2011 Draft Eligibles: Mat-Su Miners

Bermudez, Mee and Scott headline big class of potential picks.

Senior Andy Mee made a case for himself in the ABL,
but where will the scouts slot him for the 2011 draft?

It's never too soon to look ahead to next year's draft, so why wait until spring time to start going over next year's potential draft picks? This year, we'll go in the order of last year's league standings (because I thought that would be a fun way to do it, I guess) and that brings us to the Mat-Su Miners for our first stop. And man, do the Miners have a big ol' list of potential draft picks. There's a lot of names below, mainly due to the big number of Sophomores and Juniors recruited by the valley club in 2010. And just like the famous Matanuska Valley giant produce, the Miners farmed some pretty big draft prospects this last year. Here's a couple who've caught my eye; feel free to suggest your own if you're so inclined:

Pablo Bermudez: One of my favorite players in 2010, a real electrifying guy. Good power and ability to drive the ball to all fields, and great instincts in the outfield. Ranked by Perfect Game as #4 prospect in the league last year.

Andy Mee: I think Andy very possibly had the best season in the whole ABL in 2010. He can pitch, he can hit, he can play the field, he can do it all. I think he'd be drafted as a RF because he can rake, he really flies in the field, and his pitcher's arm gives him a good cannon from right. He'll also be a senior in 2011, and I can't imagine him falling through the cracks and becoming an insurance salesman or something.

Reflections/Photo Post: Oilers @ Miners 6/24/2010

I am officially on the Wittels Wagon.

Another crazy game in the valley...don't I say that every time I go to a Miners game? This one was a back-and-forth contest between the Oilers and the Miners, which I thought was destined to go into extra innings as we were all knotted up, down to the final out of the ninth, full count and the bases loaded. Then the unthinkable happened; the Oilers walked in the winning run and the Miners leap-frogged them for first place in the Alaska Baseball League.

There were a lot of stars in this game, but if there was one guy who looked like a big-league player last night, it was Oilers third-baseman Garrett Wittels. I knew going to the ballpark that he was a guy to watch, but I was trying not to drink the Kool Aid. Well, I drank it. He's good. We all know he can hit, but that's not really what stood out to me. He's really got something special going on in two other areas of his game. First, he can flash the leather. He made several gritty plays in the field to save his team some runs. Great work in the dirt by this guy. Second, his makeup. He's a team leader, very fired up and vocal. Maybe a little too vocal sometimes, as the umpire threatened to bounce him and Miners' 3B Quinn Pippin out of the game for exchanging some unpleasant words early on. But he's also constantly encouraging his teammates and making sure everyone is aware of the situation.

Last night was my third look at Miners reliever James Allen, a guy I was really impressed with the first time I saw him. These previous two sightings of him he's been roughed up a little bit and looked like he's just missing his spots a tad. Obviously, since he walked in the tying run, he's not getting the calls that he'd like. But one positive thing I'd like to note about Allen is that I really like his mentality. He comes with a game plan and doesn't let the opposing team rattle his cage. On the other hand, when Wittels tip-toed from first to second to get a prancing stolen base, completely on Allen, without even drawing a throw, it makes me wonder if he's a little too locked in to his own mind, but I digress. My point is that he's unflappable. Even after he walked in the run to tie the game, he came back and struck out Wisdom 1-2-3. And to be fair, he didn't surrender a hit in that inning; it was all walks, one of them intentional, and some good sacrifice hitting by the Oilers.