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General  | Top Ten | 12/18/2008

Draft '09: Advantage Alabama

Allan Simpson
Alabama’s impact on the 2010 baseball draft should be significant as Auburn’s Hunter Morris and Kevin Patterson, and Wetumpka High’s Reggie Golden are potential first-round picks. Several other players, notably at the college level, are projected early-round selections.

By comparison, Alabama’s Draft Class of 2009 does not measure up to the same standard. But with PG Crosschecker about to unveil comprehensive state-by-state follow lists of the top prospects in the 2009 class (along with 2010 and 2011), we thought Alabama—the first state in alphabetical order, and the first one we’ll post—would be an appropriate place to take an a close-up look at the talent available. We’ll take a similar sneak preview with several other states over the next couple of weeks.

In all, we’ll identify and rank more than 125 college, junior college and high school prospects in this year’s Alabama draft class. The top 10 prospects, as we’ve scouted and ranked them, are noted below.

Unlike the 2008 draft, when high-school and junior-college prospects were the state’s more popular demographic, the emphasis this year will be on college talent. Jacksonville State junior righthander Ben Tootle, who was barely on the radar of most scouts at this time a year ago, has emerged as the state’s top prospect after switching to a closer role in a breakout summer in the Cape Cod League. He’s projected as a mid- to late-first rounder. (Scroll down for the scouting report that we wrote on Tootle as part of our coverage of the Cape’s Top 100 Prospects).

Like Tootle, whose fastball has touched 99 mph, the next two players on the accompanying list owe their lofty ranking to strong summer-league performances.

Alabama junior lefthander Del Howell has teased scouts with his two-way ability since being an 18th-round pick of the New York Yankees out of an Alabama high school in 2006, and it finally came together for him last summer in the Texas Collegiate League. Howell excelled in a predominantly closer role with a two-pitch mix that included a 92-93 mph fastball and a hard, biting slider. He was selected that league’s top prospect.

Auburn’s Joseph Sanders, the No. 3-ranked prospect, also enhanced his stock by earning all-star honors at second base in the Cape Cod League while leading Harwich to the league championship.

Interestingly, Tootle is scheduled to return as the Friday starter in the spring for Jacksonville State—despite clearly establishing his niche in a short role in the Cape. The versatile Sanders also is expected to switch positions, sliding over to third base from second, while Howell’s role should change, too, as he’s expected to concentrate more on pitching and less on hitting in the spring.

Alabama and Auburn, the two highest-profile colleges in Alabama, had a marginal impact on the 2008 draft after losing 28 games each, but their combined contribution should be significantly greater as PG Crosschecker projects the two schools will produce nine picks in the first 10-12 rounds between them next June.

While Morris and Patterson, who will join Sanders in the heart of Auburn’s batting order, were a major part of an exceptional Alabama 2007 high school crop, the No. 1-rated talent in that class was outfielder Kentrail Davis. He elected to attend the University of Tennessee out of high school and, at 21, will be age-eligible for this year’s draft as a sophomore. He should edge out Tootle as the first player with an Alabama connection drafted in June.

Davis elected to leave the state to play college baseball, and the top three players in this year’s prep class have also committed to out-of-state schools. Lefthanders Luke Bole and C.C. Watson recently signed with Mississippi State, while shortstop Cooper Moseley is a Georgia recruit.

At this point, none of the three prospects projects to be drafted in the top three rounds—a rare occurrence for a state that has produced more than its share of high school first-round talent in recent years. Outfielder Destin Hood (Nationals) and lefthander Tyler Stovall (Braves), both second-rounders, were the state’s best high school drafts in 2008.

While Alabama’s high-end, high-school talent is expected to be less prominent in 2009, the talent at the junior-college level should take an even more pronounced step back after the ’08 draft produced three significant arms: righthanders Craig Kimbrel (Braves, third round) and J.J. Hoover (Braves, 10th round), and lefthander Buddy Boshers (Angels, 4th round). The trio combined for 431 strikeouts in 275 innings as sophomores, including a national-best 176 by Hoover, who received a $400,000 bonus as a 10th rounder (a higher amount than either Kimbrel or Boshers received).

The top-ranked Alabama junior college player heading into the 2009 season is Shelton State sophomore shortstop Nick Vickerson, a Florida State transfer already attending his third college. Vickerson projects as a mid-round selection.

With the 2009 draft (set for June 9-10) still almost six months away, here’s how we see the top 10 prospects in Alabama (with projected draft range for each player noted):

Rank Player Pos. School Hometown Projected Range
1. Ben Tootle RHP Jacksonville State U. Oxford, Ala. 1st round
2. Del Howell LHP U. of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. 2-4
3. Joseph Sanders 3B/2B Auburn U. Millbrook, Ala. 3-4
4. Luke Bole LHP Hartselle HS Hartselle, Ala. 3-5
5. Scott Shuman RHP Auburn U. Valdosta, Ga. 3-5
6. C.C. Watson LHP Cleburne County HS Heflin, Ala. 3-6
7. Taylor Thompson RHP Auburn U. Montgomery, Ala. 4-6
8. Cooper Moseley SS Success Unlimited Academy Montgomery, Ala. 4-8
9. Slade Smith RHP Fort Payne HS Fort Payne, Ala. 4-8
10. Brandon May OF/1B U. of Alabama Marietta, Ga. 4-8

SCOUTING REPORT / BEN TOOTLE
Falmouth / Cape Cod League (2008)
Tootle went 10-2, 3.87 with 79 strikeouts in 86 innings as an all-Ohio Valley Conference starting pitcher as a sophomore. He was a relative unknown at the time of his arrival in Falmouth, but his stature changed overnight as he immediately began pumping mid-90s fastballs consistently in his new role as a closer. He routinely worked in the 96-97 mph range during the summer, occasionally touched 98 and even hit a 99. Despite his modest 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame, Tootle possessed the most explosive arm in the Cape Cod League. He wasn’t just a one-trick pony, either, as he also buckled the knees of righthanded hitters with his hard, dynamic breaking ball—a pitch that was a cross between a slider and curve. On the strength of the most-consistently dominating stuff in the league, Tootle went 3-3, 1.97 with five saves in 22 relief appearances. He struck out 44 in 32 innings, while opponents hit just .183 against him. But Tootle wasn’t always invincible as his fastball was frequently straight and in the middle of the plate, and his arm action tended to be a little long at times, enabling hitters to pick up the ball with relative ease coming out of his hand. While Tootle took and ran with his new role as a closer, he is expected to return to the Friday slot in Jacksonville State’s rotation—though he’ll begin the 2009 season with a considerably higher profile than he finished the 2008 campaign. He’ll need to concentrate on improving his fastball life and command, and tighten his breaking ball for it to become a more effective weapon consistently against lefthanded hitters.

--ALLAN SIMPSON
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