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Draft  | Follow List | 6/1/2010

UTAH

2010 FOLLOW LIST
 
COMPILED by ALLAN SIMPSON
 
STATE OVERVIEW
Utah high schools have been so challenged to produce high-end talent through the years that just two first-rounders have come from the state in 45 years, both lefthanders—Bruce Hurst in 1976, Mark Pawelek in 2005. No position players have ever been taken in the first two rounds.
 
If ever there was a year that drought was going to end, this might have been it. Utah has two formidable high-school talents in Spanish High righthander Adam Duke and Pineview High shortstop Marcus Littlewood. While there has been considerable speculation this spring that Duke might become only the state’s third first-rounder on record, and that Littlewood might edge his way into the top two rounds, those possibilities began looking less likely as scouts made their last sweeps through the state.
 
By most accounts, Duke is more likely to be a second- or third-rounder, while Littlewood appears a better fit in Rounds 3 or 4.
 
One thing is for certain, the two high-school stars are far and away Utah’s best talents for the 2010 draft.
 
Duke caused an early stir this year when his fastball was clocked up to 95 mph in his first outing. He continued to pump mid-90s heat in several more appearances, while complementing his fastball with a curve with tight spin. Scouts were extremely impressed with his athletic frame and excellent arm speed, and Duke quickly bumped Littlewood from his accustomed position as the top prospect in Utah.
 
Littlewood has been a high-profile player in the Utah prep ranks since he was a freshman, and a case was made this spring by area scouts that he is the best high-school position player ever to come from Utah. As such, he was expected to seriously contend for the honor of being the state’s highest position player ever drafted, though many of those same scouts also cautioned that his lack of speed and quickness may be significant-enough drawbacks for him not to go that high.
 
Both Duke and Littlewood had plenty to live up to this spring, if only because of the high standard set through past accomplishments of members of their own families.
 
Duke took a back seat a year ago to his brother Brock, who was named the tournament MVP as Spanish Fork High breezed to the Utah 5-A title. With center stage to himself this spring, the younger Duke blossomed as a senior and boosted his draft stock significantly. He set a state career record for pitching wins and duplicated the feat of his brother by earning tournament MVP honors as Spanish Fork repeated at state champions, though in the 4-A class.
 
Brock Duke, now a freshman closer at Utah, was a high-profile prospect growing up in Utah, before leveling off a bit in his final two years of high school. In contrast, Adam is more of a late bloomer and surged past brother Brock this spring, once he was out of his shadow.
 
Littlewood, meanwhile, stung the ball at a .531 clip as a junior at Pineview High, leading to his selection as the Utah 2009 prep player of the year. He continued to hit at a fast pace this spring (.481, 7 HR), while putting finishing touches on other areas of his game.
 
For the past 15 years, Littlewood’s father, Mike, has been the head coach at Dixie State College, a team that won the 2004 Junior College World Series and has since upgraded to the NCAA Division II level.
 
Beyond those two players, Utah has little else to offer in the draft this year—particularly at the college level.
 
Utah doesn’t command a lot of scouting traffic at the best of times, because of its somewhat remote location and modest-sized player pool. It’s also one of the nation’s most-enigmatic states to scout since so many of the better prospects venture off on Mormon missions for two years, often at the height of their college careers.
 
Those complicating factors are certainly at play this year. The college crop offers little in the way of draftable talent. University of Utah righthander Jordan Whatcott appears to be the consensus best prospect at that level, but he’ll be 25 years old three days after the draft and hardly distinguished himself this year as a senior with a 5-9, 5.68 record. Both Utah (23-28) and Brigham Young (27-31), which usually carry the torch for college baseball in the state, finished below .500. The Utes, at least, have a significant prospect for the 2011 draft in hard-hitting sophomore catcher C.J. Cron (.431-20-81).
 
If there was a positive development at the college level, it was the inspired play of Utah Valley University, which won 41 games and shattered the previous school record of just 25. The Wolverines won their final 14 games and swept to the Great West Conference tournament title after posting a 26-2 record in conference play during the regular season.
 
Utah Valley was not rewarded for its breakout season as the far-flung Great West Conference (a loosely-assembled collection of independent Division I teams that stretches from Utah Valley in the west, to Texas-Pan American in the south, to New Jersey Tech and New York Tech in the east, to North Dakota in the north) does not have an automatic bid to the NCAA 64-team tournament. Utah Valley’s RPI wasn’t remotely in range to be considered for an at-large bid.
 
Despite the presence of senior third baseman Jace Brinkerhoff and junior outfielder Chris Benson (a 23-year old returning missionary), Utah Valley players probably won’t be much of a factor in the draft, either. Brinkerhoff finished the year with a Division I-best .456 average, along with 85 RBIs, while Benson had a national-high 89 RBIs while hitting .408. Brinkerhoff is the better prospect of the two, and might even have earned some interest as a pitcher (he was the team’s closer in 2009) until he underwent labrum surgery last summer, and his arm strength is still not back to 100 percent.
 
The most draftable non-high school talent in Utah might actually be found at Salt Lake CC, but even there, the team’s two best prospects have question marks. Third-year sophomore righthander Derek Christensen, whose fastball has peaked at 93 mph, posted the poorest record (4-4, 5.61) on the Bruins’ staff as he battled constant command issues. Freshman righthander/outfielder Josh Mooney has undeniable tools and athletic ability, especially a big arm, but continues to be largely ignored by scouts because of his on-field demeanor and past off-field indiscretions.
 
IN A NUTSHELL
STRENGTH: Two elite prep players.
WEAKNESS: College talent.
OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 3.
 
BEST COLLEGE TEAM: Utah Valley.
BEST JUNIOR-COLLEGE TEAM: Salt Lake.
BEST HIGH SCHOOL TEAM: Spanish Fork.
 
PROSPECT ON THE RISE: Adam Duke, rhp, Spanish Fork HS. With a fastball at 95 mph, Duke burst into elite-prospect status this spring, jumping over shortstop Marcus Littlewood, the state’s anointed top prospect.
PROSPECT ON THE DECLINE: None.
WILD CARD: Josh Mooney, rhp/of, Salt Lake CC. If scouts can look past Mooney’s character issues and focus only on his talent, he could easily be Utah’s third-best prospect behind Duke and Littlewood.
 
BEST OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Utah Connection: Tyler Hanks, rhp, College of Southern Nevada (Attended high school in Spanish Fork).
TOP 2011 PROSPECT: C.J. Cron, c, Utah.
TOP 2012 PROSPECT: Kayden Porter, c/if, Spanish Fork HS.
 
HIGHEST DRAFT PICKS
Highest Pick, Draft History: Cory Snyder, 3b, Brigham Young U. (1984, Indians/1st round, 4th pick).
Highest Pick, 2006 Draft: John Holdzkom, rhp, Salt Lake CC (Mets/4th round).
Highest Pick, 2007 Draft: Garrett Nash, ss, Jordan HS, Draper (Rangers/4th round).
Highest Pick, 2008 Draft: Stephen Fife, rhp, U. of Utah (Red Sox/3rd round).
Highest Pick, 2009 Draft: Steve Parker, 3b, Brigham Young U. (A’s/5th round).
 
BEST TOOLS
Best Hitter: Marcus Littlewood, ss, Pineview HS, St. George.
Best Power: Dillon Robinson, ss, Lone Peak HS, Highland.
Best Speed: No candidate.
Best Defender: Marcus Littlewood, ss, Pineview HS, St. George.
Best Velocity: Adam Duke, rhp, Spanish Fork HS.
Best Breaking Stuff: Adam Duke, rhp, Spanish Fork HS.
 
TOP PROSPECTS
Full scouting reports available on players ranked on national Top 250 list (click on National Top 300)
 
GROUP ONE (Projected ELITE-Round Draft / Rounds 1-3)
1. ADAM DUKE, rhp, Spanish Fork HS                                                             National Top 250 (Rank 72)
Emerged as elite prospect when FB hit 95; loose frame, excellent arm/hand speed; state 4-A tourney MVP

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