josh spence, the aussie from arizona state. he’s a younger version of jamie moyer, he throws junk with great control and nags you to death in the batter’s box. hitter’s look suicidal after facing him.

Taylor Teagarden while you can. The dude is hitting like Jeff Mathis and plays half his games in Texas.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=1400

Here are some interviews, scouting reports, and video of Skaggs at Baseball Beginnings . . .

http://baseballbeginnings.com/2009/06/15/skaggs-catchup/

John Sickels was very impressed w/ Skaggs as well . . .

Tyler Skaggs, California HS: STRENGTHS: More physically projectable than Matzek or Purke, throws 88-92 right now but that should increase; excellent curveball, very athletic. WEAKNESSES: General high school pitcher risk; Cal State Fullerton commitment, needs a changeup, what if his velocity doesn’t increase?

Most teams rate Matzek at the head of the class, but after that there is a lot of mixed opinion. Of the high schoolers, James, Purke, and Skaggs are all pretty close in terms of talent. Skaggs has the least current velocity but also the most physical projection. All of the high schoolers have good college options available, so they won’t be cheap.

On the college side, Brothers has a terrific power arm but could use some polish. Oliver’s season was a disappointment, but as long as he is healthy he seems a decent bet to rebound as a pro. Paxton is something of an enigma, but University of Kentucky pitchers actually have a pretty good track record, and despite the high ERA his K/BB and K/IP ratios are outstanding. Miller’s two-way status clouded his draft status heading into the season, but he’s made a late charge and could get into the first round.

I spent much of the afternoon watching video of the high schoolers. They all look great, but I have to say that I’m really intrigued with Skaggs. He hasn’t received as much notice as Matzek and Purke, but the guy just screams projectable and there is something about him that strikes me very positively on an intuitive basis. For now, I have them ranked Matzek, Skaggs, Brothers, Purke, Oliver, Paxton, Miller. But the guys behind Matzek are all pretty fluid in my mind.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2009/5/27/890634/top-lefties-in-2009-draft

Maybe because it’s an Halo’s connection, but the writer has a projected Skaggs similar to Washburn. Not so sure I agree with it since I’ve always thought Washburn as more of a control-finesse pitcher and Skaggs seems to have better arm

This one from Baseball-Intellect:

http://www.baseball-intellect.com/scouting-tyler-skaggs/