Draft Preview: 2011 Edition

Finally it's here. With the draft a week away teams are finishing up their preparation and ready to get started. After long deliberation here are the TBA Blog's predicted top 10 picks of 2011.


1) Jason Heyward (Napa)

Napa made bold trades in the off-season not only getting the first overall pick but the second overall as well. The J-Hey kid was reportedly untouchable from the Halifax camp but Napa found a way to get a deal done to bring the stud out to California.

2) Buster Posey (Napa)

The only catcher currently on the Napa roster is Ramon Castro. Ouch... Enter Buster Posey. Posey excelled in his first season in MLB and if he can continue to put up offensive numbers behind the dish as he did this year he will easily be a perennial all-star. Behind Heyward and Posey (and newcomer Dexter Fowler) Napa has a great base to build upon for the future.

3)  Mike Stanton (Halifax)

As everyone knows, Halifax traded out of the number one spot, thereby missing out on Heyward. Despite that they are still getting a great young outfielder. Stanton has tremendous power potential and is a potential all-star in rightfield. If the other players in the deal work out well for Halifax that trade could end up working heavily in Halifax's favor.

4) Carlos Santana (Brighton)

Brighton management has "a rabid man crush on Santana." Victor Martinez reincarnated, Santana could be a huge offensive force behind the dish, if he stays there. Health and defense are the only negatives (although big ones) on Santana dropping him to number 4 overall.

5) Stephen Strasburg (Aberdeen)

The first pick that is a real question mark at this point. Aberdeen has plenty of holes to fill and Strasburg has the opportunity to be the best left on the board, perhaps best in the entire draft. If Strasburg recovers from Tommy John Surgery successfully, this could be the steal of the draft.

6) Pedro Alvarez (Old Bridge)

An excellent September from Alvarez gets him rated much higher than he would have before then. His power potential is high and already crushes righties. His defense is a question mark but even if he moves to 1B his offense should still be good enough to plug into the lineup everyday.

7) Colby Lewis (Oregon)

With only two starting pitchers on the roster, Oregon is clearly targeting a pitcher here. Lewis is the best rookie with full starter innings available. While Hudson or Hellickson could have a higher peak, Oregon needs a guy now and Lewis fits the bill.

8) Starlin Castro (Aberdeen)

Any young shortstop that hits like Castro did is a highly sought after prospect. Unless Old Bridge picks him up, he could fall all the way down to the eight spot though as a high BABIP and only an average fielding rating drop him down a bit. He is still the top talent on the board though so even with Asdrubal Cabrera on the roster Aberdeen shouldn't let him slip any further.

9) Austin Jackson (Nassau)

Nassau had a rough season in 2010, finishing 59-103. The did a nice job importing some talent so far this off-season, already adding Corey Hart, Matt Garza, and David Aardsma. While their pitching should be much improved the offense still needs a little help. Along with Hart, Jackson can add to Franklin Gutierrez to form a pretty nice outfield for the next few years.

10) Dan Hudson (Helena)

Missing an outfielder, Helena would love to have the chance to draft Jackson if he falls to number 10. The other outfield help for this year, Logan Morrison and Jose Tabata, are reaches here so it's possible they go another direction entirely. While their rotation seems to be set, Hudson had an outstanding season and despite limited innings could help push them into the playoffs this season.

Stay tuned for the rest of the first round. It will be out before the end of the week.