MLB Draft

[Philliesfan980]

A good summary article on the first round of the draft.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1817400


Thank goodness JD's brother didn't go 1-2. Have fun trying to get some big money now Boras with the 15th overall pick! Also noted is Jered Weaver slipping to #12 (Also represented by Boras). I think this is great for the sport of baseball. Hiring Scott Boras as your agent will actually get you less money.

[stevew]

You cant fault Boras for trying to make a buck. When it comes down to it, shouldnt the players make as much as possible? While Im bitter as hell about the JD Drew situation, why the Phillies flubbed that is beyond me. If they werent prepared to pay JD a big bonus, they should have passed.

[sooner333]

Maybe next time ESPN should check and see the Josh Fields actually QBed Oklahoma State to a Cowboy loss, not a victory. All I know is that I work in Media Services, and my boss would be a lot more upset with factual errors like that than a grammar error.

[dawgfan]

I doubt these guys will lose much in the way of money. Unlike the NBA draft that has formally slotted signing bonuses or the NFL where unofficially the draft position determines bonuses, no such arrangement exists in baseball. Both of these guys will get bonuses that are better than the #1 pick and possibly the highest in the draft. Weaver likely won't get Mark Prior money and Drew likely won't get Richie Weeks money, but they'll both do quite well.

[Philliesfan980]

Check out MLB.com for more complete,accurate coverage.

[Bearcat729]

Yipee one more 1st pick on a High School pitcher who'll probably never see the ML level for the Reds

[Cuckoo]

Maybe next time ESPN should check and see the Josh Fields actually QBed Oklahoma State to a Cowboy loss, not a victory. All I know is that I work in Media Services, and my boss would be a lot more upset with factual errors like that than a grammar error.

Yeah, Gammons wrote a column on there today that talks about Kerry Wood being about to turn 28 and comparing some young pitchers. Actually Wood is about to turn 27. Seems to me that would be an easy thing to double check.

[Ksyrup]

They save the factual correct material for ESPN Insider.

[Chief Rum]

Wow, the Angels got Weaver! Even having to sign a Boras client, that's pretty exciting to get a guy many people thought was going to be the top pick int he draft.

That said, I am laughing my ass off that a full eleven teams passed on him, and that most of them almost certainly did it because of the guy who represents him. :)

CR

[sterlingice]

Wow, the Angels got Weaver! Even having to sign a Boras client, that's pretty exciting to get a guy many people thought was going to be the top pick int he draft.

That said, I am laughing my ass off that a full eleven teams passed on him, and that most of them almost certainly did it because of the guy who represents him. :)

CR
Well, I hope he gets a $5M bonus and never sees the majors just like I wish for all of Boras's clients. Only at the point when people realize that this guy is nothing more than a glorified used car salesman will they stop dealing with him ("Surely JD Drew is the best player ever in the draft so you'd better pay up...")

SI

[Ksyrup]

I think it was a combination of his agent plus the fact that he (and no one) is considered a top-notch, can't-miss prospect. One of the GMs quoted anonymously by Gammons thought he might end up being a middle reliever.

I'm all for players making as much money as they can, but in the case of MLB draftees, I think the players union and MLB should bargain away the right to a free market system for draftees, and institute some sort of pay scale (and allow trades). They aren't immediate contributors like in the NBA and NFL, so giving them big money is a crap shoot. It just doesn't make sense. Maybe give them an automatic bonus if they reach the big leagues during their first contract or something. The fact that the Giants would sign Michael Tucker just so they wouldn't have to keep their 1st round draft pick, should tell you that the current system is less than desireable.

[sterlingice]

"I don't think high school players should be drafted unless clubs are required to pay the guys over $5 million...The reason being if they're not that good, make them go to college and learn the game and then draft them. But if you draft a high school player you have to guarantee his future. And if the player is not that good the team won't take the risk. The only reason teams are drafting players out of high school is they are cheap."
--Scott Boras, super-agent and advisor to 2004 draftees Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver (CNNSI.com)
From today's free BP article, apparently via CNNSI.

SI

[Ksyrup]

But if you draft a high school player you have to guarantee his future.

No, you don't.


And if the player is not that good the team won't take the risk. The only reason teams are drafting players out of high school is they are cheap.

Well, this I agree with, but it's a two-way street. They're cheap because they don't provide an immediate return on investment, except in the rarest of cases. So why should a team pay more to a guy who has less of a chance to produce within 5 years than a college guy? They may have a high ceiling, but that's only because teams don't have the benefit of seeing what they look like 2-4 years down the road, had they gone to college instead of signing right out of high school.

[rkmsuf]

It's getting to the point that selecting Boras as an agent out of high school is painting the player in an unfavorable light.

[mckerney]

Nice to see the Twins take Perkins.

[IMetTrentGreen]

Yipee one more 1st pick on a High School pitcher who'll probably never see the ML level for the Reds

bailey is a badass. has a curve that could kill someone not prepared for it. if he stays healthy he'll at least be better than most of the dreck the reds trot out there now

[stevew]

If I had paid more attention, I would have walked down the street a bit and saw the #2 overall pick pitch a game for ODU.

[dawgfan]

There's some great local drama over the MLB draft. The Mariners forfieted their first 2 draft picks in signing Raul Ibanez and Eddie Guardado. With their first pick in the 3rd round they selected local stud Matt Tuiasosopo, Marques' younger brother.

Matt was also one of the top QB recruits in the country last Spring and signed a letter of intent to follow his brothers Marques and Zach's footsteps at the University of Washington. Matt was the cream of the Huskies' freshman class and was considered superior to Marques at the same stage in their careers.

He'd made it clear from the start however that he also had an interest in baseball and if he was picked in the first 3 rounds he'd seriously consider forfeiting his football scholarship to play professional baseball (he won't play both sports).

Now that he's been picked by the Mariners, a number of knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing Husky fans are clogging Husky message boards bitching about the M's selecting him and even a few that are pissed at Matt himself. :rolleyes:

[bbor]

Note to JP Riccardi...Why the F do you draft 3 1st base man with your first 10 picks?

[Shkspr]

Beacuse you'd REALLY like to have a young guy step up in 2011?

[wade moore]

13. Expos -- Bill Brey, LHP, William and Mary

Woohoo! And a fellow CAA player at #2! This is the first W&M player to go in the first round of a professional draft that was not the MLS...

[IMetTrentGreen]

thigpen is a catcher. and a good one. we just had a better one on campus

[INDalltheway]

My fall ball coach was picked #53 by the White Sox. Wes Whisler, UCLA. And for what reason he came back home to Indiana, when he could have been in California, I don't know... :D

[dawgfan]

There's some great names in this draft. There's a Bill Buckner (no relation) and a Ray Liotta (no relation), plus just interesting names like Wes Whistler, Matt Tuiasosopo, Eddy Martinez-Esteve. Probably a lot more than that, but I've only just skimmed the list...

[Ragone]

man.. you gotta ensure everyone's future coming outta high school eh boras.. give me 2 million outta high school and i'd be set for life. thats for damn sure

freaking idiot.. scott boras will single handedly kill baseball in the next 10 years

[Desnudo]

It's getting to the point that selecting Boras as an agent out of high school is painting the player in an unfavorable light.
Well I think it does, and probably correctly. When you sign with him, it shows teams that all you care about is getting yours. Money is certainly important, but it's not everything in that situation.

[Ksyrup]

A stretch of a pick to begin with, then he accelerates the Brien Taylor washout program...



SAN DIEGO -- Suspended top draft pick Matt Bush allegedly bit one of the bouncers who tried to escort the San Diego Padres' prospect out of a bar, police said Tuesday.

Following his arrest early Sunday in Peoria, Ariz., Bush was suspended indefinitely by the team. The Padres gave the 18-year-old shortstop a $3.15 million signing bonus after picking him No. 1 overall out of a San Diego high school on June 7.

Bush was arrested on suspicion of felony assault, and misdemeanor trespass and disorderly conduct. Bush was also cited for underage drinking, said Jay Davies, a spokesman for the Peoria Police Department.

Bush was arrested at about 12:30 a.m. and released later Sunday.

Employees at McDuffy's, which is across the street from the Peoria Sports Complex, where the Padres hold spring training, believe Bush and his 23-year-old brother, Jeremy, slipped into the bar through a rear entrance, Davies said Tuesday.

"Somebody found out he was under age and reported him, and that's when things turned sour for him," he said.

When security approached to lead them out, police said Bush resisted and the pair started a fight with at least two of the bouncers.

"It's alleged Matthew bit one of the security members on the left arm," Davies said.

When police arrived, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Bush struggled with one of the officers but eventually calmed down, Davies said. His brother tried to flee but McDuffy's security stopped him, Davies said.

Jeremy Bush was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and trespassing.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office will review the police report and decide what charges to file, a spokeswoman said. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 6.

Bush had been assigned to the Padres' rookie-level affiliate in Peoria. He won't be able to play during the suspension, and was told to come to San Diego on Tuesday for a physical and to meet with team officials.

General manager Kevin Towers, who on Monday night expressed his disappointment with the arrest, wasn't available for comment Tuesday.

Team president Dick Freeman said the Padres are looking into both the arrest and further into Bush's background. He said it was too early to say what further disciplinary action the team might take against Bush.

"Even without any further investigation, I know he was in a place he shouldn't have been," Freeman said. "We wanted to visit with him and get his side of the story, and see if there's anything we missed as far as his history when we did our scouting on him."

"We got input from a number of people before the draft, not only about his baseball ability but the type of kid he is. We want to go back and verify and make sure that information's correct, as well as we need to find out what his history is in some of these areas and make sure our original evaluation was proper, and hopefully this was an isolated incident. Under any circumstance, it's bad business."

Freeman called Bush's arrest "a huge disappointment."

"Certainly you don't like to have your first draft pick have an incident two to three weeks after you draft him. That's not a good situation. The reality is, no matter how hard you try to figure out people, and understand them, these things happen."

[Ksyrup]

Stephen Drew enrolled in classes at FSU today. His first class is Tuesday, so if he doesn't sign by then, he'll be back in the draft next year. Just like J.D.

[Crapshoot]

Stephen Drew enrolled in classes at FSU today. His first class is Tuesday, so if he doesn't sign by then, he'll be back in the draft next year. Just like J.D.

Apparently, the D-backs cut their offer in half- they're afraid that if they're too generous, MLB wont approve jeff Moorad's ownership stake- and given that Moorad is an agent about to be an owner whose biggest, bitterest rival is Boras- this makes for an interesting situation...

More power to Drew, though I think he might be better off taking $3-4 million from the D-backs and going from there. His life though..