2004 MLB Draft Thread

Word has leaked out around here that the Padres are gonna go with local high school shortstop Matt Bush with the top pick. This smells of signability.......Jered Weaver wants Mark Prior money and looks like he may very well drop out of the top 5, possibly top 10. Jeff Niemmen's various injuries have hurt his stock. And people are just questioning if they want a guy like Stephen Drew on their team.

SD fans seem a bit upset since all signs were pointing towards Weaver until about 2 weeks ago.......and Bush literally came out of nowhere. I literally read an article in Baseball America yesterday where the Padres' head scout said "We like Bush a lot, but probably not at #1."

Word is Bush will be getting a 'modest' 3 million dollar bonus. Funny thing is that Bush has a couple finals to take today......couldn't imagine trying to take a couple tests knowing a huge check is coming.

Finals are probably a lot less stressful when you're looking at a $3M cheque that has nothing to do with your grades.

How long has SD been 'on the clock'?

Weaver and his demands fell to the 12 spot and Anahiem. Drew and his money grubbing (a Drew asking for more and more money? Shocker!) went to Arizona at 15. Congrats to all the teams who drafted high school pitchers, it must be nice wasting money.

Finals are probably a lot less stressful when you're looking at a $3M cheque that has nothing to do with your grades.

How long has SD been 'on the clock'?

Finals are probably a lot less stressful when you're looking at a $3M cheque that has nothing to do with your grades.

How long has SD been 'on the clock'?

Pads have been on the clock since the 2003 regular season ended. MLB draft is weird in that the picks alternate by NL and AL, and this year the NL had the rights to the first pick. So the Padres get the top pick by being the team with the worst record in the NL last year, whereas the Tigers have the 2nd pick despite having the worst record in the majors last year.

The Giants had a weird but intriguing philosophy about the draft this year. Somewhat similar to the Group II free agents in the NHL, if you sign certain players you forfeit a draft pick to the original team. The Giants signed Michael Tucker fully knowing they'd lose a first round pick to the Royals.......but the Giants didn't want to bother with their first round pick and would rather use that money towards their major league team.

Wow, Jered Weaver to Anaheim with the 12th overall pick........

So far (damn slow internet at work today):

1. San Diego -- SS Matt Bush
2. Detroit - P Justin Verlander
3. NY Mets - P Philip Humber
4. Tampa - P Jeff Niemmen

I'm happy with the Pirates pick, Neil Walker. He's a switch hitting high school catcher from the Pittsburgh area with a good bat and power potential. It's about time the Pirates drafted a hitter in the 1st round.

I'm hoping for a 3B in the 2nd/3rd round now. We'll see.

Is there a site that you recommend for up to the second drafting?

The Giants had a weird but intriguing philosophy about the draft this year. Somewhat similar to the Group II free agents in the NHL, if you sign certain players you forfeit a draft pick to the original team. The Giants signed Michael Tucker fully knowing they'd lose a first round pick to the Royals.......but the Giants didn't want to bother with their first round pick and would rather use that money towards their major league team.

It's not a bad philosophy really. The baseball draft is such a big crapshoot.

BTW they're in the 2nd round now, you can get a full rundown from MLB.com.

can someone tell me something about jared weaver...is he that good? thanks in advance.

1. Matthew Bush, SD
2. Justin Verlander, DET
3. Philip Humber, NYM
4. Jeff Niemann, TB
5. Mark Rogers, MIL
6. Jeremy Sowers, CLE
7. Homer Bailey, CIN
8. Wade Townsend, BAL
9. Chris Nelson, COL
10. Thomas Diamond, TEX
11. Neil Walker, PIT
12. Jered Weaver, ANA
13. Bill Bray, MON
14. Billy Butler, KC
15. Stephen Drew, ARI
16. David Purcey, TOR
17. Scott Elbert, LA
18. Josh Fields, CWS
19. Chris Lambert, STL
20. Trevor Plouffe, MIN
21. Greg Golson, PHI
22. Glen Perkins, MIN
23. Phillip Hughes, NYY
24. Landon Powell, OAK
25. Kyle Waldrop, MIN
26. Richie Robnett, OAK
27. Taylor Tankersley, FLA
28. Blake DeWitt, LA
29. Matt Campbell, KC
30. Eric Hurley, TEX

can someone tell me something about jared weaver...is he that good? thanks in advance.

I've read alot of real good things about him, but many teams passed on him because he's a signability issue.

Is there a site that you recommend for up to the second drafting?

If you go to MLB.com, there's a link to listen to the draft.

can someone tell me something about jared weaver...is he that good? thanks in advance.

Up to this point, signs pointed to Weaver being a pretty good #2 pitcher. Scouts seemed to think that Jeff Niemmen had the highest upside, but that Weaver could be ready to pitch in the majors by September. Weaver was also described as the safest pitcher to take.

Weaver had some gaudy stats this year. The consensus seems to be that he has good stuff, just not great (ie, Mark Prior) stuff.......then again, a once in 20 years pitcher like Prior isn't exactly the most fair comparison.

Great pick by the Angels, Moreno seems more concerned about taking the best player available which Weaver was at the #12 spot. Should be a pretty contentious negotiation, but Weaver at least gets to stay in the area.

Personally still a bit miffed about the Padres passing over Weaver. That will be vindicated if they use that money to upgrade the major league squad for the stretch run.

Anyone know anything about David Purcey, the Jays selection?

Mark Rogers (#5) should have a bright future as a pro. I faced him a couple years ago, and he has good stuff. I also faced Mike Saunders, an 11th round pick, at nationals last summer, and this guy can play ball, either as a 3rd baseman or a pitcher.

Weaver is the safest pick in the draft, scouts think he's major league ready now, thing is he has the most limited upside because his stuff is not as great

he is most polished but lacks a plus secondary pitch, he simply is not mark prior which is why the pads passed on him and his demands, he will probably be one of the first to make the majors but not be the best to come out of the draft

it depends on how much he gets to see if it was a steal or not

Here's a good article on Justin Verlander, the player the Tigers took #2 overall

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/2004draft/040324verlander.html

I really like the sounds of the pitcher that the Devil Rays took. All stats look dominating.

I really like the sounds of the pitcher that the Devil Rays took. All stats look dominating.

If the draft were held last offseason, Jeff Niemmen (the D-Rays pick) probably would have been the Padres' pick. Niemmen suffered several injuries this year which scared off a couple teams it seems.

The Padres' head scout was on the radio, and brought up a good point in that it didn't really make a ton of sense how baseball conducts its draft in the middle of its season whereas every other major sport does it in the offseason.

The Rockies are finally getting smart...not wasting their high picks on pitchers any more.

Brock

just a review on how the blue jays did at the draft
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/tor/news/tor_news.jsp?ymd=20040607&content_id=764384&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp

if you look at the website i'm sureyou will out more about David Purcey

edit found this about David Purcey (sorry for the caps i just copy and paste)

COMMENT: EXTRA-LARGE. FRAME. THICK, STRONG BODY & LEGS. IMPRESSIVE PHYSICALLY. SIMILAR BODY AS MATT WHITE. NO WINDUP, HIGH 3/4 DELIVERY. FAIR MECHANICS. LONG ARC, PROPER ACTION. FB VELOCITY AVG, TOUCHES ABOVE AVG AT TIMES, MOST RIDE. SLURVE-TYPE CB. OCCAISIONAL STRAIGHT CHANGEUP. BIG BODY & IMPRESSIVE ARM. USABLE FB.

Scott Boras said that he believes Weaver should be treated as a free agent when he is signed by a team. He believes his value is around a $9.5 million signing bonus.

Its guys like Boras who have put major league baseball in the crapper. $9.5 million for a guy who has never pitched in the major leagues? Hmm......where do i sign?

Didn't Prior get something like $10.2 million though?

Didn't Prior get something like $10.2 million though?

Prior was considered a-once-in-30-year type pitcher by some scouts. Weaver was not held in such regard, although he is viewed as being close to mlb ready.

Anaheim's teams have made a couple steals in the past drafts. The Ducks stole Getzlaf at 19th overall, and now the Angels get Weaver, who was considered to be a very high pick, and the safest, at 12th overall. Seems right, as Anaheim likes to spend alot.

Prior was considered a-once-in-30-year type pitcher by some scouts. Weaver was not held in such regard, although he is viewed as being close to mlb ready.
I'm not trying to knock Prior to much because I think that he's great but didn't J.D. Drew get $10M from the Cards after the Phillies, I think, turned that down?

Can anyone tell me if/when John Hunton was drafted? He played last summer in the Northwoods League for the Thunder Bay Border Cats. I actually appreciated baseball again after seeing this kid play and his love for the game.

Chicago Cubs took him in round 11

LAMAR U RHP R/R 6'9" 230 1982-11-30 4YR 56K | 350K
COMMENT: EXTRA-LARGE FRAME. GOOD BODY. SLOPED SHOULDERS. TALL, LONG, SLENDER BUILD. LONG ARMS & LEGS. LARGE HANDS. BODY TYPE SIMILAR TO JEFF NELSON. NO WINDUP, HIGH 3/4 DELIVERY. EASY, LOOSE ARM. GOOD DELIVERY. THROWS DOWNHILL. MOST FB'S 88-90, OCCAISIONAL RUN IN ON RHH. MAKINGS OF FUTURE AVG SLIDER W/ 3/4 K-ZONE TILT. FEEL FOR CHANGE W/ SINK ACTION. BIG, COLLEGE RHP W/ GOOD ARM, BODY. PROJECTED VELOCITY W/ ADDED PHYSICAL STRENGTH. POTENTIAL FOR 3 AVG ML PITCHES.

Scott Boras said that he believes Weaver should be treated as a free agent when he is signed by a team. He believes his value is around a $9.5 million signing bonus.

Its guys like Boras who have put major league baseball in the crapper. $9.5 million for a guy who has never pitched in the major leagues? Hmm......where do i sign?


Thats why he dropped so far. Weaver might be the most ready pitcher right now, but his upside is maybe a #2 starter. Frankly he's not worth the money he's asking.

Chicago Cubs took him in round 11

LAMAR U RHP R/R 6'9" 230 1982-11-30 4YR 56K | 350K
COMMENT: EXTRA-LARGE FRAME. GOOD BODY. SLOPED SHOULDERS. TALL, LONG, SLENDER BUILD. LONG ARMS & LEGS. LARGE HANDS. BODY TYPE SIMILAR TO JEFF NELSON. NO WINDUP, HIGH 3/4 DELIVERY. EASY, LOOSE ARM. GOOD DELIVERY. THROWS DOWNHILL. MOST FB'S 88-90, OCCAISIONAL RUN IN ON RHH. MAKINGS OF FUTURE AVG SLIDER W/ 3/4 K-ZONE TILT. FEEL FOR CHANGE W/ SINK ACTION. BIG, COLLEGE RHP W/ GOOD ARM, BODY. PROJECTED VELOCITY W/ ADDED PHYSICAL STRENGTH. POTENTIAL FOR 3 AVG ML PITCHES.
Good to hear. He was drafted a couple years ago, but passed on going to the Expos and went to college. He puts the eye grease on really thick under his eyes and runs it down his cheeks (kind of like the wrestler, The Ultimate Warrior) It looks really intimidating when you consider this is an almost 7 footer is out on the mound. I really appreciated him when I saw him sprint in from the bull pen in the bottom of the first to high 5 one of his teammates after a home run. He has an enthusiasm that can be very catchy and have his teammates rally around.

I'm not trying to knock Prior to much because I think that he's great but didn't J.D. Drew get $10M from the Cards after the Phillies, I think, turned that down?
indeed he did, he turned down i think 9.5 mill because he wanted 11.5

both Drew and Prior are probably the two best talents/ncaa career/track record to come out of college hence their enourmous paying... Drew is probably the best college hitter ever

Ken Griffey Jr, Arod, Josh Hamilton, Joe Mauer are the highschool ones