What People Are Saying About Dylan Covey

EDITOR'S NOTE: The MLB Draft continues today, with rounds 2-30 scheduled. Head over to the FanPosts for today's open draft thread.

Now that we know Dylan Covey is the Brewers' 2010 first round selection, it's time to get to know a little bit about him. Here are some things various sites have said about him in the weeks leading up to the draft.

Andy Seiler ranked him as the 13th best player available, and had this to say:

Covey features one of the most polished arsenals at the high school level in this draft, and he should be an early draft pick. Featuring a low- to mid-90s fastball, he also has some of the best fastball command around. He generally works in the 92-94 range, and he’s touched as high as 97, but he works better in that range, where he can get more movement and better command. It’s a plus pitch by any standard, and that’s just the start. His breaking ball, a true power curveball, is also a plus pitch. It has been at its best in the low-80s, generally between 80 and 82, but it was reached 85 to become a powerful secondary weapon with his plus fastball. Unlike a lot of top prep pitchers, he does have extensive experience with a changeup, and it could be an average pitch with some work.

John Klima of Baseball Beginnings scouted Covey's final home start, and said this:

Covey historically gets better deeper into games as his arm and back loosen up and he finds more consistent delivery and release points. After hitting 95 in the first inning, Covey hit 95 three times in the fifth inning, each time doing it for a high-heat hump. By this stage of the game, Covey was finishing his fastball and his curveball better than he was earlier in the game.  By the sixth inning, he was still hitting 93-94 with movement and just enough command.

As an experienced scout, what this would tell me is that the guy had top-ten pick arm power. He has moments where his release points are inconsistent and he grounds fastballs or airs them out, but that’s not a factor that would dissuade me from liking him in front of a big-name college starting pitcher. Covey may have fallen out of favor for some scouts this spring, but he didn’t for me. Here’s why. The guy has a hammer and he’s nowhere near physical maturity.

He also said Covey is "a guy with the potential to have the best breaking ball in the big leagues."

MLB.com has a video profile of Covey, where they say he's "strong and sturdy," and say he might draw comparisons to Chad Billingsley of the Dodgers. They also had this scouting report on his pitches:

Fastball: In this early showcase outing, Covey didn't have the velocity he's shown in the past, but he touched 93 mph. He can reach back and blow away a hitter when he needs to.

Fastball movement: He usually has some heavy life to his pitch, with sink and bore and late giddyup.

Curve: He throws a power curve, up to 80-81 mph. It's a plus pitch, maybe a 70 on the scouting scale.

Changeup: He showed it a copule of times. It's a developing pitch, common for high-school arms. But it was nice to see it as part of his arsenal this early in the season.

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Here are a couple of notes on Covey's mechanics and stuff from PNRScouting.com:

At his best, Covey keeps an easy arm action with minimal head/shoulder tug. Other times, Covey throws with some effort, but is clean enough in his follow through to limit some of the strain on his arm. His biggest hurdle looks to be consistently commanding his pitches down the line, primarily because of the head/shoulder tug as he comes through and the fact that he can get a little stiff in his landing (particularly when he's reaching back for something extra).

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Covey also breaks his hands a little early, but does a very good job of keeping the ball behind his body to prevent the hitter from picking it up early. He does a good job of hitting the same arm slot with each of his offerings, and generally repeats his mechanics well.

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Covey has excellent current stuff, with a fastball and curveball that, while unrefined, could potentially get out Major League hitters now with more consistent command.

Matthew Pouliot of Hardball Talk had this to say about the selection:

Covey throws in the low-90s and has a pretty good curve. His command is only average and his changeup is below, but he's a talented high school arm with upside. Of course, the Brewers haven't had a lot of luck with those guys recently.

Elsewhere in rankings: Lincoln Hamilton of Project Prospect had him as the fifth best player available, while Minor League Baseball Prospects had him 14th.

So, what do you think? Did the Brewers make the right choice?