Yankees 7th Rounder: Sean Black, 8th Rounder: Gavin Brooks, and more

Grace dvdrip Sean Black is a great value pick in the 7th round, as he was 77th on Keith Law’s top 100 prospects. Here is the scouting report:

Black has one of the best arms among college starters this year, but his track record will push him down a few rounds in the draft. Black will sit 89-92 mph (watch scouting video) and touch 94 in the first few innings as a starter, but the pitch is true and he needs to command it better to pitch up in the zone when he faces better hitters in pro ball. His best pitch is a two-plane curveball that can be sharp at 76-78 mph, but it’s not consistent and can become slurvy. He throws a split but doesn’t have much feel for it and uses it rarely. Black’s competitiveness is also open to question; he’s not aggressive in going after hitters and doesn’t show much emotion of any sort on the mound. His arm action isn’t clean, as he jerks his arm back late and shows the ball to the center fielder, and he drifts toward the plate instead of driving toward it. In a relief role, he can sit 93-94 and has more consistency on the curveball, and that is probably his ultimate role in the big leagues.

Brooks is another good pick, a LHP from UCLA:

Gavin Brooks, LHP- Brooks will undoubtedly be the most intriguing Bruin in the draft. Brooks was one of the region’s top high school pitchers are a junior and sure-fire high draft pick as a junior, but he missed his entire senior season due to injury and ended up at UCLA. As a freshman, Brooks set a number of UCLA freshman records and was unhittable down the stretch, registering three consecutive complete games, the final two in the postseason. Because of his finish, Brooks entered his sophomore year with high expectations, but little injuries bothered him all year and he was never consistent or better than mediocre. In his junior year, Brooks imploded early on, was banished from the rotation and was written off by many. Brooks rebounded though to establish himself as a solid closer with nine saves glimpses of the outstanding stuff that wowed scouts as a freshman. Brooks will likely go fairly high in the draft and get a solid sum of money as a signing bonus, but he could come back and really improve his stock if he can show some consistency. I don’t think he’ll return, but he’s one of the few juniors who could really boost his stock with a good senior year.

Brooks has a big time arm, and is good value in the 8th round.

The 9th rounder was Sam Elam. Here is BP from their roundtable:

Didn’t think we’d be hearing Sam Elam’s name in the top 10, a lefty from Notre Dame. Elam has a one of the better raw left-handed relief arms in the country, but it’s been a long time since he’s known where a ball is going. 29 walks in 31.1 innings this season, and he was worse over the summer. A Yankees scout must see something fixable, because if it gets straightened out, it’s great stuff.

10th rounder was Tyler Lyons, lefty from Ok. State. Mike at RAB likes the pick a lot, as he was 153 on BA’s list. From RAB:

O Brother, Where Art Thou? movie download Lyons and Baylor’s Kendal Volz led Team USA with matching 0.00 ERAs last summer, when the squad 24-0 and won the gold medal at the FISU World Championships in the Czech Republic. Both have seen their stuff dip and their draft stock significantly this spring. Lyons sat at 87-90 mph with his fastball as a sophomore and picked up a couple of mph as a Team USA reliever, but he has worked mostly at 86-87 mph in 2009. He’s not hurt, though one scout noted that he has lost some of the extension in his delivery. His changeup has regressed, too, though it’s still a solid-average pitch. Lyons has improved his curveball, which is now on par with his changeup. The 6-foot-2, 207-pounder still throw strikes, keeps the ball down in the zone and competes with a warrior mentality, so he still has put up the best numbers (7-6, 4.07) in Oklahoma State’s rotation. As a savvy lefthander with solid stuff, Lyons had a chance to go in the second round. He increased his chances of going that high by throwing at 89-92 mph and looking more like his old self in the NCAA regionals.

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11th rounder was power hitting leftfielder Neil Medchill, who was 160th on BA’s list:

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The Mets drafted Medchill in the 33rd round as a redshirt sophomore a year ago, failing to sign him after he led the Santa Barbara Foresters to the NBC World Series championship in August. He could go as many as 30 rounds higher this June to a team looking for a college power hitter. Some scouts grade his raw lefthanded power as a 7 on the 2-8 scale, and it’s reminiscent of that of former Cowboy Corey Brown, an Athletics sandwich pick in 2007 who hit 30 homers in his first full pro season last year. Medchill has reached double figures in home runs in each of his two seasons at Oklahoma State after beginning his college career at Chandler-Gilbert (Ariz.) CC, and he’ll deliver more power if he turns on more pitches and adds more lift to his swing. Like Brown, he has some holes in his swing and will strike out. Medchill has added 18 pounds in the last year and now carries 218 on his 6-foot-4 frame. The extra bulk has cost him a step and made him a slightly below-average runner, and he has an average arm. He probably fits best as a left fielder in pro ball.

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