Draft Day

So today was the first time the MLB draft was aired on television. I'm not sure how they expected any baseball fans to watch it since it was during working hours, otherwise I would have watched. However, the main resources on the internet: Baseball America, Keith Law on ESPN, and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus covered it with blogs and reviews on the day.

I don't know what the Yankees or Red Sox strategies were, but I thought I'd list who they selected today on here and try my best to summarize what the scouts and such may be thinking. I'll start with the ladies first--I mean the Red Sox (listed is round and pick #):

(1) sandwitch, #55: Nick Hagadone, lhp
(1) sandwitch, #62: Ryan Dent, SS/2b
(2) #84: Hunter Morris, 1b
(3) #114: Brock Huntzinger, rhp
(4) #144: Christopher Province, rhp
(5) #174: Will Middlebrooks, 3b/rhp

Of the six picks the Sox took, four of them are high schoolers (Dent, Morris, Huntzinger, and Middlebrooks). So those guys are obviously far away and none of them were listed in the top 50 draft choices this year. Certainly the focus was on pitching more, especially in the later rounds.
The only piece of information I read on any of these picks was about Dent from Goldstein who said:

Hoping to make up for not having a first rounder, the Red Sox use their second supplemental pick (#62) on high-school infielder Ryan Dent. He has a higher ceiling than quite a few of the players selected ahead of him, but at the same time, Boston is betting on his athleticism, as he's still a long way from converting his tools into baseball skills.

I really can't assess more than that, I have no idea who these other guys are or what their upside is. I'll let Doug fill in any gaps here.

Now the Yankees' picks:
(1) #30: Andrew Brackman, rhp
(2) #94: Austin Romine, C
(3) #124: Ryan Pope, rhp
(4) #154: Brad Suttle, 3b
(5) #184: Adam Olbrychoski, rhp

Before I get into Brackman here, as I understand it the whole Yankee drafting philosphy has changed to focus more on rebuilding. Don't ask me what it was before, but my guess is that it was to draft future trade bait. Anyhow, of the Yankees picks only one was from high school (Romine) and I have to laugh that Pope is from the Savannah College of Art and Design--not exactly what I think of as a sports school or even one that may have sports teams.

The Yankees focused on a catcher in the 2nd round which is interesting. Who knows if Romine, who's gotta be 17 or 18 would make the majors, but I'm wondering who the catcher will be after Jorge who's 35 this year. But there sure isn't anyone in the pipes and Nieves sure ain't a full-time catcher.

But the bigger story regarding the Yankees' draft picks was Brackman. From what I've read, the Yankees passed over Matt Harvey, a right handed high school pitcher who has a, "mid-90s fastball, and a curve that rates among the best in the high school class; very good changeup for teenager." On BP's top 50 list he ranked #13.

However, when the Yankees' first round pick came up they went with Andrew Brackman of North Carolina State, a right handed pitcher ranked #30 on the list. Here's Brackman's review from BP:

Pros: The six-foot-11 righthander has touched 99 mph in the past, and arguably has a higher ceiling than any player in the draft; curveball flashes as plus at times; mechanics are surprisingly refined for a player with his size and lack of experience.
Cons: Rarely pitched as freshman or sophomore because of a basketball commitment, then was practically shut down after 78 innings due to a tired arm; before the shutdown, he became less and less effective as season wore on.

There are certainly questions about his arm, but I'm guessing his size and fast ball were attractive (though I heard he only hit 87 mph on the gun the last month he played). To me it looks like a bad pick for the Yankees.

Crazy Pitching Tonight

• I decided I'd watch Jake Peavy's start tonight which looked good until the 7th inning when the Dodgers went up 4-1. Unfortunately I didn't see a dominant Peavy tonight and his ERA edged up to 2.00. Even better though, I watched the Padres come back in the 9th to win 6-5 (they scored 5 runs), exciting stuff!
• Cole Hamels, another Cy Young candidate who I think I forgot to mention in another entry on here, gave up three homeruns in a row, but that was it.
• Curt Schilling had a no hitter in the 9th, 2 outs and shook off the slider call to throw a fastball. Granted it was thrown to the outside, but Stewart seemed ready and slapped a single into right. The Red Sox needed the win though
• ESPN Classics, is showing 6 hours of Clemens' greatest games Friday.

I'll be back on the crop duster plane (as someone here called it) tomorrow on the first leg of my journey home--the wind has calmed down but if you read about a passenger freaking out on a plane in Kansas it'll be me.

And before I get, congrats to Joe Torre who won his 2000th game as manager tonight (of which 1,106 were won while managing the Yankees).