2011 First Round Talents in MLB Draft: Composite Rankings (May 14, 2011)

I had meant to send this out a few days ago, but the Blogspot issues prevented that and I then just forgot.  Remembering now to do so, here is the updated composite rankings of the top 33 prospects in this year's draft.  I am showing 33 prospects because that is how many selections are in the first round this year.  These rankings are composites from three well respected sources: Baseball America, ESPN's Keith Law, and DiamondScape Scouting's Nick Faleris (who also writes for Camden Depot).  Baseball America's contribution comes from their mid-season evaluations on April 12th.  Keith Law's was published on May 4th.  Nick Faleris' was from May 12th.  The bar represents the average ranking with the whisker illustrating the standard deviation.  I have been asked instead to do a median with two whiskers showing the highest and lowest ranking for each player.  However, I am averse to doing that because as far as I know, some of the rankings are proprietary and a reasonably inquisitive mind could figure out who ranked who where.

There seems to be growing speculation that Anthony Rendon, Garrit Cole, and Danny Hultzen will be the first three taken in some order.  The wild card of those three to drop would be Cole.  That would be the ideal situation for the Orioles.  In that scenario, Rendon would go first with the Mariners going after a bat and the Diamondbacks taking Hultzen.  I doubt that happens.  Assuming those three do go first, it has been said that the Orioles are looking for college pitchers of which there are many.  Jed Bradley and Trevor Bauer are the names mentioned most with Dylan Bundy, Bobby Bundy's brother, as the dark horse.  I would personally prefer Sonny Gray or Bubba Starling.