Talked to a lot of folks today and news of the Scheppers injury was topic No. 1. The reaction pretty much came in one of two ways:

1. I've never heard of an injury like this. Not from pitching, anyway.
2. I wonder if this is the whole story.

Now, the scouting industry is skeptical by nature, and for good reason. As one scout told me, he's seen a player sit out with a reported groin strain only to need elbow surgery a week later (who knew the groin and elbow were connected like that???). The point is that people don't always tell the truth about injuries. Is the "stress fracture" just masking something else, like a torn labrum or rotator cuff? I don't know if that's true, but there is some concern out there that there's more going on here.

Another worry was if Scheppers hurt the shoulder doing something off the field. No one, and I mean no one, had ever heard of a pitcher getting a stress fracture in the shoulder from pitching. That doesn't mean it can't happen -- you'll hear about elbow stress fractures from hard throwers like Bobby Jenks from time to time -- but this would mark the first time many baseball lifers had ever seen anything like this. So even if it is just a stress fracture, there has to be concern over how a guy manages to do that while pitching.

I'm curious where people think he'll end up going when all is said and done (leave your thoughts in comments). The main choices seem to be:

1. Back to school, like Kent State's Chris Carpenter last year.
2. Much later in the draft, but he signs anyway because he really wants to play pro ball.
3. To a team with lots o' resources near the back of the first round, a team that can afford to wait if it's a lengthier injury recovery period than expected and can even afford if the pick never pans out.

My vote is for No. 3. Without any inside info on this one, I say the Yankees take him and let him hang out with Andrew Brackman. They can form one of the greatest rehabbing potential future rotation duos of all time.

A week ago, Fresno State ace -- and potential top 10 pick -- Tanner Scheppers was scratched from his weekend start. The Bulldogs tried to give him some extra rest and back him up to Sunday, but ended up scratching him altogether. The reason given was shoulder tenderness. The word this week was that he'd be good to go for his planned Saturday start at Sacramento State.

It turns out that the right-hander's injury is worse than originally thought. I've learned thatScheppers actually has a stress fracture in the shoulder and won't be able to throw for six weeks, severely damaging his draft status.

In my first crack at projecting the first 10 picks,  I had Scheppers going No. 10 overall to the Astros. Behind Aaron Crow, he was considered by many to be the next best college right-hander, perhaps along with Tulane's Shooter Hunt.  The chances of him still going that highly are now  greatly minimized. Someone will surely take him with the hopes he'll be completely healthy once the stress fracture heals, but obviously the risk involved should lower his value.

Hard for me to believe, but if you click on over to MLB.com, you can find my first draft projection of the season. It's for the first 10 picks and please be sure to take them with a grain of salt. It's real early. But I do feel good about the names I have on the list. Picks 1-20 come a week from now.

If you're too lazy to read all of it, here's the list:

1. TB -- Buster Posey
2. PIT -- Pedro Alvarez
3. KC -- Eric Hosmer
4. BAL -- Brian Matusz
5. SF -- Tim Beckham
6. FLA -- Kyle Skipworth
7. CIN -- Aaron Crow
8. CWS -- Gordon Beckham
9. WAS -- Justin Smoak
10. HOU -- Tanner Scheppers

Questions, comments, smart remarks? Leave 'em below...

I made the trek to Charlottesville, Va. late last week for some draft action (as well as a nifty Daniel Moskos-Matt Wieters matchup, as chronicled on my Minors blog, B3 -- how's that for cross-promotion?). Along the way, I had the pleasure of chatting with Kyle Long, Jacob Thompson, David Adams and Greg Miclat.

Let's start with Long. The son of Howie (not the one just taken in the first round of the NFL draft), Kyle could easily have taken any number of football scholarships. Instead, the 6-foot-7, 270 pounder wants to play baseball. He's been clocked as high as 97 mph on the mound and has tremendous raw power (big shocker there). Oh, he also runs a 6.7-60, so don't think he's some big stiff. The guy is just an athlete. Plain and simple. And one who has his head clearly on his shoulders. I don't know what Howie and his wife did, but they deserve some serious kudos for raising their kids well. Kyle is confident in what he can do without being cocky. Think about it, he easily could be a kid who feels he owns the world, and he's nothing like that. He's the kind of kid you walk away from after talking to him and realize that even if he never makes it in pro ball, he's going to be very successful at whatever he does.

Unfortunately, the game he was supposed to pitch in was rained out, so I didn't get to see him play. But he admitted himself (we'll have a video feature on him later in the month) that he's raw -- as much as I'd love to see him go pro so we can do more stuff with him, a few years at Florida State (the only school that offered him a baseball scholarship) as a two-way player might not be a bad thing. And don't think he'll be pulled to the gridiron. One thing he said in our interview, about next year, was: "The only thing I'm certain of is that I won't be putting on a football helmet." Look for a team to draft him a little bit later and maybe offer him a little extra money to come and develop his raw talent in its system, instead of at FSU.

From there, it was on to UVa. We caught a little break there. Pitcher Jacob Thompson was one of our targets for video stuff, but because of an uneven performance all year, he was no longer the Friday starter. A little injury to senior Pat McAnaney (don't worry, he made the start on Saturday) enabled us (myself and multimedia producer Joe Cronin) to see Thompson first-hand. He was, in a word, OK. The final line -- 6 IP, 9 H, 6 ER -- doesn't look so hot, but he wasn't as bad as the stats indicate. He was victimized by some bleeders and bloops and wasn't exactly knocked around. He was in the 90-91 mph range most of the night and threw his curve for strikes. From what I saw, when he struggled with his command -- walks have been an issue -- it was within the strike zone, as he tended to be too up in the zone for a guy who has to rely on pitching to contact and keeping the ball down.

It's hard not to like Adams and Miclat, the Cavaliers DP combo. Miclat has utility guy written all over him. He went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base as the leadoff hitter in the Friday night game. Adams, hitting third, also went 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs. He stole two bags on the night. Both are hard-nosed "play the game right" kind of guys, even if Adams' sophomore season was better statistically. Both guys had dirty uniforms by the second inning and from talking to scouts who have seen them regularly, that's not exactly rare.

So maybe we're not talking Ryan Zimmerman or Mark Reynolds here (of course, Mark Reynolds wasn't Mark Reynolds as a 16th-round pick), but all three should get drafted pretty well and will continue to help build out the program Brian O'Connor has built since coming in 2004. Look for a video feature on the program in the draft preview show (to air on June 2, I believe) as well as detailed reports on the Va. trio in next week's Draft Report.

I'll leave you with one quick note about that top pick. It looks like we can narrow down to five the amount of players the Rays are considering with the pick. Seems like Aaron Crow is no longer in the running for 1-1. That leaves:

Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt University
Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.
Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego
Buster Posey, C, Florida State
Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.

And I'll have reports on Alvarez and Matusz on Wednesday, along with my first crack at projecting the first 10 picks of the first round (hoo boy). So be sure to check out Draft Central early and often.

Hey all. Ready to get this thing going?

Draft season is really upon us and our draft section launches today. Be sure to check it every day for the latest news and features, a virtual one-stop shopping center for all things draft. Just today, you can find a draft preview by yours truly, a story on what the Rays are looking at as they prepare to pick No. 1 overall for the second year in a row, a rundown on our coverage of draft day and enough multimedia to keep you busy for a long time. Arizona State's Brett Wallace, a potential first-round pick, will be blogging on his own to give you some insights into what it's like for a prospect to play for a big-time program while waiting to find out about his professional future.

Here at Geeking on the Draft, I'll try to keep you updated on all the news and rumors as we speed toward draft day on June 5. For now, I'll throw some names at you, guys who have been mentioned as potentials for the No. 1 overall pick by the Rays. Feel free to weigh in with what direction you think Tampa should go in. I'll put them in alphabetical order since it's extremely unclear what the Rays are thinking (there's no David Price this year, that's for sure).

Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt University
Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.
Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri
Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego
Buster Posey, C, Florida State
Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.

I know you're excited. Draft season is upon us and The Draft Report is in full swing. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.

We kicked things off with eight reports from the Urban Youth Academy showcase and we're off and running. Every Wednesday, we'll bring you more info on the top names in the '08 Draft Class to prep you for June. So read and enjoy.

And not just because it got me out of Pittsburgh, where the wife tells me it will be 2 degrees on Monday, and it was close to 80 degrees here. The good weather did, however, enable me to see some pretty good draft talent as the 2008 draft season unofficially got underway at the Urban Youth Academy in Compton.

Now any scouting director will tell you that the draft season actually begins the day after the previous draft ends, but things are really starting to pick up now. And this event -- the second of what I hope are many annual versions -- serves as a kind of kickoff that things are going to get crazy busy in short order.

The scout turnout was terrific -- and we couldn't have asked for a better day -- as 56 of Southern California's top high school players perform in a one-day showcase. Like with any of these things, you can't take too much from one day. This won't make or break a player in terms of draft status. It can help -- and hurt -- obviously and there are times when guys put themselves on the map with a standout performance. For the most part, though, it's just more information to put in the proverbial file. One interesting thing about events like this that scouts have pointed out to me is not just that it allows you to see players against good competition. During the high school season, a lot of these hitters will be the stars on their team. Opponents, trying to win games, will pitch around them with regularity. Frustrating for scouts, but a reality. At a showcase like this, though, there's none of that. Pitchers want to get the best hitters out and hitters want to best the top pitchers the region has to offer.

If this group is any indication, it's going to be a good year for left-handed pitchers on the prep scene in SoCal. Scouts saw a dozen or so southpaws take the hill on Sunday. Here's a look at some of the top performers:

Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside: He was the clear MVP of the game, with an opposite-field homer in his first AB after a real strong BP session. He also showed off a plus arm behind the plate, throwing out three would-be base-stealers. His catch and throw skills have been a question mark to some. Today may have erased some doubts. He's money player who does seem to turn it up a notch in big situations.

Tyler Chatwood, OF/P/SS, Redlands East Valley HS, Redlands:  Chatwood can do it all, and do it pretty well. He didn't show much with the bat today, but he probably was the most impressive pitcher in the event. Listed at 6-0, 175-pounds, it will be interesting to see if he gets drafted as a pitcher, but he was up to 94 mph with his fastball. He good feel for a breaking ball, around 72-75 mph and a changeup which he thew in the 80-82 mph range. He's a terrific athlete, as evidenced by his 6.5-60 yard dash time, second fastest in the group. He can play shortstop and the outfield and it should be a pretty good debate over whether his future is on the mound or in the field as the season progresses. He might be the best all-around baseball player in the region.

Ryan O'Sullivan, RHP, Valhalla HS, El Cajon:  His brother, Sean, is a pretty good pitching prospect in the Angels organization. Ryan stood out as being particularly sharp on a day when several pitchers struggled with comamnd. He was one of the more consistent throwers in the game, topping out at around 91 mph with the fastball while showing  a good, hard curve (77 mph) and a good feel for a changeup (82 mph). He threw strikes and mixed his pitches well.

John Lamb, LHP, Laguna Hills HS, Laguna Hills:  The lefty later in the game and stood out a little with decent velocity (88-91 mph) a pretty good breaking ball (75 mph) and a change up (80 mph). What made him stand out was his combination of velocity and ability to throw strikes.

Isaac Galloway, OF, Los Osos HS, Rancho Cucamonga: No, he's not on here because of my affinity for saying Rancho Cucamonga (those of you familiar with my Around the Minors radio work in the past know what I mean). Galloway has some serious tools and highlighted a group of exciting, toolsy outfielder at the event that included Aaron Hicks and Anthony Gose. Those two might be a touch more projectable; Galloway is more of an advanced hitter. By no means does that mean Galloway has no ceiling. Quite the contrary. He's just a little more "right now" than Hicks and Gose. And at this event, it showed, with Galloway having the best day of the trio.

Been meaning to hop on here to throw up some info on the Underarmour All-American event in Tucson a while back, but haven't had the opportunity to. Generally speaking, it wasn't a really strong group there, though that can provide some chances for under the radar guys to get on the map. I didn't get much feedback from scouts, other than that Matt Ramsey threw the ball well. Rather than go into detail here, I'll instead post a Top 10 senior prospects from the event, courtesy of Baseball Factory and Team One scouts, the folks who put on the event. Store it away for later and see who from this list used the event as a springboard to a good '08 campaign:

1. Matthew Ramsey | C/RHP | R/R | 5'11/195 | Farragut HS (TN)
 

2. Garrison Lassiter | SS/3B | L/R | 6'3/195 | West Forsyth HS (NC)
  

3. Niko Vasquez | SS | R/R | 6/175 | Durango HS (NV)
  

4. Justin Koehler | RHP/3B | R/R | 6'1/180 | Buchach HS (CA)
  

5. Jaff Decker | OF/LHP | L/L | 5'10/185 | Sunrise Mountain HS (AZ)
  

6. Tommy Collier | RHP/1B | R/R | 6'2/195 | Cy-Fair HS (TX)
  

7. Andy Burns | SS/3B | R/R | 6'1/185 | Rocky Mountain HS (CO)
  

8. Tommy Richards | 2B/SS | R/R | 5'11/178 | Bend HS (OR)
  

9. Nathan Fawbush | RHP | S/R | 6'6/185 | Union Grove HS (GA)
  

10. Ryan Curl | OF/RHP | R/R | 6'2/190 | St. Francis DeSales HS (OH)
 

Perfect Game has built a pretty good reputation for their showcases and it's pretty well-deserved. They typically have top-flight talent at events who go on to be high draftees every year. So I was very interested to hear what went on at their Showcase in Ft. Myers this past weekend.

Keep in mind that these early events should be graded carefully. It's very early, players aren't exactly in the best shape, certainly not in midseason form. We'll know more about these players when we get to the spring. But it's still valuable to check in and see who may have stood out at something like this.

Talking to scouts who were in attendance, the event was a little light in terms of elite talent compared to last year. Many of the high-profile guys didn't attend. But here are few names to add to the radar as we start to crank things up.

Xavier Avery, OF (Decatur, GA) -- Premium athletes with plenty of tools; followed up strong showing at East Coast Showcase with good performance here. Reminded some of George Lombard.

Jarred Cosart, RHP(League City, TX) -- Up to 90-93 mph with his fastball; average breaking ball and solid changeup. Showed loose arm and good arm with a solid frame that has plenty of room for projection.

Rolando Gomez, INF (Pembroke Pines, FL) -- No surprises there, did what people expect from him. He showed ood bat speed; played a lot of 2B a lot at this event.  Either you believe in him to play with his size (5-7, 140 or so pounds) or you don't. Will have to play 2B or move around a bit; has arm to throw from third. It will all depend on if he hits. Whoever drafts him will have to be patient as he gains strength.

Garrison Lassiter, SS -- Was very smooth in the field; glove is ahead of the bat right now. Pull's a little slow at the plate, bat's a projection, but he can definitely stay at short. He can pick and throw, showed very good actions there. He's very athetic for as big as he is (6-2).

Stosh Wawrzasek, RHP (Langley, BC) -- Up to 89-91 mph with fastball, with good life; showed some ability to spin a breaking ball a little bit.

Tyler Wilson, RHP (Rome, GA) -- He's 6-6, 205 lbs, lots of room for projection and growth; Up to -- 88-90 mph with the fastball, with good movement and sink. He's got a little bit of a  funky arm action, but showed really good ability to spin a breaking ball.

I'll be back with more next week after the Underarmour All-America Event in Tucson (Jan 11-13).

You can say that this past Saturday was an unofficial start to the 2008 draft season. Seem early to you? It wasn't to the 150 or so scouts who showed up at the Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif. for the Jesse Flores Memorial All-Star Game. MiLB.com was on the scene and you can check out the article right here.

There were a number of top prospects on hand and most of them did what they're expected to do and maintained that upper-echelon status. But as one scout put it to me, this event was more for the "middle guys, giving them a chance to stand out against this high level of competition." So who did stand out? Here's a list, including some of the top-ranked guys and some who may have put themselves on the map a little bit:

Aaron Hicks, OF -- Showed good tools
Anthony Gose, OF/P -- Showed tools and didn't even pitch. Just in OF. Tremendous arm strength in OF, can also run. Hit a triple and simply outran the ball to third. Showed some bat, which had been a question mark for him throughout the scout league season, whether he's better on the mound. He wants to be an OF first. Prefers to be an every-day player.
Cutter Dysktra, 2B/SS -- Hit ball well, solid defense. Held his own, like other top-rated players, and solidified position already had.
Miles Reagan, RHP -- An arm strength guy, was up to 93 mph.
Ryan O'Sullivan, RHP/SS -- Showed skills as two-way guy
Matt Cerda, INF -- Little guy, could have been player of the game. Put himself on the map a little. elevated game against higher profile competition.
Isaac Galloway, OF -- Very toolsy.
Tyler Chatwood, SS, OF, RHP -- Showed tremendous versatility and maybe one of the most versatile guys in this draft class.
Zach Collier, OF -- Relative "unknown" before this event. Hit really well with wood. Came into his own and elevated his play.
Sean Smith, LHP -- Threw well, getting some play now.

All of this could act as a stepping stone to the Academy's big event on Feb. 4, run by the Major League Scouting Bureau. That will feature even more top talent, including some guys who were shut down and not available for this game.

I'll be back with reports from the Perfect Game Showcase in Ft. Myers in early January, followed by the Under Armour All-America event in Tucson, Jan. 11-13.