2011 First Year Player draft of the Rockies

Name: Tyler Anderson -- Signed 8/15/2011
Position: Pitcher
School: Oregon
DOB: 12/30/1989
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 215
Bats/Throws: L/L

Events Scouted: Team USA

Physical Description

Anderson has an extra large, durable frame. It's a big league body with lower half strength and long limbs. He's close to at his maximum but there's still some room to grow. He uses his lower half effectively in his delivery as well.

Mechanics

Mechanically, Anderson is very solid and clean. He repeats exceptionally well and uses his lower half effectively. He jumps towards hitters off his back leg and everything about his windup is very fast. It's a fast paced delivery with a high leg kick, and it makes him tough to pick up. There's some collapse on his back side, but he jumps out of it pretty quick. A pro pitching coach may want to slow his mechanical pace just a little bit.

Fastball

Anderson is a tick above average velocity wise, with a 55 fastball or a 60 at times on the 20-80 scale. He works at 90-92 mph, cranking it up to 93 at times. He has good, late hop and gets some occasional arm side run. Anderson locates his fastball well and is consistently in the lower quadrants.

Slider

Thrown at 82-84 mph, Anderson's slider is a tight, late, sharp one. The break is not a big one, but it looks very much like a fastball out of his hand. This a fringe pitch right now that won't produce a lot of swings and misses at the pro level. I'd like to see him develop a more traditional curveball, something he flashes now and then but uses infrequently.

Changeup

The changeup is Anderson's bread and butter. He throws it at 80-82 mph and has an outstanding feel for it. He can throw it for strikes in any count and this has the potential to be a swing and miss pitch at the big league level.

Summation

Anderson is a very complete, polished product. He has the potential for three average offerings and already has two average offerings. He doesn't have dominant stuff but will throw strikes with quality stuff and advance up the minor league ladder quickly. Anderson could make a solid number three starter at the Major League level.

Scouts.com

Anderson fits the mold of the quintessential pitchability college lefty, an advanced arm who knows what he's doing on the mound and should, as a result, be able to get to the big leagues rather quickly.

The Oregon product throws an average fastball, 89-92 mph, just enough to keep hitters honest. He commands it extremely well to get plenty of outs with it. It has some two-seam tail to the arm side and he'll throw a cutter as well. His changeup is probably his best pitch, a well above-average offering that has outstanding action. He has two breaking balls, a show-me curve that he'll use to get ahead of hitters early in the count and a good slider that goes down and in to right-handed hitters. A not quite as physical Andy Pettitte type, Anderson has some deception to his delivery that allows his stuff to play up.

He may not have the highest ceiling in the Draft, but as a guy who won't take long to hit a big league rotation, he won't have to wait too long to hear his name called.

MLB.com

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Round 1a (45th)

Trevor Story --- signed 7/9/11

Committed to LSU
School: Irving HS, TX
Position: SS
Date Of Birth: 11/15/1992
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 180
Bats/Throws: R/R

Scouts who believe in Story's bat see him as close to a five-tool shortstop. . . . He has smooth actions along with plus range and arm strength. . . . Story has good pop for a middle infielder, though the 6-foot, 175-pounder generates his power by collapsing on his backside and using an uppercut. His quick hands generate plenty of bat speed and allow him to barrel balls, though he may need to tone down his swing against professional pitchers. He has above-average speed and runs the bases well.

BA

Irving shortstop Trevor Story was selected in the compensation round with the 45th overall pick by the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

Story is a good athlete with the potential to stick at short. He has good movement in the field and a good arm. Story has the potential to hit for power and average speed. His work ethic is one of his biggest assets. There is also potential in Story's arm as he has been as high as 96 this year.

mlbdraftguide.com

"It's the best moment of my life so far right now," Story said.

The 6-1, 180-pound Story -- an LSU signee -- batted .488 with 21 extra-base hits and 11 steals this year for Irving (22-9-1), which lost in the first round of the playoffs after a second-place finish in District 6-5A.

Story said that at this point, he plans on signing with the Rockies, forgoing his college career at LSU.

Dallasnews.com

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Round 2 (77th)

Carl Thomore --- signed 6/30/11

Committed: Rutgers Chipola Junior College
School: East Brunswick
Position: OF
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 212
Bats/Throws: R/R

Story about Carl here.

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Round 3

Peter O'Brien

Position: C

All signs pointed to O'Brien being a definite first-round pick, and perhaps the first catcher to come off the board, as the 2011 season began. He had a very solid summer playing for Team USA and looked like a future everyday backstop with power. That part of his game is still there -- he's got average power now and could have above-average power in the future. He'll put on a show in batting practice, and his numbers this season have been good in that department. But he's been a below-average hitter overall, and it's led some to worry that he may not hit enough -- there's a lot of swing and miss to his game -- to tap into that power consistently. Defensively, his arm is average and, at times, during infield practice, it plays up, but not as much during games. His footwork needs to improve as well. There are some skills that will attract some early attention, but O'brien's no longer the slam dunk he once appeared to be.

MLB.com

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Round 4

Dillion Thomas Signed 07/28/2011

Position: OF

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Taylor Featherston SS R / R 6' 1" 185 10/08/1989   Signed 06/30/2011
Christopher Jensen RHP R / R 6' 4" 200 09/30/1990   Signed 06/30/2011
Harold Riggins 1B R / R 6' 2" 240 03/06/1990   Signed 06/13/2011
Roberto Padilla LHP L / L 6' 3" 200 06/29/1990   Signed 06/24/2011
Thomas Stripling RHP R / R 6' 3" 190 11/23/1989   Unsigned
Benjamin Hughes RHP R / R 6' 5" 215 11/29/1989   Signed 06/30/2011
Alex Gillingham RHP R / R 6' 3" 200 10/17/1989 Signed 06/19/2011
David Schuknecht C L / R 6' 2" 195 06/20/1993   Unsigned
Kyle Roliard LHP L / L 6' 5" 190 02/28/1990 Signed 06/19/2011
--Signed by area scout Damon Iannelli.
Brian Humphries OF L / R 6' 3" 195 03/20/1990   Signed 06/16/2011
Timothy Smalling SS R / R 6' 3" 207 10/14/1987   Signed 06/13/2011
Preston Tucker OF L / L 6' 0" 217 07/06/1990   Unsigned
William Rankin RHP R / R 6' 0" 192 05/01/1989 Signed 06/13/2011
Ben Alsup RHP R / R 6' 3" 180 09/09/1988   Signed 06/08/2011
Jesse Meaux RHP R / R 6' 4" 210 08/08/1989   Signed 06/24/2011
Daniel Winkler RHP R / R 6' 1" 200 02/02/1990 Signed 06/19/2011
--BA report "quick arm who could pitch high-leverage relief innings in the big leagues one day."
Jordan Ribera 1B L / R 6' 0" 225 12/22/1988 Signed 06/13/2011
Logan Mahon LHP L / L 6' 2" 195 09/05/1988 Signed 06/13/2011
Brook Hart LHP L / L 6' 5" 220 04/10/1989 Signed 06/13/2011
Connor McKay OF R / R 6' 3" 180 10/10/1992 Unsigned
Patrick Johnson RHP R / R 5' 10" 170 08/14/1988 Signed 06/30/2011
Michael Wolford RHP R / R 6' 3" 200 05/24/1989 Signed 06/13/2011
Matthew Argyropoulos 3B R / R 6' 2" 195 08/24/1988 Signed 06/13/2011
Joshua Correa OF R / R 6' 2" 192 02/11/1993 Unsigned
Matthew Dermody LHP R / L 6' 5" 190 07/04/1990 Unsigned
John Curtiss RHP R / R 6' 4" 200 04/05/1993 Unsigned
Samuel Mende SS R / R 6' 1" 166 01/09/1990 Signed 06/13/2011
Jarod Berggren OF R / R 6' 3" 185 10/31/1989 Signed 06/13/2011
Jaron Shepherd OF L / R 6' 1" 175 10/30/1988 Signed 06/29/2011
Christopher Dennis LHP R / R 6' 0" 180 03/31/1989 Signed 06/13/2011
Richard Pirkle C R / R 6' 1" 190 08/16/1988 Signed 06/13/2011
Tyler Servais C S / R 6' 2" 210 11/18/1992 Unsigned
Brandon Bonilla LHP R / L 6' 3" 200 10/21/1993 Unsigned
Nicholas Vazquez OF L / R 6' 4" 215 04/04/1993 Unsigned
Chase Williams LHP R / R 6' 6" 210 11/23/1992 Unsigned
Drew Stankiewicz 2B S / R 5' 9" 160 06/18/1993 Unsigned
Taylor Martin LHP R / R 6' 4" 180 01/09/1992 Unsigned
Jordan Johnson LHP R / R 6' 3" 175 09/15/1993 Unsigned
Garrett Brown OF L / R 5' 11" 185 03/16/1994 Unsigned
Robert Kahana LHP R / R 6' 1" 180 05/16/1993 Unsigned
William Price OF R / R 6' 2" 180 06/25/1993 Unsigned
Nathaniel Causey C L / R 6' 2" 205 03/06/1993 Unsigned
Casey Scott 2B R / R 5' 9" 150 06/17/1993 Unsigned
Clay Bauer LHP R / R 6' 6" 215 07/10/1992 Unsigned
Tyler Bernard SS R / R 6' 0" 180 09/17/1991 Unsigned
Heath Holder OF R / R 6' 5" 215 08/23/1992 Unsigned