The D-backs continued with the pitching trend in rounds 6-20, at least in the beginning with a pair of high school arms and one college arms in the 6-8 picks.

 

 

Round	No.	Player	Position	Coll/HS
6	181	Blake Perry	RHP	HS
7	211	Jeffrey Shields	RHP	Coll
8	241	Tyler Green	RHP	HS
9	271	Zachary Walters	SS	Coll
10	301	Kawika Emsley-Pai	C	Coll
11	331	Michael Freeman	SS	Coll
12	361	Blake Cooper	RHP	Coll
13	391	Kevin Ziomek	LHP	HS
14	421	Ty Linton	CF	HS
15	451	Michael Bolsinger	RHP	Coll
16	481	Westley Moss	CF	Coll
17	511	Derek Eitel	RHP	Coll
18	541	Jimmy Comerota	1B	Coll
19	571	Adam Eaton	OF	Coll
20	601	Michael Hur	LF	Coll

 

A couple of notes about the D-backs’ earlier picks, from Baseball America:

 

James Bradley – Second Round

A lanky, projectable righthander at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, his fastball ranges from 88-92 mph, but sits at 89-90 and he can touch 93-94 a couple of times in a game… He has outstanding control for a high school arm. He reportedly has walked just two batters in the last two seasons.

 

Robby Rowland – Third Round

At 6-foot-6, 210 pounds, Rowland looks the part of a young Josh Johnson. He is one of the top basketball players in California and could have accepted scholarships to small Division I programs as a shooting guard. Rowland’s father Rich is a former big league catcher (Tigers and Red Sox from 1990-1995), and his older brother is a college catcher.

 

Cody Wheeler – Fifth Round

Wheeler’s best trait, aside from being a southpaw, is his athletic ability. It allows him to add and subtract from his fastball, repeat his delivery, field his position and hold runners well.

 

Keith Law of ESPN.com called fourth-round pick Kevin Munson, “the top pure closer in the draft.”

 

We’ll be back in a bit to wrap up the day’s picks.

 

We’re live here at the D-backs draft room, in an upstairs conference room at Chase Fi

 

D-backs scouts and cross-checkers are here with members of the D-backs’ front office, ready to draft the next wave of D-backs prospects.

 

The D-backs will pick sixth. Here is the draft order for the Top 10:

 

1. Washington Nationals

2. Pittsburgh Pirates

3. Baltimore Orioles

4. Kansas City Royals

5. Cleveland Indians

6. Arizona Diamondbacks

7. New York Mets

8. Houston Astros

9. San Diego Padres

10. Oakland Athletics

 

Once the D-backs make their selection we’ll get D-backs Scouting Director Tom Allison’s view on the pick, and get an interview with him as soon as he’s free for a few minutes.

 

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Television coverage has started. Tune into MLB Network on your local cable outlet for live coverage.

 

Representing the D-backs at the draft are D-backs Special Assistants to the President and CEO Roland Hemond and Luis Gonzalez.

 

——————-

The Washington Nationals are on the clock…. Unless something completely insane happens in the next five minutes, it will be junior college catcher Bryce Harper. The real excitement begins with Pittsburgh at No. 2.

 

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Fascinating part of the draft, as they’re discussing on TV – the Nationals selected outfielder Bryce Harper. Interesting. He’s been a catcher to this point in his career, but it seems like that may be no more.

 

——————-

The Pirates selected Texas high school pitcher Jameson Tallion, so we’re getting closer. The Orioles are on the clock, with four picks to go until showtime.

 

——————-

We’re three picks away as the Orioles select high school shortstop Manny Machado.

 

 

——————-

Got this text from Gonzalez: “It’s a big day for a lot of kids with big league dreams.” Two more picks to go, as the Kansas City Royals select shortstop Christian Colon.

 

——————-

The Cleveland Indians selected Ole Miss lefty Drew Pomeranz. The D-backs are on the clock!

 

——————-

With the No. 6 pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, the D-backs select Texas A&M right-handed pitcher Barrett Loux. Loux’s team will play in an elimination game tonight for the chance to play in the NCAA Super Regional.

 

 

Photo from aggiesports.com

 

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Tom Allison on Loux:

“We’ve scouted Barret since high school and have seen him grow as a pitcher and as a person at Texas A&M, where he was the team’s Friday night starting pitcher this season. He had a successful season this year and is now in the midst of leading his team in a must-win game against the University of Miami tonight to advance to the NCAA Super Regional against Florida this weekend. We believe Barret has all of the physical and mental ingredients to be a starting pitcher in the Major Leagues and look forward to him joining the D-backs soon.”

 

——————-

A few notes on Loux:

Loux, a 6-5, 225-pound right-handed pitcher, was named a Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I Third-Team All-American, First-Team All-Big 12 and is a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award for his season at Texas A&M University. The junior is 11-2 with a complete game and a 2.60 ERA (30 earned) over 104.0 innings pitched in 16 starts this season. He has limited opponents to a .197 average with 33 walks and 136 strikeouts. Loux also led the Big 12 with 126 strikeouts.

 

Here is the MLB Scouting Bureau video on Loux:

 

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12380838&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=8f001a&fullscreen=1

D-backs General Manager Josh Byrnes on the D-backs’ pick:

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12381045&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=8f001a&fullscreen=1

Matt Davidson – First Round – No. 34 overall

Photo courtesy South Bend Silver Hawks

 

By Dan Strittmatter

 

In Matt Davidson, the D-backs have a prospect with tremendous raw power, which was put on display in the summer of 2008 when he won the home run derby prior to the Aflac All-American Game. After being selected, the team sent Davidson to Short-Season Single-A Yakima to get his feet wet, and he had his share of struggles, posting a .631 OPS in 291 plate appearances.

 

A very successful pitcher early in high school (Davidson hit for himself on days he pitched and DHed on days he didn’t pitch), Davidson had spent just two years at third base prior to being selected, so his defense there is rough and some think because of his size, that he may have to play first base in the Majors. The D-backs are giving him every opportunity to develop at third, though, having him split time at the hot corner with 16th-overall pick Bobby Borchering at Single-A South Bend, where they are both spending their first full-year of professional baseball in 2010.

 

The offensive numbers have improved dramatically at South Bend this year for Davidson from his stint at Yakima. Davidson is hitting .304 with a .379 OBP and .505 SLG, having hit 16 doubles and seven homers amongst his 56 hits to lead the team in total bases and OPS. There are some concerns, though, beginning with his 54:14 K:BB ratio and high BABIP of .398. However, as his BABIP has started regressing (it was in the upper-.400’s earlier in the season), there has been a coinciding and noticeable improvement in Davidson’s plate discipline and productivity.

 

In Davidson’s first 25 games, he drew just one walk and struck out 25 times, and averaged 1.42 total bases per hit, with his numbers remaining high due to an unsustainably-high BABIP. But in the 26 games since, he has drawn 13 walks with 29 strikeouts, a respectable 2.23:1 ratio, and his power numbers have also improved dramatically.

 

In those first 25 games, Davidson had hit just one home run to go with eleven doubles. In the 23 games since, he has one fewer extra-base hit overall, but has six home runs to go with five doubles in ten fewer at-bats, accumulating exactly two total bases per hit and an amazing wOBA of .380. Further, his BABIP in that span has been a more sustainable .309.

 

Another painful but productive trend in Davidson’s young career is his propensity to get hit by pitches. During his senior season at Yucaipa High School, Davidson was hit by over a dozen pitches, and this has continued into his professional career. So far in 2010, Davidson has been plunked eight times, and these have helped Davidson maintain his fantastic OBP despite his small, but rapidly growing, walk total.

 

By almost any statistical measure, Matt Davidson has been the most formidable hitter in the Silver Hawks’ lineup in 2010. Should Davidson be promoted this year, his play at South Bend indicates that there’s a strong chance he could compete in the Cal League, especially given its hitter-friendly nature. However, there is a positional logjam at the corner infield positions in Hi-A similar to the one with Davidson and Borchering at South Bend.

 

It’s an issue, but certainly one that the D-backs are glad to have in their system.

 

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12118378&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=8f001a&fullscreen=1

Bobby Borchering – First Round – No. 16 overall

 

Photo courtesy South Bend Silver Hawks

By Dan Strittmatter

 

A year ago, Bobby Borchering was a new graduate of Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Meyers, Fla. It’s a safe bet, though, to say that Borchering was alone among his classmates in being compared to Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, 1999 NL MVP and six-time All-Star.

 

Borchering’s power-laden swing from both sides of the plate drew the awe of scouts, many of whom considered Borchering to be the best high school bat on the board in the 2009 draft.

 

The D-backs took notice, and selected him with their first pick, 16th overall. He showed off his immense power right away for the Rookie-level Missoula Osprey, with eight doubles, a triple and two home runs amongst his 21 hits. But he had some struggles getting on base, hitting .241 and drawing five walks in 93 plate appearances in the regular-season.

 

However, Borchering had a great postseason for the Osprey, hitting .321 with two home runs and 10 RBI in six postseason games.

 

The organization assigned Borchering to Single-A South Bend to begin 2010 on a roster filled with other top draft picks from the 2009 draft.

 

With his first full-season of professional baseball also came some heavy expectations of the 19-year-old first-round pick.

 

“I try not to worry about that,” Borchering said. “You’ve just got to take it one day at a time and go out there and play your game.”

 

He got off to a rough start, though, going 1-for-17 in his first five games.

 

“The biggest adjustment to make is getting used to the environment, especially in South Bend,” Silver Hawks Manager Mark Haley said. “It’s cold, it’s a new environment, you’re going to see some major college kids coming right out of the chute — college guys and older than that, guys with four years in pro ball already.

 

“He’s not used to that cold weather and making adjustments and seeing that stuff every night, but he’s able to do that. He’s just going to get better and better.”

 

Since those first five games, Borchering has done just that, posting above-league-average offensive numbers, hitting .267 with eleven doubles and five home runs for a .734 OPS (the 2010 MWL average OPS is .688). This is all the more impressive when you take into consideration that Borchering’s age in a league where the average age of pitchers is more than 21, and that Borchering is in the midst of the longest season of baseball in his career.

 

“I think the big thing is taking care of your body and making sure you watch what you eat,” Borchering said on how he has dealt with adjusting to the grind of the full-season schedule. “Making sure you cool down after games and go back to normal and get ready to suit up the next day.”

 

These numbers he has posted since his early-season slump are reminiscent of Justin Upton’s first full season of professional baseball in 2006 for South Bend, also under Haley, when Upton was 18 years old.

 

Haley said you can indeed draw some comparison between 2006 Upton and 2010 Borchering.

 

“There are a lot of similarities,” Haley said, “and anytime you get a guy who’s had a lot of success coming up and then is being challenged, how they handle it emotionally is a huge transition.

 

“That’s why I was very confident that Justin Upton was going to be what he is, and I feel very confident that Bobby Borchering will be (successful).”

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12117568&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=8f001a&fullscreen=1

For the next week, we’ll be bringing you constant coverage of the D-backs’ 2010 draft, starting with a look at the 2009 draft class.

The D-backs had seven picks in the first two rounds last year, and eight picks out of the top 100.

We’ll give you a look at each of the eight players chosen up in the first three rounds last year, and a glimpse at who some of the sleepers might be in that class.

Next week, we’ll be coming at you live from the D-backs’ draft room, to get a good look at the process that goes into the selections for this year.