MLB Amateur Draft - Recap of Top 5

1. Washington Nationals-Bryce Harper, OF, College of Southern Nevada (NV)

Coming as no surprise, the 17 year old Harper was the first player chosen in the MLB Draft. His majority of starts in junior college came at catcher, but as Bud Selig said on the podium when the Nats' pick was announced, being a backstop is likely not in Harper's future. The Nationals will probably move him to right field, where his incredibly strong arm (clocked at 96 miles per hour on the mound in high school) will give him the opportunity to gun down runners at home plate. Also the move to the outfield will guarantee Harper more at bats at the Major League level, seeing as most catchers are prone to injury and have to take days off regularly because of the demands of the position. To quote ESPN head scout Keith Law, "Harper has the most raw power of a teenager ever." His tape measured home runs are an Internet sensation, specifically his 502 foot shot at Tropicana Field and his 570 footer while as a sophomore in high school. Furthermore, Harper's overall maturity at the plate His draws comparisons to Ken Griffey Jr, a fellow number one overall pick. Look out for the current 17 year old in the majors by 2013, at the latest.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates - Jameson Taillon, RHP, The Woodlands High School (TX)

Taillon is a towering 6'7" prep flamethrower whose fastball has been clocked consistently between 96 to 99 mph. Paired with two refined off speed pitches (his curveball and changeup), Taillon boasts a large repertoire than many college pitchers can't even claim to have. He has solid mechanics on the mound and is much more polished than average high school pitchers. With Pittsburgh, he projects to be an eventual ace that will eat innings up and give the Pirates an opportunity to win every fifth day or so. Taillon is comparable to Josh Beckett because of their similar aggressive pitching styles, and almost identical situations coming out of high school as Texas prep phenoms.

3. Baltimore Orioles - Manny Machado, SS, Brito Private High School (FL)

The Dominican born and Miami raised Machado draws comparisons to the great Alex Rodriguez, another Miami hometown product. Machado's frame and playing style, however, better resemble Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies. Machado shortstop stands 6'3" and

with 180 pounds, but his enormous size 13 feet suggest more growth might be possible. While some scouts suggest the 18 year old Machado may eventually grow out of the shortstop position and move to third base, I do not share that view. Clearly, the Orioles have a glaring need at shortstop, and the hot corner is filled throughout the minor league system with promising young hitters, such as Josh Bell and Billy Rowell.

Machado may not be blazing on the basepaths, but he is fast enough to swipe close to 20 bases per year maximum. Defensively, the third overall selection can cover all the ground needed while playing shortstop. That being said, he does not project as an Ozzie Smith-type in the field. Gold gloves will likely not be in Machado's future. Nevertheless, Manny Machado's true value comes at the plate. Strong armed and well built already at age 18, he projects as a middle of the lineup presence. I expect Machado to be a .300 hitter, and depending on his physical growth, he could average 25 plus home runs and at least 100 RBIs in the major leagues.

4. Kansas City Royals - Christian Colon, SS, Cal State Fullerton (CA)

Colon is one of the most polished position players in the draft. At shortstop, he is a vacuum cleaner that moves well and has soft hands, not letting any ball get by him. His range in the field is in question though, and he could very well end up at second or third. He hits for average, but lacks raw power. When on base, Colon is always a threat to steal. Playing at such a successful college program like Fullerton, he is a great leader, who possesses the instincts any GM wants to see in a top 5 draft pick. On the Major League level, he reminds me of Phillies' third baseman Placido Polanco. Look for the experienced and savvy Colon to be in the big leagues before any of his top 5 counterparts.

5. Cleveland Indians - Drew Pomeranz, LHP, University of Mississippi (MS)

Pomeranz, like Christian Colon, is a refined college player from a successful program. Coming from Ole Miss, Pomeranz had to face top level hitters who also were potential MLB players every outing. He won SEC Pitcher of the Year honors, and boasted an ERA in the low 2's. Pomeranz has potential to be a 8 to 9 strikeout per outing kind of guy in the big leagues, and he could be a top of the line pitcher in the rotation. In the worst case scenario, Pomeranz is the number 2 pitcher on a team. He already has a good fastball and curve but must develop his changeup to be successful on the major league level. The Indians need power pitching, and as of now have no true ace on their staff or in their organization to speak of. The only knock of Pomeranz is his inconsistency.

-JS

World Cup Rising Stars

With the FIFA World Cup in less than a week, we at NextGenSports felt obliged to give you all some profiles on who will be the breakout young stars in this tournament. These footballers are all under the age of 23 and may be unknown to the casual soccer fan, but could all dictate how far their respective countries go.

Jozy Altidore (USA)

The blazing fast 20 year old striker from New Jersey will perhaps determine if the United States is able to right their ship of recent World Cup failure. He has proven more than adept at the international level, scoring 9 goals with the team through qualifying rounds, the Confederation Cup, and friendly matches. His success on the club level with Hull City (English Premier League) was non- existent, probably attributed to the very little playing time he saw. The one advantage of playing overseas for Altidore was his gaining of familiarity to many opponents he will have to play against in the World Cup, like England's defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole, each from Chelsea. One of the issues for the United States that makes Altidore all the more important is their lack of depth at forward. Charles Davies did not recover fast enough from his October car accident, and that means the second striker spot will be up in the air between Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley, and Hercules Gomez. Watch out for veteran Clint Dempsey, probably the most polished scorer on the roster, to step in and play some striker on occasion.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez (MEXICO)

Hernandez, the forward at 22 years of age, was the first Mexican footballer ever to join Manchester United, a feat not to be taken lightly. He had great success at such a young age in Mexico's "Primero Division", finishing in the top 3 in scoring while playing for Chivas. Hernandez has really burst onto the scene for both his club and his country, and could be a key at the point of attack for a very potent Mexico offense featuring scoring middies Giovanni Dos Santos and Andres Guardado. As long as Hernandez does not cave under the enormous expectations of his country, a place where football is religion, then he should have no trouble slashing through the weak defenses of Uruguay and South Africa in Group A. If Mexico is able to keep it together on the back end while playing their wing-focused, aggressive offense, keep an eye on a possible upset of an overrated France squad.

Gervinho (Ivory Coast)

With the injury to Didier Drogba, and his availability for Cup play now up in the air, 23 year old Gervihno's talent now means more than ever to Ivory Coast. This skilled young winger scored 13 goals for Le Mans in Ligue 1, and his stock is rising quickly for the national team. Yaya Toure, Solomon Kalou, and Drogba (if he plays) will draw most attention from opposing defenses, perhaps leaving Gervihno open space to make teams pay, whether it be by scoring or creating opportunities for his teammates. On Ivory Coast, perhaps the best African squad ever assembled, look for Gervinho to find great success because of his potent supporting cast.

-JS

Monthly Calls to the Farm

To all the readers at NextGenSports, I would like to apologize for the sparsity of our posts in the last week. We bloggers are not exempt from the rigors of school and particularly, exams.

On another note, we have decided to start a new monthly segment about the perhaps potentially impactful call-ups from the minor leagues to the major leagues. For the month of June, we have to begin in Syracuse, where 2009 #1 pick Stephen Strasburg is heading to Washington to make his debut on June 8th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I can tell all our readers that availability to see Strasburg, who many scouts believe is the best pitcher in the entire Nationals' organization, is absolutely zero. Ten minutes after the confirmation of his debut, tickets were gone. But, that isn't a surprise, right? I mean, Strasburg can throw a 103 mile per hour fastball. Then, he adds a solid curveball, and his change-up has the potential to be elite. The former San Diego State star primarily relied on his change-up in testy situations against hitters. The gigantic change in speed from a high 90s fastball to a middle-70s change-up coupled with the hitters' inability to differentiate between both of Strasburg's best pitches propelled him to an ERA in the minor leagues bordering 1.00. Look for Stephen Strasburg to excel this coming Wednesday. He goes against a weak lineup at home. Expectations will be unattainable, but, in general, I don't think pressure will be a problem with Strasburg. There have been packed houses to watch him pitch since the final games of his college career, so hoards of fans shouldn't be anything new. In terms of his repertoire on the mound, all I can say is watch out.

Reports have surfaced that the other 103 mile per hour hurler, Cincinnati Reds' prospect Aroldis Chapman will debut sometime this month. He has been called the left-handed version of Strasburg, but I would wait with such a bold comparison. He is far less polished than Strasburg, evidenced by his sometime spotty mechanics. Chapman's best pitch is clearly the fastball, but his slider is almost as nasty. If the young Cuban learns to consistency locate the slider, the combination of fastball and slider bring back memories for me of future Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson. Not forgotten with Chapman is his change-up. This is the biggest question mark, by far. When located, the pitch can be dynamic, but hitting the strikezone has been a problem. Furthermore, Chapman does little to disguise the change-up from hitters. If he can figure out to mimic the arm action used for his fastball and slider with the change-up, then hitters will be playing a complete guessing game, and Chapman certainly seems like a big league star. Right now, he would fit in as the sixth starter, replacing injured pitcher Homer Bailey, behind Aaron Harang, Mike Leake, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, and Sam LeCure. Important for Chapman is confidence: he will be pitching his home games in what some scouts refer to as a pinball machine. Fly balls in any normal ballpark fall into the stands of Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark.

Carlos Santana (pictured below) should provide good depth for the Indians this year at catcher. Fellow AAA call-up Lou Marson is the starting catcher right now, but the Indians' look for Santana to potentially anchor a depleted lineup without star center fielder Grady Sizemore. Scouts compare Santana to former Indians star catcher and current member of the Boston Red Sox, Victor Martinez. Both players have sharp eyes at the plate with the ability to hit to all fields with power. Santana, this past season, hit .291 in the minor leagues. The only criticism of Santana is defensively. He lacks a ton of experience behind the plate, so look for Cleveland manager Manny Acta to defer to Lou Marson specifically during the starts of ace sinker baller Fausto Carmona.

With that in mind,expect the transition of Santana to the role as an everyday catcher to be seamless. Scouts believe Santana is so athletic with such great feet that third base might be the future position of the number one prospect in Cleveland's organization. According to various teams around the major leagues, Santana he ranks next to anointed Baltimore Orioles' catcher Matt Wieters as the best catching prospects in the recent past ahead of Giants'phenom Buster Posey and rising Yankees' star catcher Jesus Montero.Another name to watch is Florida's Michael Stanton. He was rated as baseball's third best prospect in the beginning of this season, behind only Atlanta Braves' superstar Jason Heyward and the uber-hyped Strasburg. This decision makes sense for manager Fredi Gonzalez considering the collective struggles of Florida's outfielders, most namely 2009 Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan and center fielder Cameron Maybin. Furthermore, Stanton would immediately bring power to the lineup, teaming with Hanley Ramirez to form a dynamic duo.

Most scouts liken Stanton to Hall of Famer Dave Winfield. He has incredible raw power to all fields. His speed is not an issue at all. In fact, Stanton is pretty fast, and I would not be surprised to see him steal 15 bases per year in the future. He projects to play right field, which reads as bad news for the struggling Coghlan. My only question is plate discipline. Although scouts don't seem to worry, the pressure of debuting in the big leagues to deliver for a potential contender will initially make Stanton anxious. He needs to be patient against much better pitching in the big leagues.

Continuing with the theme of power, look for the Pittsburgh Pirates to bring up budding left handed slugger Pedro Alvarez very soon. One article compared home runs hit by the second overall pick in the 2008 draft to drives hit by Tiger Woods. The only knock on Alvarez is his weight. He did spend this past off-season really committing himself to keep his body fit. If the plan continues to go smoothly, Alvarez projects as a third baseman. Reports out of spring training stated that Alvarez has already lost 10 pounds.

In a young Pirates lineup, who boasts first baseman Garrett Jones as the team's premier power hitter, Alvarez would be a welcomed addition. The other only setback is that Andy LaRoche is blocking him at third base. Therefore, expect Alvarez to play a corner outfield spot. In my opinion, Alvarez's weight issues combined with a ton of maturity at the plate remind me of Tigers' star Miguel Cabrera? Pirates general manager Neal Huntington is certainly hoping so, but don't expect Alvarez to be hitting .350 with 40 home runs in his rookie campaign.

Other potential call-ups include:
Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown, who will look to replace free agent outfielder Jayson Werth next season.
Blue Jays first baseman Brett Wallace. His batting prowess could make Blue Jays officials seriously consider shipping off Lyle Overbay before the trade deadline.
Desmond Jennings, who will play in the outfield in Tampa Bay under manager Joe Maddon. General Manager Andrew Friedman hopes Jennings will develop quickly enough to offset the loss of free agent-to-be Carl Crawford.

-DR

Golf?

I guess the headline explains most people's thoughts on golf. It isn't really a sport. Golf is only for the wealthy, and therefore, the majority of middle America has no interest. Perhaps, the most profound observation is that golf revolves around one man, Tiger Woods. If Tiger is not in contention on Sunday of a major, then the ratings plummet. When Tiger is battling with Phil in the final round, however, the ratings soar.

Lost in the debate over sport or not is this: golf might have the most potential superstars under the age of 25 than any other sport, period. Just look at the Byron Nelson Championship two weeks ago, the winner was Australia's Jason Day, age 22! As an avid golfer myself, I find 16 year old Jordan Spieth's tied for 16th finish baffling, to put it lightly.

Spieth and Day aren't the only "young guns" ready to shake up the PGA Tour. Rory McIroy is ranked 9th in the world at age 21. He won his first tournament this year, the Quail Hollow Championship, by shooting 62 in the final round to win by 4 strokes. That performance, ladies and gentlemen, was Tiger-esque. Following McIlroy at number 10 in the world is 24 year old American Anthony Kim. Capable of hitting the ball a country mile at only 5 foot 10 inches, he shot a seven-under 65 with 11 birdies, the most ever at Augusta National, at last year's Masters, and not to mention, his birdie run at the latter stages of this year's Masters almost stole the green jacket from Phil Mickelson. Away from Augusta, Kim has won twice in his career.

Rounding out the top 50 are the Japanese duo of Japan's Ryo Ishikawa and Yuta Ikeda. Both aren't household names, to say the least, but in the case of Ishikawa, he was winning professional tournament at age 15. Just think about a freshman in high school beating grown men in golf, I mean a 15 year old Ishikawa could probably only hit the ball 260 yards. Ikeda wasn't as good as fast, but his 2009 season was very, very good. 4 victories and #2 on the Japanese Tour Money List catapulted Ikeda into the top 50.

Rickie Fowler headlines the group of not as established but very promising golfers. He is looking to capture the Memorial this week after finishing second in the Waste Management Open this past year. Less heralded players Jamie Lovemark, who completely dominated the college golf scene at USC, and Webb Simpson, formerly of Wake Forest, should be contenders in the years to come.

Considering the circumstances, Italy's Matteo Manassero (pictured top right) may have put on the best performance on any golfer to this point. At age 16, he overcame the devilishly quick greens at Augusta to make the cut. He became the youngest player ever to do so, and Manassero is currently the world's top ranked amateur, as well. Manassero finished tied for 36th overall at the Masters. In addition, England's Chris Wood is no slouch himself. He was the only player in the entire world to finish in top 5 in the British Open in 2008 and 2009. Take that, Tiger.

Other notables include New Zealand's Danny Lee, who has not yet lived up to what various golf analysts believe is unlimited potential, and Noh Seung-Yul of Korea. I know his name is hard to pronounce, but not for long. He is considered to be one of the world's best ball strikers right now. Making perfect contact every time doesn't guarantee major championships and it certainly does not defy the old adage, "Drive for show, putt for dough," but look for this Korean to be in contention come Sundays.

The question then becomes who is the best among this list? Anthony Kim is the most accomplished, and I would give him the slight edge over McIroy. Although his daring style of grip-it-and-rip-it is illsuited towards consistency on the PGA Tour, he finds a way. The American leads the PGA Tour in scoring average this season, however, he stands in the bottom five for driving accuracy. Personally, those two stats remind me of another American, who by the way has 14 major championships.

My advice to Anthony Kim: Tone down the amount of risk taking on the golf course, in general. Not all holes can be attacked to seize birdies and eagles. He needs to weigh his opportunities, but this maturity will come with age. Look for him to struggle a bit at the U.S. Open this June. The narrow fairways don't play to his style. I like the 24 year old American to really contend, however, at both the British Open at Saint Andrews and the PGA Championship. If he cannot claim a major championship to his name this summer, I would be quite surprised to say the least.

Just because Anthony Kim has been 'anointed' the best golfer under the age of 25 shouldn't be a knock on any of the aforementioned golfers. With Tiger's off the course issues as well as a troubling neck, these young golfers have the best chance to charge up leader boards. Just watch out for Phil, he has been hot as of late.

-DR