Ask Baseball America By James Bailey
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June 8, 2000All apologies for the absence of Ask BA on Tuesday, but there was this little thing called the draft going on and it took up all of our attention. We're getting back onto a normal schedule now and we'll start things off today with a couple of draft related questions. I saw that the University of Miami had five players they had signed picked in the first round. Also I assume other high school signees were chosen in other early rounds. What is your opinion on what will become of Miami signing class? Andy I'd be surprised if any of the five first-rounders end up at Miami. Shortstop Luis Montanez (No. 3 pick) has already signed with the Cubs. Lefthander Joe Torres (No. 10, Angels), lefthander Sean Burnett (No. 19, Pirates) and shortstop Corey Smith (No. 26, Indians) are expected to sign fairly quickly. Shortstop David Espinosa was regarded as a potential No. 1 overall pick at one point a few weeks before the draft but slipped to the Reds at No. 23. His fall had everything to do with Scott Boras being his agent. That won't be an easy sign for Cincinnati, but it will probably get done at some point this summer. After that the next two Miami recruits selected were fourth-rounders Zach Miner (Braves) and Raul Tablado (Blue Jays). The Blue Jays don't usually let too many picks get away from them, so expect Tablado, a shortstop, to sign. Last year the only player in the first 22 rounds not to sign with Toronto was righthander Brandon Lyon (14th round) and he signed as a draft-and-follow this spring out of Dixie (Utah) JC. The Braves have been nearly as effective in recent years, but they are willing to gamble picks on tough signs and occasionally lose out on a player who has his heart set on college. With nine picks in the first four rounds, the Braves could stand to let one or two slip through and Miner could be one to go to school. Another Braves draftee, righthander Tim McClendon, is likely to head for school after going in the 25th round. McClendon is the younger brother of Braves prospect Matt McClendon, who turned down the Reds out of high school. Righthander Danny Touchet went to the Reds in the 31st round and is also likely to land at Miami. Righthander Haas Pratt, a high school teammate of Scott Heard and Matt Wheatland at San Diego's Rancho Bernardo High, was taken in the 18th round by the Red Sox. They'll have a hard time signing him away from school. The Hurricanes knew last fall when they signed all of those players that they it was unlikely many of them would pass on pro ball. They should still wind up with a handful of decent freshmen, but the first-rounders are longshots to show up at school in the fall. Im curious to know if the Braves were able to sign any 'draft-and-follow' players from last year's draft? Also, how do you grade the Braves draft in general and is there a potential sleeper who wasn't highly publicized? Thank you for your time. LA09lakers@aol.com The Braves signed three draft-and-follows: third baseman Tommy Parrott (33rd round, Daytona Beach, Fla., CC), righthander Toby Staveland (44th, Mendocino, Calif., CC) and righthander Grant Abrams (45th, St. Petersburg, Fla., JC). We have a list of draft-and-follow signees posted in Draft Headquarters. The Braves had quite a haul of early-round picks, with four first-rounders and two each in the second and fourth rounds. They went with a typically Atlanta approach, not taking a four-year college player until the 12th round when they grabbed Arizona second baseman Keonni De Renne. With their first pick they grabbed righthander Adam Wainwright, a 6-foot-7 righthander who has been clocked at 94 mph this spring. He might not be as well known as some of the other first-rounders, but the Braves were happy to take him. He ranked No. 50 on our predraft Top 100 Prospects. I'm not going to run down their entire list pick by pick, because I'd basically just be repeating what was written by Bill Ballew in our team draft stories. As for some potential sleepers, Kevin Cust (Jack's younger brother) was regarded as a third-round talent and they scooped him up in the 11th round. Of course, most players who fall in the draft still want the money they would have gotten if they were picked where they were projected, so that might not be an easy sign. Another tough sign will be righthander Mike Davern, who was looked at as a potential first-rounder before the season began. His stock fell and he has a strong commitment to UCLA, which made him a gamble. As mentioned above, they also took McClendon in the 25th round and he could be a tough sign, too. Hello: I have two questions on the Capital City Bombers. 1. What was the nature of Ken Chenard's injury that sent him to the DL, will it require surgery or is it career threatening? 2. What was the reason for catcher Michael Jacobs leaving the team and is he likely to return? Thanks, Calvin As I do whenever I have a question on a Capital City player, I turned to Bombers assistant GM and media relations director Mark Bryant, who once again came through for me. He said that Chenard experienced soreness in his throwing shoulder and the staff wanted to be cautious, so they sat him down for a couple of starts. No surgery or lasting damage is expected. He's been throwing on the side and could come back any time. As for Jacobs, he was placed on the DL for personal reasons, but could rejoin the team any time now. I am a fan of Yohanny Valera, formerly from the Binghamton Mets, and decided to travel to see a Harrisburg Senators game, the team he plays for this year. It wasn't a trip just to see him but also I love watching baseball anytime and any team. Yohanny wasn't there and I heard that he was promoted to Ottawa. Is this true and does it look like he will stay there for a while? Jim Hartinson, Binghamton, NY Finally, another Yohanny Valera fan surfaces. I thought I was the only one. Ever since I included Valera in the 1995 Appalachian League Top 10 Prospects list I've been rooting for him to reach the big leagues. Hasn't happened, though he's creeping slowly in the right direction. I want him to get me that asterisk. Readers familiar with our league top 10 lists know that we take a look back after five years and denote those who made the Show with an asterisk. The '95 Appy League list needs a boost in a bad way, so I'm crossing my fingers for a miracle and a Valera callup. He was the No. 2 prospect in the league that year, at least according to the managers. Most of them were sure he would hit enough that his tremendous defense would make him a solid big league catcher. Well, he followed his .294 showing that year with seasons of .212, .191 and .205, so he's not really living up to his end of the deal. He did come through with a .289-9-39 showing at Binghamton last year, but struggled badly following a promotion to Triple-A Norfolk. He's back in Triple-A now, at Ottawa, but his presence there has more to do with Brian Schneider getting called to Montreal than it does with his earning a promotion. He was barely hitting over .200 when he was promoted and will probably return to Harrisburg when Schneider returns to Ottawa. Directory: mlb mlb -> By Ken Gurnick mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> 2010 – What’s the name of the umpire whose errant call cost the Tigers’ Armando Galarraga a perfect game in 2010? 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