Very Early 2014 MLB Draft Rankings

This is extremely early but I've went over my notes from the last two college seasons, summers and what I have seen of the high school talent so far. This list is very fluid and there will be players that pop up and others that slide down. Some of these guys I haven't sat down and really analyzed yet but this is where I will start. I'll update this several times before the 2014 MLB Draft but we have to start somewhere. This is just a list of names and some basic info at this point. Write ups will follow over the coming months, so be patient. I expect to produce more and higher quality reports and information this year than I have ever done in the past.

Rank	Name	POS	Pos. #2	Level	Bats	Throws	Height	Weight	Hometown	High School	College
1	Carlos Rodon	P		JR	Left	Left	6'2"	210	Holly Springs, NC		North Carolina State
2	Jeff Hoffman	P		JR	Right	Right	6'4"	183	Latham, NY		East Carolina
3	Tyler Kolek	P	1B	HS	Right	Right	6'5"	230	Shepherd, TX	Shepherd
4	Braxton Davidson	OF	1B	HS	Left	Left	6'3"	210	Arden, NC	T.C. Roberson
5	Tyler Beede	P		JR	Right	Right	6'4"	200	Auburn, MA		Vanderbilt
6	Gregory Deichmann	3B	3B	HS	Left	Right	6'1"	180	Metairie, LA	Brother Martin
7	Trea Turner	SS	3B	JR	Right	Right	6'2"	160	Lake Worth, FL		North Carolina State
8	Alex Jackson	OF	C	HS	Right	Right	6'2"	215	Escondido, CA	Rancho Bernardo
9	Luis Ortiz	P		HS	Right	Right	6'2"	190	Sanger, CA
10	Jacob Gatewood	SS		HS	Right	Right	6'5"	180	Clovis, CA	Clovis
11	Derek Hill	OF	OF	HS	Right	Right	6'1"	175	Sacramento, CA	Elk Grove
12	Grant Holmes	P		HS	Left	Right	6'2"	190	Conway, SC	Conway
13	Dylan Cease	P	SS	HS	Right	Right	6'1"	170	Milton, GA	Milton
14	Kodi Medeiros	P		HS	Left	Left	6'	185	Hilo, HI
15	Derek Fisher	OF		JR	Left	Right	6'3"	205	Rexmont, PA		Virginia
16	Nick Burdi	P		JR	Right	Right	6'5"	215	Downers Grove, IL		Louisville
17	Touki Toussaint	P		HS	Right	Right	6'1"	175	Coral Springs, FL	Coral Springs Charter
18	Brandon Finnegan	P		JR	Left	Left	5'11"	180	Fort Worth, TX		Texas Christian
19	Luke Weaver	P		JR	Right	Right	6'1"	154	DeLand, FL		Florida State
20	Michael Cederoth	P		JR	Right	Right	6'6"	195	Spring Valley, CA		San Diego State
21	Kyle Schwarber	1B	OF	JR	Left	Right	6'	215	Middletown, OH		Indiana
22	Michael Chavis	3B		HS	Right	Right	5'11"	185	Marietta, GA	Sprayberry
23	Jakson Reetz	C	P	HS	Right	Right	6'1"	195	Hickman, NE	Norris
24	Ti'quan Forbes	SS	3B	HS	Right	Right	6'4"	170	Columbia, MS
25	Chase Vallot	C		HS	Right	Right	6'	205	Youngsville, LA	St. Thomas More
26	Kel Johnson	OF	1B	HS	Right	Right	6'4"	205	Palmetto, GA	(home schooled)
27	Michael Conforto	OF		JR	Left	Right	6'1"	190	Redmond, WA		Oregon State
28	Aaron Nola	P		JR	Right	Right	6'2"	170	Baton Rouge, LA		Louisiana State
29	Marcus Wilson	OF		HS	Right	Right	6'3"	180	Los Angeles, CA	J Serra
30	Dylan Davis	P	OF	JR	Right	Right	6'	200	Redmond, WA		Oregon State
31	Nicholas Gordon	SS	P	HS	Left	Right	6'1"	165	Windermere, FL	Olympia
32	Zach Shannon	OF	P	HS	Right	Right	6'2"	210	Cincinnati, OH	Moeller
33	Hunter Williams	P		HS	Left	Left	6'3"	194	Chesterfield, VA	Cosby
34	Jack Flaherty	3B	3B	HS	Right	Right	5'11"	165	Burbank, CA	Harvard-Westlake
35	Joey Pankake	SS	P	JR	Right	Right	6'2"	190	Easley, SC		South Carolina
36	Michael Gettys	3B	P	HS	Right	Right	6'2"	195	Gainesville, GA	Gainesville
37	Justin Bellinger	1B	P	HS	Left	Left	6'6"	226	Weston, MA	St. Sebastian's
38	Bradley Zimmer	OF		JR	Left	Right	6'4"	185	San Diego, CA		San Francisco
39	Cobi Johnson	P		HS	Right	Right	6'2"	160	New Port Richey, FL	J.W. Mitchell
40	Brady Aiken	P	OF	HS	Left	Left	6'3"	205	Jamul, CA	Cathedral Catholic
41	Monte' Harrison	OF		HS	Right	Right	6'2"	195	Lee's Summit, MO	Lee's Summit West
42	Sam Travis	3B		JR	Right	Right	6'	195	Orland Park, IL		Indiana
43	Mac Marshall	P	OF	HS	Left	Left	6'2"	180	Lilburn, GA	Parkview
44	Justus Sheffield	P	OF	HS	Left	Left	6'1"	180	Tullahoma, TN	Tullahoma
45	Michael Kopech	P		HS	Right	Right	6'4"	195	Mt. Pleasant, TX	Mt. Pleasant
46	A.J. Reed	P	1B	JR	Left	Left	6'4"	230	Terre Haute, IN		Kentucky
47	Montrell Marshall	SS	3B	HS	Right	Right	6'4"	190	Snellville, GA	South Gwinnett
48	Chris Ellis	P		JR	Right	Right	6'4"	192	Birmingham, AL		Mississippi
49	Cameron Varga	P		HS	Right	Right	6'3"	200	West Chester, OH	Cincinnati Christian Academy
50	Benton Moss	P		JR	Right	Right	6'1"	170	Enfield, NC		North Carolina
51	Matt Chapman	SS		JR	Right	Right	6'1	195	Trabuco Canyon, CA		Cal State Fullerton
52	Spencer Adams	P	SS	HS	Right	Right	6'3"	170	Cleveland, GA	White County
53	Trevor Megill	P		JR	Left	Right	6'7"	230	Huuntington Beach, CA	Marina	Loyola Marymount
54	Max Pentecost	C		JR	Right	Right	6'2"	191	Winder, GA		Kennesaw State
55	Nigel Nootbaar	P		JR	Both	Right	6'1"	175	El Segundo, CA		Southern California
56	Joseph Gatto	P	1B	HS	Right	Right	6'4"	200	Hammonton, NJ	St. Augustine C Prep
57	Alex Blandino	3B		JR	Right	Right	6'	180	Mountain View, CA		Stanford
58	Trenton Kemp	OF		HS	Right	Right	6'2"	185	Clovis, CA	Buchanan
59	Mason McCullough	P		JR	Right	Right	6'3"	235	Shelby, NC		North Carolina
60	Ryan Castellani	P	1B	HS	Right	Right	6'4"	190	Phoenix, AZ	Brophy Prep
61	Justin Smith	OF	P	HS	Right	Right	6'2"	200	St. Johns, FL	Bartram Trail
62	Mark Zagunis	C		JR	Right	Right	6'1"	190	Delran, NJ		Virginia Tech
63	Brandon Murray	P		HS	Right	Right	6'4"	200	Hobart, IN
64	Jeff Harding, Jr.	P	3B	HS	Right	Right	5'11"	165	Cambridge, MD
65	Travis Radke	P		JR	Left	Left	6'4"	200	Thousand Oaks, CA		Portland
66	Kirvin Moesquit	SS	OF	HS	Both	Right	5'10"	165	Deerfield Beach, FL	Highland Christian
67	Sean Reid-Foley	P	UT	HS	Right	Right		208	Jacksonville, FL	Paxson School
68	Brett Austin	C		JR	Both	Right	5'11"	190	Matthews, NC		North Carolina State
69	Dominic Jose	OF		JR	Both	Right	6'2"	180	Lake Worth, FL		Stanford
70	Jared Walker	3B	P	HS	L	R	6'2"	185	Powder Springs, GA	McEachern
71	Mitch Hart	P	1B	HS	Right	Right	6'1"	170		Granite Bay
72	Josh Dezse	P	1B	SR	Right	Right	6'4"	205	Powell, OH		Ohio State
73	Bryce Carter	C	OF	HS	Left	Right	6'1"	195	Tulsa, OK	Cascia Hall Prep
74	Karsten Whitson	P		SR	Right	Right	6'3"	195	Chipley, FL		Florida
75	Milton Ramos	SS		HS	Right	Right		150	Hialeah Gardens, FL
76	Aramis Garcia	C		JR	Right	Right	6'2"	195	Pembroke Pines, FL		Florida International
77	Grayson Greiner	C		JR	Right	Right	6'5"	195	Lexington, SC		South Carolina
78	Keven Pimentel	P		HS	Right	Right	6'3"	215	Wading River, NY
79	Sam Coonrod	P	OF		R	R	6'2"	180	Carrolton, IL		Southern Illinois
80	Liam Sabino	SS		HS	Right	Right	6'1"	175	East Stroudsburg, PA	Blair Academy
81	Gareth Morgan	OF		HS	Right	Right	6'3"	195	Toronto, ON	North Toronto Collegiate
82	Carson Sands	P	1B	HS	Left	Left	6'3"	190	Tallahassee, FL	North Florida Christian
83	Daniel Mengden	P		JR	Right	Right	6'2"	195	Houston, TX		Texas A&M
84	Connor Lynch	C		JR	Right	Right	5'11"	188	Marietta, GA		Georgia Tech
85	Donald "DJ" Peters	OF		HS					Glendora, CA
86	Senquez Golson	OF		JR	Right	Right	5'10"	185	Pascagoula, MS		Mississippi (FB)
87	Cre Finfrock	P	IF	HS	Both	Right	5'11"	155	Jensen Beach, FL	Martin County
88	Hawtin Buchanan	P		JR	Right	Right	6'8"	230	Biloxi, MS		Mississippi
89	Bobby Bradley	3B		HS	L	R	6'2"	225	Gulfport, MS
90	Branden Kelliher	P	MIF	HS	Right	Right	5'10"	160	Lake Stevens, WA	Lake Stevens
91	Jacob Lindgren	P		JR	Left	Left	5'11"	180	Kiln, MS		Mississippi State
92	Benito Santiago	C		HS	Left	Right	5'10"	155	Pembroke Pines, FL	Coral Springs Christian
93	J.D. Davis	1B	P	JR	Right	Right	6'2"	235	Elk Grove, CA		Cal State Fullerton
94	Khevin Brewer	OF		HS	Right	Right		220	Richmond, TX	Travis
95	Carl Chester	OF		HS	Right	Right	6'1"	165	Longwood, FL	Lake Brantley
96	Keaton McKinney	1B	P	HS	Right	Right	6'5"	210	Ankeny, IA	Ankeny
97	Parker French	P		JR	Left	Right	6'2"	200	Dropping Springs, TX		Texas
98	Austin Cousino	OF		JR	Left	Left	5'11"	170	Dublin, OH		Kentucky
99	Pat Connaughton	P		JR	Right	Right	6'5"	200	Danvers, MA		Notre Dame
100	Stone Garrett	OF		HS	Right	Right	6'2"	185	Sugar Land, TX	George Ranch
101	Casey Turgeon	SS		JR	Left	Right	5'10"	155	Dunedin, FL		Florida
102	Joey Swinarski	OF		HS	Right	Right		190	Winter Park, FL
103	Josh Morgan	SS		HS	Right	Right	6'5"	170	Corona, CA
104	Foster Griffin	P	OF	HS	R	L	6'5"	190	Orlando, FL	First Academy
105	Jon Littell	OF		HS	Right	Right	6'3"	185	Stillwater, OK	Stillwater
106	Keith Weisenberg	P	1B	HS	Right	Right	6'4"	185	Seminole, FL	Osceola
107	Adam Ravenelle	P		JR	Right	Right	6'4"	185	Sudbury, MA		Vanderbilt
108	Andrew Chin	P		JR	Left	Left	6'2"	175	Newton, MA		Boston College
109	Brigham Hill	P		HS	Right	Right	5'11"	175	Nacogdoches, TX
110	Grant Hockin	P	IF	HS	Right	Right	6'4"	195	Upland, CA	Damien
111	Sean Bouchard	SS		HS	Right	Right		180	San Diego, CA
112	Roberto Gonzalez	OF		HS	Left	Left	6'2"	185	Orlando, FL	University
113	Erick Fedde	P		JR	Right	Right	6'3"	165	Las Vegas, NV		Nevada-Las Vegas
114	A.J. Vanegas	P		SR	Right	Right	6'3"	205	Alameda, CA		Stanford
115	Brandon Leibrandt	P		JR	Left	Left	6'4"	180	Atlanta, GA		Florida State
116	Jonathan Ducoff	SS	OF	HS	Right	Right	6'1"	185	Kingwood, TX	Kingwood Park
117	Jack Benninghoff	OF		HS	Right	Right		185	Overland Park, KS	Rockhurst
118	Tanner English	OF		JR	Right	Right	5'10"	160	Murrels Inlet, SC		South Carolina
119	Reese Cooley	SS		HS	R	R	6'1"	180	Flrming Island, FL	Fleming Island
120	Jake Reed	P		JR	Right	Right	6'2"	180	La Mesa, CA		Oregon
121	Casey Gillaspie	1B	OF	JR	B	L	6'4"	230	Omaha, NE	Millard North HS, NE	Wichita State
122	Mike Papi	OF		JR	Left	Right	6'2"	190	Tunkhannock, PA		Virginia
123	Brandon Woodruff	P	OF	JR	Right	Right	6'4"	215	Wheeler, MS		Mississippi State
124	Jesse Lepore	P	MIF	HS	Right	Right	6'4"	190	Beverly Hills, FL	Ocala Trinity Catholic
125	David Peterson	P		HS	L	L	6'6"	210	Denver, CO	Regis Jesuit
126	Justin Twine	OF	P	HS	Both	Right	5'10"	195	Hemphill, TX	Hemphill
127	Taylor Sparks	3B		JR	Right	Right	6'3"	205	Bellflower, CA		UC Irvine
128	Mason Robbins	OF	P	JR	Left	Left	6'	200	Leakesville, MS		Southern Mississippi
129	Bennett Sousa	P	1B	HS	Left	Left	6'3"	180	North Palm Beach, FL	Benjamin School
130	Austin Davidson	1B		JR	Left	Right	6'	180	Oxnard, CA		Pepperdine
131	Daniel Gooden	P	1B	HS	B	L	6'3"	205	Griffin, GA
132	Devin Smeltzer	P	OF	HS	R	L	6'2"	170	Voorhees, NJ	Bishop Eustace
133	Taylor Gushue	C	3B	JR	Both	Right	6'2"	190	Boca Raton, FL	Calvary Christian	Florida
134	Joe Gillette	3B		HS	Right	Right	6'3"	185	Scotts Valley, CA	Scotts Valley
135	Bryce Montes De Oca	P		HS	Right	Right	6'7"	265	Lawrence, KS	Lawrence
136	Kyle Marsh	P	IF	HS	Right	Right	6'2"	177	Port Orange, FL	Spruce Creek
137	Joe Dunand	SS		HS	Right	Right	6'2"	195		Gulliver Prep
138	Spencer Levine	C		HS	Right	Right	6'2"	190	Miami, FL	Killian
139	Ryan Harris	P		JR	Right	Right	6'1"	185	West Palm Beach, FL		Florida
140	Alex Verdugo	OF	P	HS	Left	Left	6'1"	190	Tucson, AZ	Sahuaro
141	Ben Wetzler	P		SR	Left	Left	6'1"	212	Clackamas, OR		Oregon State
142	Gerard Hernandez	OF	1B	HS	Left	Left	5'10"	190	Phoenix, AZ	Pinnacle
143	Kevin Cron	1B	1B	JR	Right	Right	6'4"	225	Phoenix, AZ		Texas Christian
144	Troy Stokes	OF		HS	Right	Right	5'9"	155	Baltimore, MD	Calvert Hall
145	Jace Fry	P		JR	Left	Left	6'1"	190	Beaverton, OR		Oregon State
146	JJ Matijevic	3B	1B	HS	Left	Right	6'2"	195	North Huntingdon, PA	Norwin
147	Jeremy Vasquez	1B	P	HS	Left	Left	6'1"	190	Palm City, FL	Martin County
148	Quinn Brodey	P	OF	HS	Left	Left	6'2"	195	Glendale, CA	Loyola
149	Jack Gerstenmaier	OF	P	HS	Right	Right	6'1"	185	Richmond, VA	Douglas Freeman
150	Michael Cantu	C		HS	Right	Right	6'4"	190	Corpus Christi, TX	Moody

Revamping the MLB Farm Structure

MLB is in need of a change. I know I'm just a blogger but I have a lot of thoughts. Many of them are crazy, many are intelligent and some fall in the middle. This is a crazy one and one that is likely to never occur unless I become commisioner. Maybe if I could talk to Bud Selig about it, it would happen (it could save owners money) but I don't think I'll be chatting with him anytime soon, since he doesn't have email...

This is radical and not fully thought through, so feel free to comment on how you think it could be done or rate my insanity 2-8 in the comments, if that suits you, I don't care. I just need to get this idea out of my head.

MLB has a monopoly. They often ignore players not involved in the MLBPA, yet they control their interests. This is not fair. They sign them for a fraction of their potential value, control their rights for a borderline ridiculous amount of time and then overpay players that are past their prime, while the young players in the minors live off nothing and get treated poorly in many ways. Much of this is because of the depth and breadth of the minor leagues. So lets look into changing that.

MLB needs a pipeline for the best talent. Now, that is AA and AAA. AAA is essentially the taxi squad for the majors, as a very high percentage of AAA players are either former or future big leaguers along with a handful of unluky s.o.b.'s who will just never make it. This isn't a great place for prospects as many of these players have flat out shitty attitudes toward the young punks who will blow past them. Many of the players have glaring weaknesses the others exploit and can't adjust to eliminate them, so it is a constant struggle. Many of these players have MLB skills that could be used in one way but they aren't worth a spot on the 25 man roster.

Let's fix that problem. MLB rosters are now 40 man rosters with 25 man active rosters that are submitted each day. A 25 man roster with 15 additional spots. We can argue how frequently this roster can be adjusted, how each is limited and so on, but that is the granular portion of this.

That move essentially eliminates the need for AAA. If you don't see where I'm going yet, my goal is to eliminate the minor leagues as we know it. I'll be honest, I don't know what having MiLB affiliates really does for major league teams, other than give them a place to play. MLB shouldn't be dependant on others to function. That is inefficient.

Each year, teams draft 40 players or more in the past, and sign 20-40 of them.

MLB Draft Results by Percentages

Future Major Leaguers in the 1st 10 rounds for each team based on historical percentages.

Team	MLB Players
Miami Marlins	6.9189
New York Yankees	5.2911
Colorado Rockies	4.7992
Oakland Athletics	4.7687
Detroit Tigers	4.3694
Seattle Mariners	4.3577
Cincinnati Reds	4.1973
Kansas City Royals	4.1745
Tampa Bay Rays	4.152
Baltimore Orioles	3.9863
Los Angeles Dodgers	3.9347
Pittsburgh Pirates	3.8663
Chicago White Sox	3.8124
Atlanta Braves	3.7443
Arizona Diamondbacks	3.7316
San Francisco Giants	3.6867
St. Louis Cardinals	3.6786
Chicago Cubs	3.6072
Texas Rangers	3.5823
San Diego Padres	3.4754
Philadelphia Phillies	3.394
Houston Astros	3.3676
Minnesota Twins	3.3531
Cleveland Indians	3.2226
New York Mets	3.0774
Milwaukee Brewers	2.9828
Toronto Blue Jays	2.7789
Boston Red Sox	2.7212
Washington Nationals	2.3763
Los Angeles Angels	2.3558

and based on pre-draft rankings

Team	MLB
Colorado Rockies	5.6483
Oakland Athletics	5.3442
Kansas City Royals	4.9512
New York Yankees	4.8893
Chicago Cubs	4.6054
Detroit Tigers	4.5289
Boston Red Sox	4.4574
San Diego Padres	4.1396
Atlanta Braves	4.0563
Baltimore Orioles	3.9926
New York Mets	3.9714
San Francisco Giants	3.8816
Cleveland Indians	3.8794
Philadelphia Phillies	3.8234
Minnesota Twins	3.6797
Cincinnati Reds	3.6273
Pittsburgh Pirates	3.6134
Chicago White Sox	3.594
Seattle Mariners	3.249
Miami Marlins	3.199
St. Louis Cardinals	3.182
Arizona Diamondbacks	3.1407
Tampa Bay Rays	3.1404
Toronto Blue Jays	3.0252
Texas Rangers	2.9983
Washington Nationals	2.8627
Houston Astros	2.4992
Los Angeles Dodgers	2.1815
Milwaukee Brewers	2.1352
Los Angeles Angels	1.7321