PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S TOP TEN LIST
WEEK 24: 10/1/07 - 10/7/07
 
Thursday, October 4, 2007
ALVAREZ, MATUSZ IN BATTLE FOR NO. 1
Now that the 2007 regular season is complete and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have secured the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second year in a row, it’s time to turn our attention to the handful of players the Devil Rays might consider for the top pick in 2008. The two leading candidates would appear to be Vanderbilt University third baseman Pedro Alvarez and University of San Diego lefthander Brian Matusz.

With those players at the top of the pack, we present our first top 100 list for the 2008 draft. The full list is available only to PG Crosschecker ‘Insider level’ subscribers, but we have provided a sneak preview of the top 10.

In the next couple of weeks, we’ll provide a more extensive list of the top 300 prospects for the 2008 draft, complete with scouting reports on those players, along with a new state-by-state follow list of more than 2,000 college, junior college and high school players in the Draft Class of 2008.

The top 10 prospects for the 2008 draft:
 
  Player, Pos., School
1. Brian Matusz, lhp, University of San Diego
2. Pedro Alvarez, 3b, Vanderbilt University
3. Eric Hosmer, 1b, American Heritage HS, Cooper City, Fla.
4. Tim Melville, rhp, Wentzville Holt HS, Wentzville, Mo.
5. Tim Beckham, ss, Griffin HS, Kennesaw, Ga.
6. Aaron Crow, rhp, University of Missouri
7. Justin Smoak, 1b, University of South Carolina
8. Kyle Skipworth, c, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
9. Ryan Perry, rhp, University of Arizona
10. Brett Hunter, rhp, Pepperdine University
--ALLAN SIMPSON/DAVID RAWNSLEY
 
Monday, October 1, 2007
DEVIL RAYS EARNS NO. 1 PICK—AGAIN
For the first time in the baseball draft’s 42-year history, a team will have the first pick two years in a row. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays earned that dubious distinction over the weekend by finishing with the poorest record in the big leagues (66-96, .407) for the second straight season.

The Devil Rays picked first in June for the third time in their brief history and selected Vanderbilt lefthander David Price. Among the leading candidates to go No. 1 in 2008 are another Vanderbilt player, third baseman Pedro Alvarez, and another college lefthander, the University of San Diego’s Brian Matusz. We’ll take our first look at the top 100 prospects for this year’s draft later this week.

The draft order is determined by lowest winning percentage, regardless of league; in the case of teams with the same record, priority is given to the team that drafted in an earlier position in 2007.

Led by Tampa Bay, here’s the order of selection among the first 10 picks in the 2008 draft. If the teams look familiar, they should as Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Baltimore all picked in the top five spots in this year’s draft.
 
Order Team W-L Percentage
1. Tampa Bay Devil Rays .407
2. Pittsburgh Pirates .420
3. Kansas City Royals .426
4. Baltimore Orioles .426
5. San Francisco Giants .438
6. Florida Marlins .438
7. Cincinnati Reds .444
8. Chicago White Sox .444
9. Washington Nationals .451
10. Houston Astros .451
--ALLAN SIMPSON