[UPDATE: Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus is reporting that Buster Posey is asking for $12M and, therefore, the Rays will be selecting Tim Beckham first overall.  KG thinks that the number is posturing on Posey's part and I happen to agree.  Frankly, I think the Rays should be taking either Beckham or Alvarez anyway.]

I haven’t had this much anticipation for the draft since… well, last year probably, but there is a little more of an edge to the excitement this year because of where we are drafting. To me, the big question is whether the slotting system is really on life-support, as many are reporting, and teams are going to take the best prospect, regardless of bonus demands. If that is the case, then I see the Cardinals taking someone like Friedrich who is considered good value for their spot. However, if the draft continues as it has in years past, the Cardinals are in a great spot to nab one of the top guys that drops because of signability concerns. There is always someone that falls further than anyone expected – the edge in my anticipation comes from the concern that the Cardinals will allow that player to get past them.

Let’s take a quick break from the draft-related hoopla and take a look at the guys already in the system. You will be returned to your regularly-scheduled programming shortly.

Kary Booher had an interesting article today about Mark McCormick‘s recovery from shoulder surgery and his outstanding start on Monday. Memphis had the day off and the rest of the system went 3-0 on the day, all the details are after the jump.

Springfield 4, Tulsa 1

• Tyler Herron was outstanding, going seven shutout innings allowing only two hits and two walks. He struck out three.
• Luke Gregerson gave up one run on three hits in his inning of work and Fernando Salas pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.
• The offense was provided by Shane Robinson (2-5), Steve Hill (2-4) and Mark Shorey (2-4), each of whom hit a solo homerun. Hill got the start at catcher and threw out a baserunner attempting to steal.
• Tyler Greene was 1-3 with a triple and a walk.

Daytona 4, Palm Beach 5

• Brian Cartie was 1-3 with a three run homerun and Brandon Buckman was 1-4 with a solo shot.
• Donovan Solano was 2-3; Arnoldi Cruz was 1-2 with a triple – he played third today.
• Daryl Jones was 1-4 with a double and a stolen base.
• Brandon Dickson gave up thirteen hits and a walk over 4.2 innings and somehow only gave up four runs. He struck out four.
• The relief corps was outstanding, shutting Daytona out for 4.1 innings. Eddie Degerman pitched a third of an inning, Richard Castillo struck out three in his two innings, Josh Dew got the win for his scoreless inning and Francisco Samuel struck out a pair in the ninth to get the save.

Quad Cities 11, Beloit 6

• Last year’s first round pick, Pete Kozma, was the DH and went 1-3 with a walk and a sacrifice fly.
• Nicholas Peoples had a bit of a rough night. He went 1-5 at the plate and committed two errors in rightfield.
• Paul Vasquez was the catcher and he went 3-4 at the plate and threw out a runner attempting to steal. On the other hand, he was thrown out attempting to steal himself and he had two passed balls.
• Matthew Aburr was 1-5 with a two run homer.
• Osvaldo Morales was 3-4 with a double.
• Thomas Eager got the start and gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks over 3.2 innings. He struck out four.
• Wayne Daman stuck out two in 1.1 perfect innings.
• Eduardo Sanchez had a bit of a control issue: he walked five batters in only 2.2 innings. He only allowed one hit and he struck out three, but the walks led to two runs.
• Pete Parise was perfect over the final 1.1 innings, striking out three.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 10:30 pm and is filed under Daily Farm Reports, Mark McCormick. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.