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.
Maine State-by-State List
2011 Maine Overview
Maine
Overview:
State
Draft Hopes Rest on Hard-Throwing Gibbs
In
hard-throwing righthander Jeff Gibbs, the University of Maine had
high hopes of producing its highest draft pick in at least 20
years—or at least since righthander Mike Collar was an
eighth-rounder in 2003. Gibbs entered the spring as one of the
hardest throwers in the college ranks, with a fastball that has been
clocked in the past up to 97-98 mph.
Gibbs
has had a difficult year on the mound, going 3-4, 8.40 with 108 base
runners (42 walks, 66 hits) in 60 innings for the Black Bears, along
with a team-high 56 strikeouts. Despite his poor performance, scouts
continue to be fascinated with his chiseled 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame
and impressive raw stuff.
Maine’s
impact on the 2012 draft rides almost totally on the talent at the
University of Maine, which produced five of the state’s seven draft
picks over the last six years. The Black Bears, though, went 28-28
this season and failed to reach the NCAA tournament for the fifth
time in six years—a stark contrast to the days when the Black Bears
played an influential role in both the College World Series and the
baseball draft. That was almost 30 years ago now.
From
1981-86, the Black Bears made five trips to Omaha. They also produced
first- or second-round draft picks in three consecutive years from
1982-84, though one player, righthander Billy Swift, accounted for
two of those selections on his own as he was an unsigned
second-rounder in 1983 and a first-rounder (second overall) the
following year.
The
powerful Gibbs, one of six Canadians on the Maine roster, is the
team’s best draft bet this season, although righthanders Shaun
Coughlin and Stephen Perakslis, middle infielder Mike Fransoso and
catcher Fran Whitten have also drawn a smattering of interest from
scouts. A year from now, another Canadian, third baseman Alex
Calbrick, projects to be the team’s top selection.
There
have been only two players drafted out of Maine high schools in the
last 11 years (one being Mt. Ararat High righthander Mark Rogers, the
fifth overall pick in 2004), and that string is unlikely to change.
Maine
in a nutshell:
STRENGTH:
University of Maine talent.
WEAKNESS:
High-school talent.
OVERALL
RATING
(1-to-5 scale): 2.
BEST
COLLEGE TEAM:
Maine.
BEST
HIGH SCHOOL TEAM:
Bangor HS.
BEST
OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Maine Connection:
Matt Pare, c, Boston College (Attended high school in Portland).
Top
2013 Prospect:
Alex Calbick, 3b, University of Maine.
Top
2014
Prospect:
Brian Doran, of, University of Maine.
HIGHEST
DRAFT PICKS
Draft
History:
Billy Swift, rhp, University of Maine (1984, Mariners/1st round, 2nd pick).
2006
Draft:
None drafted.
2007
Draft: None
drafted.
2008
Draft: Billy
Cather, of, University of Maine (Nationals/33rd round).
2009
Draft: Regan
Flaherty, 1b, Deering HS, Portland (Mariners/28th round).
2010
Draft:
None selected.
2011
Draft: Taylor
Lewis, of, University of Maine (Pirates/10th round).
2011
DRAFT OVERVIEW
College
Players Drafted/Signed:
2/2.
High
School Players Drafted/Signed:
0/0.
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. JEFF GIBBS, rhp,
University of Maine (Jr.)
With his impressive
6-foot-5, 215-pound frame and electric raw stuff, Gibbs has the size
and arm strength to be an early-round draft pick, but scouts have
been forced to view the whole picture when assessing Gibbs’
prospects for this year’s draft. For all his talent, Gibbs had
difficulty this spring throwing strikes, and the impressive raw stuff
he has flashed in the past—a fastball up to 97-98 mph, a power
slider—was often compromised as he would let up a bit in his
attempt to throw strikes more consistently. His fastball often backed
up to the 90-92 mph range, and only occasionally reached 95-96.
Typically, his pitches were up in the strike zone (evidenced by 66
hits in 60 innings, including 22 for extra bases) or outside the zone
altogether (46 walks, 22 wild pitches, nine hit batsmen), and the
result was a 3-4, 8.40 record. Scouts continue to be enamored with
Gibbs, with some believing he could be a steal if he slides beyond
the first 8-10 rounds, that some minor tinkering with his mechanics
by an experienced pitching instructor at the pro level could be all
that it takes to set him straight mechanically.