From Ken Gurnick at Dodgers.com:
The Dodgers selected Aaron Miller, a left-handed pitcher from Baylor University, as their top pick in Tuesday's First-Year Player Draft. [...]Miller is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds and a two-way prospect, but the Dodgers drafted him as a pitcher. He went 3-3 with a 5.12 ERA in 13 games, with 65 strikeouts in 51 innings. As a hitter, he batted .310 with 12 homers and 47 RBIs in 186 at-bats.
"Aaron is a physical athlete who has had a limited amount of time on the mound," said Logan White, assistant general manager of scouting. "With the help of our player development staff, we see a bright future for him as a left-handed pitcher in the Erik Bedard mold. He is a terrific competitor and a first-class person with great makeup. ... He's definitely a prospect as a position player, but we like him better as a pitcher." [...]
Miller, a friend of Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw from their Texas high-school days, worked out for the club at Dodger Stadium on Monday to seal the deal and indicated he will be a quick sign because he wants to "get innings under my belt."
"The Dodgers are one of the great baseball teams, an A-plus club," Miller said. "I couldn't be more ecstatic." [...]
Round 2 (compensation pick), Blake Smith, OF, University of California: He's 6-2, 220 pounds and some scouts consider him a pitcher, but the Dodgers drafted him as a power-hitting corner outfielder, especially after the long-ball display he put on during a workout Monday at Dodger Stadium, where he showed a shoulder injury was healed.
Round 2 (regular pick), Garrett Gould, RHP, Maize High School, Kansas: The athletic Gould, projected as a first-round pick because of a nasty curveball, dropped in the Draft with a commitment to Wichita State. He's still looking for first-round money and just might get it. He's 6-4, 200 pounds and was a quarterback on the football team and a forward on the basketball team. He went 6-1 with a 0.78 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 45 innings.
Round 3, Brett Wallach, RHP, Orange Coast College: The son of Dodgers Triple-A manager Tim Wallach, Brett helped lead his school to the state title. He throws a hard sinker that White compared to Orel Hershiser's. His brother, Matt, was drafted by the Dodgers in the 22nd round in 2007 and is a catcher in the farm system.
And from the Daily News blog:
It is important to note that all four of these guys do have eligibility remaining, meaning that they could return to school and not sign with the Dodgers. Reports have indicated that Gould could very well choose to do so and honor his commitment to Wichita State.
Will Garrett Gould become the next Luke Hochevar? Stay tuned.
UPDATE:
Dodgers Draft - Day One Recap (True Blue LA)
2009 MLB Draft-Dodgers-Day 1 Recap (Fire Ned Colletti Now)
top photo by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers; bottom photo via Diamond Notes
2 comments:
Well, hopefully one of these nepotism picks eventually works.
Agree.
I hope Gould doesn't become the right-handed Darren Dreifort.
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