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 mini-scouting reports on all Group 1 and 2 players.
New Hampshire State-by-State List
New Hampshire
Overview:
Noteworthy
Year in New Hampshire; Records, Win Streaks, Draftable Talent
New Hampshire will
never be confused with some of the nation’s top-talent producing
states in the Sun Belt area of the country, but this has been a
banner year for baseball in the state—both at the college and
high-school levels, in a multitude of ways.
Dartmouth, the state’s
only Division I college program, won a school-record 30 games, though
was upset in the Ivy League’s best-of-3 championship series,
falling one game shy of its third straight league. NCAA Division II
power Franklin Pierce (43-17) also had one its best seasons in school
history, but pulled up just a game short of making its sixth D-II
World Series appearance in the last nine years.
At the high-school
level, three-time Class I state champion Portsmouth High broke the
national record of 75 wins in a row, set by Homer (Mich.) High in
2005. The team stretched the mark to 80 in a row by completing its
regular-season schedule at 16-0.
New Hampshire could
also produce its highest draft pick since 2006, when lefthander Jeff
Locke, a top prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, was drafted
in the second round by the Atlanta Braves. Six-foot-5, 215-pound
righthander Jordan Cote from Winnisquam Regional High has been
picking up steam all spring, and could be a factor as early as the
fourth- to sixth rounds.
Cote put himself on the
map a year ago by throwing a no-hitter in the state Class M
championship game to complete a perfect season at 11-0, 0.66 with 113
strikeouts in 63 innings. He entered his senior year with a 25-1,
0.96 career mark, and added to those credentials by going 5-1, 0.73
with 72 strikeouts in his first 38 innings.
While scouts have been
impressed with Cote’s big, projectable frame and clean arm action,
they remain unconvinced that he has dominated with pure raw stuff,
believing that the weak competition he has faced in New Hampshire has
been a bigger contributing factor. Cote’s fastball has been a
steady 90-92 mph, topping at 93, but it is often flat and lacks
electricity. His secondary stuff, which consists of a slurvy breaking
ball and undeveloped changeup, is also just marginal. Given his
incomplete package, a team that invests an early-round pick in Cote
will need to be convinced that he’ll throw much harder down the
road.
Though Cote is nowhere
as polished a pitcher as veteran big leaguer Chris Carpenter was in
1993, when he became the highest-draft pick ever from New Hampshire’s
high-school ranks (Blue Jays, 15th pick overall), Cote
bears a lot of similarities to Carpenter.
Even with its
impressive win streak, Portsmouth High does not have a draftable
prospect of note, though has two players that have committed to
Division I schools in the Northeast.
The impressive seasons
enjoyed by Dartmouth and Franklin Pierce should result in both
schools being a factor in the draft, with each likely to produce at
least one pick in the first 10 rounds.
Dartmouth’s best bet
is righthander Kyle Hendricks, a 6-foot-3, loose-armed Californian
who posted a 5-3, 2.47 record with 11 walks and 70 strikeouts in 62
innings. His fastball can reach 95 mph, but it also can be 90, and
straight. Hendricks has good pitchability with three workable
off-speed pitches, in addition to his fastball.
Franklin Pierce’s
best prospects are red-shirt sophomore righthander Ryan Thompson and
junior catcher Mike Dowd. Thompson, a Canadian who pitched sparingly
as a freshman and sophomore at the University of Connecticut, had an
impressive season (11-1, 1.23, 95 IP/63 H/13 BB/114 SO) with a
fastball up to 94 mph, but the pitch was more often a pedestrian
88-92 range, and accompanied by a fringy breaking ball.
The 5-foot-9, 210-pound
Dowd has short, stocky frame that may work against him, along with
ordinary receiving and blocking skills, but he has an exceptional arm
behind the plate that may earn him a shot in the top in the top 8-10
rounds. He hit .340-3-37 on the season.
Dowd is not to be
confused with Dartmouth catcher Chris O’Dowd, the state’s top
prospect for the 2012 draft. O’Dowd (.329-7-23) is the son of
Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd.
New Hampshire in a
Nutshell:
STRENGTH:
College players.
WEAKNESS:
High-school depth.
OVERALL RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 4.
BEST COLLEGE TEAM:
Dartmouth.
BEST HIGH-SCHOOL
TEAM: Portsmouth.
BEST OUT-OF-STATE
PROSPECT, New Hampshire Connection: Billy Ferriter, of,
University of Connecticut (attended high school in Nashua).
TOP 2012 PROSPECT:
Chris O’Dowd, c, Dartmouth College.
TOP 2013 PROSPECT:
Mitch Horacek, lhp, Dartmouth College.
HIGHEST DRAFT PICKS
Draft History:
Chris Carpenter, rhp, Trinity HS, Manchester (1993, Blue Jays/1st round, 15th pick).
2006 Draft: Jeff
Locke, lhp, Kennett HS, Center Conway (Braves/2nd round).
2007 Draft: Keith
Renaud, rhp, Franklin Pierce College (Mariners/10th round).
2008 Draft: Damon
Wright, of, Dartmouth College (Giants/25th round).
2009 Draft: Nick
Santomauro, of, Dartmouth (Mets/10th round).
2010 Draft: Jose
Macias, rhp, Franklin Pierce College (Athletics/18th round).
TOP PROSPECTS,
GROUPS ONE and TWO
GROUP
TWO (Projected MID-Round Draft /
Rounds 4-10)
1.
JORDAN COTE, rhp, Winnisquam Regional HS, Tilton
Projectable
6-5/215 RHP; career 30-2, 0.92; easy/clean arm action, looks to add
velo/movement to 90-93 FB.
2.
KYLE HENDRICKS, rhp, Dartmouth College (Jr.)
+
size (6-3/190), athleticism; + pitchability, 4 pitch-repertoire; FB
touches 95, but also dips to 90 and straight.
3.
MIKE DOWD, c, Franklin Pierce College (Jr.)
Has
huge arm behind plate, but only + tool; stocky 5-9/185 frame,
receiving/blocking skills shaky; .340-3-37.