Picks 230 and 260

We continue our draft round up with a look at the Yankees draft picks in the 7th and 8th rounds. Pick #230 overall was catcher Kyle Higashioka of Edison High School in Huntington Beach, CA. Higashioka, who signed a letter of intent for Cal-Berkeley.

Perfectgame.org has this summation of Higashioka...

Strong, mature build. Very aggressive hitter, power potential, simple approach, swing can get long at times, dangerous hitter with ceiling. High energy catcher, quick release, quick feet. Plays very hard, has fun. Top level tools. Excellent student.

More from CalBears.com

Rated the 51st top player in California by Perfect Game Crosschecker, Higashioka is talented catcher, both offensively and defensively. As a junior at Edison High School, he hit .420 with six home runs and a .880 slugging percentage, earning first-team All-Sunset League and All-Area Code Team honors. Higashioka was also named All-Sunset League "Rookie of the Year" during his sophomore season at Edison High School.

The Yankees grabbed Bradley University outfielder Daniel Brewer in the 8th round with the 260th pick overall. The 6'1", 190 lb junior earned all Missouri Valley Conference honors after hitting a team high 6 home runs and stealing 19 bases, 4th best in the conference. He also walked more times (28) than he struck out (26).

From the Peoria Journal Star...

"It's certainly exciting," Brewer said. "I'd been talking with my advisor and both kind of thought this is where I would go."

As a junior, he has the option of either signing with the Yankees or returning for his senior season.

"I kind of assume I'm going," Brewer said. "I told everyone before the draft that if I went in the top 10 rounds, I was going.

"But it's not 100 percent certain."

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Picks 170 and 200

We continue to look at last week's amateur draft this week, starting with the 170th and 200th picks overall. The 5th round choice was Chris Smith, a high school outfielder from California. Here's what Damon Oppenheimer had to say about him,

Of fifth-rounder (No. 170 overall) Christopher Smith, a shortstop from Centennial High School in California who hit .708 this season, Oppenheimer said: "He's another guy who can really hit and has power potential."

The Yankees went back to pitching with their next pick, Sterling High School (TX) pitcher Brett Marshall. His scouting report is below, courtesy of mlb.com.

Biographical Data
Player Name:	Brett Marshall
Position:	Starting Pitcher
School:	Sterling HS (Tex.)
School Type:	High school
Academic Class:	Senior
Birthdate:	03/22/90
Height:	6'0"
Weight:	195 lbs.
Bats:	Right
Throws:	Right
Report Date(s):	03/25/08
Game(s):	Atascocita HS

Focus Area	Comments
Fastball:	Marshall threw his fastball in the 94-96 mph range.
Slider:	It's a plus pitch now and he threw it in the 84-88 mph range.
Changeup:	It's a below-average pitch right now.
Control:	His command was slightly below average, but it projects to average with more experience.
Poise:	He was very competitive on the mound.
Physical Description:	Marshall isn't that tall, but he's strong and has a Jason Marquis-like build.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	A huge jump in velocity has him with a plus fastball to go along with a plus slider.
Weaknesses:	Formerly a shortstop, he's still learning how to pitch. His mechanics are inconsistent as he doesn't always maintain his arm slot.
Summary:	Marshall has leapt on the map showing a huge jump in velocity, from 87-88 mph a year ago all the way up to 96 this year. He's got a plus slider to go along with it. The changeup lags behind, but that can come in time. He's relatively new to pitching and it shows in his delivery and his inability to repeat his mechanics. But with two plus pitches right now, Marshall's name is certainly on the rise.

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Yankees Select High School Pitcher

The Yankees used their 1st round pick in this year's amateur draft to select Gerrit Cole, a high school pitcher from California.

Draft report from mlb.com



Player Name: Gerrit Cole
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Orange Lutheran HS (Calif.)
School Type: High School
Academic Class: Senior
Birthdate: 09/08/90
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Report Date(s): 03/08/08
Game(s): Tesoro HS


Fastball: Cole was throwing 95-98 mph early and settled in at 92-94 throughout his start.
Fastball movement: He usually has plus arm-side sink and bore, though he was fairly straight in this outing.
Slider: It's an average pitch now, which he throws 78-82 mph, but it projects as a plus pitch in the future. It has some depth coming from a 3/4 arm angle.
Changeup: It's a little too firm at 79-80 mph, but he's got a good feel for it.
Control: He's an above-average strike-thrower for a high schooler, letting his stuff work for him in the zone.
Poise: His makeup on the field can be an issue, as he gets animated with umpires and teammates at times.
Physical Description: Cole is a projectable high school right-hander who compares a bit to Kyle Farnsworth.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: His projectability and his stuff, with the ability to throw three average to plus pitches, and to throw them for strikes.
Weaknesses: He has some mechanical issues with his delivery, with an arc in the back and a tendency to throw across his body; he gets too emotional on the mound.
Summary: A projectable high school right-hander with the capability already to throw a fastball up into the upper 90s is bound to garner interest. Throw in a future plus slider and a changeup, all for which he can throw for strikes, and it's no wonder Cole is considered one of the top prep pitchers in the class. He's going to have to work out some kinks in his delivery and he's got Scott Boras as an advisor, but neither of those issues should keep him from being drafted early.

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2008 Amateur Draft

Round 1

Pick	Team	Player	Position	HS/College	From (Type)
1	Tampa Bay Rays	Tim Beckham	SS	Griffin H.S. (Ga.)
2	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pedro Alverez	3B	Vanderbilt
3	Kansas City Royals	Eric Hosmer	1B	American Heritage H.S. (Fla.)
4	Baltimore Orioles	Brian Matusz	LHP	San Diego
5	San Francisco Giants	Buster Posey	C	Florida State
6	Florida Marlins	Kyle Skipworth	C	Patriot H.S. (Calif.)
7	Cincinnati Reds	Yonder Alonso	1B	Miami (FL)
8	Chicago White Sox	Gordon Beckham	SS	Georgia
9	Washington Nationals	Aaron Crow	RHP	Missouri
10	Houston Astros	Jason Castro	C	Stanford
11	Texas Rangers	Justin Smoak	1B	South Carolina
12	Oakland Athletics	Jemile Weeks	2B	Miami (FL)
13	St. Louis Cardinals	Brett Wallace	3B	Arizona State
14	Minnesota Twins	Aaron Hicks	OF	Wilson H.S. (Calif.)
15	Los Angeles Dodgers	Ethan Martin	RHP	Stephens County (Ga.)
16	Milwaukee Brewers	Brett Lawrie	C	Brookswood H.S. (Canada)
17	Toronto Blue Jays	David Cooper	1B	California
18	New York Mets	Isaac Davis	1B	Arizona State	From the Atlanta Braves for Tom Glavine
19	Chicago Cubs	Andrew Cashner	RHP	Texas Christian
20	Seattle Mariners	Joshua Fields	RHP	Georgia
21	Detroit Tigers	Ryan Perry	RHP	Arizona
22	New York Mets	David Reese Havens	SS	South Carolina
23	San Diego Padres	Allan Dykstra	1B	Wake Forest
24	Philadelphia Phillies	Anthony Hewitt	OF/SS	Salisbury HS (Conn.)
25	Colorado Rockies	Christian Friedrich	LHP	Eastern Kentucky
26	Arizona Diamondbacks	Daniel Schlereth	LHP	Arizona
27	Minnesota Twins	Carlos Gutierrez	RHP	Miami (FL)	From the Angels for Torii Hunter
28	New York Yankees	Gerrit Cole	RHP	Orange Lutheran HS
29	Cleveland Indians	Lonnie Chisenhall	SS	Pitt CC
30	Boston Red Sox	Casey Kelly	RHP/SS	Sarasota (FL) HS

Compensation A
Pick	Team	Player	Pos.	HS/College	For
31	Minnesota Twins	Shooter Hunt	RHP	Tulane	Torii Hunter, L.A. Angels
32	Milwaukee Brewers	Jake Odorizzi	RHP	Highland (IL) H.S.	(Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati),
33	New York Mets	Brad Holt	RHP	UNC Wilmington	(Tom Glavine, Atlanta)
34	Philadelphia Phillies	Zach Collier	OF	Chino Hills (CA) H.S.	(Aaron Rowand, San francisco)
35	Milwaukee Brewers	Evan Frederickson	LHP	University of San Francisco	(Scott Linebrink, Chicago White Sox)
36	Kansas City Royals	Mike Montgomery	LHP	William S. Hart (CA) HS	(David Riske, Milwaukee)
37	San Francisco Giants	Conor Gillaspie	3B	Wichita St.	(Pedro Feliz, Philadelphia)
38	Houston Astros	Jordan Lyles	RHP	Hartsville HS	(Trever Miller, Tampa Bay)
39	St. Louis Cardinals	Michael Lynn	RHP	Mississippi	(Troy Percival, Tampa Bay)
40	Atlanta Braves	Brett DeVall	LHP	Niceville HS	(Ron Mahay, Kansas City)
41	Chicago Cubs	Ryan Flaherty	SS	Vanderbilt	(Jason Kendall, Milwaukee)
42	San Diego Padres	Jeff Decker	CF	Sunrise Mountain HS	(Doug Brocail, Houston)
43	Arizona Diamondbacks	Wade Miley	LHP	Southeastern Louisiana	(Livan Hernandez, Minnesota)
44	New York Yankees	Jeremy Bleich	LHP	Stanford	(Luis Vizcaino, Colorado)
45	Boston Red Sox	Bryan Price	RHP	Rice	(Eric Gagne, Milwaukee)
46	San Diego Padres	John Forsythe	1B	Arkansas Fayetteville	(Mike Cameron, Milwaukee)

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