Baseball amateur draft looks at skill, affordability

By Dylan Hernandez
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Tuesday’s Major League Baseball Amateur Draft is expected
to be as unpredictable as last year’s.

With professional ballclubs trying to save money these days,
teams consider a player’s affordability to be as important as
his ability. The 2000 draft’s No. 1 overall selection, first
baseman Adrian Gonzalez (Florida Marlins) was not considered a
top-5 prospect in most circles, but was taken as high as he was
because he was an easy sign.

Meanwhile, the consensus No. 1 talent, pitcher Matt Harrington,
dropped to No. 7 and some top-15 players, including Xavier Nady of
Cal, fell out of the first round completely because of contract
demands.

This year’s draft will likely have as many surprises as
last year’s. The consensus No. 1 player, pitcher Mark Prior
of USC, had what many regard as one of the greatest seasons in
college baseball, yet he may not be taken with the top pick.

Below are the top-10 players ““ based on talent ““
available in the draft. No consideration has been given to how much
money they are demanding and the rankings below do not reflect
their possible draft positions.

1. Mark Texiera, 3B, Georgia Tech ““ Slipped to No. 2 on
most lists because of a broken ankle suffered early in the season
and the emergence of Prior. One of the top hitting prospects in
recent years, the 2000 College Player of the Year can hit with
power from both sides.

2. Mark Prior, RHP, USC ““ Widely regarded as the top
player in the draft, Prior has excellent command of a fastball that
is consistently in the mid-90 mile per hour range. Many think he
can skip minor league ball and go straight to the big leagues.
Prior, however, appears to lack a major league strikeout pitch. He
has little confidence in his curveball and change up, especially
against lefties.

3. Joe Mauer, C, Cretin-Derham Hall HS (Minn.) ““ Minnesota
is expected to take Prior with the No. 1 pick, but if the Twins
find his asking price too steep, they may opt for Mauer, a local
high school kid who would come much cheaper.

4. Josh Karp, RHP, UCLA ““ Probably has the biggest upside
of any pitcher in the draft. The key to his success will be
controlling his fastball. Karp has a superb change up and a
powerful curve. As of a few weeks ago, there was speculation that
he would go either fourth or fifth overall to Philadelphia or
Texas. But according to Baseball America, his stock has recently
dropped due to money demands. Look for him to go to a big-market
club.

5. Dewon Brazleton, RHP, Middle Tennessee St. ““ Long and
lanky fireballer set a Team USA record for the lowest ERA last
summer. Needs work on his breaking ball.

6. John VanBenschoten, 1B, Kent St. ““ Came out of nowhere
to .443 and 30 home runs this year. Solid hitter with very good
power.

7. Casey Kotchman, 1B, Seminole HS (Fla.) ““ The son of an
Anaheim Angels minor league manager, Kotchman is the best player on
the best high school team in the country.

8. Gavin Floyd, RHP, Mt. St. Joseph HS (Md.) ““ Baseball
America rates him the No. 1 prep pitcher in the country and the No.
4 overall player.

9. Colt Griffin, RHP, Marshall HS (Tex.) ““ Although he was
a first baseman just a year ago, Griffin is now a top-10 player
because of a fastball that can get close to 100mph.

10. Matt Harrington, P, St. Paul (Northern League) ““ A
year ago this time, Harrington was considered the No. 1 prospect in
the country. Due to money demands, he slipped to the seventh slot,
where he was selected by Colorado. The Rockies were unable to sign
him and after a year of doing practically nothing, Harrington is
back in the draft.