Dodger Draft Recap - The Hidden Gems
by Eric Stephen on Jun 11, 2009 12:27 PM PDT
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Here's a quick look at some of the second and third-day selections by the Dodgers from the 2009 draft that might take a significant bonus for them to skip college:
25th round - Richard Shaffer, 3B
Here is a rundown of Shaffer from Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com:
Shaffer was creating a lot of early buzz as a high school third baseman with some serious bat speed and power, both now and in the future. Even if he outgrew third and had to move to first, Shaffer had the kind of bat that would play in either spot. But then he got hurt -- a hamate bone injury in his left hand -- forcing him out of action, in a way. He ended up pitching, and up to 93 mph, while letting the hand heal. When he returned to hitting, he didn't have any power to speak of. That's fairly common for people returning from that injury and there are probably still some teams who'd consider taking him based on his past rather than his present.
Shaffer is slated to attend Clemson University.
27th round - Brian (Christopher) Johnson, LHP
Johnson, a two-way player at Cocoa Beach high school in Florida, was named the Brevard County Player of the Year.
Mike Cherry of Florida Today tells us Johnson will not sign with the Dodgers, but will rather become a Florida Gator:
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Johnson said he will not likely be swayed by any proposal from the Dodgers and is expected to leave June 23 for Gainesville. He will soon after begin summer classes there. By going to a four-year college, Johnson cannot again be drafted until after his third year there.
46th round - Stephen Piscotty, SS
Piscotty was a two-way player at Stanford Amador Valley High School in Northern California, and was MVP of his league this season.
He has committed to go to Stanford. Here is the MLB scouting video of Piscotty.
49th round - Christian Walker, 3B
Walker is a power-hitting third baseman from Norristown, PA, the same hometown as Tommy Lasorda and Mike Piazza. Leading into the draft, Walker thought he would be picked much higher:
"I’m predicted to go somewhere between the second and the fifth round. I don’t want to get my expectations up."
Walker, who has committed to attend the University of South Carolina, won a home run-hitting contest that featured wunderkind and Sports Illustrated cover boy Bryce Harper earlier this year.
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sanchez101 (santa barbara, CA): What do you think of the Dodgers draft? assuming they sign gould.
Kevin Goldstein: One of the most interesting ones to be sure — even with no first rounder. Gould is a borderline first-round talent, and will cost even more than that, while Miller was generating a lot of buzz in the weekend leading up to Tuesday. The Blake Smith pick really caught my eye, as he’s the definition of “it takes just one.” Scots other loved him or weren’t interested much at all, and now we know where the Dodgers stood on that. Fourth-round pick Angelo Songco is a classic college performer who can really hit, but the tools aren’t mind-blowing.
Power
It seems like the Dodgers made a concerted effort to target power in this year’s draft. We’ll see how that pans out.
Agreed
Yeah, the college bats all look like they hit for power. It is definitely something the system lacks.
by thinkbluebleedblue on Jun 11, 2009 6:23 PM PDT up reply actions
Already there
What does it mean that “Piscotty was a two-way player at Stanford” already and yet he “has committed to Stanford”? Are they allowed to join the draft again before they are in their final year at university, and then have 2nd thoughts yet again? (Maybe Junior year only?) What a peculiar system.
Typo
The article in the link by his name says he is out of Amador Valley HS.
Yep
Total typo on my part. I added his section last and rushed it. It has now been corrected.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 11, 2009 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions
“Committed” means he accepted the scholarship offer from the college/university, but I believe there is no penalty to the player to “renege” on the commitment to sign a pro contract, other than the usual restriction that now that he is a professional, he is no longer eligible to play that sport in the NCAA.
Players that attend the university are then not eligible for the draft until after their third year (junior) in school, I believe. The player can elect not to sign, play as a senior, and can be drafted again. I think MLB has this rule to “back-scratch” the NCAA; once a player attends, the university can count on him being there three years.
So now we wait
to see what kind of budget has been allocated for the draft. Gould was basically our 1st round pick so hopefully we will get that done.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
The interesting one to me is Walker…who knows what he will ask for if he thought he would go between the 2nd and 5th rounds.
by Eric Stephen on Jun 11, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Maybe they make the same offer to
Schafer and Walker and whoever takes it 1st is the GCL starting 3rd baseman.
Besides the catchers they drafted I wonder which one of these guys they will try to convert. Delmonico’s conversion does not seem to be going well based on the number of games he’s actually caught.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
More about Walker
from an ESPN article at the Power Showcase.
Maybe the Dodgers are the right situation?
Walker has been well known among area scouts for years and has signed to play collegiately at South Carolina. But he isn’t ruling out going pro after high school if he ends up in the right situation following June’s MLB Draft.
And maybe he’s a catcher conversion?
Versatility is another attribute pro scouts love about Walker. He has played catcher in the past and would be willing to move back behind the plate at the next level. “Every time I mention to a scout that I used to play catcher, their eyes light up,” Walker says. “Teams always need catchers. Especially power-hitting catchers.”
Walker was not even mentioned as a possible draft pick in Pennsylvania
Baseball America does a breakdown by state and he didn’t make the list. Sounds pretty raw.
Shaffer
Just commented about Shaffer on DT before seeing this post, I wonder how dead-certain it is that he’ll attend Clemson. I’m assuming that’s why he dropped so far down. If they sign him that’d be a major steal, but sounds doubtful.
What percentage of their draftees do you think they’ll sign? (Based on past results)
Only 7 players selected from Rounds 1 - 10 have not been signed
In the Logan White Era (2002-2008) 74 players have been selected in those rounds and 67 signed for a 90.5% signing rate.
One thing to note, as of 2007 draft, there were no more draft and follows since implementing the hard signing date (except for college seniors). So you should see an overall signing rate increase since teams will no longer speculate on players that are going to JCs.
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