COLORADO 

2007 FOLLOW LIST  

OVERVIEW: High school pitchers have been the most popular draft commodity inColorado in recent years. In fact, it’s been 10 years since the state produced its last first-round position player: outfielder Darnell McDonald. The reasons for a preference for pitchers are varied, but it generally has to do with Colorado ’s unfavorable spring weather and the lack of repetitions hitters get, and the difficulty in gauging hitters at elevation.

But this year is different as the state’s top prospect—indeed, the state’s top prospect by a considerable margin—is a hitter, Cheyenne Mountain High’s Matt Presley. It’s unlikely he’ll be selected in the first round, but he could come close as there are area scouts who say he is the best hitting prospect in the Four Corner states, college or high school. His bat isn’t what’s holding him out of the first round—it’s not having a set position.

After Presley, the most intriguing name in the state is Wray High righthander Dylan Hochevar, the younger brother of Luke Hochevar, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft. With an 82-84 mph fastball, Hochevar is considered a marginal prospect for the purposes of this draft and almost certainly will follow in his brother’s footsteps at Tennessee . But scouts are mindful that the elder Hochevar didn’t light up guns, either, coming out of the same high school five years earlier—only to blossom in college. There are no big-time arms in the state this year.

While it is rare for a high school position prospect to be the first player drafted in Colorado , it is even rarer for a player from the Air Force Academy—one of two Division I programs in the state—to be selected. But there is a strong likelihood that record-setting Air Force senior first baseman Karl Bolt will be picked, given his production at the plate over a four-year period and the relaxed post-graduation standards that have come info effect for players at the nation’s service academies.

STRENGTH: High school hitters.
WEAKNESS: College players.
OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 2.

Best Out-of-State Prospect, Colorado Connection: Daniel Schlereth, lhp, U. of Arizona (Attended high school in Lone Tree).
Top 2008 Prospect: Tyler Sample, rhp, Mullen HS, Denver .

Highest Pick, Draft History: Luke Hochevar, rhp, Wray (2006, Royals/1^st round, 1^st pick).
Highest Pick, 2006 Draft: Luke Hochevar, rhp, Wray (Royals/1^st round, 1^st pick).

Best College Team: Mesa State .
Best Junior College Team: Lamar CC.
Best High School Team: Cherokee Trail HS, Aurora.

TOP 10 PROSPECTS / By Allan Simpson

GROUPS (College, Junior College, High School)
      1   High-round draft (Rounds 1-3)
      2   Mid-round draft (Rounds 4-10)
      3   Late-round draft (Rounds 11-25)
      4   Chance draft / Player to follow

*Draft-and-follow; eligible to sign before 2007 draft

GROUP ONE
Rank  Player                                  Pos.       Yr     B-T      HT     WT     School                              Hometown                 Drafted/(Commit) B’date
     1.   Matt Presley                          3B      Sr.     R-R     6-3     200     Cheyenne Mountain  Colorado Springs (Arizona )        4-27-89
SCOUTING REPORT: Presley has been the talk of the state this year—even though his season did not measure up to his junior campaign. He hit .660 with eight homers in 2006, but he was a marked man this spring and his numbers dipped to .480 with five homers as pitchers worked him much more carefully. But there’s little doubt Presley can swing the bat. He has a slight uppercut swing with strength, quickness and balance, and hits for both average and power to all fields. He routinely put on a show of raw power for scouts in BP sessions, but didn’t always carry his power-hitting ability into games. He had no trouble squaring up a fastball but he had a tendency to struggle with off-speed pitches. The remainder of Presley’s tools do not measure up to his bat. He played shortstop this season because he was the best athlete on his team, but he does not have the footwork, hands or lateral movement to play the position at a higher level. There’s even some question whether those tools will play at third base, and most scouts seem resigned that he’ll end up as a corner outfielder. He’s not a burner, but his 6.9 second speed in the 60, along with average arm strength, will play there. Presley’s high school coach, Bernie Moncallo, is a former Milwaukee Brewers minor league coach and previously coached Pat Burrell (the No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft) in high school in California, and says Presley is further ahead of Burrell as a hitter at comparable stages of their careers, primarily because of his ability to hit with power to the opposite field.