The Baseball Zealot

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

ryan-perry All of the hoopla is about this year’s MLB First-Year Player Draft, but how are the players doing who were chosen in the first round of the 2008 draft?

TIGERS – RHP Ryan Perry – 23 IP with Detroit before assignment.
TWINS – CF Aaron Hicks – (14th) 27 RBI with the Gulf Coast Twins.
WHITE SOX – SS Gordon Beckham – (8th) promoted to Sox last week.
INDIANS – 3B Lonnie Chisenhall – (29th) 44 RBI in Kinston (A).
ROYALS – 1B Eric Hosmer – (3rd) 27 RBI at Burlington (A).

RED SOX – P/SS Casey Kelly – (30th) 2.31 ERA with Class A Salem.
YANKEES – RHP Gerrit Cole – (28th) chose UCLA vs. NYY minors.
BLUE JAYS – 1B David Cooper – (17th) at N. Hampshire (AA).
RAYS – SS Tim Beckham – (#1) at Bowling Green (A).
ORIOLES – LHP Brian Matusz – 4-2 at Class A Frederick.

RANGERS – 1B Justin Smoak – (11th) 25 RBI with Frisco (AA).
ANGELS – RHP Ty Chatwood – (74th) with Cedar Rapids (A).
MARINERS – RHP Joshua Fields – (20th) held out; with W. Tenn (AA).
A’s – SS Jemile Weeks – (12th) 3 HR with Stockton (A).

PHILLIES – 3B Anthony Hewitt – (24th) 9 RBI with GLC Phillies.
METS – 1B Ike Davis – (18th) 4 HR, 21 RBI with St. Lucie (A).
BRAVES – LHP Brett DeVall – (40th) 4-2 with Rome Class (A).
MARLINS – C Kyle Skipworth – (6th) 7 2B with Greensboro (A).
NATIONALS – RHP Aaron Crow – (9th) couldn’t negotiate a deal.

BREWERS – C Brett Lawrie – (16th) 39 RBI with Wisconsin (A).
CUBS – RHP Andy Cashner – (19th) 1.75 ERA in Daytona.
REDS – 1B Yonder Alfonso – (7th) moved to Carolina (AA).
CARDINALS – 3B Brett Wallace – (13th) with Memphis (AAA).
PIRATES – 3B Pedro Alvarez – (2nd) 40 RBI in Lynchburg (A).
ASTROS – C Jason Castro – (10th) 6 HR at Lancaster (A).

DODGERS – RHP Ethan Martin – (15th) 3-3 in Great Lakes (A).
GIANTS – C Gerald Posey – (5th) 41 RBI at San Jose (A).
PADRES – 1B Allan Dykstra – (23rd) 21 RBI at Fort Wayne (A).
ROCKIES – LHP Chris Friedrich – (25th) at Modesto (A).
DIAMONDBACKS – LHP Dan Schlereth – (26th) with Reno (AAA).

Best MLB Draft ever. Milwaukee opened the 1985 draft by picking B.J. Surhoff — who signed for $150,000, a paltry sum by today’s standards. Among those following Surhoff were Will Clark (2), Bobby Witt (3), Barry Larkin (4), Barry Bonds (6), Pete Incaviglia (8), Walt Weiss (11), Brian McRae (17), Joe Magrane (18), Gregg Jefferies (20), Rafael Palmeiro (22) and Joey Cora (23).

2009 First-Year Player Draft Goes Hollywood

jared-mitchell 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.

MLB Draft: Lotsa pitching and Indiana does pretty well

photo via MLBDraft on Twitter

Pitching was on the minds of MLB teams in the MLB draft tonight as the first three rounds transpired. Yes, Stephen Strasburg was picked #1 by the Washington Nationals. As the time got nearer, that was pretty evident. Even Nats’ 3B Ryan Zimmerman weighed in on the subject after he was drafted:

"You have to do it. From what everyone is saying, if you are an organization like we are that is young and moving forward, you have to take the best guy available.

I think he is head and shoulders above the rest. You are talking about a guy that could be an impact player from the moment you draft him. If you can add that arm to our good young starting staff, we are pretty much set — knock on wood — for a long time."

After Strasburg, three position players were picked. Dustin Ackley (a NC product and one of the best hitters in the draft), Donovan Tate and Tony Sanchez went 2-3-4. But after that there was a run of 8 pitchers. Fourteen of the first 20 players taken were pitchers.


Eric Arnett	Josh Phegley	Matt Bashore

Looking at the first day of the draft from a Big Ten perspective, Indiana’s baseball program has to feel pretty proud. Three of their player were chosen in the top 50 picks. Eric Arnett went 26th overall and now reports to the Brewers. Poor Josh Phegley. He was picked by the White Sox (38th overall). Just kidding, Josh. To round out the Hoosier trifecta, Matt Bashore was chosen 46th overall by the Twins.

Tomorrow morning, the Draft continues. For those on Twitter, there’s a wealth of information you won’t get from boring ol’ websites. #mlbdraft is a good place to start.

Top pick dough

Deadspin looks at the question: Are #1 picks worth the money the teams spend on them?

Old Tiger Stadium ruled to be demolished

A judge lifted the stay of execution for the old Tiger Stadium and ruled that demolition of the ballpark can continue.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards rejected a request by the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy to issue a preliminary injunction preventing further demolition of the stadium. He also lifted a temporary restraining order issued Friday afternoon that halted work begun just hours earlier.

Edwards agreed with attorneys for the city that the nonprofit group likely can’t raise the funds for a proposed $33.4 million redevelopment project, noting there is little financing in hand after years of work.

Nats plans in the first round of MLB draft

A quick link to an article on mlb.com detailing what the Nationals are rumoring to do in the first round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.

Yes, they are expected to draft San Diego State RHP Stephen Strasburg with the #1 pick but they also have the #10 pick as well. It looks like they’re planning on choosing a pitcher with that pick as well but acting GM Mike Rizzo is tight lipped on who it will be only saying that he has trust in his scouting staff:

"I haven’t seen the amount of players that I have in the past," Rizzo said. "I’m listening and hearing what the people around me are saying — kind of gathering information and then putting it all together and making a decision. I’ve seen the top 20 or so players in the Draft, but once you get beyond that, you trust your people. We have a great staff over here."

The first comment, however, may be telling about how the Nats fan base feels, though. In part it says (caps and all):

WITH THE 10TH PICK WE SHOULD DRAFT A NEW MANAGER!!!!!!!!!!

Ouch.

Some thoughts on the MLB First-Year Player Draft

MLB.com’s draft expert Jonathan Mayo takes a stab at projecting the first round of the First-Year Player Draft. Here is his latest guess at what might go down next week. Draft projections are always a crap shoot but it seems we as baseball fans love something to argue over so they serve a purpose.

In Mayo’s projected draft, it is definitely pitcher oriented. North Carolina’s Dustin Ackley is the only non-pitcher listed in the top fifteen. Ackley plays first and outfield.

Arizona State hurler Mike Leake would have been an interesting top pick if only because there have been three other ASU #1 picks in the history of the MLB draft. There are no other schools who have more than one top picks in the draft. Leake is upping his stock with his performance in the NCAA Regionals but…

… it seems the consensus so far that righty Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State is the favorite for Washington Nationals’ pick.

Eric Arnett pitching in the Big Ten Tournament

Big Ten fans should note that Indiana University pitcher Eric Arnett places #15 on Mayo’s projection. As someone who saw Arnett more than a couple times this year and witnessed him mow down the opposition during the Big Ten Tournament, Mayo’s confidence in him is not misplaced. A little off topic but Arnett, by the way, is twittering now.

Some breaking news… Kyle Gibson a right-handed pitcher from Missouri who is/was a potential #1 pick, has suffered a setback. He’ll be sidelined for a couple of weeks with a stress fracture in his right forearm following his last outing. Gibson pitched shutout ball in his last two starts spanning 14 innings.

Time will tell if this will affect his position in the draft.

Good places to find info on the upcoming MLB First-Year Player Draft

It won’t be long before the 2009 First-Year Player Draft will be upon us. The Washington Nationals will be on the clock for their first pick in the first round on the evening of June 9th, broadcasted on The MLB Network. Draft time is 5pm Central time. The draft is scheduled to last till June 11th.

If anyone wants to brush up on the exact rules of the First-Year Player Draft, here are the official public rules from MLB. The gist of it is.. the eligible players are:

High school players, if they have graduated from high school and have not yet attended college or junior college;
College players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old; and
Junior college players, regardless of how many years of school they have completed

While I’m on the topic of MLB.com, they are providing their usually good coverage of the draft. Which is good since it is their baby. Their Draft Central is a go-to site for anyone interested in the rookie draft. Read their Draft FAQ which probably answers any question you might have regarding the Draft. Draft Central has plenty of reports from different team’s perspectives Also, check out their Draft Tracker for a partial list of potential draftees and of course, the team order of the draft.

MLB.com has historical look at the draft which is worth a look but if it’s pure stats and data you want, you should go to Baseball Reference’s Draft section. Interactive, clickable and very complete, BR has all the info you want on past drafts going all the way back to Rick Monday in 1965. I’ll admit it, I got most of my info for my article about the history of the draft’s top picks from Baseball Reference.

While MLB.com does provide pretty great and complete coverage, sometimes it’s nice to get some independent analysis (y’know, something that doesn’t read like a company communiqué). The Baseball Analysts really fits the bill. Like they have for years, Rich Lederer from TBA is providing some good anticipatory coverage of the upcoming Draft. Just go there and you’ll find plenty of articles on the subject but his Q&A with Baseball America’s Jim Callis is a good place to start.

And I’ll be chiming in with my opinions here on The Baseball Zealot too so stay tuned for my witty insight. If anyone has a favorite comprehensive resource for Draft Day coverage, feel free to leave a comment.

Gordon Beckham Makes Big League Debut

gordonbeckhamap21 I was at the Cell today to witness, firsthand, Gordon Beckham’s major league debut with the White Sox. The University of Georgia’s Beckham was the first player drafted by Chicago in the 2008 rookie draft. As a SS, Gordon led the nation in homers as a senior Bull Dog. I’d seen the White Sox twice this season and the combined score in those two ballgames was 20-0 Bad Guys, so anything Mr. Beckham could provide, would be greatly appreciated.

In his first at bat, he grounded to third, on a slow developing force at 2nd, he was able to beat the relay to first, thus avoiding a doubleplay. In the field, A’s batters were able to take advantage of the youngster learning to play the hot corner on the fly, by hitting balls between him and the line.

The White Sox have struggled all season against rookie starters. They are 7-1 with a 1.51 ERA in 10 games this year. I’ve kind of lost track, but this was either the 7th or 8th time the club has been shutout this season, I’ve been to three of them.

Something’s got to change, sitting Jim Thome in favor of Josh Fields, was basically inserting Gordon Beckham in place of Big Jim. Besides Fields, the Sox lineup also featured offensively challenged Jayson Nix and minor leaguer Dewayne Wise (.260 avg .309 OBP in over 3,500 minor league at bats). Is there a worse outfielder ever to play for Chicago? Maybe Julio Ramirez, who ironically batted .261, with a .308 career OBP in over 4,000 minor league at bats. The Hawk’s infamous quote about Julio, “Man, this kid can do it all, if he could only learn to hit”.

Matt Holiday came to the plate, after doubling passed Beckham, with a runner on 2B, Ozzie decided to setup the DP by walking Matt to get to Jason Giambi. I asked Buck what he thought Giambi was thinking, he said, “I hope I don’t hit into a doubleplay”. I said, he’s thinking, “Those rightfield seats don’t really seem that far away”. First pitch went screaming over the rightfield fence for a three run bomb, making the score 4-0 Oakland. Final score 7-0 A’s.

My three game total, 27-0 Bad Guys.

LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!! but where???

McLouth Gets Call to the Majors

mclouth Nate McLouth has followed the path of just about every other talented players the Pittsburgh Pirates have had lately, when he was traded to the major league Atlanta Braves. The Braves gave the Buccos three minor leaguers (Gorkrys Hernandez, Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke) in exchange for the All Star/Gold Glove centerfielder. Pittsburgh’s GM was quoted as saying the organization got three above average prospects for arguably the best player on their team. Last year the Pirates were involved in a three team trade, whereby the Dodgers got Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox got Jason Bay, and Pittsburgh acquired Andy LaRoche. I sure wish the White Sox GM Kenny Williams had been hanging around with the Pirates GM, we sure could’ve used McLouth, and we had better prospects to include in a deal.