Definitely the most significant draft in Sabean's era, and while it had some flaws, it's really hard to knock given what he did with his top two picks (Madbum and Alderson). Well, we know how the actual draft went, but I thougt I'd revisit the draft to see how perceptions probably change now had these teams been able to redraft right now, with the 2008 minor league seasons in mind. One year removed, we have a better idea about these players, just as we'll have even better idea at this time next year

*NOTE*: There are probably guys taken in the later rounds that could have cracked the top rounds, but I'm just sticking to the guys I can easily track, because I am lazy

1. David Price LHP (actual pick: David Price, where player went: #1 to TAM ): No reason to expect anything else

2. Matt Wieters (actual pick: Moustakas, where player went: #5 BAL): There was obviously fiscal reasons why the Royals passed on Wieters, but I bet if you gave them the option now to take Wieters for a few extra million, they would gobble it up.

3. Madison Bumgarner (actual pick: Josh Vitters, where player went: #10 SF): Moskos might reach the bigs faster, but that's probably where any advantage dies

4. Jason Heyward (actual pick: Daniel Moskos, where player went: #14 ATL): Heyward is essentially the Madison Bumgarner equivalent to hitting, incredible numbers for his age, but his as good as his stat line is, it isn't as utterly ridiculous as Bumgarner's

5. Rick Porcello (actual pick: Wieters, where player went: #27 DET): Who knows, if Wieters had been off the board already this might have been their actual pick

6. Matt LaPorta (actual pick: Ross Detwiler, where player went: #7 MIL): The Cubs would probably love to have LaPorta knocking down the door on the fading Derrek Lee next year

7. Tim Alderson (actual pick: Matt LaPorta, where player went: #22 SF): Timmy is so far the highest riser other than Porcello, who only went low because of money concerns. The fact that he's done what he has at A+ ball already is the big edge here. He'd have gawdy Bumgarner like numbers had be in mere A ball.

8. Matt Dominguez (actual pick: Casey Weathers, where player went: #12 FLA): Of all the touted HS infielders in this draft, it is Dominguez that shines the brightest as he had a breakthrough 2008 at the age of 18 hitting .296/.354/.499 at A ball

9. Brett Cecil (actual pick: Parker, where player went: #38 TOR): This guy has been flat out dominant on every minor league level so far and will have a chance to crack the bigs next year. You could argue this guy could be higher because of polish, but I think this is still a good ranking.

10. Mike Moustakas (actual pick: Aumont, where player went: #2 KC): Moustakas didn't put up the most killer lines in his young pro career, but he's hit very well and when you factor in his age and position this guy is a studly offensive prospect. He could just as easily be moved up a bit, the guys from 9-11 are all quite close in my book. The Giants would be thrilled with this guy in their system at SS

11. Jarrod Parker (actual pick: Bumgarner, where player went: #9 AZ): Parker and Main are pretty interchangeable at these two spots, and I don't think you could go wrong with either.

12. Michael Main (actual pick: Dominguez, where player went: #24 TEX):  Main hashad a great start to his minor league career, with a bigger sample size of innings this guy would be thought of even higher

13. Beau Mills (actual pick: Mills): The guy was billed as the most polished hitter of the draft and he's lived up to it. He tore up A+ ball at age 21 and should be doing the same in AA next year.

14. Ben Revere (actual pick: Heyward, where player went: #28 MIN): Revere has just roped the ball since coming onto the scene hitting .379 last year in A ball! Very toolsy guy and while Carlos Gomez, now scout with AZ, declared Fairley the better prospect last year, Revere has certainly passed him as the better prospect (at least right now)

15. Blake Beavan (actual pick: Mesoraco, where player went: #17 TEX): Beavan on paper looks like a poor man's Rick Procello. Doesn't have the stuff of Porcello, but he's got plenty of stuff to like about him. While I think we did better with our to ptwo pitching picks, TEXAS did a phenomenal jobs themselves

16. Josh Vitters (actual pick: Kevin Ahrens, where player went: #3 CHC): Vitters upside is still tremendous, and he had a good 2008, but his lack of plate patience is definitely a concern and his path to the majors is seemingly longer than anyone on this list. He's also one of younger people on the list as well, but it's his upside that keeps him this high

17. James SImmons (actual pick: Beavan, where player went: #26 OAK): Simmons is a polished pitcher with a decent shot of reaching the bigs next year. He might have the lowest upside of anyone listed so far, but he's stil lvery good and has a good track record at AA at the age of 21. Definite James Shields comparisons are likely to be drawn

18. Aaron Poreda (actual pick: Kozma, where player went: #25 CWS): Poreda is like the left handed version of Simmons really, great polish and command, I just think Simmons has more upside. The two are very comparable

19. Kellen Kulbacki (actual pick: Savery, where player went: #40 SD): Kulbacki really could be higher on this list, but the big concern with him is that  incredibly dominant 2008 (.332/.428/.589 at A+ ball) came at age 22.  There's still a lot to love about this guy, but at 22 I would just prefer he'd be at AA. 22 certainly isn't too old for A+ ball, but it's just older than I like for a guy who otherwise would be pegged as a "can't miss guy".  I might be overplaying the age thing, I still think he's a tremendous prospect, but I keep him here for age. If not for that, there's easily a case for him to be 5-8 spots higher

20.  JP Arencibia (actual pick: Chris Withrow, where player went: #21 TOR): The plate discipline is a major concern, but I rank him just ahead of Donaldson because he has a rep for better defense

21. Josh Donaldson (actual: Arencibia, where player went: #48 CHC) : Donaldson is another Kulbacki type player, with gawdy numbers but just slightly older than you'd like for his levels. After a great 2007, he had a horrible 08, but since being acquired by Oakland in the Harden trade this guy has been gold again.

22. Todd Frazier SS (actual pick: Tim Alderson, where player went: #34 CIN): Frazier is a SS that has put up good numbers and seems like a guy who could be an above average offensive SS. I've heard some questions about his glove, but I still think this would have been a solid pick for the Giants given their SS depth and Fraziers solid performance level.

23. Tommy Hunter (actual pick: Nick Schmidt, where player went: #54 TEX): Hunter has already reached the bigs and features tremendous control. There's plenty to like about this guy, and it's a shame he has to pitch in Arlington

24. Michael Burgess (actual pick: Main, where player went: #49 WAS): This guy fell in the draft further than I think he should have, and I was upset that the Giants passed on him at picks 32 and 43.

25. Casey Weathers (actual pick: Poreda, where player went: #8 COL): This is about where the talented relievers should be drafted, not top 10

26. Ross Detwiler (actual pick: Simmons, where player went: #6 WAS): Still plenty of upside there, but I thought he was pretty overrated

27. Corey Brown OF (actual pick: Porcello, where player went: #59 OAK): Kulbacki light, but that still is pretty good and his power and patience are a good combo.

28. Julio Borbon OF (actual pick: Revere, where player went: #35 TEX): Doesn't have too much patience or power, but he's hit over .300 a few times and has lots of tools. I probably underrate this guy a bit

29. Neil Ramirez (actual pick: Fairley, where player went: #44 TEX): A lot of upside in this young arm, and I expect in his first full year next year this guy is going to turn a lot of heads

30. Phillippe Aumont (actual pick: Brackman, where player went: #11 SEA): He showed some promise this year in the minors, his value could definitely rise next year, but he's just not qutie as successful as his fellow HS classmates

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I'll stop there for now, but some notes:

-By my standards, TEXAS clearly had the best draft, selecting 5 of my top 30.

-The top 3 players that slipped in my opinion were Tommy Hunter (dropped 31 spots),  Brett Cecil (dropped 29 spots), and Donaldson (dropped 27 spots)

-The biggest overdraft was Moskos, who failed to even make my list. Of guys who made my list, it's Detwiler  (dropped 20 spots)

-TEX also moved up 67 total spots of value by calculation (i.e. getting the #2 player at #10 is 8 spots of value)

-13 of my top 30 were HS players

-Guys who dropped out of top 30: Fairley, Brackman (injury), Schmidt (injury), Kozma, Withrow, Savery, Ahrens, Mesoraco, Moskos

GIANTS TAKE: We clearly did very well with our top two picks in Bumgarner and Alderson. I view them as the #4 and #7 prospects in this class right now, which means we got 19 spots of value in those wo picks. I think our #29 pick, Fairley, isn't looking too hot right now, but it's stil learly and there's plenty of talent there. If they were to draft again and everything but the Giants picked stayed the same, I'd probably want us to draft Cecil at #29, Kulbacki at #32, Burgess at #43, and Tommy Hunter at #51

Thoughts? Differing opinions?