[Questdog]

Tuesday, June 5, 2001

Amateur Draft

At 1:05 PM, the Texas Rangers made SS Stan Elliott of the University of Minnesota the first pick of the Amateur Draft, now a world-wide affair. His glove is only average at short and he has a propensity for making errors, but his bat is certainly worthy of attention. Not a lot of power, but a lot of hits and walks and he has the speed to steal bases at will. He is 20 years old, bats from the right side and is looking for $8.5 million to sign. He's a decent kid and a hard worker.

The remaining top 10 picks:
2. Los Angeles (N): George Singleton, cf, University of Texas (20 L)
3. Atlanta: Jorge Valles, rf, Texas Tech University (21 R)
4. Los Angeles (A): Ted Cox, ss, University of Arizona (21 R) (my #1)
5. Baltimore: Mark Dahms, lf, University of Louisville (22 L)
6. Chicago (N): Andy Roberto, Jr., 1b, University of Florida (22 R)
7. New York (N): Roger Granger, cf, University of Florida (20 L)
8. Philadelphia: Ron Hart, ss, Georgetown University (22 R)
9.Chicago (A): Carl Thompson, rhp, Franklin County Tech HS, Turners Falls, MA (18 R)
10. Toronto: Alberto Ochoa, lf, Santa Clara University (21 L)

The Portland Beavers, who picked next to last in every round, drafted the following players:
1. Dave Shelley, p, Annandale HS (MN) (17 L)

A little lefty (5' 11" 165 lbs) with a killer curveball and good control. Does not wow the radar gun. Won't be 18 until November. High marks for leadership. He has already committed to college, so we are going to have to give him a big bonus or lose him.

2. Bill Kelly, 3b, Boston College (20 L)

A solid glove and a power bat. Not a fast runner, but not horrible. High Character. What's not too like?

3. Dave Anes, cf, Oklahoma State University (21 R)

Good range, great arm, great legs, solid if unspectacular bat with a decent eye. From the Dominican Republic. Hard worker and easy to get along with.

4. John Stallings, rf, Vanderbilt University (20 L)

Solid all around and can run. High character, but not so bright. I thought Vandy was supposed to be for eggheads?

5. Jose Duenas, lf, Centralia HS (MO) (19 L)

Not much power, but otherwise a solid hitter. Decent wheels and can play a good outfield and emergency infield.

6. Steve Fitz, ss, Bellingham HS (MA) (19 S)

One of the scouting reports I have on him says, "Quietly goes about his business on and off the field." I don't know about the off field part, but on the field, the assessment is spot on. He won't do much to lose games, but he won't do much to win them either. Little power and a bit of a free swinger, but makes consistent contact, fields his position adequately and can run a little. Not the hardest worker.

7. Joe Marsella, 2b, Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville, TN) (17 R)

Everything said about Fitz can be said about Marsella, except that he is not very bright and he is not as good a fielder as Fitz. That is why we will try to convert him to second base. Apparently, there are not a lot of Presbyterians with strong arms, so he has been playing on the left side of the infield.

8. Bob Toth, 1b, Home schooled (Houston, TX) (18 L)

6' 3" 215 lbs. SD Eddie Henderson projects medium-to-low average hitter with good power and patience at the plate. I can take that in an 8th rounder. He is also asking for a hefty signing bonus.

9. Bruce Tarbert, c, New Oxford Senior HS (PA) (19 R)

A decent receiver and a decent runner for a catcher and has decent power. Will he make enough contact to play, though? Not a very hard worker either, but we need a catcher for our rookie team and he is about the best left.

10. Randy Woods, p, West Side HS (Newark, NJ) (18 L)

Another little lefty. 5' 9" 165 lbs. You'd think I have a fetish for them, but I do not. It is just coincidence. Woods is a very high character type, does not wow the radar gun, but gets the ball over with something on it. He'll be on the reliever track for us as I don't think his stamina will support starting in the major leagues.

11. John Stanley, p, Oklahoma Centennial HS (Oklahoma City, OK) (19 L)
12. Byron Lindle, p, University of Southern California (20 R)
13. George Allen, p, Bishop Feehan HS (Atteboro, MA) (19 R)
14. Dave Parker, p, Hillcrest HS (Ammon, ID) (17 R)
15. Don Myers, p, University of California at Irvine (20 R)
16. Ricardo Lantigua, lf, San Jose de Ocoa, Dominican Republic (19 R)
17. Champ Earle, 2b, University of Utah (20 R)
18. William Zepeda, ss, University of Florida (20 R)
19. John Bunch, lf, University of Southern California (20 L)
20. Steve Anagnostopoulos, 3b, Granite Hills HS (Apple Valley, CA) (18 R)
21.Mike Callahan, ss, California State University, Fullerton (20 R)
22. Mickey Davis, 1b, The Kings Academy (Sunnyvale, CA) (18 R)
23. Sergio Berrios, c, University of Arkansas (20 R)
24. Dan Braga, p, Long Beach State University (20 R) (From Portland)
25. Dave Thompson, p, Western Carolina University (23 R) (my lowest rated player in the draft)
26. Marco Nunez, ss, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (19 R)
27. Oscar Lopez, ss, Arizona State University (19 S)
28. Lee Cuningham, c, Haverford College (PA) (21 L)
29. Kyle Peters, 1b, Citizens Christian Academy (Douglas, GA) (19 R)
30. Dave Walen, 2b, Manual Arts HS (Los Angeles, CA) (19 R)



Notable Names:
Rd. 3. Farrell Human, rhp, Arizona - He's a Wild Man!
Rd. 7. Terry Cherry, cf, Chicago (N)
Rd. 8. Dave Phenix, cf, Arizona (needs to learn how to spell his name)
Rd. 9. John Strauss, rhp, Boston - looked perplexed when asked if he liked "The Beautiful Blue Danube".
Rd. 10. Phil Slider, rhp, San Diego - does not throw one.