Arizona and Arizona State were the Nos. 1-2 teams in PG Crosschecker’s 2008 pre-season ranking of the nation’s Top 100 college teams. So it was a bit of an upset when both teams’ seasons ended one step short of the College World Series—even though the Wildcats lost to then No. 1-ranked Miami in super-regional play, and the Sun Devils fell to eventual CWS Fresno State.
Arizona’s only Division I teams, though, lived up to expectations in the 2008 draft as Arizona State had a record 15 players taken and Arizona chipped in with 11, including two first-rounders.
With such a talent drain, it’s apparent that both teams won’t be as big a factor in the 2009 college rankings or the draft, though Sun Devils outfielder Jason Kipnis, a fourth-round pick of the San Diego Padres, returns as a junior, and the Wildcats welcome back righthander Preston Guilmet and third baseman Brad Glenn, their top starting pitcher and power threat over the last two years. Both players were unsigned Oakland A’s draft picks.
ASU, in particular, helped itself by bringing in 11 recruits who were drafted in June, including two players that will be eligible again next June. Catcher Carlos Ramirez, a transfer from Chandler-Gilbert (Ariz.) JC who was selected the MVP of the Northwoods League during the summer, is the newcomer who should make the greatest impact.
In order, Kipnis, Ramirez, Guilmet and Glenn are ranked as the Nos. 3-6 college prospects in Arizona for the 2009 draft, according to PG Crosschecker. Over the next several weeks, the PG Crosschecker website will be providing updated, comprehensive state-by-rankings of the top prospects in the 2009, 2010 and 2011 draft classes (for PG Crosschecker subscribers only). We’ll also take a close-up, sneak-preview look at the frontline talent in several states along the way as part of our Daily Top 10 coverage.
Today’s focus is on Arizona. We have more than 125 players (college, junior college and high school) on our 2009 follow list from that state, and our top 10 prospects for the draft in June are noted below.
Though the college crop is understandably thinner than a year ago, Arizona’s strong junior-college ranks have more talent to offer than in 2008 and the high school ranks appear deeper, though they may not have a player who will be drafted higher than first baseman Jaff Decker (Padres), a supplemental first-rounder and the 42nd player picked overall last June, or lefthander Kyle Lobstein (Rays), the first player drafted in the second round (49th overall).
PG Crosschecker ranks 6-foot-6 Brophy Prep righthander/shortstop Trent Stevenson (Scroll down to read David Rawnsley’s detailed scouting report on Stevenson) as the top Arizona prep prospect for the 2009 draft. But righthander Jake Barrett (Desert Ridge HS), third baseman Matt Helm (Hamilton HS), catcher/righthander Tommy Joseph (Horizon HS) and righthander Tom Lemke (Northwest Christian HS) rank right with Stevenson in a clump of five prospects, and any among that group could emerge as the first Arizona high school player drafted in 2009. Helm, Joseph and Stevenson are Arizona recruits, Barrett has committed to Arizona State and Lemke was tapped by Nebraska.
At this point, with the 2009 draft still almost six months away, the top four junior-college prospects in the state all hail from one school, Central Arizona, which finished third at last year’s Junior College World Series.
The top juco prospect, 6-foot-5 lefthander Kevin Gelinas, did not play for the Vaqueros a year ago and transferred to Central Arizona after spending his freshman season at Pepperdine. Gelinas pitched only briefly for the Waves in the spring, but excelled during the summer in the California Collegiate League with a fastball that topped out at 93 mph, and he fanned 47 in 26 innings while going 4-0, 1.01 in a closing role. He’s scheduled to work as a starter in the spring for Central Arizona, and has committed to play at UC Santa Barbara in 2010.
Meanwhile, for all the talent drain that Arizona and Arizona State experienced after last season, those schools are still expected to yield the two best prospects in the state in 2009 in righthanders Jason Stoffel, a sure-fire first-rounder, and Mike Leake, a borderline first-round talent.
Stoffel saved 13 games for Arizona as a sophomore and punched out 79 hitters in 48 innings, while walking only 15. With a fastball in the mid-90s that touched 98 and a hammer curve, he was so dominant that he was used as the Wildcats closer while two first-rounders, lefthander Daniel Schlereth (Diamondbacks) and righthander Ryan Perry (Tigers), were merely his set-up men. It’s say to say that no team in college history had more end-of-game dominance on the mound than the 2008 Wildcats.
There are 10 college pitchers in PG Crosschecker’s Top 100 prospects for the 2008 draft who have seen significant time as closers, and Stoffel is the most established of the group. His unforgiving mound presence makes him well-suited to close.
By contrast, Leake isn’t overly physical at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds and doesn’t possess Stoffel’s nasty raw stuff, but he can throw five pitches for strikes, including a heavy, sinking fastball in the 89-92 mph range. He’s the unquestioned ace of the ASU staff, but is so versatile that he can play virtually any position on the field and played a key two-way role last summer for Team USA’s undefeated college national team.
With that as a backdrop, here’s how we see the top 10 prospects from Arizona for the 2009 draft (projected round noted):
| Rank |
Player |
Pos. |
School |
Hometown |
Projected Round |
| 1. |
Jason Stoffel |
RHP |
U. of Arizona |
Agoura, Calif. |
1st round |
| 2. |
Mike Leake |
RHP |
Arizona State U. |
Fallbrook, Calif. |
1-2 |
| 3. |
Trent Stevenson |
RHP |
Brophy Prep |
Scottsdale, Ariz. |
2-3 |
| 4. |
Jake Kipnis |
OF |
Arizona State U. |
Northbrook, Ill. |
3-4 |
| 5. |
Jake Barrett |
RHP |
Desert Ridge HS |
Mesa, Ariz. |
3-4 |
| 6. |
Matt Helm |
3B |
Hamilton HS |
Chandler, Ariz. |
3-5 |
| 7. |
Kevin Gelinas |
LHP |
Central Arizona JC |
Thousand Oaks, Calif. |
3-5 |
| 8. |
Tommy Joseph |
C/RHP |
Horizon HS |
Phoenix |
3-5 |
| 9. |
Carlos Ramirez |
C |
Arizona State U. |
Tucson |
4-7 |
| 10. |
Tom Lemke |
RHP |
Northwest Christian HS |
Phoenix |
4-7 |
| Alabama: Top 10 Prospects, 2009 Draft |
SCOUTING REPORT / TRENT STEVENSON
Scouts going to Arizona in the spring will have at least two top pitching prospects to watch in Stevenson and fellow righthander Jake Barrett, but you couldn’t find two more opposite pitching profiles. Stevenson first appeared at a Perfect Game event as a freshman in 2005; and at that point was a 5-foot-10, 125-pound middle infielder with minimal tools. He has since grown into a highly-projectable, 6-6, 175-pound righthander who, while still almost painfully thin, shows easy athleticism and very loose actions. He has a power pitcher’s arm action with clean, tension-free extension out front. Stevenson’s fastball was 89-91 mph at the Area Code Games in early August and he was seen up to 93-94 mph during the fall. He also throws an upper-70s slurve-type breaking ball and has a very good feel for a changeup. He has a good approach to pitching and has shown the ability to pitch to spots. Stevenson is very similar to former Arizona high school righthander Brett Jacobson, who attended Vanderbilt and was selected in the fourth round of the 2008 draft, except that his delivery and arm action appear more repeatable and effortless at the same age. Stevenson has signed with Arizona .
--DAVID RAWNSLEY
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