-percent hustle player that doesn’t know
much else other than maximum effort. His superior speed and constant
motor combine to provide him plenty of range for center field, but he
may be pushed to a corner down the road. Wiseman attends Buckingham,
Browne and Nichols School, one of the most-exclusive private schools
in the country, which is located a mere four miles from Boston’s
Fenway Park. He has signed to attend college at Vanderbilt, so his
signability might be a complicated process for scouts.
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