Category: 2009 First-Year Player Draft

The 2009 First-Year Player Draft was shown live in prime time on the MLB Network. Bud Selig strolled to the podium, an upraised home plate of the infield at Studio 42 to announce “The 2009 First-Year Player Draft” to nauseum. The first few selections were made in utter silence, then finally somebody at the network must’ve raised the applause sign (which any MLB fan has become accustom to at ballparks across the land, somehow we all seem to know when to boo), and a surprised Selig quipped, “This kid must be good. He brought his own cheering section”. Then the talking heads would gush on & on about how great this pick was and how this kid has all the tools to be a star. I was secretly hoping, just once, somebody would say, “Who the hell is this kid? Why was he even drafted? Wasted pick! He’s a bum!”

The White Sox selected another football player, Jared Mitchell, out of LSU, maybe we can trade him to the Bears if baseball doesn’t work for him, as he’s a wide receiver. He’s supposed to be just what we need, a centerfielder, who bats leadoff. Can we sign him today and get him to the Cell for tonight’s game against the Tigers?

After selecting Josh Phegley, a catcher out of the University of Indiana, the Sox picked Trayce Thompson out of Rancho Santa Margarita High School in California. What makes this pick interesting to me is my cousin lives in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA and this kid’s father’s former NBA star Mychal Thompson. Just when I thought we were concentrating on taking football players, Kenny Williams throws me a curve, and takes the son of a basketball player. This is the first year Thompson is focusing exclusively on playing baseball. He is a centerfielder, with power.

Tyler Kehrer, a lefthanded junior out of Eastern Illinois University, was the first Illinois product taken in this year’s draft, chosen by the Angels. They must have had a scout in the stands when this kid struckout 14 batters in a one-hitter he pitched against Southern Illinois Edwardsville, because he had a 7.02 ERA as a freshman & a 5.12 ERA as a sophomore, although he did pitch much better as a junior.