Here’s the tip of the iceberg from Jonathan Mayo:

Source tells me Shelby Miller has indeed agreed to terms with Cards.  No. 19 pick in #mlbdraft will indeed get $2.9 mil as I guestimated.

UPDATE It’s official, if it wasn’t already:

Per BA

The Cardinals have signed first-round pick Shelby Miller for $2,875,000. His bonus is the highest in the first round this year, the second-highest for a drafted player in club history and well over MLB’s $1,386,000 recommendation for the No. 19 slot.

One of my favorite days of the year has to be draft day.  For a hyperventilating prospect geek like myself, it is like Christmas in June.  And this year, the draft happened to fall on my birthday.  What a gift.

I thought it would be fun to do a draft review here with a couple of the guys who were in the draft day chats.  erik and the baaron were up for it and here is what we came up with.

erik

Favorite Pick: Shelby Miller. Finally, someone in the system with “ace” potential. I’ll swallow a little crow about how drafting HS P’s in the first round is total and utter madness, as so far in this decade that trend is turning. Still a little skeptical, but it’s hard not to love the upside here.

Will Surprise (Rounds 1-14): Jason Stidham, I think can be Daniel Descalso, Part 2. I don’t know if Robert Stock counts as a possible surprise as such a high pick, but I think he’ll figure things out and hit.

Will Surprise (Rounds 15-50): C.J. Beatty, the OF from North Carolina A&T. He’s pretty athletic, bats switch and has hit for some power, both in college with metal and in summer league with wood last year. He is said to have a pretty good arm in right field.

Questionable Pick: Scott Bittle. He has borderline 1st round talent and could really pay off, but his medical history is a mile long and they just had just picked another relief pitcher in Joe Kelly in the 3rd round.

Total Head Scratcher: No picks left me really scratching my head.

First to Make the Majors: Joe Kelly. Prototypical power reliever that you would expect to go quickly through the system. Scott Bittle would go even faster, if he magically can stay healthy.

Most Likely to Bust: Shelby Miller. /ducks. I say that because he’s a first rounder, has higher expectations and is the good ol’ high school pitcher risk pick. Some have questions about his secondary stuff. That said, I like the pick and have a good intuitive feeling about how he will do, just being (semi) logical.

Player You Most Wanted the Cardinals to Pick That They Didn’t: Max Stassi in round 3. A good plan B should they not sign Shelby Miller.

Overall Draft Thoughts: I like this draft. Luhnow had to be doing back flips when Miller fell to them. Stock, Bittle and Jackson were all mentioned as possible first round picks at some point in their careers. Virgil Hill Jr. and his bloodlines are intriguing as all get out, and I like some of the college performer picks in Stidham, Conley, McCully. Hector Hernandez, David Washington and Tyler Bighames are some interesting high school picks taken later. My expectations aren’t sky-high for this class, it could boom or it could bust. But they took some high ceiling picks, a welcome change from the status quo.

theredbaaron

Favorite Pick: Miller. He’s the philosophical direction I’ve been hoping for.

Will Surprise (Rounds 1-14) Either Stidham, especially if they hook him up to a car battery, or Virgil Hill. The sheer athleticism from Hil is extremely exciting.

Will Surprise (Rounds 15-50): Tyler Bighames. Getting a kid with that skill set and potential in the 31st round is just hard to fathom.

Questionable Pick: Alan Ahmady. I know he’s plenty talented, but just looking at this kid’s track record, you have to wonder what the deal is with him.

Total Head Scratcher: Patrick Daugherty is a college pitcher who only threw about 20 innings and had an ERA of about 9.

First to Make the Majors- I’ll agree with erik again and say Kelly. I know they want him to start for now, but I think they’ll take the path of least resistance fairly soon, and just let his stuff take him up the ladder in the ‘pen.

Most Likely to Bust: See, this is an interesting question, and I’m not sure how to answer. Miller is probably the correct choice, but there are also several players I literally don’t think have any chance of ever contributing anything meaningful. So I suppose my question is this: does a player have to have potential in order to become a bust?

Player You Most Wanted the Cardinals to Pick That They Didn’t: Brett Nommensen, OF from Eastern Illinois.

Dustin Mattison

Favorite Pick: Shelby Miller. Finally, the Cardinals have a bona fide ace in the system. As most observers have reported, Miller at number 19 was a great value. I know that a lot of fans are worried that the organization won’t get him signed but I don’t think the selection would have been made if they didn’t have every intention of signing him. If signability was an issue, I truly believe the team would have went with a safer pick.

Will Surprise (Rounds 1-14): Joe Kelly. If the fire-balling right-hander can hone his craft well enough to be a starter, he could be the Cardinals’ version of A.J. Burnett. Kelly has a high nineties fastball with an above average slider and solid changeup. But health will be key with the pitcher.

Will Surprise (Rounds 16-50): Justin Edwards. In an organization in desperate need of left-handed pitching, Edwards is a big-bodied southpaw who should chew up innings. Overlooked by teammates and first-rounders Chad Jenkins and Kyle Heckathorn, Edwards has the look of a quick riser.

Questionable Pick: Robert Stock. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the pick. The two-way talent has tremendous upside as both a pitcher and a catcher. I just think that the team might have been able to get him later.

Head Scratcher: No one player, I just don’t understand why the team waited until the 10th round to pick a left-handed starter. With reports that the team was going to focus on stocking the system with southpaws, the team chose fewer lefties this year than last.

First to the Majors:  I believe the Cardinals are going to develop Bittle and Kelly as starters. The one who does not prove healthy enough to handle the innings of a starter could rise rapidly through the system in the bullpen.  Again, if healthy.

Most Likely to Bust: I agree with my colleagues and choose Miller. Not that I don’t think he can be tremendous, it is just the odds are not in his favor.

Player You Most Wanted the Cardinals to Pick That They Didn’t: Chris Dwyer. I was hoping the team would go with a high upside southpaw in the second round and Dwyer seemed to be the most interesting choice to me.

Overall Draft Thoughts: I really like the upside potential in this draft. Stock, Miller, and Kelly present three interesting starting pitching prospects and possibly the most interesting three the organization has seen in a while. I really like some of the live arms in the later rounds and I believe that Bighames could be a steal in the 31st round. I would have liked Luhnow and the gang to have addressed the lack of left-handed pitching and don’t understand the fascination with six-foot right-handers.

Over at the Birdhouse, I have had the opportunity to chat with several of the picks.  If you are interested check them out.

This weekend, I will be in St. Louis for the All-Star weekend.  The family and I will be hitting the fanfest on Saturday and catching Sheryl Crow and Elvis Costello at the Arch that night.

Sunday morning, I am running in the 5K with a couple of the guys who contribute at whiteyball.  Then Sunday afternoon, we’ll be at the Futures Game.  If you are going to be at any of these events, let me know.  Maybe we could meet and talk some prospects. Just drop me an email.

Feel free to contact me at dustin@whiteyball.com.

Follow me on twitter.

Thankfully, there are some hard workers out there like Mike Rogers, who have taken the time to apply some of the advanced metrics to the college game to give us more information on some of these draft picks out of the D-I schools. He’s also been kind enough to share with me his findings. Mike has used Tango’s wOBA (weighted on-base average) for players, as well as speed scores, isolated power, walk rates, strikeout rates and the like to find some of the top college performers in the draft. He’s even applied things like strength of schedule, average conference stats and park factors for context.

Now, I recommend reading the scouting reports first. Tools trump performance in evaluating amateurs. Just because someone is a good college baseball player doesn’t guarantee success at the major league level. But this does tell us more about what these players have done, and one thing we know, the Cardinals highly value track record in many ways.

I don’t want to take up too much time explaining how Mike evaluates players, but you can read more at an article he and Myron Logan penned at Baseball Analysts. He has six tiers of scores in his system: Anything over 122 is elite, anything over 102-121 is considered to be very good, 82-101 as “good”, 61-81 as average/above-average, 41-60 as below-average, 21 or worse is just plain bad.

Speed scores are scaled down and to eyeball it, keep this in mind: -5 is terrible, 0 is bad, 5 is average, 10 is good, 15 is great, 20+ is flat-out burner.

Let’s look at the players the Cardinals drafted early and how rate statistically.

After making adjustments, Stock doesn’t look like someone who has to convert to pitching permanently, especially not for a 19-year old. Stock has shown a pretty good eye at the plate. Comparing ’09 with ’08, it’s obvious Stock was willing to trade contact for power, and that caused him to get out of sorts. He hit .299 in ’08, .236 this past year. To me it sounds like a kid who is trying to develop an identity at the plate after not quite delivering on the hype right away. There are plenty of positives here to cause me to believe he can still be a fine backstop, and there is still plan B should he falter.

Defense is Jackson’s thing, as scouts say his glove would play in the big leagues right now. We know the bat is sketchy at best. Jackson actually hit fairly well in 2008 in the batting average department, but his most recent season rates higher in Mike’s system due to the increased walk rate. If he can continue to control the strike-zone, draw a half-decent amount of walks while playing top notch defense, then you got a pretty nice 5th round pick. Neither Jackson or Stock really wow with the numbers, but both get some bonus points from me for playing tough positions, and playing them well.

Reading the scouting reports, Conley sounds Chris Duncan-esque. Big, tall hitter with pull power, weak contact and defensive skills. He took a step back this year, especially in the strikeout department, and his final rating he went from great to good. Conley tried to slim down and change his approach to an “all-fields” approach, maybe he should retrace his steps.

Stidham seems to be Dan Descalso-like, only with less contact and more power. Good walk rate and he definitely was one of the best college performers this year. He offers little in the way of speed and while he was drafted as a shortstop, second-base seems inevitable. Stidham was abysmal in the Cape Cod League until the playoffs, so there is the concern he’s more of a “ping” hitter, but he sounds like an interesting sleeper. The last time the Cardinals took an elite FSU performer was Shane Robinson, and say what you will about Robinson, he made the big leagues.

I like the hitters the Cardinals drafted early for the most part. You can argue that they should have drafted so-and-so over some of these players, but each player brings some interesting abilities. I think Conley and Stidham are interesting sleepers who could either top out AA or surprise. Getting a role player in the 7th and 8th round is a major success, so it’s not like they have to put on a show. Stock is a bit of a wild card, and despite Jackson’s offensive foibles I love what I hear about his defense and the Cardinals could use some depth at SS.

Bear in mind this statistical break-down is more about what the player has done then what they will do, but hopefully it gives you more context as to how these players performed. Hopefully their success in Division I carries over.

24th round, pick 729. Keith Butler, RHP, Wabash Valley College. Struck out 59 in 43 innings, Wabash is a division II JUCO school.

25th round, pick 759. Josh Squatrito, RHP, Towson U. Career school leader in saves, struck out 111 in 90.1 innings.

26th round, #789. Christian Beatty, CF, North Carolina A&T. Goes by C.J. Hit .365/.460/.641 with 38 walks to 29 strikeouts in 192 at-bats.  Was named the 4th best prospect in the Coastal Plain Summer League this past summer. BA says: “Beatty has hit 23 homers in two seasons as a starting outfielder for N.C. A&T, and he showed good power with wood this summer, batting .304/.382/.505 with nine homers and 44 RBIs for league-champion Thomasville. One of the league’s best athletes, Beatty has a strong, compact 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame. He is a switch-hitter who makes good contact from both sides and generates excellent backspin from the left side—and he hit all of his homers this summer lefthanded. He’s still refining his pitch selection and offensive approach, but he made progress in that area this summer. Beatty is an average runner who can play all three outfield positions but profiles best in right field, where his strong arm is an asset.” Is on twitter @cjbeatty44. Could be an interesting sleeper.

27th round, #819. John Folino, RHP, UConn. Started 10 games, threw 64.1 IP. 58/18 K/BB, 3.92 ERA. Senior. ..gets by with mediocre stuff but a good feel for pitching. Folino’s fastball is fringe-average at best, and his slider and changeup are below-average, but he competes and locates. He’ll be a late-rounds roster filler.

28th round, #839. Justin Edwards, LHP, Kennesaw State. Sunday starter after Jenkins and Heckathorn, two first rounders. Opposing offenses had to be relieved to see him. 5.90 ERA,  64 K’s to 33 BB. Allowed 88 hits in 71.2 IP.

29th round, #869. Daniel Calhoun, LHP, Murray State. Led Division I pitchers in walk rate with just .56 BB/9. Struck out 85 to just 6 walks in 97 innings. Made 13 starts, 11 of which were complete games. Soft-tossing control artist with a four pitch mix that keeps hitters off balanced. Interesting late round pick.

30th round, #899. Chris Corrigan, RHP, Ole Miss. They start and end with Ole Miss hurlers on Day 2. Corrigan got beat up in his few relief outings, don’t know much else.

31st round, #939. Tyler Bighames, SS, Estero HS. Upside pick that could be a tough sign. Perfect Game said a year ago “Tyler Bighames is a 2009 SS with a 6′2”, 198 lb. frame from Estero, FL who attends Estero. Tyler has a strong athletic build, good balance and actions in infield, good arm strength, comes in on ball well. Good balance in swing, very good strength, attacks ball, very good bat speed, impressive BP, good games swings, ball jumps off bat, 95 off bat in games, very interesting player both in the field and at the plate.” Oregon commit. Will likely have to move to 3B with his size. You can read more about him here.

32nd round, #969. Travis Lawler, RHP, Midland College. ERA north of 5 in a division 2 JUCO. That’s all I can tell you, maybe he can throw hard.

33rd round, #999. Devin Goodwin, SS, Delta State. Goodwin hit .345/.465/.631 and was 18-19 on steal attempts.

34th round, #1029. David Kington, RHP, Southern Illinois. Canadian was a JUCO transfer with underwhelming stats. Yep, that’s all I got.

35th round, #1059. Andrew Moss, RHP, Lincoln (Mo.). I got nothing.

36th round, #1089. Justin Smith, RHP, Utah Valley. In a tough place to pitch, struck out 91 in 91.1 IP with a 4.73 ERA. Led team in ERA by far. Says BA – … flies under the radar a little bit at Utah Valley. He has a smaller frame, but had success this season with a fastball that sat 88-91 mph and touched 93. He also has a plus slider and a changeup with good depth.

37th round, #1119. Rich “the Rock” Rocobaldo, Mt. Olive. The scout made sure we knew his nickname was the Rock on the conference call. The scout also called Rich made sure he heard, so it helped break up the grim monotony that is Day 3 of the draft. Hit .417/.518/.765. Walked 34 times to just 15 strikeouts in 187 at-bats. At his home park “Do You Smell What The Rock Is Cooking” is played after each hit or defensive play by Racobaldo. His favorite TV show is Animal Cops. His major is in Recreation/Leisure Studies. (?) Rock on.

38th round, #1139. John Durham, LHP, Warner Southern. I think the team’s webmaster quit. NAIA school.

39th round, #1179. Taylor Terrasas, SS, Santa Fe HS (TX). Louisiana Tech commit.

40th round, #1209. Jesse Simpson, RHP, College of Charleston. Was on Brooks Wallace Award watch list to start season. Struck out 84 in 89.2 with a 5.54 ERA.

41th round, #1239. Cale Johnson, RHP, McKendree College. Most of you know McKendree is in Lebanon, IL.  Ace of the staff with a 9 complete games, 87 K’s to 22 BB and a 2.63 ERA.

42nd round, #1269. Terry Aaron, RHP, Southern Arkansas. Struck out 78 in 60.2 with 2.97 ERA.

43rd round, #1299. Manuel de la Cruz, Imperial Valley College.

44th round, #1329. Kyle Heim, LHP, Iowa. Middle reliever for Iowa with lackluster numbers. Happy to see them draft a Hawkeye, though.

45th round, #1359. Adam Heisler, CF, U of Southern Alabama. Hit .390/.441/.507 with 16 steals in 23 attempts. Says his coach “Adam Heisler is extremely fast and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield. He does a good job of swinging the bat and can handle the bat well with two strikes.”

46th round, #1389. Josh Klocke, C/RHP, Southeast Missouri State. Hit .394/.484/.654, struck out 22 in 23.2 IP with 7 saves.

47th round, #1419. Michael Thompson, RHP, Bellarmine College. 118 strikeouts to 21 walks in 95 IP. Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year. Senior. Cardinals love these small schools.

48th round, #1449. Jason Novak, RHP, UCLA. Cut and paste from team site. Novak went 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 19 relief appearances in 2009. A junior in 2008, Novak went 1-1 with a career-best 3.60 ERA in 20 relief outings, logging 28 strikeouts in 35.0 innings. He pitched a career-high 41.0 innings as a sophomore in 2007, going 3-0 with a 4.83 ERA and 38 strikeouts. Novak went 1-1 with a 5.35 ERA, collecting 31 strikeouts in 38.2 innings as a freshman in 2006.

49th round, #1479. Andrew Hillis, RHP, Brentwood HS. Has a pretty nice fastball/slider combo. Video here. BA says “Scouts aren’t high on Hillis’ makeup, though he has a pro body and average stuff (88-90 mph fastball). Adkins is consistent and pitches at 88-90 mph. He’s switched to a slider for his breaking ball and has a good feel for a changeup. His 6-foot-5, 180-pound frame inspires scouts to project him aggressively, but perhaps not enough to buy him out of his college commitment to Middle Tennessee State.” Apparently he ties firecrackers to cat’s tails or worked at a telemarketer before. “Makeup issues” is just so vague. Doubt he signs.

50th round, Tyler Lavigne, San Diego State. Was SDSU’s #2 after Strasburg. Struck out 87 in 94.1 IP with an ERA of 3.05.

Last year the Cardinals drafted LHP Sam Freeman in the 32nd round, and Curt Smith in the 39th.  Both players I’d say are C prospects, but to find a C prospect this late in the draft means you as a team have done your homework. Freeman has a 2.94 FIP at Palm Beach and looks like an interesting left-handed arm out of the bullpen, and Smith has batted over .300 both at High A and now AA.

Here’s some quick snap shots of who the Cardinals took on Day 2

Round 4, Pick #129. Scott Bittle, RHP, Ole Miss – 2nd round draft pick of the Yankees last year. Yankees did not sign him due to medical issues with his shoulder. He missed some time this year to the same thing. He’s been mostly a reliever, throws the best cut fastball of any collegiate. Mostly a one pitch pitcher. With that one pitch , he’s posted some ridiculous strikeout numbers –255 in 155.2 innings pitched. Big question is the health of his shoulder, which has been a recurring issue. Senior with injury issues make him an easy sign.

Round 5, Pick #159. Ryan Jackson, SS, U. of Miami FL – All glove, no hit shortstop. Glove may be so good, that he doesn’t have to crack .250 to be valuable. Walk to strikeout ratio 1:1, so he’s shown at least a decent batting eye in college, leading to some reason to believe he might hit a little better than expected. I like this pick.

Round 6, Pick #189. Virgil Hill Jr., OF, Mission JC – Thoroughbred. Both his parents are former Olympians, his mother was a runner, father was a boxer. Dad’s nickname was “Quicksilver”. Hit .462 with ten homers and 27 steals. Video of him here.

Round 7, Pick # 219. Kyle Conley, OF, Washington – 16th round pick of the Dodgers last year. Tied for all time Husky record with 42 homers over his college career. Hit .303/.401/.635 in a tough ballpark for hitters. 6-4, 210 lbs. Pick, power hitting corner outfielder.

Round 8, Pick # 249. Jason Stidham, SS/2B, Florida St. Top notch college performer. Hit .363/.465/.650. Walked 44 times to 35 strikeouts. Has a “gamer” reputation. Bats lefty. Really struggled in the Cape this year, hit just .155 in 103 at-bats but was Co-Playoff MVP for the champion Harwich Mariners.

Round 9, Pick # 279. Nick McCully, RHP, Coastal Carolina. 91-94 MPH fastball, “bulldog” mentality says PGCrosschecker. 5-11, 195. ERA of 2.10, 64 K’s in 73 innings. Collected 8 saves as the team’s closer. Threw fog-shortened perfect game in the Cape. Pretty solid performance in the Cape, striking out 44 in 50 innings pitched and allowed 30 hits with a 1.98 ERA. 88-92 fastball, good slider, strike-thrower.

Round 10, Pick #309. Hector Hernandez, LHP, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. 6-1, 200 lbs lefty with an 88-90 sinker and good curve. You can see video of him here.

Round 11, Pick #339. Alan Ahmady, 1B, Fresno State. Amazing batting eye just judging by the #’s, with twice as many walks than strikeouts (48/24). OBP .478. Was suspended from team and held out of the WAC Tourney. Not sure why.

Round 12, Pick #369. Patrick Daugherty, LHP, Pearl CC. His uncle is former big leaguer Jay Powell. 6-5, 210 with a fastball and a breaking ball.

Round 13, Pick #399. Matt Carpenter, 3B, Texas Christian – I have a good feeling about this pick. Redshirt senior, sort of reminds me of Freese in that regard, and in that he plays third. Hit .333/.470/.662 with 51 walks to 24 strikeouts. Walked in 19% of his plate appearances. Double-digit basestealer the past two seasons. Plays 3B comfortably. Adjusted for park and schedule, hit for .380 gross production average. (that’s very good) Will get knocked for being older, may have to move quick.

Round 14, Pick #429, Ross Smith, OF, Middle Georgia JC – Son of a Cardinal scout.

Round 15, Pick # 459, David Washington, 1B, University City High, CA. Big, strong kid with some power potential. Get a peak at him here on video. PGCrosschecker says “David Washington is a 2009 1B/OF with a 6’5”, 220 lb. frame from San Diego, CA who attends University City. Big XL frame, big physical player, projectable build, hands work at 1b, arm strength, moves well, good feet around bag, open stance, narrow stance, front foot hitter, glides to ball, bat speed, power potential, projects well.”

Pick 16, Pick #489, Daniel Bibona, LHP, UC Irvine. Generously listed at 6-0, 170, Bibona was one of the NCAA’s top pitchers and was named an All-American. He’s your typical soft-tossing lefty, who likes to mess with hitters with a mixture of an 85-87 fastball, a slider, curve and a slow, sinking changeup. UC Irvine must be the change-up school, Scott Gorgen throws a nasty one, too. This is an excellent pick in the 16th round. I like this quote on Bibona about himself “I love to analyze hitters, try to set them up, throw fastballs in, changeups away, and then change the pattern the next time. After one game I was telling (roommate Eric) Pettis that it was weird, but I felt like I could remember every pitch I threw.” Bibona struck out 108 in 106 with 26 walks allowed and 78 hits. He went 12-1 with a 2.63 ERA. (Love my use of useless stats on draft day) Conceivably he could go back to school for his senior year and hope he gets drafted a little higher next year.

Pick 17, #519, Jonathan Rodriguez, 3B, Manatee JC. Hit .360 average with a .463 OB% with 10 HR in 200 at-bats. Another J-Rod, just look.

Pick 18, #539, Anthony Garcia, C, San Juan Educational School (PR) – Catcher with a power swing. See here.

Pick 19, #569, Travis Tartamella, C, Cal. State Los Angeles – Hit .301/.364/.506. Video here. Bat looks a little slow to me, but I’m not a scout. Criminal Justice major, just thought I’d mention.

Pick 20, #599, Scott Schneider, RHP, St. Mary’s – 67 K’s to 21 BB in 75.1 IP.

Pick 21, #639, Trevor Rosenthal, RHP, Crowley County CC – These JUCO guys are hard to dig up info on. If I tell you he struck out a batter per inning, what would it mean to you?

Pick 22, #669, Joey Bergman, 2B, College of Charleston – Hit .452 (!) with 24 steals and an OBP of .551. Easy schedule, easy park, still not an easy task.

Pick 23, #699, Matt Adams, C, Slippery Rock. You thought Bergman’s numbers were ridonkulous? Adams hit .495/.566/.853 with 31 walks to 17 strikeouts. First team All-America Division II and Player of the Year. Lefty hitter, and a big-un 6-3, 245 pounds. BA says “A burly 6-foot-3, 245-pound slugger, Adams has a good swing and a mature offensive approach to go along with solid-average to plus power. He’s adequate at best defensively at first base, and he’s well-below-average behind the plate.”

That’s all I got for now. We’ll catch you up on the other semi-interesting picks from today and the picks yet to be made tomorrow. Hopefully there’s another Curt Smith or Sam Freeman to be found.

10th round – LHP Hector Hernandez, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. Here’s your lefty. Finally. Projectable lefty, throws 88-90 MPH sinker now. Good curve, changeup. Jaime Garcia, part 2?

11th round – 1B Alan Ahmady, Fresno State.  Hit .326/.478/.520 this past season. Has 48 walks to 24 strikeouts. That sticks out right there.

Stidham is a middle infielder and like Conley put up some pretty prodigous numbers. He hit .363/.465/.650, good for a adjusted GPA of .363. Can’t find anything really on him, scouting-wise. He’s a left-handed hitter, and for a middle infielder the numbers are pretty outstanding.

Hill, a 35th-rounder last year (Athletics), is a 6-foot, 190-pounder who hit .462 with 10 homers and 27 stolen bases this spring. An exciting and aggressive player, he flashes a rare combination of speed and power. Hill is still a bit raw after missing a year in high school to run track and play football. He has tremendous athleticism and bloodlines, as both of his parents were Olympians. His mother Denean Howard-Hill won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics in the 4×400 meter relay. His father Virgil Sr. also won a silver medal, as a boxer in the 1984 Olympics. He later won the WBA cruiserweight title.

Check out his dad’s website.