This year's draft is the first draft which I truly cared about.  I read several different blogs/columns that were analyzing which teams would do what, and how the scouts, numbers, and motion analysis guys felt about the potential draftees.  I did this because I felt that this draft was vitally important to our future because it would signal both the competency of Ed Wade and Bob Heck at rebuilding a farm system by selecting great talent, and the willingness of Drayton McLane to fund this endeavor.  As I sat in my cubicle with the MLBAM draft applet open and watched the draft take place, I was shocked at us taking Jason Castro with our first pick.  Everything I had read had him as a 25-30 based solely on the fact that he was a positionally scarce guy.  I thought it was just comical that Jordan Lyles didn't even have a scout video on the applet in the compensation round.  By that point, I had to actually start working again, so it was a pleasant surprise to see Ross Seaton being snatched up by us so late, but then again I doubted we sign him given his full ride to Tulane.

Although our big league boys have been playing with abandon recently, I find myself continually checking in on some of our higher picks to see how they're faring in their first professional stints.  Especially the pitchers, since Brian Bogusevic has gone the way of a less heralded Rick Ankiel.

So here are my early picks for guys to keep an eye on, they've been having some pretty outstanding performances early on:

Hitting:

Pitching:

I know that there are only four players that I selected and they're all from SS-A and none from the rookie league, but I think the Rookie League stats aren't the most telling statistics.  However, these four guys have done some outstanding things.  It seems like Jason Castro hasn't quite adjusted to how to hit with a wooden bat, but he's sporting an outstanding OBP, which means that he's seeing the ball very well.  Having a good batting eye is key to major league success and I expect that both his slugging average and batting average will climb as he learns the ins and outs of a wooden bat.  This makes me feel better about losing on out on Justin Smoak (sp?) and perhaps even gives me faith in Ed Wade and Bob Heck's abilities at identifying talent.  Phil Disher is just playing doing everything right at the plate, I don't think the numbers even need elaboration.

The pitchers I think should be the guys we keep the closest eye on just because we're so desperate for pitching as an organization.  Both these guys have on thing in common, they're refusing to walk people.  They have BB/9's of 1.25 and 1.75, respectively, and K/9's of 7.52 and 7.42, respectively.  Those are solid numbers demonstrating great command.

Just some food for thought on your Friday.  Anyone you think I left out? Any Rookie Season guys you feel should get a shout out?