The Draft To Be Televised This Year

[Flash Tizzle]

Williams: All hands on deck for White Sox draft

GM says buck stops with him on picks

 

By Mark Gonzales

Tribune staff reporter

 

May 22, 2007, 9:15 PM CDT

 

 

For the 17th consecutive year, the White Sox won't have a top-five pick in the June 7-8 amateur draft. And they will have to wait a long time after making their first pick with the 25th overall selection. Their second one is 90th.

 

But general manager Ken Williams won't be making any excuses. Reinforcements will assist the amateur scouting department in making the club's selections.

 

 

 

"I'm taking more of a hands-on approach, as opposed to previous years, where I stayed at arm's distance," Williams said. "It's an area where we're providing the department with better direction and more support."

 

After putting the amateur scouting department on notice during SoxFest in January, Williams said he had watched a few prospects in person and had sent Dave Wilder, senior director of player personnel, and professional scouts Doug Laumann and Ed Pebley to evaluate top amateur players as well.

 

"Forget about not having a top-10 pick," Williams said. "No one cares about that. All they care about is the product you put on the field. What that means is you have to work a little harder than the next guy. To our guys' credit, they have been busting their tails this year."

 

Every Sox amateur scout has visited the team offices to make presentations about each prospect in their areas in Williams' presence.

 

"All we've talked about is who are the championship-type players, and that's part of what I meant by giving a little better direction," Williams said. "Even if I have delegated responsibility, ultimately it's my responsibility. And if we do not have success in this area, I have no one to blame but myself."

 

Williams said the Sox seek "championship" players while not addressing whether they would draft a player with the potential for a quick climb to the majors leagues.

 

"There will be players we pass up who are very talented," Williams said. "But for whatever reason, they just don't fit."

 

Baseball America magazine projects on its Web site the Sox will select right-handed pitcher/outfielder Michael Main of DeLand, Fla., with their first pick. Main had a 12-1 record and struck out 10 in a 6A state semifinal game Friday.

 

"If we can't get it right this time …" Williams said.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines

 

Interesting quotes. Personally, I interpret "championship players" in this context different than, say, one in which John Paxson may mention it. Whereas Paxson has used a variation of the phrase to mean players from winning programs who are complimentary pieces, I believe Williams' use of 'championship' here is someone who has great potential in his own right.

 

I'm probably looking too much into it, though.

 

It's just when he mentions passing up talented players who don't fit, in the past -- before calling out the scouting department and involving himself in the draft -- I would have thought this relates to finding a safe pick. Now, I'm not so sure. The last quote of the article appears to be another typical cryptic message from Williams. Almost as if he's saying, "drafting safe hasn't worked out too well; if looking for potential doesn't work either I don't know what to do."

[BearSox]

Michael Burgess -> Championship player

 

Anyone have any info on the local Marist player, Tyler Newsome? I hear he is going to enter the draft after all, and turn down a full ride to Michigan St.

[Flash Tizzle]

Michael Burgess -> Championship player

 

Anyone have any info on the local Marist player, Tyler Newsome? I hear he is going to enter the draft after all, and turn down a full ride to Michigan St.

Michael Burgess' swing -> suspect.

 

Our concern should first and foremost be starting pitching. From what I've read it appears to be exactly that way.

 

Anyone have any info on the local Marist player, Tyler Newsome? I hear he is going to enter the draft after all, and turn down a full ride to Michigan St.

I've read about him occasionally. His older brother Brett is a year younger than me and attended the same grammar and junior high school. Never heard anything regarding Tyler's intention to enter the draft. Considering what he and his family have gone through these last several years, it'd be nice if he were selected within the first five rounds.

[BearSox]

I've read about him occasionally. His older brother Brett is a year younger than me and attended the same grammar and junior high school. Never heard anything regarding Tyler's intention to enter the draft. Considering what he and his family have gone through these last several years, it'd be nice if he were selected within the first five rounds.

His brother died, right?

 

I've been hearing his more of a 15-25 round pick.

Edited May 23, 2007 by BearSox

[Reddy]

John Gilmore = the s***

 

 

ok so i'm biased cuz i know him and my brother struck him out. lol

[dasox24]

Here's a Catcher that could be an intriguing pick. Not first round material, but Top 10 round for sure. He doesn't have as much experience playing baseball as most prospects, but he has done very well (Big 10 MVP). Plus, he goes to Illinois, so I know that would go over well with a lot of people here.

 

Illini baseball finds gem in Canada

Catcher and Big Ten MVP Lars Davis leads Illinois to 5th seed in league tournament

 

By Neil Milbert

Tribune staff reporter

 

May 24, 2007, 10:54 PM CDT

 

All Lars Davis needs to do is get two hits every five times he comes to the plate and he will become the 22nd player in the 126-year history of Illinois baseball to finish the season with a .400 batting average.

 

The problem for the most valuable player in the Big Ten is going into Friday's game in the conference's double-elimination tournament at Michigan, the Illini are one loss away from elimination.

 

 

"I'm not a big stat rat," said the junior catcher from Grande Prairie, Alberta, who has a .403 average with 13 home runs, 56 runs batted in and a .664 slugging percentage. "I don't worry too much about numbers. We still have a good shot to win the tournament. I'm focusing on that."

 

The fifth-seeded Illini will play the Michigan-Penn State winner Friday afternoon.

 

When the conference regular season ended last weekend, Davis was batting .416, but his average fell because of hitless performances in the first game of the tournament, a 12-3 rout of Iowa, and in Thursday's second game, a 10-3 loss to Minnesota.

 

Illinois coach Dan Hartleb knows the end of the tournament may mark the end of Davis' college career.

 

Hartleb projects Davis will be chosen between the third and 10th rounds in next month's major-league draft.

 

Davis was selected by Tampa Bay in the 49th round of the 2003 draft, but the Devil Rays didn't offer him a professional contract so he is eligible again.

 

After graduating from high school, Davis spent his first year of college in Canada at Prairie Baseball Academy, where Illinois assistant coach Eric Snyder recruited him.

 

"I was fortunate," Davis remembered. Snyder "came up for a weekend, and I had a good game at the right time. Illinois was one of the only schools that recruited me."

 

As Hartleb and Snyder anticipated, Davis paid immediate dividends as a sophomore, batting .307 with five homers and 38 RBIs.

 

"We were in need of a catcher, someone who could come in and play right away," Hartleb said. "Lars came in and was a solid player. He's very athletic. He has worked tremendously hard and improved a great deal, which has put him in a situation where he's the best player in the Big Ten and probably is going to have the opportunity to be a fairly high draft pick."

 

Indicative of Davis' athleticism, he excelled in volleyball in high school, helping Grande Prairie Composite win the Alberta provincial tournament and making the all-provincial team.

 

"We didn't really have high school baseball," Davis said. "It was just club ball during the summer. I played 25 or 35 games from late May until early August, and then school started and I went back to volleyball."

 

By Big Ten talent-pool standards, that's a very shallow baseball background.

 

"Within a year's time Lars probably has improved as much as any player we've ever had," Hartleb said.

[danman31]

The Big Ten is a mid-major league in baseball. His numbers are good, but it's not the greatest of competition and as far as I know a hitters' league as well. That said, it's all about defense for catchers. I wouldn't mind taking him in the teens or later, but he's not a top 10 round pick IMO.

[Chisoxfn]

I just want to say....god has Fullerton f***ing choked this year.

[BearSox]

I just want to say....god has Fullerton f***ing choked this year.

Even the softball team blew that one today against Arizona... that one chick took a nice slam into the wall.

[Flash Tizzle]

White Sox hold clear draft philosophy

Intangibles are paramount under direction of Williams

By Scott Merkin / MLB.com.

 

CHICAGO -- Where the White Sox top pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft is concerned, the 25th selection overall, the make-up of said player becomes as important of an intangible as the talent this player possesses.

It's a philosophy that was put forth by general manager Ken Williams throughout much of his seven-year tenure in charge, but was reinforced during last November's organizational meetings. The player needs to exhibit a hard-nosed sort of attitude with the ability to handle the pressure brought about by playing in Chicago.

 

A pitcher, for example, also must possess a little sink or movement within his repertoire in order to combat the dog days of summer at U.S. Cellular Field, when the ball really carries in one of baseball's more hitter-friendly venues. Straight fastballs, at any velocity, just don't work.

 

"We've talked about that before, in that we are looking for a power type arm and pitchers who have high ceilings," White Sox assistant general manager Rick Hahn said. "They may need some degree of correction or instruction, but given our strength in player development, we would be confident he will fit with our organization."

 

The 2007 First-Year Player Draft takes place June 7-8 at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. The first round will be aired on ESPN2 beginning at 2 p.m. ET, and MLB.com will have every pick of the 50-round Draft, start to finish.

 

Following the White Sox top pick at No. 25, they don't select again until pick No. 90 in the second round. They also have three picks in the top 200 (120, 150 and 180), completing the draft's first day after five rounds.

 

This particular system has an abundance of outfield prospects, including Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney and Jerry Owens, not to mention top pitchers such as Gio Gonzalez, Lance Broadway and Adam Russell, who made their presence known during the past Spring Training. The White Sox are short on depth along the middle infield, with Chris Getz standing as the team's best current bet for Major League development, hitting above .300 at Double-A Birmingham.

 

But don't look for the White Sox to draft for need early on, not if a greater talent or better fit for the team is available at another position.

 

"We are looking to take the best available guy," Hahn said. "It's a guy we feel will have the biggest impact at the Major League level, regardless of his position."

 

Of course, with Williams at the helm, some of these top picks eventually could be packaged as part of trades to bring back a needed veteran piece for a White Sox playoff contender. A team rarely, if ever, drafts a player in the first round with the idea of moving him in the next year.

 

Left-handed reliever Royce Ring (White Sox 2002 top pick) served as the exception, when he was traded to the Mets on July 1, 2003 as part of the Roberto Alomar deal. For the White Sox, it's necessary to have the option.

 

"The richest systems are not only used to supply players at the Major League level but to give you an asset to use in a trade to augment the Major League team at a given day," Hahn said.

 

First-Round Picks:

 

2006: Kyle McCulloch, RHP: The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder out of the University of Texas started his Minor League career with a 1-1 record and 1.61 ERA for Great Falls of the Pioneer League last season and was promoted to Class A Winston-Salem, where he finished 2-5 with a 4.08 ERA in seven starts. McCulloch, projected as a middle-of-the-rotation starter of the future for the White Sox, currently has a 3-4 record with a 3.93 ERA over 10 starts for the Warthogs of the Carolina League.

 

2005: Lance Broadway, RHP: A new two-seam fastball that gave Broadway all sorts of trouble during Spring Training has been developing nicely for the right-hander at Triple-A Charlotte, giving him a necessary pitch akin to Jon Garland's sinker. Broadway posted an 8-8 record with a 2.74 ERA in 25 starts for Double-A Birmingham in 2006 and has a 2-1 record with a 3.79 ERA in eight starts as part of the 2007 Knights. If the White Sox were in need of a spot-starter this year, Broadway would be one of the pitchers in consideration for promotion.

 

2004: Josh Fields, 3B: Following a slow start to the 2007 season with Charlotte, Fields has reached base in 23 straight games and raised his average to .283. Fields also has nine home runs, 32 RBIs and six stolen bases. Although an idea to move Fields to the outfield has been temporarily tabled, he is a Major League ready prospect with bona fide big-league power and a solid glove at third base.

 

Rising Fast: Generously listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Gonzalez is not exactly big in regard to physical stature. But with 74 strikeouts and just 19 walks issued in 52 2/3 innings for Double-A Birmingham this season, the southpaw certainly is large in talent. He commands a fastball in the low to mid-90s and has a devastating curve when he throws it for strikes. Gonzalez, a sandwich pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, was re-acquired from the Phillies in December as part of the Freddy Garcia trade after he was traded the year before as part of the Jim Thome deal. He could be a fixture in the 2008 White Sox rotation.

 

Cinderella Story: Getz gradually has worked his way up from a fourth-round pick out of the University of Michigan in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft to the organization's top middle infield prospect. The second baseman has a .316 average and nine stolen bases this season for Double-A Birmingham, with just 17 strikeouts in 155 at-bats.

 

In the Show: Fields (2004 top pick) stands as the only player selected from the last three drafts to reach the Majors for the White Sox. Fields hit .150 over 20 at-bats during a September call-up last season, including a home run in his first Major League at-bat off of Jamie Walker on Sept. 18

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...7&fext=.jsp

 

Emboldened is direct proof of an organizational shift in drafting pitchers. I feel somewhat more confident they won't throw away their first pick. Although this discussion of "hard nosed" players and "intangibles" freightens me.

 

I also love how Merkin mentions the organization's "abundance of outfield prospects," as if that's supposed to mean they're all highly talented.