Here is a link to the article in addition to an unabashed cut and paste fo the A's treatment.

http://baseballsavant.blogspot.com/

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

#21-Cliff Pennington SS Texas A&M
#36-Travis Buck OF Arizona St.
#53-Craig Italiano RHP HS-TX
#69-Jared Lansford RHP HS-CA
#101-Vincent Mazzaro RHP HS-NJ

Pennington reminds a lot of people of Khalil Greene of the Padres which isn't a bad thing. Pennington is noted as a gamer and shoudl be able to stay at SS although his defensive tools aren't outstanding. He flashes good plate discipline and gap power and can be a very good #1 or #2 hitter at the top of the lineup. Every baseball person who has come into contact with Pennington loves the guy. Buck is a big guy at 6'3 and 210lbs who plays the outfield but surprisingly doesn't have a lot of power in his bat. He's a tremendous line drive hitter with a fantastic body to work with. Like Pennington, Buck has tremendous makeup and character but profiles to play LF. Italiano was the hardest throwing high school pitcher in the drafat getting his fastball up to 98mph. He's projectable at 6'3 and 190lbs but relies soley on his fastball with a curveball mixed in. His stuff is ungodly but needs time. Lansford is another hard throwing prep player pushing his fastball up to 94mph. Projects to have 3 quality pitches. Not as high a ceiling as Italiano but #2-#3 starter isn't bad either. Mazzaro has a power arm with two different curveballs that blow hitters away. A hard thrower, Mazzaro struck out 91 hitters in just 52 innings allowing just 23 hits and 6 walks. His delivery isn't exactly smooth so another guy who needs some time. Probably a #2 starter ceiling for him.

It's hard to argue with any of these picks. Pennington might be seen as a little odd due to the presence of Bobby Crosby but you can't pass up talent like Pennington when drafting late in the first round like Oakland was doing. Plus, you never know what will happen. Pennington or Crosby could turn into something huge down the line and I'm sure Beane was thinking that when taking Pennington. Crowe is a decent bat that could turn into something big. The three high school pitchers were amazing. I was glad to see the A's abandon a college only mentality and take these 3 kids who can all turn out to be front of the rotaiton starters. I love Italiano and he has the stuff to turn into a #1 ace down the road. If the A's had a real weakness in their system it was at right handed pitching and Beane & Co. did a good job addressing it early with impact arms. With a young rotation set in Harden, Haren, Meyer, and Blanton, the A's were able to go out and get huge ceiling arms because they have the time to develop them. Very good draft for the A's.