Duquette wants to draft local? A list of local players for the 2012 Draft

Last fall, Dan Duquette mentioned that he had interest in building the team up with some local scouting.  The mid-Atlantic is not a hot bed of baseball prospects, but there are some interesting players from the area who are likely to be drafted.  I utilized Baseball America as a source for compiling the names and Nick has supplemented with comments below.

Delaware
Jamie Jarmon, OF, Indian River HS
Raw and athletic. Two sport player who lacks baseball experience. Ticketed for back-to-back defending national champs South Carolina as a part of a strong recruiting class that includes Ryan Ripken (son of Cal).

Maryland
Kevin Brady, RHP Clemson
Brady was an intriguing arm a couple years back coming out of Gaithersberg. After struggling with injuries throughout his career at Clemson, Brady may profile best as a reliever in spite of a workhorse body and three usuable pitches. His fastball plays to the mid-90s in shorter stints.

Josh Conway, RHP Coastal Carolina
Conway played HS ball at Smithsburg HS.  He will have to recover from Tommy John surgery before beginning his career.  Before the injury, he showed a mid-90s fastball and an above average slider. He is almost certainly a reliever as a pro, and a likely sign considering the timing of his injury.

New Jersey
Pat Light, RHP, Monmouth
Light was drafted late when he came out of Christian Brothers Academy.  He now figures to be a top three round pick.  Light utilizes a plus to plus-plus fastball, which he commands fairly well. Both his change-up and slider are workable pitches, though he gets a lot of value out of his slider off the merit of hitters chasing out of the zone. If he can't harness that pitch, he figures to ultimately land in the bullpen where his stuff should compare favorably with Andrew Miller.

Patrick Kivlehan, 3B, Rutgers 
After devoting four seasons to Rutgers football, Kivlehan gave baseball a shot and wound up taking the triple crown in the Big East.  He profiles as an outfielder as a pro, depsite playing third at Rutgers.  There is a chance for some above-average pop, though he has yet to be tested against advanced pitches or with wood.

Pennsylvania
Jared Price, RHP, Twin Valley HS
Price throws a high 80s-low 90s fastball and shows some handle for a curveball.  Inconsistent performance, a less-than-ideal frame, and limitations on spending this year under the new CBA will likely send Price to college (Maryland commit).

Joe DeCarlo, 3B, Garnet Valley HS
DeCarlo put on a show with the Midland Redskins down in Jupiter last fall, fixing his name prominently on the follow-lists of local area scouts.  His calling card is strength (with the arm and with the bat), but he is easily a potential above-average defender at third with good hands and excellent reactions (helping to negate his below-average footspeed.  If he's not signable in the 3rd to 6th round, he'll head to Georgia where he could develop into a top 100 prospect by 2015.

Chris Kirsch, LHP, Lackawanna JC
Kirsch is somewhat comparable to Texas prospect, and former Missouri Tiger, Nick Tepesch.  He is an intriguing prospect for scouts due to his four average pitches (fastball, curve, slider, and change) and solid frame, but area scouts come away from him questioning his desire to make the jump to pro ball. Since turning pro, Tepesch has alleviated those concerns and proven a potential steal as a double-digit pick.  Kirsch has the same potential, and could come off the board much earlier if he's willing to sign.

Christian Walker, 1B, South Carolina
Walker originally hails from Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic HS. He also is a player that was identified by my three trait criteria (contact, power, and strike zone judgement).  He is a good hitter with fringy power for a first baseman, and lacks ideal size for the position (though he handles the three-spot well).  He compares favorably to former Oriole and current Ranger Brandon Snyder (whose brother, Matt, is draft eligible this year out of Ole Miss).

Virginia
Eddie Butler, RHP, Radford
Butler lacks physicality and a consistent average pitch to pair with his above-average to plus fastball. The type of player that area scouts love to push as potential starters, reality most likely places Butler in the pen where he could grow into a groundball specialist.

Branden Kline, RHP, Virgina
Kline graduated from Thomas Johnson High School in 2009 and was a 6th-round selection by the Red Sox.  After showing promise out of the pen through his first two years at UVA, as well as this past summer with Team USA, Kline made the conversion to start in 2012.  He is a power arm with a lot going for him, including the ability to spin a plus slider and a long and lean frame scouts love to see. Unfortunately, he loses a lot of the benefits of that frame due to his crouched delivery and arm slot. A team with the patience to completely break him down and build him back up could get a mid-rotation starter for their efforts. He has the mental make-up to pitch in high-leverage situations out of the pen.

Damion Carroll, RHP, King George HS
Not scouted by Nick.  Low-90s fastball, reliever projection, per Baseball America.

Chris Taylor, SS, Virgina
Taylor is unlikely to hit enough to fill a regular spot on a Major League roster, though his versatility, speed, and soft hands could help him carve out a career as a utility option.  He should go somewhere in the late single-digits as a signable up-the-middle player with good feel for the game.

Steve Bruno, SS/3B, Virgina
Bruno profiles similar offensively to current Orioles prospect and former UVA middle-infielder Greg Miclat as a gap-to-gap bat with little in the way of power but a solid ability to find the ball with the barrel.  He lacks Miclat's speed and feel on the bases, but provides some value as a glove that fits all around the infield. He should come off the board after teammate Taylor could provide solid value as an organizational player with an outside shot at some value as an up-and-down utility play.


Blake Hauser, RHP, Virginia Commonwealth
A graduate from Manchester HS, Hauser shows a low-90s fastball and low-80s slider as his two-pitch combo.  He's a potential middle-reliever at the next level and could come off the board relatively early on Day 2 (Rounds 2-15) to a team looking to save some money.

Jack Wynkoop, LHP, Cape Henry HS, Virginia Beach
While a pitcher rather than a first baseman, Wynkoop shares Ryan Ripken's profile as a lanky and projectable South Carolina commit that could grow into a top draft talent with continued maturation and improvement in body control.  Right now, Wynkoop probably isn't ready for pro ball given his below-average velocity and limited secondary repertoire. As a pro he likely would be limited to multiple seasons in instruction and rookie ball. At SC, he will get a chance to grow in one of the top programs in the country with a prominent stage in the SEC to display his progress to pro scouts.

Josh Sborz, RHP, McLean HS
Sborz put together a nice start for Canes Baseball down in Jupiter, showcasing an upper-80s fastball bumping the low-90s and solid feel for a change-up and a mid-70s curve with 11-to-5 break.  This spring he showed much of the same, lining him up for a 3rd to 5th Round valuation on talent, and likely lower valuation when signability is taken into account.  If he heads to school at UVA he could develop into an early-round arm, and should also get the opportunity to swing the bat some and potentially log time at first base.

RC Orlan, LHP, North Carolina  
A graduate from Deep Run HS, Orlan is a potential lefty specialist with a below-average fastball that plays up due to his ability to create angles.  He may need to focus on his out-of-zone command, as pro hitters will have less trouble squaring-up his fringy pure stuff pounding the zone.

West Virginia
Korey Dunbar, C, Nitro HS
Not scouted by Nick: UNC commit.