I did a long interview with RotoAnalysis’s scouting expert Charles Kurz about the first round (coming soon) of the MLB Draft, as well as some talk about the best players still available. Here are eleven players who are still available that he highlighted.

Nolan Fontana (College Shortstop)

Although Fontana isn’t as good as his fellow Gator and 3rd overall pick Mike Zunino, “before the season people really thought he was going to be a first rounder” Charles said. He continued, “he’s a good defender at shortstop, and he’s on number one ranked Florida so I’ve seen him a lot lately, and I don’t think he’s going to hit, but the glove is going to be good.” The issue with Fontana is he’s seen as more of a ‘gamer’ type of player, meaning lacking any big tools, but he’s got baseball I.Q., which does help him tick up and he could be a solid major leaguer, if better for real life than fantasy.

Carson Kelly (High School Third Basemen / Right Handed Pitcher)

There were a ton of glowing tidbits on Kelly in my interview, but Charles leading off with “he is a David Wright-esque player…” certainly caught my attention. “It’s a quality bat, but he’s got a lot of swing-and-miss. He’s a high upside prospect.” I like him because he doesn’t turn 18 until a couple of weeks from now, which will give him a ton of time in a pro system once he signs, especially with the new signing rules. With high school prospects, it’s been proven: the younger, the better.

Ty Buttrey (High School Right Handed Pitcher)

Buttrey was a very hot prospect earlier in the year, as he’s a 6’5” 205 pounder with room to fill out, and he did touch 96 earlier in the year. “Yes, he’s a prep righty with upside, but he’s already almost 19 years old, so that’s a tic against him when he’s still pretty raw.” The reason I like Buttrey is that his second best pitch also happens to be my favorite pitch in baseball: the knuckle-curve. He doesn’t really have a true changeup yet, but few high school arms do, so I’m very bullish on him. Charles finished up in agreement. “At this point in the draft, yeah, he’s kind of a steal.”

Hunter Virant (High School Left Handed Pitcher)

Charles was short and sweet on Virant: “He’s probably the number one guy left to me. His changeup is the best in the draft… in terms of projection, he’s got upside that few can match.” I tend to agree, Virant is very polished at 18 years old, commanding his high 80’s fastball (touching 92-93) to both sides of the plate, and when that projectable fastball for a left handed pitcher is paired with an amazing changeup, it’s the recipe for big league success. I’m a big Virant fan as well.

Jameis Winston (High School Outfielder), C.J. Hinojosa (High School Shortstop), Nick Williams (High School Outfielder), & Walker Buehler (High School Right Handed Pitcher)

I have grouped these players together for one simple reason: they all have huge upside, and they all have extreme ‘signability’ issues. “Winston, who I talked about on the Podcast the other day, in terms of pure talent, he’s unbelievable, but I don’t think he’s going to go in the first ten rounds, especially with the new CBA.” If he did sign, it would be amazing, as, “this kid ran a 6.6 60 [Meter Dash], threw 92 off of a mound, and is an athletic beast.” Of course, “he’s also the number one [college football] quarter back recruit in the country.” So it’s almost definitely not going to happen.

Next, C.J. Hinojosa is “almost definitely going to Texas to play ball.” However, this one’s not as much of a lock, and Charles said he, “has above average speed, an above average arm, and gap power, which, as a shortstop, is all you need to be a very high quality player… he’s got a pretty good chance to stick at short too.”

Outfielder Nick Williams is a “great athlete… but his swing got really long at times, and he’s struggled this year.” Charles said. “This is a guy before the season people saw as a first round pick… he has a ton of upside, but I don’t see a reason why he would sign, he’s a Texas A&M recruit.” Charles continued that Williams believes he could be a top 10 pick when he is drafted out of college, so monetarily there’s not a huge incentive for him to sign, given the limited amount he’d be offered under the new draft rules.

Finally of the interesting tough-to-sign guys we have Walker Buehrler, who was, “one of the more inconsistent arms this year. I know scouts who saw him up to 96-97, and I know scouts who saw him throw his fastball from 85-91 in different starts, so he looks like two different guys.” Buehrler is considered a tough sign, as he’s committed to Vanderbilt. On the subject, Charles responded that “yeah, he’s a tough sign, but [unlike the rest of these guys], I do think he will sign. He’s a projectable upside arm, he’s got a sinking changeup I like, and a future plus curveball at least. He throws it hard at 80-81, but it can get a ton of hitters out.”

Onelkis Garcia (Cuban Defector Left Handed Pitcher)

Garcia is famous for his scandal at last year’s draft, as he and his agent fought for him to become a free agent as is common among Cuban defectors, but instead, Garcia was placed into the draft pool just a few days before the 2011 draft. About 48 hours before the draft started, MLB made him ineligible pending a ‘further investigation,’ and I suppose that investigation concluded he should be in 2012’s amateur player draft. 

Garcia’s a 22-year-old, 6’2” lefty who, “last year was touching 96, but ticked down this year to around the 90 to 93 range. He doesn’t have much projection, and he’s a little old, but in terms of present stuff and ability as a pitcher, he’s up there and I’d take him very, very soon.” Charles told me. He also has a curveball, which flashes as a well above average pitch, but he’ll need to work on his command, which is currently below average. He could also use a third offering, but Garcia could move relatively quickly through the minors given his age.

Jake Barrett (College Right Handed Pitcher)

“Before the season, people had [Barrett] as a top five pick.” Uh-oh. Here comes the rub: “the problem is, he’s a reliever now.” From a stuff perspective, he’s got an absurd fastball which gets, “up to 98, 99 miles an hour” and he adds “two quality breaking balls: a curveball that at times is a little slurvey, but it’s very quality with sharp break, and then a split finger.” Barret was a starter in high school as well as his entire college career up until this year at Arizona State, and he’s got prototypical starter size (6’3”, 230 pounds), so there’s still a chance he becomes a starter. However, even as a bullpen arm, I think he’s got big upside to even be a closer in the long run, and is definitely an interesting guy to watch, especially in fantasy leagues.

Tanner Rahier (High School Shortstop)

“Tanner Rahier is the guy that [Baseball America] has as their top guy left,” and he comes in at number 34 overall. “I see him as more of a gamer type, he doesn’t have much upside, especially for fantasy, because he’s a fringy runner, with a plus arm, but he might or might not stay at shortstop. I’d probably say he ends up at third.” The only good news is, “Rahier does have a plus hit tool.” The issue for fantasy is, a plus hit tool with not a lot of pop from third base doesn’t make for a very good major leaguer. I’m with Charles; I’m not buying into Rahier. “Some scouts see him as a high upside guy who could stick at short with a plus hit tool and plus power and other scouts see him as a fifth rounder and future utility guy. I personally am shading towards the utility guy.”

Thanks to Charles Kurz for all of the quotes in this piece, if you’re interested in prospect analysis, follow him on twitter @Nolimits16423.

By Moe Koltun, exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com.

Read more of Moe's excellent fantasy insight over at RotoAnalysis.com.

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