[BYU 14]

1973 Draft – Top 10
1- Montreal: Frank White 2B
2- Milwaukee: Dave Winfield OF
3- San Diego: George Brett 3B
4- Cleveland: Dave Parker OF
5- Texas: Frank Tanana SP
6- California: Phil Garner 3B/SS
7- Kansas City: Andre Thornton 1B
8- Atlanta: Manny Trillo 2B
9- San Francisco: Ken Griffey OF
10- Detroit: Brian Downing C

Unfortunately and surprisingly both our new players Max Muller and Paul Ruby go undrafted, which is especially surprising in Muller’s case as he was ranked among the best Outfielders. Both end up signing free agent contracts with Muller going to Cincinnati and Ruby being picked up by Oakland


The Players
Prospectus for the upcoming season coming out of spring training and as you will see there was a lot of movement in the off season as many of our former undrafted players had short term contracts.

Frank Cardoza (21) RF - AAA Texas
Cardoza continues to struggle and only hits .182 in the spring which earns him a demotion to triple A. Buddy Bell is firmly entrenched as the Rangers RF, so Cardoza’s best bet appears to be a shot at LF once the aging (37) Frank Howard packs it in. Though still young Frank needs to prove he can hit Major League pitching this season.

Willis ‘Leadfoot’ Wilson (22) 1B - AAA Pittsburgh
Wilson continues to develop nicely and hits .316 in spring training, but will still start the season in triple A with Bob Robertson the Pirates starter and Tommy McCraw backing him up. Pittsburgh may not be the best long term option for Leadfoot, but his bat could surely help someone.

Mathurin ‘Irishman’ Hawkins (20) LF - Reserve Montreal
Hawkins is still only 20 and the Expos believe he has a bright future, offering him a 4 year contract extension in October, which he rejects. Mathurin will start the season behind Ron Fairly in LF for Montreal and though he only hit .240 in the spring, his pitch selection was noticeably better.

Pedro ‘The Streaker’ Gonzales (22) 2B - AAA Chicago White Sox
Pedro will once again start the season in triple A, which is sure to bring angry calls from his agent. He has very good range, is improving at the plate and of course still has that blazing speed. His biggest obstacle is a solid middle infield for the Sox that features Davey Lopes, Aparicio still plugging away and rookie Bucky Dent. Pedro hit .222 in spring training.

TC Crooks (23) SP - #2 Starter San Diego
Crooks had a breakout season in 1972 winning 17 games and will again be the Padres #2 starter behind Dave Roberts. He has 1 year left on his contract and rejected a very handsome extension over the winter in the neighborhood of 115K, so this may be his last year as a Padre. Crooks had a 6.47 ERA in the spring, but only walked 2 in 19 innings pitched.

Diego Delavega (21) SP – Bullpen Texas Rangers (signed as free agent)
Delavega rejected a 4 year extension at 30,368 per season from Chicago and signed a 1 year deal with Texas for 92K, a head scratcher to say the least. Diego has the heat and had a 2.30 ERA in the spring, but still walked 10 batters in 24 innings. He will bide his time waiting for a shot in the rotation that includes top pick Tanana and veterans Joe Coleman, Dick Bosman and Jim Bunning.

Jace Hunter (22) 1B - Starter Cleveland
Jace dazzled Cleveland brass in the spring hitting .352 and earning the starting job over a plethora of other candidates as Indians broke camp. He is a great defensive 1B and just needs to carry his hitting over into the season to become a fixture for the Tribe at 1B, though he is in the last year of his contract.

Rick Inman (23) 3B – Starter (2B) San Diego
Inman worked hard in the off season and with the surprising departure of Eddie Ingram finds himself out of the glut at 3B, where Dave Kingman will start with Izulde Jestor and George Brett waiting in the wings, and starting at 2B after a spring training that featured a .322 average and some decent pop for a middle infielder.

Gus ‘Stud’ Cantrell (24) SP – #2 Starter Cincinnati (signed as a free agent)
To the dismay of many around the Bay area, the Giant allowed Cantrell to slip away to division rival Cincinnati, where run support should not be an issue for the promising Southpaw who won 10 games for the Giants in 1972. He got $119,000 for just one year, but with his stuff you can bet the Reds will look to extend that contract. Gus had a 3.17 ERA in 25 innings during the spring.

Ivan Carrillo (19) SP – AAA Montreal (signed as a free agent)
San Diego cut the teenager after a rough professional debut that saw him forced into the majors while still 18. This may be the tonic for Carrillo however as the Expos made several off season moves and like the young lefty’s potential. The Expos have a veteran rotation of Carl Morton, Steve Renko, Steve Rogers and Ernie McAnally, so Carrillo will have time to learn.

Ryan Omark (21) SP – Bullpen Montreal (signed as a free agent)
Another victim of San Diego’s housecleaning Omark reunites with his former teammate is even closer than Carrillo as he already has top flight stuff and just needs to get stronger. Omark should get the first crack at a starting job if anybody in the Expo rotation falters. He had an ERA of 2.23 and fanned 16 in 20 innings in spring training.

Otto Sevihn (23) 1B – Starter San Francisco
In a spirited spring training battle with veteran Willie McCovey, Otto emerged as the starter hitting .304 to McCovey’s .300 in a nip and tuck battle that was decided by youth (McCovey is 35) in the end. He will be on a short lease, but is confident in his ability as he signed a 3 year extension with the Giants for 21,812 per year in the off season.

Eddie Ingram (22) 2B – Starter Montreal (signed as a free agent)
One of last year’s top rookies could not come to an agreement on an extension with Padre Management and they allowed him to leave, which caused uproar with the fans and players. Montreal swooped and claimed the coveted prize giving them a top flight leadoff man who is above average with the glove and should ignite an anemic offense. Ingram hit .375 in the spring.

O’olish Amaneh (20) C – Starter San Francisco
Amaneh was named the starting catcher after hitting .322 in the spring to outdistance the competition. Just 20 years old big O will be handling a veteran staff that includes Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry and Steve Stone. It will be interesting to see how the youngster steps up to the challenge.

Frank Justice (20) CF – Starter San Diego
Justice was named the Padres starting centerfielder after a heated battle with Boo Bentley, despite the fact that Bentley outhit him in the spring .315 to .245. The determining factor appears to be Justice’s ability to hit the long ball, though Bentley is the speedier of the two.

Ray ‘Boo’ Bentley (20) CF – Reserve San Diego
Bentley will be poised to step in if Justice falters as the starter and is superior to Frank defensively, so there is no doubt he will see some action for Padres as a defensive replacement and occasional starter even if Justice does perform well. Both players are good prospects and could be used as trade bait if needed.

Kuji Chagulia (19) LF – AAA Cincinnati (signed as free agent)
After tearing up the Grapefruit league hitting .372 Kuji will start the year in triple A with Lee May and Al Bumbry ahead of him on the Reds roster. At just 19 there is no rush with this speedy prospect and Cincinnati can afford to bring him along slowly with the veteran talent on their roster. He signed on for a 1 year deal after being released by Houston, but would like to work out a long term deal in Cincy.

Al Mighty (20) SS – Starter San Diego
Another young cog in the Padres team of the future, Mighty finished 1972 as the starter and held off Enzo Hernandez in the spring hitting .291 and showing well enough defensively, though Hernandez is much stronger in this area. Mighty has been tabbed as the Padres leadoff man to start the season as he has a good eye and worked pitchers to a .354 on base percentage last season.

Larry McGillicuddy (20) 1B – AAA Cincinnati (signed as a free agent)
The emergence of Otto Sevihn in San Francisco made Larry Mac expendable and he was released, only to be quickly snapped up by the Reds as the heir apparent to Tony Perez at 1B. McGillicuddy hit .375 in the spring and like Chagulia will get the opportunity to develop in the Reds farm system.

Dan ‘The Man’ Schoonover (19) 3B – Starter Montreal (signed as a free agent)
Schoonover saw the writing on the wall after the Padres drafted George Brett, rejecting a 4 year contract extension and ultimately being given his release escaping the cache of third basemen the Padres are stockpiling. Now at 19 he will be thrust into the Expos starting lineup winning the job with a .311 average in the spring. Dan doesn’t bring the desired power to the hot corner, but should eventually be a .290-.300 hitter on a consistent basis. His only problem is Mike Schmidt is poised to take the position away should he falter.

Will Brown (19) 2B – Reserve San Diego
Another speed demon, Brown was given the chance to win the starting job in the spring and he did fare well hitting .283, but in the end management thought Rick Inman was more prepared. Still, starting the season with the big club the youngster should get his chances to shine and will definitely be used as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.

Izulde ‘First Strike’ Jestor (19) 3B – AAA San Diego
Jestor elected to stay in San Diego signing a three year extension and actually outperformed the Padres #1 pick George Brett in the spring (.298 to .224) earning the spot in triple A while Brett went to double A. Neither Dave Roberts nor Dave Kingman are stellar defensive third basemen, so if Jestor performs well in triple A he could get the call at some point this season.

Max ‘Mad Dash’ Muller (21) CF – Reserve Cincinnati (signed as undrafted free agent)
Muller is extremely fast and will start the year on the major league club serving his apprenticeship under Bobby Tolan in center for the Reds. He is a great contact hitter and when he gets on base is a threat to run at anytime. As much talent as the Reds have in the outfield (May, Bumbry, Tolan, Rose and Carbo) his inclusion on the roster is a testament to how much they like him.

Paul ‘Santa’ Ruby (19) SP – AAA Oakland (signed as an undrafted free agent)
Ruby already has great control but needs to work on locating his pitches and will start in the minors for the A’s to hone his craft. He is a big, strong pitcher who the A’s like a lot, but with Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Diego Seguin and Al Downing in the rotation they will bring him along slowly.