2010 MLB Draft Preview - Deck McGuire Scouting Report

2010 MLB Draft Preview – Deck McGuire Scouting Report

This is Part 5 in my series previewing the 2010 MLB draft from an Orioles perspective – The full series:

1. Series Introduction
2. Bryce Harper, C, CC of Southern Nevada
3. Jameson Taillon, RHP, The Woodlands HS (TX)
4. Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Ole Miss
5. Deck McGuire, RHP, Georgia Tech
6. Chris Sale, LHP, Florida Gulf Coast
7. Anthony Ranaudo, RHP, LSU
8. Q & A with Andy Seiler of MLB Bonus Baby
9. Examining the Orioles’ Options by Pat Hickey
10. Karsten Whitson, RHP, Chipley HS (FL)
11. Manny Machado, SS, Brito Private HS (FL)

Today I’ll take a look at Deck McGuire.

Here are some scouting reports on McGuire from around the web:

John Sickels of Minor League Ball has a summary of McGuire:

“Standing tall at 6-6, 220 pounds, McGuire doesn’t throw as hard as some of the other collegians, hitting 94 on his best days but usually working at 90-92 MPH. His fastball has good movement, and he mixes it with an excellent breaking ball and a strong changeup, giving him three major league pitches. He’s very polished, and statistically there is a lot to like with a 2.84 ERA, plus a 68/17 K/BB in 67 innings, with 53 hits allowed. He shouldn’t need a lot of minor league time, and represents one of the safest investments in the draft class. He’s expected to go somewhere in the Top Ten, perhaps as early as the Indians at fifth overall.”

Bryce Harper, Jameson Taillon or Drew Pomeranz will be on the board when the O’s make their first pick. If Taillon is on the board, I’d take him. If Pomeranz is available, I’d take him.

In the past few seasons the Orioles have shown a willingness to spend money at the top of the draft as when they took Brian Matusz (2008) and Matt Wieters (2007). But in 2009 they took a different approach, they made a ‘value pick’ (Matt Hobgood) and used the money saved to sign more guys in the later rounds.

So, if the Pirates take Pomeranz I could definitely see the Orioles taking McGuire over Taillon because Taillon is going to demand a lot of money while McGuire should be easier to sign. I believe Taillon will command 2-4 million dollars more than McGuire.

The only way I see the Orioles taking McGuire is if they choose to take the same ‘value approach’ as they did in 2009, that is, take the guy who isn’t that high up on most boards and use the money they saved in the first round to sign guys in the later rounds. Think last year with Cameron Coffey and Michael Ohlman.

What do you think of McGuire?