Nick Markakis

Markakis was BA's 2002 Junior College Player of the Year after batting .455-17-74 and going 11-3, 4.53 on the mound. He has been even better this spring--leading national junior college players in strikeouts per nine innings (14.9) and RBIs (89) entering the district playoffs--creating a huge dilemma for the Reds. Cincinnati has drafted Markakis twice and controlled his rights as a 23rd-round draft-and-follow, but doesn't have the money to both sign him and pay full slot money for the No. 14 overall pick. Rumors circulated that Markakis tried to scare off clubs by asking for a large bonus in an attempt to fall to the homestate Braves in the supplemental first round. He pitched at 92-94 mph for most of the season, though he sat at 88-90 in May. His slurvy breaking ball is a plus pitch and he has improved his changeup. There's some effort to his delivery, but he has a quick arm and few lefties can match his stuff. He's the second-best draft-and-follow on the market, trailing only Chipola (Fla.) JC's Adam Loewen, and like Loewen he could be an early pick if he were just a power-hitting right fielder. Assuming he re-enters the draft, Markakis will be a mid-first-rounder.