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: David
Rawnsley
Colorado State-by-State List
2011 Colorado Overview
Colorado
Overview:
Banner
Draft Year For Former Colorado Prep Standouts
Colorado’s
influence on the 2012 draft will be profound—perhaps more than any
other state from the standpoint of producing high-school talent that
has been developed in out-of-state colleges. Louisiana State
righthander Kevin Gausman, a legitimate candidate to go first
overall? A Colorado high-school product. Missouri State righthander
Pierce Johnson, a possible first-rounder? A Colorado high-school
product.
The
same Colorado ties apply to Creighton lefthander Ty Blach, St.
Edward’s (Texas) righthander Stephen Johnson, Iowa Western CC
outfielder Tanner Kreitemeier, Kentucky lefthander Taylor Rogers and
Stanford outfielder Jake Stewart—all legitimate candidates to go in
the first 10 rounds of this year’s draft.
Because
Colorado doesn’t have a dominant Division I baseball program, most
of the better prep talent is routinely siphoned off by college
programs around the country. As a result, Colorado rarely gets its
due for producing the volume of baseball talent that is typically
churned out of the state’s high schools each year. Over the last
eight drafts, a total of 160 players (an average of 20 per year) were
selected that played baseball at Colorado high schools.
It’s
all about perception vs. reality, and Colorado’s reputation as a
baseball state undoubtedly suffers because of the paucity of
meaningful Division I baseball institutions in the state. Colorado’s
only remaining D-I baseball programs are the Air Force Academy and
Northern Colorado. The often-raw, late-spring weather conditions that
blanket Colorado typically play havoc with baseball schedules, and is
the chief culprit in mainstream colleges like Colorado and Colorado
State abandoning their programs through the years.
Righthander
Luke Hochevar, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft, and third
baseman Jeff King, the top selection in 1986, further accentuate the
point. Hochevar grew up in Colorado and attended high school in Wray,
but spent his college career at Tennessee. King, a Colorado Springs
product, developed his baseball skills at Arkansas.
From
a 2012 draft standpoint, Colorado’s crop of in-state talent is
leaner than normal, though numerous players still have significant
commitments to out-of-state colleges. Ryan Burr, a 6-foot-4,
215-pound righthander who participated in the 2011 Perfect Game
All-American Classic, has been recruited to play at Arizona State.
Six-foot-7 righthander Ryan Warner, regarded as the state’s No. 2
prep prospect, has committed to North Carolina State.
Not
all the young talent in Colorado escaped the state over the last two
or three years as outfielder Jeff Popick, a local product, played an
instrumental role in leading Division II Colorado Mesa (previously
Mesa State) to a 39-14 record this spring and an easy Rocky Mountain
Athletic Conference regular-season title, though the Mavericks season
ended unexpectedly when they were knocked out of the RMAC tournament.
Popick led the team in batting, homers and RBIs.
Colorado
in a nutshell:
STRENGTH:
Out-of-state talent developed in local high schools.
WEAKNESS:
College talent.
OVERALL
RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 2.
BEST
COLLEGE TEAM:
Colorado Mesa.
BEST
JUNIOR-COLLEGE TEAM:
Lamar.
BEST
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM:
Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village.
BEST
OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Colorado Connection:
Kevin Gausman, rhp, Louisiana State University (Attended high school
in Aurora).
Top
2013 Prospect:
Derek Beauprez, 1b/rhp, Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village.
Top
2014
Prospect:
David Peterson, lhp, Regis Jesuit HS, Denver.
HIGHEST
DRAFT PICKS
Draft
History:
Luke Hochevar, rhp, Wray (2006, Royals/1st round, 1st pick).
2006
Draft: Luke
Hochevar, rhp, Wray (Royals/1st round, 1st pick).
2007
Draft: Colin
Allen, rhp, Lamar CC (Orioles/22nd round).
2008
Draft: Tyler
Sample, rhp, Mullen HS, Denver (Royals/3rd round).
2009
Draft: Geoff
Baldwin, 1b, Grand Junction HS (Royals/10th round).
2010
Draft: Kevin
Gausman, rhp, Grandview Prep, Aurora (Dodgers/6th round).
2011
Draft: Greg
Bird, c, Grandview Prep, Aurora (Yankees/5th round).
2011
DRAFT OVERVIEW
College
Players Drafted/Signed:
1/1.
Junior
College Players Drafted/Signed:
3/2.
High
School Players Drafted/Signed:
5/1.
TOP
PROSPECTS, GROUPS ONE and TWO
GROUP ONE (Projected
ELITE-Round Draft / Rounds 1-3)
NONE
GROUP TWO (Projected
HIGH-Round Draft / Rounds 4-10)
1. RYAN BURR, rhp,
Highlands Ranch HS
Burr
popped up on the radar very early for a Colorado prospect, and scouts
have been able to get a solid read on him over the past three years,
particularly as a 2011 Perfect Game All-American and member of the
Connie Mack World Series champion Midland (Ohio) Redskins. He is a
strong, mature pitching prospect at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, with a
solid feel for three pitches. His fastball has grown from an 85-87
mph offering during the fall of his sophomore year, when first
scouted by Perfect Game, to a 90-94 mph heater today. But Burr’s
best pitch is his 77-mph curve with tight spin, which he can vary the
shape on almost at will between a sharp, 12-to-6 downer and bigger,
10-to-4 sweeper. He also throws a developing 82-85 mph change. As a
senior for Highlands Ranch, he has gone 5-1, 1.85 with 34 walks and
95 strikeouts in 53 innings. Burr can be an intimidating presence on
the mound with his big frame and extremely-poised demeanor, and has
frequently been compared throughout high school to Oklahoma’s top
prep prospect, righthander Ty Hensley.
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