Did the Royals Do the Right Thing with the First Overall Pick?
The good news is, the Royals bypassed their seldom-successful tendency to draft a high school pitcher with the first overall pick in the amateur draft Tuesday. High school pitchers always are a risky proposition The bad news? Baseball America and other sources tended to rank North Carolina left-hander Andrew Miller as the best college pitching prospect in the draft. Neither MIller nor any other college hurler is rated far above the rest, but the Royals went out on a limb by drafting right-hander Luke Hochevar. While Hochevar, coming out of Tennessee a year ago, is ranked among the best pitching prospects, this Scott Boras client will be no easy sign. Signability issues dropped him to the 40th overall pick last June, and the Dodgers didn't come up with enough money to get his name on a contract before this year's draft. Yes, he has ace potential, but the Royals need to get him under contract and not have his professional development delayed by lengthy negotiations after missing a chance to go to a major league camp last summer. And it will take big money to get this first overall pick signed. If the Dodgers couldn't get his name on a contract as the 40th pick, it certainly won't be an easy task for the Royals.
Comments
Developing amateur pitchers into major league pitchers is the toughest job in baseball. The Royals have demonstrated over the last decade that they haven't a clue how to do it. Last year, it seemed that they got smart when they took a major college hitter, Alex Gordon, second overall. They should have taken a college hitter again.
They'll get another chance to make the #2 choice next year, and they're very likely to have the #1 choice in 2008, and in even-numbered years for the foreseeable future.
Posted by: Little Jimmy | June 7, 2006 7:18 PM