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
Minnesota State-by-State List
2011 Minnesota Overview
Minnesota
Overview:
Brown's
Continued Improvement Puts Him in Early-Round Mix
Century
High righthander Mitchell Brown entered the 2012 season as a
well-known commodity in the scouting community after routinely
travelling to prominent national showcases and tournaments over the
past year, while performing at a high level. With a fastball that
spiked this spring to 94-95, however, Brown’s draft stock has risen
to a point where he is now expected to be selected in the
supplemental-first round or second round.
There
is much speculation that the home-state Minnesota Twins, with two
picks in the sandwich round (32nd and 42nd overall) and the third overall selection in the second round (63rd),
will scoop up Brown with one of those early selections. The Twins are
notorious for looking out for one of their own when it comes to the
draft.
Should
Brown be selected with one of the Twins picks in the sandwich round,
he would become the highest selection from a Minnesota high school
since the Twins selected catcher Joe Mauer with the very first
selection in the 2001 draft. The highest in-state prep selection
since was Chaska High lefthander Brad Hand, a second-round pick (52nd overall) of the Florida Marlins in 2008.
It's
possible that Brown will be the only player in the state to go in the
top 10 rounds, although University of Minnesota ace T.J. Oakes, a
41st-round
selection of the Twins a year ago as a draft-eligible sophomore,
enjoyed a successful season and could be taken in rounds 8-10. The
Golden Gophers have several other players expected to be selected
later in the draft, including righthanders Drew Ghelfi, Austin
Lubinsky and Billy Soule, as well as catcher Kurt Schlangen.
After
last year’s disastrous season, when the roof of the Gophers’ home
field at the Metrodome collapsed and the field was unusable all year,
Minnesota (29-27, 11-13) failed to qualify for the Big Ten Conference
post-season tournament this spring, and were upstaged in their home
state by Division II Minnesota State-Mankato (48-10), which reached
the D-II World Series for the sixth time. That school is not expected
to have a significant draft, especially after last year’s ace,
righthander Blake Schwartz, transferred to NAIA Oklahoma City for his
senior year.
Minnesota
in a nutshell:
STRENGTH:
Mitchell Brown.
WEAKNESS:
Position prospects.
OVERALL
RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 3.
BEST
COLLEGE TEAM:
Minnesota.
BEST
JUNIOR-COLLEGE TEAM:
St. Cloud.
BEST
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM:
Eden Prairie HS.
BEST
OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Minnesota Connection:
Blake Schwartz, rhp, Oklahoma City University (Attended high school
in Rosemount).
Top
2013 Prospect:
Logan Shore, rhp, Coon Rapids HS.
Top
2014
Prospect:
Ben Meyer, rhp, University of Minnesota.
HIGHEST
DRAFT PICKS
Draft
History:
Joe Mauer, c, Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul (2001, Twins/1st round, 1st pick).
2006
Draft: Aaron
Senne, of, Mayo HS, Rochester (Twins/13th round).
2007
Draft: Dan
Lyons, ss, University of Minnesota (Nationals/14th round).
2008
Draft: Brad
Hand, lhp, Chaska HS (Marlins/2nd round).
2009
Draft: Derek
McCallum, 2b, University of Minnesota (Twins/4th round).
2010
Draft:
Mike Kvasnicka, c/3b, University of Minnesota (Astros/1st round, 33rd pick).
2011
Draft: Jordan
Smith, of, St. Cloud State University (Indians/9th round).
2011
DRAFT OVERVIEW
College
Players Drafted/Signed:
10/7.
Junior
College Players Drafted/Signed:
0/0.
High
School Players Drafted/Signed:
2/1.
TOP
PROSPECTS, GROUPS ONE and TWO
GROUP ONE (Projected
ELITE-Round Draft / Rounds 1-3)
1. MITCHELL BROWN,
rhp, Century HS, Rochester
No stranger to Perfect
Game showcase and tournament events, Brown has continued to improve
as a pitcher while refining his well-rounded repertoire. His fastball
peaked at 95 mph this spring, while sitting at a steady 90-94. Brown
has also begun to master an 87-88 mph cut fastball in which he takes
a little off his usual heater to create hard, boring life, and also
throws a sharp, upper-70s curve, low- to mid-80s slider and changeup,
giving him five legitimate pitches that he can throw for strikes. At
6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Brown has a sturdy, compact, powerful frame
and has done a very good job of firming it up over the last 6-8
months; he routinely incorporates his full body into his delivery.
Brown is a fierce competitor on the mound and isn't afraid to throw
any of his pitches in any count. He is expected to be selected as
early as the sandwich, making it unlikely that he steps on campus at
the University of San Diego.
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