BillyRiv Top 5

1. Eric Hosmer
2. Buster Posey
3. Brian Matusz
4. Pedro Alvarez
5. Yonder Alonso

My draft board looks like this:

1. Pedro Alvarez – Arguably the best player in the draft, who fills a need perfectly. What’s not to like? Well, the fact that he’s going to be picked before he gets to us.
2. Justin Smoak – A switch hitting 1B who has power, i’d certainly be happy if we chose him.
3. Tim Beckham – Again, arguably the best players available, he also fits in well with our other talent in the low minors. I could swap him with Smoak easily, so would again be delighted if we got him. We won’t though as he’ll go before we pick.
4. Eric Hosmer – Possibly a step below the others, he’s got a nice swing & high potential, certainly a decent choice.
5. Kyle Skipworth – There may be questions over his catching ability, but he’s improved & may stay there. He doesn’t have the defence of Posey, but has much more potential with the bat. Possibly a riskier pick, but one with much bigger upside.

The other players i’d rank as:

6. Buster Posey – I’m not convinced that his bat is going to be special enough for him to have the upside i’d like, but a solid pick.
7. Brian Matusz – I’d rather we didn’t go for a pitcher, but at some point you have to go with the best player available.
8. Yonder Alonso – Questions over his power & athleticism make him drop compared to others. A good pick at #10, but not so much at #5
9. Aaron Crow – Again, you get to the point of BPA. There’s question marks over him, but high upside arms are always valuable.
10. Gordon Beckham – There’s just too many negatives on him to make me keen. The fact that he’s shot up the board on the basis of a good year, the suggestion that he’s probably going to have to move off SS & the fact that i don’t like his swing, makes me hope we stay away.

My mock draft is (actually the same as yours):

1. Rays – Tim Beckham
2. Pirates – Pedro Alvarez
3. Royals – Eric Hosmer
4. Orioles – Justin Smoak
5. Giants – Buster Posey

There are lots of unknowns though & i could see the Rays taking Posey, someone else taking Tim Beckham & us taking Gordon Beckham. I’d predict us to have Posey or Gordon Beckham by the end of tomorrow.

Top 5
Tim Beckham
Eric Hosmer
Buster Posey
Pedro Alvarez
Gordon Beckham

1) Rays – Buster Posey – This is a timing thing I think – Posey is attractive because he is at a position of need for TB and its a team on the rise looking to complete the puzzle.
2) Pirates – Tim Beckham – Pirates will be scared away by price and Becks could excite the fans of the Steel City
3) Royals – Brian Matusz – The farm is a bit bare and this is a team desperate for pitching
4) Orioles – Pedro Alvarez – Peter Angelos will pay him
5) Giants – Brett Wallace – Lots of Giants scouts at the ASU Regional last week and many call him the best pure hitter in the draft with 2 straight Pac-10 POY’s in hand.

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Animals
3. Dark Side of the Moon
4. The Wall
5. Meddle

/goes back to skim through draft-related portion of post

1. Meat is Murder
2. The Smiths
3. The Queen is Dead
4. Strangeways…
5. Louder than Bombs (it does too count)

1. Beckham
2. Alvarez
3. Matusz
4. Smoak
5. Hosmer

I want :

1. Alvarez
2. Smoak
.
.
.
3. T. Beckham
4. Posey
5. Alonso

I will get:

1. T. Beckham
2. Alvarez
3. Hosmer
4. Matuz
5. Posey

Now to the important stuff:

1. Wish You Were Here, and it’s not even close to being close.
2. Dark Side of the Moon.
3. Animals. Only has one song I don’t love. But that song is over 11 minutes long, so…yeah.
4. The Wall. 7 good songs and an our of overproduced fillers.
5. Meddle. Only here thanks to Echoes.

1. Hotel California
2. One of These Nights
3. The Long Run
4. Desperado
5. Hell Freezes Over

What? Pink Floyd? Never heard of them.

My draft board is as follows:
1. Pedro Alvarez
2. Justin Smoak
3. Gordon Beckham
4. Buster Posey
5. Eric Hosmer
6. Brian Matusz
7. Tim Beckham
8. Tim Melville
9. Tanner Scheppers
10. Brett Wallace

How I predict the real draft will go:
1. Tampa Bay – Tim Melville, SS (Rays buy the hype, can afford to wait on his development, assuming it really happens). I could also see a pitcher here, maybe Cole or Melville.
2. Pittsburgh – Pedro Alvarez, 3B (new GM Neal Huntington shows he’s his own man, defies slot, gives out a big contract).
3. Kansas City – Buster Posey, C (they don’t need 1B/3B so much; Posey’s all-around skills impress a team that needs a catcher and needs skilled players; but I wouldn’t be shocked if they took Aaron Crow).
4. Baltimore – Brian Matusz, SP (having taken the two players I most wanted in the last two drafts – Billy Rowell and Matt Wieters, both hitters – Orioles would be wise to grab a top pitcher).
5. San Francisco – Justin Smoak, 1B (duh. I love Gordon Beckham, but Smoak would be the correct choice here, assuming it shakes out this way).
6. Florida – Eric Hosmer, 1B. A top pitcher might be a better choice for them, but I think they can’t overlook the potential to replace Mike Jacobs.
7. Cincinnati – Casey Kelly, P/SS. I think the rumors are true.

37. San Francisco – Daniel Webb, SP (Heath HS, KY). Just a wild guess.

My Five

1. P. Alvarez
2. T. Beckham
3. J. Smoak
4. E. Hosmer
5. B. Posey

My Mock

1. B. Posey
2. P. Alvarez
3. B. Matusz
4. T. Beckham
5. J. Smoak

Animals
Wish You Were Here
The Wall
Meddle
Dark Side of the Moon

Wish You Were Here
Dark Side of the Moon
The Wall
Ummagumma
Momentary Lapse in Reason

I’m just not a fan of 12 minute songs with long intros and bridges that could just as easily have been condensed into 4 minute songs without losing anything so I’m not a big fan of Animals

1. P. Alvarez
2. T. Beckham
3. B. Posey
4. E. Hosmer
5. J. Smoak

1. Obscured by Clouds
2. Animals
3. Darkside of the Moon
4. Ummagumma
5. Atom Heart Mother

1. jordan
2. olajuwon
3. barkley
4. stockton
5. then bowie

duh

My Board:
1) Tim Beckham
2) Pedro Alvarez
3) Buster Posey
4) Justin Smoak
5) Eric Hosmer

The Draft:
1) Rays: Brian Matusz
2) Pirates: Tim Beckham
3) Royals: Pedro Alvarez
4) Orioles: Justin Smoak
5) Giants: Buster Posey

Predictions: Giants don’t take any of Smoak/Alvarez/Beckham/Posey/Hosman/Matusz.

Best pink floyd album is actually a cover – Luther Wright and The Wrongs: Rebuild the Wall.

My draft board:

1. Pedro Alvarez (seemingly impossible)
2. Justin Smoak
3. Tim Beckham
4. Eric Hosmer
5. Buster Posey

My mock, #1-10:

1. Tampa Bay- Buster Posey, C
2. Pittsburgh- Pedro Alvarez, 3B
3. Kansas City- Tim Beckham, SS
4. Baltimore- Brian Matusz, LHP
5. San Francisco- Justin Smoak, 1B
6. Florida- Kyle Skipworth, C
7. Cincinnati- Aaron Crow, RHP
8. Chicago (AL)- Gordon Beckham, SS
9. Washington- Eric Hosmer, 1B
10.Houston- Shooter Hunt, RHP

1. Blood and Chocolate
2. King of America
3. This Year’s Model
4. Imperial Bedroom
5. Get Happy!!

Draft Board:
1. Buster Posey
2. Tim Beckham
3. Justin Smoak
4. Eric Hosmer
5. Pedro Alvarez

Rounding out the top 10: Crow, Matusz, Gordon Beckham, Yonder Alonso, Kyle Skipworth

Special mentioning for the 11-15 range: Brett Wallace, Bay Area product

Mock:
1. Posey (I mean, Dioner Navarro doesn’t look bad [small sample size, i know] but the Rays front office is smart enough to know that Navarro’s far from a sure thing. Plus they could just turn around a deal one of them if Navarro pans out)
2. Alvarez
3. Hosmer
4. T. Beckham
5. Smoak

I’m surprised there’s so much agreement in the McCovey draft boards. My preference goes something like:

1.) Tim Beckham.
2.) Pedro Alvarez.
3.) Buster Posey
4.) Justin Smoak
5.) Eric Hosmer.

In the next tier, I’d have Kyle Skipworth, Yonder Alonso, Gordon Beckham and Brian Matusz.

I’ll go ahead and predict we take Smoak.

My Rankings:

1) Alvarez—Not a prayer, but he would be perfect. Best mix of upside, quick path to the majors, and a premium defensive position where the Giants have, oh, about zero prospects for the immediate future.

2) T. Beckham—We’d have to wait a while, but if he reaches his potential eventually, o one would blame the Giants for making that sacrifice for a couple of years.

3) Smoak—No complaints here. He’d be a solid, solid pick.

4) Hosmer—Okay, I’ll admit it, I’ve become entranced by that swing too.

5) G. Beckham—I can’t believe I’m doing this. I’ve called him “maybe David Eckstein with a little more power” on this very site. But I took a closer look and, well, I’m intrigued. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to take a shot at a shortstop who could maybe be an all star but probably wouldn’t be any worse than a solid starter.

Others:

6) Buster Posey, FSU
7) Brian Matusz, San Diego
8) Yonder Alonso, Miami
9) Aaron Crow, Missouri
10) Brett Wallace, ASU

2 Scenarios (because I’m really conflicted over who I think the Rays will choose):

A:
1) Posey
2) T. Beckham
3) Alvarez
4) Matusz
5) Smoak

B:
1) T. Beckham
2) Alvarez
3) Smoak
4) Matusz
5) G. Beckham

1. P. Manning
2. D. Wade
3. S. Crosby
4. L. Tomlinson
5. B. Bonds

Damn those internet advertisements…

Simply put, I want a 1B who can hit and hit for power, ML ready in 2 years or so. Alvarez, Smoak, Alonso (?) would satisfy that. If the Giants went with the best player available scenario and landed Tim Beckham or Buster Posey, I’d be less enthusiastic but really can’t go wrong there.

As for the order of the Phoenix as well as the order of the top five picks, I’m expecting Posey, Alvarez, T Beckham, Matusz, and Smoak.

My top 5:
1. Alvarez
2. Tim Beckham
3. Smoak
4. Gordon Beckham
5. Posey
Bonus 6th guy that we could slightly overdraft and look like geniuses in 5 years: Wallace

How I think it will go:
1. Posey (really a coin flip between him and T. Becks)
2. Alvarez (Baseball America says they are almost certain to pick him)
3. Hosmer
4. Tim Beckham (we’ll be watching ESPN2 begging them to take Matusz only to have them disappoint us)
5. Justin Smoak (and please, no bitching about it)

My top 3 for pick #37
1. Reese Havens (unless we get T. Becks)
2. Connor Gillaspie
3. James Darnell

TB- T. Beckham
Pitt- P. Alverez
KC- B. Posey
Balt.- B. Matusz
SF- J. Smoak

THE REAL TOP 5

Moondance
Days Like This
Dancing In The Moonlight
Cleaning Windows
Gloria

All I know, is that as a fan of this team I’m ready for the disappointment tomorrow.

1. Pedro Alvarez
2. Tim Beckham
3. Justin Smoak
4. Eric Hosmer
5. Gordon Beckham-will be the best shortstop not named Hanley Ramirez in a few years

1. Singles Going Steady
2. A Different Kind of Tension
3. Another Music In a Different Kitchen
4. Time’s Up
5. Flat Pack Philosophy

That would be your Buzzcocks.

1) Dozin’ at the Knick
2) Truckin’ off to Buffalo
3) Backstage Pass
4) So Many Roads
5) Workingman’s Dead

I don’t know what anyone’s talking about anymore.

Word from on high is that the Rays are likely to take T. Beckham because of Posey’s money demands
As such, I will say that this is how it goes:
1. T. Beckham
2. Alvarez
3. Hosmer
4. Matusz
5. Smoak

$11m for Posey is just too much

My preference:

1. Beckham
2. Alvarez
3. Smoak
4. Alonso
5. Wallace

I don’t have Posey in there as I’m definitely in the camp where he doesn’t realize his power potential, making him a glorified Brad Ausmus as a major leaguer. Thanks, but no thanks.

Wallace is a heck of a hitter with a great eye. He’s moving up boards for a reason.

My good buddy is a used to cover college baseball and has writeups on all the potential Giants picks over on my blog, to all those who can’t satiate their draft appetites.

My preference:

1. Alvarez
2. T. Beckham
3. Smoak
4. Hosmer
5. Posey

Mock
1. Posey
2. Alvarez
3. Smoak
4. Matusz
5. T. Beckham

My preference:

1) Alvarez
2) T Beckham
3) Posey
4) Smoak
5) Hosmer

Reality:
1) T Beckham
2) Alvarez
3) Posey
4) Matusz
5) Smoak
6) Skipworth
7) G Beckham
8) Alonso
9) Crow
10) Hunt

My preferences:
1) Alvarez (Duh!)
2) Justin Smoak (Duh!)
3) Gordon Beckham (Yes, really)
4) Tim Beckham
5) Brian Matusz

I doubt the top two need explanation. Gordon has jumped up my draft boards right now. He doesn’t have the same power, and sure his swing is unusual….but so is Lincecum’s. I could see him moving to third, which is not a bad thing at all. His arm is big enough to play there. That really has me liking his total package. Throw in that he’s a college hitter, and there you go.

Tim Beckham…well, the fact he’s a high school middle infielder, after the Giants took two last year, make me just a little hesitant. It won’t matter anyway, as he won’t be there at #5. With Matusz, he’s simply an awesomely polished pitcher who could move up fast and be an excellent starter in any rotation, even ours.

Hosmer is an excellent player, but is just too much of an anti-need pick. He’s less than 10-months older than AnVil. With Skipworth, well, he’s also an excellent player, but I’m leaning towards a college sure thing rather than a high school ceiling guy.

Posey? Screw him and his dozen-million reasons to pass on him. He wasn’t a good #5 pick before, now he’s a terrible one.

My preferences:
1. Tim Beckham
2. Posey
3. Smoak
4. Hosmer
5. Alvarez

How it will go:
1. Tim Beckham
2. Alvarez
3. Hosmer
4. Matusz
5. Posey