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2013 Draft: Thomas Milone

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The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

(Connecticut Post)
(Connecticut Post)

Thomas Milone | OF

Background
A Connecticut kid from Monroe, Milone is a standout player both on the baseball diamond and football field for Masuk High School. He’s not an elite football prospect and is committed to play baseball at UConn. Milone made a name for himself on the showcase circuit last summer and he is not related to Athletics left-hander Tom Milone, in case you’re wondering.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 lbs., Milone is an excellent athlete with better-than-average speed and quick wrists at the plate. He’s a left-handed hitter (and thrower) who has shown pull power and improved balance this spring, but he remains raw at the plate overall. The speed and athleticism make him a safe bet to remain in center field long-term, where he is already a capable defender. Unlike most prep players who want to reduce injury risk and focus on baseball during their draft year, Milone did not quit football this spring. All of the videos on YouTube are of him playing football, so we’re out of luck there.

Miscellany
Neither Baseball America (subs. req’d) nor Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Milone among the top 50 draft prospects in their most recent rankings, but Baseball America (subs. req’d) considered him the 45th best high school prospect in the class a few weeks ago. The high school season in Connecticut didn’t start until about a week ago, so Milone hasn’t had much time to showcase himself this spring. If he performs well in the coming weeks, he could climb draft boards in a hurry. The Yankees love toolsy up-the-middle players with left-handed power, so Milone is right up their alley. He could play his way into consideration for one of the team’s top three selections (26th, 32nd, 33rd), but the second round (64th) would probably be ideal right now. A lot can change between now and draft day, obviously.

2013 Draft: Yankees offered Jonathan Gray roughly $500k in 2011

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Via Jon Heyman: The Yankees offered RHP Jonathan Gray approximately $500k as their tenth round pick in 2011, which is far above slot. He did not sign and is now expected to be a top five pick in this summer’s draft. Both Baseball America (subs. req’d) and Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked him as the second best prospect in the draft class behind Stanford RHP Mark Appel in their latest rankings.

The Yankees drafted the 21-year-old Gray out of Eastern Oklahoma State but he has since transferred to Oklahoma. He was a pure arm strength guy back in 2011, sitting around 94 mph with his fastball and backing it up with a hard slider. He’s since added velocity and consistently flirts with triple-digits, plus his secondary stuff and overall command has greatly improved. Going from a tenth rounder out of a junior college to a potential first overall pick out of a major program is quite a jump for the kid. Good for him.

2013 Draft: Aaron Blair

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The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Aaron Blair | RHP

Background
A Las Vegas kid, Blair wound up in West Virginia at Marshall after impressing recruits at a showcase event in Florida as a high school senior. He’s pitched to a 2.40 ERA with 52 strikeouts, 16 walks, and zero homers allowed in 48.2 innings across eight starts this spring after posting a 3.60 ERA during his first two years at school. Blair really made a name for himself in the Cape Cod League last summer, when he led the circuit with a 1.17 ERA.

Scouting Report
Listed at a sturdy 6-foot-5 and 220 lbs., Blair is a true three-pitch pitcher who sits 90-93 with his fastball. An upper-70s curveball was his top secondary pitch coming out of high school — the Astros drafted him in the 21st round in 2010, but he obviously didn’t sign — but he picked up a low-to-mid-80s changeup in college that has since developed into a true swing-and-miss offering. Blair has the confidence to throw the pitch in any count and to both right and left-handed hitters. He throws plenty of strikes thanks to a repeatable delivery and he draws raves for his makeup and work ethic, which helped him develop that out-pitch changeup. There are plenty more videos at YouTube.

Miscellany
Keith Law (subs. req’d) and Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Blair as the 39th and 46th best prospect in the draft class in their most recent rankings, respectively, which means he’s firmly in the late first round/sandwich round mix. He’s not a future ace or anything, but he’s a no-doubt starter with a frame built to soak up innings. High(-ish) probability mid-rotation workhorses are always popular targets early in the draft, especially among risk-averse teams. The Yankees have shown they value Cape Cod League success in recent years and we know they love big-bodied pitchers, so Blair seems like someone right up their alley. The latest rankings say he would be a reach with one of their three early picks (26th, 32nd, 33rd), but nothing worth getting upset over.

2013 Draft: Kyle Devin

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The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Kyle Devin | C

Background
A Massachusetts kid who attends Lynn Classical High School just north of Boston, Devin played for the Yankees Area Code Games team last summer. In one game during the showcase, he threw out five attempted base-stealers while picking up two singles and a walk at the plate. He’s committed to Stony Brook.

Scouting Report
Devin, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 lbs., stands out for the power in his bat and the power in his arm. The left-handed swinger puts on big power displays in batting practice and shows a very strong arm from behind the plate. The rest of Devin’s game is very raw — he didn’t start catching until his sophomore year — including his offensive approach and general receiving and footwork at the catcher position. Power at the plate and throwing strength are two skills you can’t teach though, and they’re what will get Devin drafted in June.

Miscellany
Neither Baseball America (subs. req’d) nor Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Devin as one of the 50 best prospects in the draft class in their most recent rankings, and in fact he didn’t even crack Baseball America’s list of the top 200 high school prospects. Devin is a definite project and the lack of polish is just too much to ignore. The Yankees do generally love players with his skillset though, meaning a catcher who hits for power (especially from the left side) and offers arm strength. Devin certainly seems like someone they could target in the later rounds of the draft.

2013 Draft: Hunter Renfroe

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The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Hunter Renfroe | OF

Background
Originally drafted by the Red Sox in the 31st round of the 2010 draft, Renfroe didn’t sign and instead followed through on his commitment to Mississippi State. He went into the weekend with a .414/.483/.828 batting line with 11 homers, 16 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 32 games after managing a .242/.318/.355 batting line during his first two years with the Bulldogs.

Scouting Report
Renfroe, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 216 lbs., stands out immediately because of his right-handed power. He has arguably the most pop in the draft class and is capable of driving the ball out of any part of any park. His overall offensive game has taken a big step forward this spring and he’s now among the best all-around hitters in the nation, with quick hands and a plan at the plate. Renfroe was one of those “has the high-end tools but needs to learn how to use them” guys for a while, selling out for power and struggling to make contact.

Defensively, Renfroe offers a big-time arm — he ran his fastball up to 96 as a reliever last spring — and enough speed and athleticism to handle center fielder, though right field might be his best long-term position. Renfroe caught in high school and as a freshman with Mississippi State, but a move back behind the plate is unlikely. Although the defensive tools are solid, he’s clearly a bat-first prospect. There are plenty of videos on YouTube, and you can see above he’s already got the bat flip part of his game down pat.

Miscellany
Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Renfroe as the 32nd best prospect in the draft recently while Keith Law (subs. req’d) did not include him among his most recent top 50 draft prospect rankings. However, during his chat last week Law did say he would “be a definite first-round pick if the draft were today” because of his offensive improvement. The Yankees had special assistant Jim Hendry on hand to watch the outfielder this weekend according to Kendall Rogers, so we know Renfroe is on the team’s radar. College hitters tend to climb draft boards quickly due to strong performance more than any type of player, so the Bombers might not even get a chance to draft Renfroe with one of their three first round selections (26th, 32nd, 33rd) in a few weeks.

2013 Draft: Casey Meisner

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The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Casey Meisner | RHP

Background
Meisner attends Cypress Woods High School in Cypress, Texas, which is a Houston suburb. He pitched for the Texas Scout Team Yankees last fall, a showcase club the Yankees use the team to familiarize themselves with top Texas high schoolers during the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Championship each year. His college commitment is to Texas Tech.

Scouting Report
The first thing that stands out about Meisner is his size. He’s listed at 6-foot-7 and 185 lbs. so he’s tall and lanky with an awful lot of projection remaining. Meisner’s fastball typically sits about 86-88 these days, but he has shown 92 in the past, so there is some more velocity in there somewhere. His loopy mid-70s curveball looks like an out pitch on some days and still-developing pitch on others. A low-80s changeup that needs a lot of work rounds out his repertoire.

In addition to his size, Meisner stands out because he’s a very good athlete who has shown the ability to repeat his mechanics and keep his delivery in order better than most pitchers his size. He also throws strikes and draws rave reviews for his makeup and mound presence, which has been described as “business-like.” There are a bunch of short video clips on YouTube.

Miscellany
Neither Baseball America (subs. req’d) nor Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Meisner among the top 50 draft prospects in their latest rankings. Baseball America (subs. req’d) did, however, rank him as the 89th best high school player available in this summer’s draft. That’s roughly in the fifth to seventh round range. The Yankees love physically huge pitchers and players with good makeup, so Meisner sounds like someone who is right up their alley. We know he’s at least on their radar after playing for their Texas Scout team late last year. Meisner is a definite project, but he also has the tools to come out as a potential top ten pick in three years if he follows through on his college commitment.

2013 Draft: Jordan Sheffield

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The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Jordan Sheffield | RHP

Background
A Tennessee kid who lives an hour or so outside of Chattanooga, Sheffield threw just three innings for Tullahoma High School this spring before blowing out his elbow and requiring Tommy John surgery. He had the procedure yesterday according to Maurice Patton. Sheffield is committed to Vanderbilt. He is Gary’s nephew.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 lbs., Sheffield sat in the low-90s for most of his career before sitting 94-95 with a few 97s during the Team USA 16-and-under trials last summer and the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Championship in October. He didn’t get much of an opportunity to show if the velocity spike was legit before the injury this spring. A power upper-70s/low-80s curveball is his top secondary pitch and a legitimate put-away offering, and his low-80s changeup is very much a work in progress. Sheffield showed pretty good control throughout his high school career. Here’s some more video.

Miscellany
Neither Baseball America (subs. req’d) nor Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Sheffield as a top 50 draft prospect in their most recent rankings, but both lists were published after the right-hander initially suffered the injury in early-March. Law called him a borderline top 100 guy earlier this week following the news of the elbow reconstruction. Sheffield was considered a tough sign before the injury, but the Yankees have a little bit of a history with buying guys away from Vanderbilt (Dellin Betances, specifically). There’s a decent chance he’ll go completely undrafted now. Sheffield is someone the Yankees could target with a late-round pick — sometime after the tenth round so they don’t risk losing draft pool money in case he doesn’t sign — just to see if he’ll turn pro should they have some extra draft pool money lying around.