Major League Baseball's annual First Year Player Draft is important for the Appalachian League, a traditional professional launching pad for newly-acquired players.
Last year, for example, 13 of the 50 players selected by Tampa Bay wound up playing in Princeton. That included the draft’s overall first selection, SS Tim Beckham, who signed quickly and played nearly the entire Appy League season with the P-Rays. (Beckham is now with Class A Bowling Green.)
This year’s draft is unique for Tampa Bay. The Rays’ history of futility meant the organization usually wound up at or near the top of the draft order, but 2008’s exhilarating run to the World Series has dropped Tampa Bay to near the bottom. Still, that’s a nice problem to have.
One way to tell the draft is becoming a big deal is the growing amount of media attention surrounding it.
In MLB’s case, the increasing media interest is self-generated. This year’s draft is expanded from two days to three, and the first three rounds will be televised live in prime time on MLB Network on Tuesday, June 9, starting at 6:00 pm EDT.
The remaining rounds will be staged outside the glare of live TV coverage. Rounds 4-30 will take place on Wednesday, June 10, starting at noon. Rounds 31-50 are set for Thursday, June 11, starting at 11:30 am.
Like the drafts staged by the NFL, NBA and NHL, baseball’s selection extravaganza is inspiring a growing cottage industry of mock drafts. Here are prognosticators’ predictions on who Tampa Bay will take in the early rounds (and who may wind up in Princeton in 2009):
* Andy Seiler at minorleagueball.com predicts the Rays will take LHP Chad James from Yukon High School (Oklahoma): “James still plays somewhere in the first round, and I think the Rays would be thrilled to get one of the top prep lefties this far down.”
Seilers goes further, saying Tampa Bay will take RHP Brooks Pounders from Temecula Valley HS (California) in the 2nd round, with the 78th overall pick: “Pounders has baseball bloodlines, with his dad having been a third round pick by San Diego 25 years ago. Tampa Bay likes prep pitchers in this range.”
In the 3rd round, with the 108th pick, Seiler says Tampa Bay will go with LHP Tyler Kehrer from Eastern Illinois.
* Michael Huang at sportingnews.com says Tampa Bay will use its first-round pick on RHP Alex Wilson from Texas A&M, adding: “(Wilson) took the loss in head-to-head matchup with (the Texas) Longhorns. Still throwing in the high 90s.”
* Projectprospect.com’s Adam Foster believes Tampa Bay will select OF Jared Mitchell from LSU in the first round.
* According the mlbdraftsite.com, the Rays will pick OF/2B A.J. Pollock from Notre Dame in the first round, SS Robbie Shields from Florida Southern College in round two and 6’5” 195-pound RHP Sean Black from Seton Hall in round three.
* Mymlbdraft.com says the Rays will go with C/3B Wil Myers in the first round. Myers is a 6’3” 185-pound junior at Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point, NC.
* Baseballdraftreport.com has long player capsules in its mock draft. The site predicts Tampa Bay will use its first round pick to take OF Brian Goodwin from Rocky Mount High School in North Carolina: “What to get the team that has everything actually applies with the Tampa franchise – this is an organization in amazingly good shape going forward. They lost in their first crack at the ultimate prize, but, I assure you, there will be other chances. They really are the team that has everything.
"One spot that could use an organizational restocking – the outfield. The days of Dukes, Hamilton, Crawford, Baldelli, Gomes, and Young all on the organizational depth chart are long gone. True, Carl Crawford and BJ Upton make up two thirds of the reigning AL champion outfield and, yes, Desmond Jennings is a darn good prospect when healthy, but even with all that talent it unbelievably could still be considered one of the weaker parts of the team. Crazy.
"Goodwin is a potentially elite defensive centerfielder with plus speed (6.5 to 6.65 second 60 times) and a plus arm. Shields, (Indiana University C Josh) Phegley, and (University of Tennessee OF Kentrail) Davis all work as college bats who play positions of need who could be considered if they fall.”
* Someone named “Morisato” at realsportsbloggers.com says the Ray will take RHP Jason Stoffel of the University of Arizona in the first round: “One of the top relievers in the draft, Stoffel has big enough stuff to potentially succeed as a starter as well. He throws in the low 90’s, but his fastball has good life on it and induces a lot of ground balls. His curveball is a plus pitch and when coupled with the fastball, gives him a great two pitch mix. He has a changeup as well, but he hasn’t used it much in college. As a closer, he has a bulldog mentality on the mound. All in all, he might be able to succeed as a starter if given a shot, but he’s a bad ass as a closer. He’s a nice pickup for Tampa.”
With or without newly-drafted players, the Princeton Rays open their 2009 season Tuesday, June 23 against Burlington. We’ll broadcast that game – and every other game the P-Rays play – on Classic Rock 102.3 FM The New River.
Real Baseball Intelligence (RBI), a leading resource in the evaluation of amateur baseball talent and draft coverage, offers its 2009 Baseball Draft Guide. The Guide includes RBI's Top 400 draft prospects, scouting reports of the top ten players at each position, a mock draft and more. It is available at withthefirstpick.net/guide
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