[ayaghmour2]

1B Walt Messer (McKinley Tech): I may not like corner players, but you would be hard press to find a better high school hitter then Wally the Knife. The almost 18-year-old finished his senior season with an impressive .586/.631/1.126 batting line to go with 13 homers and 49 RBI's. In all honesty, this was probably his worst prep season, but it's still better then every other High Schooler in the nation. Messer owns a career .601/.639/1.140 line with 38 homers and 139 RBI's. Only one other 1936 HS Senior has more then 30 career homers, and Messer leads the pack. He's walked 47 times compared to just 11 strikeouts and it is next to impossible to get this kid out. He's got an excellent, quick stroke at the plate, works inside the ball, and can absolutely mash if he gets a hang of one. Is he better then Red Johnson? Maybe. But is he the most talented hitter in this draft class? Sorry, Sal, but I have to say yes. I can't see Detroit taking Messer #1, but that is who's been rumored to be an option for the first pick. I wish I had a good player comp to Messer, but a lot of our prolific sluggers are lefties. Closest I can think of is Lou Kelly, but Kelly started his career as a corner outfielder.

CF Si Crocker (East Buffalo): Only two high schoolers hit 10 or more homers with a .400 or higher average and 1.200 OPS or better in 1936. And only two hitters recorded 30 homers in their high school careers. Those would be Walt Messer, and The Rock of Rochester Si Crocker. No one will mistake Crocker with Messer, but that's not to say a career .459/.515/.937 batting line is anything to sneeze at and his 32 homers and 119 RBI's are still way better then all non-Messer prep players. It was a little bit of a down senior year for Crocker, but he still slashed .407/.449/.847 with 10 homers and 36 RBI's. Crocker's weakness is his plate discipline, he almost never walks and he will have some issues with strikeouts. Still, with well above average power and excellent athleticism, he seems like a perfect development project. He's an excellent teammate, works his but off, and leads by example in the clubhouse. He's exactly what you want in a player, he just has to put together all the tools.

RHP Pete Papenfus (West Plains): If this kid is available at any of my picks, it's going to be really hard to pass up on this kid. He had a tough 1935, but as a sophomore in 1934 he was 10-0 with a 0.53 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 19 walks, and 189 strikeouts in 102 frames for West Plaines. Peter the Heater already threw in the 90s, but last offseason he bumped it up even more and during 1936 he was consistently hitting 97-99 and reached triple digits with his fastball. Yes, an 18-year-old hitting the century mark (Bob Feller anyone?) is enough appeal to get me interested, but he showed out on the field. Papenfus was a perfect 10-0 with a 0.82 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 35 walks, and 173 strikeouts in two outs shy of 100 completed innings. He's not even that tall, just 5'10'', but he's a power pitcher with groundball tendencies and four polished FABL pitches. Obviously the fastball is unhittable, but my scout rates his curve "solid", cutter "plus", and change "impressive" (fastball is "devastating") which are very flattering repots. Generally amateur pitchers have very underdeveloped pitches, so scouts call all their pitches below average. Still, there is some concern as his command has worsened, going from a 1.7 BB/9 to 3.6 and 3.2 the last two seasons, but that's not scaring me away from Pete. When you go 30-1 with a 0.93 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 97 walks, and 524 strikeouts in 308.1 innings pitched, control problems are an issue for another day. He might not be the first pitcher taken or the best pitcher at the moment, but I'd argue is upside is unmatched.

LHP Rube Wood (Middlesex): He didn't put up the strikeout numbers that Peter the Heater did, but Rube Wood was a master at keeping runners off base and away from home plate. It was a breakout senior season for the southpaw who went from throwing 84-86 last year to 87-89 this season. The results showed on the field, 6-2 with a 0.98 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 25 walks, and 135 strikeouts in easily his best season. He went from starting just 7 in 13 to 10 in 14 to now all 12 of his appearances. He gets excellent movement on his pitches, leading to a lot of soft contact and very few longballs. His curveball is the best of the three pitches, but he's still got a lot of development work to go. I think he'll work his way into a rotation spot, but he's going to have to work at polishing his craft. He's shown a lot of signs of improvement, which is a positive trend for the Peekskill, New York native.

2B Billy Woytek (Loyola): Beyond Walt Messer, Billy Woytek may be the best high schooler available. "Blue Collar Billy" saved his best season for last, batting .519/.615/.963 with 4 homers, 14 steals, and 25 RBI's across 105 trips to the plate. He finished his three year high school career with a .504/.599/.874 with 8 homers, 55 steals, and 75 RBI's. He walked more then four times (55) as much as he struck out (13) and averaged 15 doubles a season. He's got an excellent eye, a smooth swing that will lead to a high average, and strong defense at the keystone. He's committed to the close to home Golden Gate University, but don't expect that to stop teams from taking him in the first round. The only thing missing is power, but that could develop later. I'd imagine we'll see a lot of guys add homers once they reach affiliated ball. For comparison, Ivan Cameron hit just one homer in his senior high school season and then launched 15 last year in La Crosse with 2 so far in San Jose this season.

RHP Newt Jackson (Darby): A lot of the best pitchers are college arms, but my scout is a big fan of Newt Jackson. The six foot righty was pretty consistent in high school, finishing 24-6 with a 1.51 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 50 walks, and 329 strikeouts across 310.2 innings pitched. In terms of WAR, this season was best, 10-1 with a 1.53 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 18 walks, and 118 strikeouts, good for 5.6 wins above replacement. Jackson is a four pitch pitcher with a mid 80s cutter he compliments really well with a solid changeup that drops off the plate. He mixes in a slider and splitter, but if he wants to start he'll need to make that slider a reliable out pitch. I don't see ace when I look at Jackson, but he's a relatively safe pick for a high schooler with a high floor. He doesn't have nearly the upside of Papenfus, but I can't really see Jackson booming or busting. He'll either be a spot starter or reliable middle of the rotation arm, but I'd be surprised if he doesn't get out of the low minors.

RHP Walter Johnson (Bellville): He's included just because of his name. He didn't play until he was a senior, but Walter Johnson had a strong 1.26 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with 23 walks and 105 strikeouts. He's one of the brand new players, so not much information on him, but he's a tall 6'2 righty who my scout thinks is on the bubble for a big league role. He's never scouted him before, so I'm not taking too much weight in that report, but Johnson does have some exciting tools. He doesn't throw too hard, but he mixes in four pitches and I think he'll add speed once he adds weight. He's just 170 and everyone's favorite descriptor "lean and athletic". It looks like he's going to get a lot of strikeouts with his slider and curveball, with the curveball in particular likely his go-to. A lot of movement, good command, but the stuff just isn't all that effective yet. I think it's a simple fix, the harder he throws his fastball, the better his secondary offerings work.