UTAH

2007 FOLLOW LIST  

OVERVIEW: The two most apparent things that stand out aboutUtah ’s 2007 draft crop are the quality of the high school talent and the advanced age of the better college players. A majority of the top college talent, particularly the players at Brigham Young, have been on two-year Mormon missions and have the rare class standing of fourth-year sophomores or sixth-year seniors. The best college prospect is 24-year-old BYU righthander Jesse Craig, who was lasted drafted in 2001.

The high school crop is one of the deepest ever for Utah —and most of it was concentrated at two schools, 5-A state champion Jordan High and 4-A champion Cottonwood High. Between them, the schools could have five draft picks in the top 10-12 rounds. Each school’s top prospect, Cottonwood lefthander Tanner Robles and Jordan shortstop Garrett Nash, is an Oregon State recruit, and also projected to go in the top two or three rounds.

Utah ’s strength in recent years was its abundance of draftable talent at the junior college level. But one of the chief contributors in the past, 2004 Junior College World Series champion and 2001 national runner-up Dixie State, has moved up to the four-year college level and the talent didn’t materialize this year as hoped at Salt Lake CC.

STRENGTH: High school catching.
WEAKNESS: Junior college players.
OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 3.

Best Out-of-State Prospect, Utah Connection: Steven Hirschfeld, rhp, San Diego State U. (Attended high school in Moab ).
Top 2008 Prospect: Daniel Seachest, rhp, Lone Peak HS, Highland .

Highest Pick, Draft History: Cory Snyder, 3b, Brigham Young U. (1984, Indians/1^st round, 4^th pick).
Highest Pick, 2006 Draft: John Holdzkom, rhp, Salt Lake CC (Mets/4^th round).

Best College Team: Brigham Young.
Best Junior College Team: Salt Lake CC.
Best High School Team: Jordan HS, Sandy.

TOP 15 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

GROUP ONE
Rank  Player                                  Pos.       Yr     B-T      HT     WT     School                              Hometown                 Drafted/(Commit) B’date
     1.   Tanner Robles                    LHP      Sr.     L-L     6-1     190     Cottonwood HS              Murray                        (Oregon State )  2-24-89
SCOUTING REPORT: Robles was considered one of the handful of top pitchers for the 2007 draft after a dazzling showing on the showcase circuit last summer. His fastball routinely popped 94-95 mph with riding life; his curveball was also a big league pitch. But his stock faded this spring as his velocity dropped and he failed to command his breaking stuff. He was throwing 92-93 mph, topping at 94 in his first few starts, but his velocity gradually slipped below 90 and was down to 85-86 mph at one point. He would often lose significant velocity within a game. His fastball also lacked the movement normally found in lefthanders and his curve was not as sharp. Scouts started questioning whether Robles might be just a product of showcase events, where he was able to let it all out for just an inning or two. But they began focusing on his mechanics as the root of his problem, saying a stiff delivery and lack of rhythm were major contributing factors. Through it all, Robles continued to dominate the competition in Utah and finished his career with a perfect record while playing on three straight state championship teams. Robles has an excellent feel for the game, but his inconsistency this spring has taken him out of the first round to possibly as low as the second or third rounds.