Many of our authors make a habit of speaking to scouts and other talent evaluators in order to bring you the best baseball information available. Not all of the tidbits gleaned from those conversations make it into our articles, but we don't want them to go to waste. Instead, we'll be collecting them in a regular feature called "What Scouts Are Saying," which will be open to participation from the entire BP staff and include quotes about minor leaguers and major leaguers alike.
Major Leagues
Marlins RHP Jose Fernandez: "The kid is proving to be everything we expected and more. He's throwing with such confidence and determination that I can't envision many back-to-back poor outings. He seems to learn more from every start. Scary that he may only be scratching the surface of his potential."
Braves RHP Julio Teheran: "He didn't have his best fastball, working more 90-92 than 93-96 like he did in the spring, but he did a great job pitching and you can see him slowly emerging as an ace and leader of that Braves staff. His matchup against Cliff Lee was one of the best pitched games, on both sides, of this early season."
Phillies 2B Chase Utley: "He looks healthy and you can see he's really using his legs again when he's hitting and it's made a huge difference. Utley can become an impact player, even an MVP candidate if he stays healthy, because he can beat you so many ways with the bat and is still a good defender at the keystone. It would be tough for Philadelphia to trade him, because he means so much to the franchise and has 10-5 rights, but if they did they could name their price."
College
University of Kentucky 1B/P A.J. Reed
"For me, Reed is a hitter all the way now at the pro level. He shows consistent power in game action, and he's clearly moving himself up draft boards as an offensive player."
High School
Brea-Olinda HS (Calif.) LHP Cameron Bishop
"Was completely off the radar until the fall when he switched from being a primary position player to a primary pitcher. The lack of a track record and refinement with his delivery and secondary offerings will keep him out of the top 50, but he sits comfortably in the low 90s and has reached as high as 94 while flashing plus sink. His changeup shows potential, so it comes down to how much you believe in the breaking ball. There is a lot of pitching in this draft, but he's a 6'4" lefty power arm and is one of the best prospects for this draft that nobody has heard of."
Shepherd HS (Texas) RHP Tyler Kolek
"Kolek seems to be rising on people's draft boards and rightfully so. He's big and powerful and already has the body of a man. His fastball is a sight to behold and his secondary pitches are developing. Still has to work on his command a bit, but name me more than a few teenagers who don't."
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