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:
Allan Simpson/Ben Collman
Iowa State-by-State List
2011 Iowa Overview
Iowa
Overview:
Rash,
Inspired Play of Iowa Western are Iowa Highlights
Two
developments have made this a positive spring for baseball fans in
Iowa, aside from the unseasonably warm, dry weather.
On
an individual front, Adel-DeSoto-Minden High righthander Alec Rash is
a potential draft pick in the top two rounds. The last player from
the state to be picked as high as the second round was shortstop
Kellen Sweeney, who went 69th overall in 2010 (Blue Jays), 17 picks later than his brother Ryan,
who went 52nd overall (White Sox) in 2003. Rash has a legitimate chance to better
both the Sweeneys and go in the sandwich round, although predicting
his landing point is difficult.
On
a team front, Iowa can claim the top junior-college club in the
country, at least until the Junior College World Series is complete.
Iowa Western (57-5) entered the World Series, currently underway in
Grand Junction, Colo., as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team. The
Reivers are led by outfielder/righthander Tanner Kreitemeier, a
national player-of-the-year candidate who is hitting .430-7-56 while
also going 11-0, 1.51 on the mound, after transferring from Nebraska.
Kreitemeier, an Oklahoma State recruit, and third baseman Damek
Tomscha (.438-15-64), an Auburn signee, are both potential top-10
round picks. A second Iowa JC team, Des Moines Area (50-13), is also
a favorite in the National Junior College Athletic Association
Division II World Series.
The
University of Iowa (23-27), the state’s lone Division I program,
failed to qualify for the Big Ten post-season tournament, despite
defeating No. 14 Purdue twice in the final weekend of the season. The
Hawkeyes will contribute marginally to the draft, with only
lefthander Matt Dermody, a potential top 10-15 round pick, the only
certain selection. They do, however, have a strong recruiting class
ready to enter school next fall, including Illinois prep standouts
like lefthander Ryan Borucki, catcher/righthander Blake Hickman and
shortstop Devin Pickett, along with Iowa righthander Calvin Mathews.
Iowa
in a nutshell:
STRENGTH:
Righthanded pitching.
WEAKNESS:
High-school position prospects.
OVERALL
RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 4.
BEST
COLLEGE TEAM:
Iowa.
BEST
JUNIOR-COLLEGE TEAM:
Iowa Western.
BEST
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM:
Ankeny HS.
PROSPECT
ON THE RISE: Alec Rash, rhp, Adel-Minden-DeSoto HS, Adel. Rash
disappeared off the upper Midwest prospect landscape last year when
he went to live with his mother in Alabama. He was also slow to
reappear when he returned to the state as a senior as he played
football (wide receiver) last fall and was a dominant basketball
player this winter. But once Rash took the mound after basketball
season ended, he quickly established himself as the best prospect in
Iowa and one of the best in the region. With no high-school baseball
in the spring in Iowa, Rash typically threw a series of 2-3 inning
outings in the Perfect Game Iowa Spring League while also appearing
in a couple of Perfect Game showcases before making his first
high-school start of the 2012 season on May 21 (6 IP, 1 H, 12 SO).
His fastball, which now frequently touches 95 mph, and slider have
taken big steps forward this spring, consistent with his rising draft
status.
WILD
CARD: Storm Throne, rhp, Morningside College. The
6-foot-7, 230-pound Throne attends Morningside on a basketball
scholarship, and averaged 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds a game, while
shooting 44 percent on 3-pointers during the 2011-2012 season. He
shows much more long-term promise on the mound, however. He strongly
resembles former Northern Iowa basketball player Lucas O’Rear, who
signed with the Cincinnati Reds as a 13th-round
draft in 2010, even though he didn’t pitch that spring after
Northern Iowa dropped its baseball program. Throne still has a ways
to go to develop his pitching skills, but his fastball has been up to
95 mph at times this spring and he could surpass O’Rear’s draft
slot for the right team.
BEST
OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Iowa Connection:
Matt Koch, rhp, University of Louisville (Attended high school in
Cherokee).
Top
2013 Prospect:
A.J. Puk, lhp/1b, Washington HS, Cedar Rapids.
Top
2014
Prospect:
Keaton McKinney, 1b/rhp, Ankeny HS.
HIGHEST DRAFT PICKS
Draft
History: Mike
King, lhp, Morningside College (1980, Athletics/1st round, 4th pick).
2006
Draft: Zach
Jevne, rhp, University of Northern Iowa (Orioles/27th round).
2007
Draft: Jon
Gilmore, 3b, Iowa City HS (Braves/1st round, 33rd pick).
2008
Draft: B.J.
Hermsen, rhp, West Delaware HS, Manchester (Twins/6th round).
2009
Draft: Steve
Turnbull, rhp, University of Iowa (Blue Jays/17th round).
2010
Draft: Kellen
Sweeney, 3b, Jefferson HS, Cedar Rapids (Blue Jays/2nd round).
2011
Draft: Brandon
Platts, rhp, Mason City HS (Pirates/13th round).
2011
DRAFT OVERVIEW
College
Players Drafted/Signed:
2/1.
Junior
College Players Drafted/Signed:
4/3.
High
School Players Drafted/Signed:
5/2.
BEST
TOOLS
Best
Athlete: Tanner
Kreitemeier, of/rhp, Iowa Western CC.
Best
Hitter:
Tanner Kreitemeier, of/rhp, Iowa Western CC.
Best
Power:
Damek Tomscha, 3b, Iowa Western CC.
Best
Speed:
Zach Coppola, of, Dowling Catholic HS, Windsor Heights.
Best
Defender:
Damek Tomscha, 3b, Iowa Western CC.
Best
Velocity:
Alec Rash, rhp, Adel-DeSoto-Minden HS, Adel.
Best
Breaking Stuff:
Alec Rash, rhp, Adel-DeSoto-Minden HS, Adel.
Best
Command:
Calvin Mathews, rhp, Davis County HS, Bloomfield.
TOP
PROSPECTS, GROUPS ONE and TWO
GROUP ONE (Projected
ELITE-Round Draft / Rounds 1-3)
1. ALEC RASH, rhp,
Adel-DeSoto-Minden HS, Adel
Rash’s
evolution into a top pitching prospect hasn’t taken a conventional
route. Not only did he move from Iowa to Alabama and back to Iowa
while in high school (all the while playing three sports), but he
also changed his arm action, with positive effect. When Rash left
Iowa after his sophomore year at ADM High, he had an extended,
straight-over-the-top release point, a downer curve and fastball that
was just starting to reach the 90s. When he came back a year later,
he was throwing from a tight, three-quarters release point with a
fastball that touched 94-95 mph and a fast-developing slider. Rash
has been very consistent all spring pitching in Perfect Game’s Iowa
Spring League, maintaining plus velocity on his fastball while
showing significant improvement on his slider and flashing feel for a
changeup. His loose 6-foot-5, 195-pound build and his superior
athleticism give scouts reason to believe that there might be another
tick or two of velocity in his future, as well. Tampa Bay Rays
righthander Jeremy Hellickson, the 2011 American League Rookie of the
Year, was the last Iowa pitcher to be picked in the top five rounds
(4th round, 2005) and Rash seems almost assured of surpassing Hellickson.
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