Chisoxfn Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 2003 Draft Breakdown: 40-31 By Randy Brace, Chris Conger, Mike Doyle, and Jason Gage July 14, 2003 FutureSox.com FutureSox.com will take a closer look at all of the White Sox draft picks. These draft picks are the future of the organization and many will be reporting to their minor league teams after they signed. While many will sign, there are plenty that won't sign as they have opportunities to still play in school or may have another profession in mind. Today FutureSox will continue with picks 40-31. Coming up next is 30-21. 40. Matthew Deuchler, 22 – R/R – C – James Madison College (Senior) Not many scouts knew about Deuchler entering the 2003 season, but he put up a career best .328 average, with five homers and 26 RBIs. The downside was he only played in 35 games -- missing four weeks -- due to a broken arm. Deuchler is a good defensive catcher who may be just coming into his zone offensively. Deuchler finished his career a .304 hitter with 11 homers and 79 RBIs in 134 games. He has already signed and was sent to the Great Falls White Sox of the rookie league. 39. Jason Sullivan, 18 – RHP – Joplin High School No Information at this time period. If you know something about this player and want to contribute to this piece or other pieces, please email us at [email protected] 38. Michael Mendrin, 18 – LHP – Central High School No Information at this time period. If you know something about this player and want to contribute to this piece or other pieces, please email us at [email protected] 37. Neil Geisler, 19 – 3B - L/R – Okaloosa Walton Junior College (Freshman) Neil Geisler, born on November 6, 1983, stands 6'5 and is listed at 175 pounds, although he is a bit heavier than that. He was drafted in the 29th round of the 2002 draft by the White Sox out of Jasper, Indiana, where he was also a very good basketball and tennis player. He is an excellent athlete for his size with a good arm, but is too tall for third, making him more suitable at first, where he spent last season. In the Florida Community College Activities Association, he batted .417, with six homers, 43 RBIs, 14 doubles and five triples in 163 AB (49 games). His five triples and 54 runs scored were both good for third best in the FCCAA, while his 24 stolen bases (out of 25 attempts) was good enough for fourth, which is amazing for someone his size. He is another draft-and-follow possibility as he just finished his freshman year. A good year could bring him 5-10 round money prior to the 2004 draft. Very few baseball players are this athletic at 6'5. 36. Paul Moviel, 20 – RHP – Kishwaukee College (Sophmore) Paul Moviel was the second Moviel to be drafted by the Sox in the 2003 draft. His younger brother Greg was drafted in the 15th round. At Kishwaukee, Moviel was used as both a starter and reliever. He also got some time at first base. Moviel was drafted as a pitcher, most likely a reliever. At 6'6, Moviel has great size for a starter and throws two fastballs, both with good movement . His second best pitch is a slider and he recently added a changeup and curve to his arsenal. Moviel went 25-1 in prep play. While at Kishwaukee he had a 1.56 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 63 innings. He has already signed and was sent to the Great Falls White Sox of the rookie league. 35. Sean Thompson, 22 – LHP – University of California, Santa Barbara (Senior) In the 35th round the White Sox snagged Sean Thompson, a left-handed starter, from UC Santa Barbara. As a senior, Thompson led the Gauchos in wins, starts and innings pitched. Armed with a decent fastball in the 86-87 mph range and a few breaking pitches, Thompson projects as a lefty relief pitcher for the Sox. Sean was also drafted in 2000 by the Texas Rangers in the 27th round. Sean Thompson has signed and is pitching for the Great Falls Sox ®. 34. Scott Martin, 22 – R/R – RF – Delaware State (Senior) The White Sox were not lying when they said they were drafting mainly position players as Delaware State outfielder Scott Martin was the seventh of eight outfielders drafted by the Sox. Martin currently holds Delaware State’s record for home run's (55), RBIs (237), hits, total bases and runs scored. In 2001, Martin received the NCAA Division I leader in RBIs per game award (77 in 44 games). Martin has signed with the White Sox and is playing for the Bristol Sox ®. 33. Alex Acevedo, 18 – S/R – SS – Dr. Carlos Gonzalez High School Alex Acevedo, at 6'1 and a generous 172 pounds, has a classic middle-infield build. He throws right-handed and bats from both sides. He has good fluid mechanics in the field, squares his body well, can turn a double play from both second and short, and has a plus arm, even when on the run. He looks to have some problems getting down to the ball on the move, which is typical for a player his size and age. At the plate, he has a quick and compact swing from the right side that produces a lot of hot liners and grounders, taking advantage of his excellent speed down the line. On the left side, he has a longer swing and can be beaten out over the plate. It is clear that he is a natural right-hander, but with proper coaching, could be a very effective switch-hitter. He has a load of unrefined talent and great instincts. He could end up anywhere on the infield, but is likely to be at either short or second. His offensive game will be the determining factor in his success. 32. Joshua Morgan, 18 – R/R - C – Meridian Community College (Freshman) Joshua Morgan was one of six catchers to be drafted by the Sox on the second day of the draft. Morgan has a good body for a catcher and good power potential. Morgan, a freshman at Meridian, is a potential draft-and-follow player. His school has indicated that he, like Pope, won’t be signing a contract. Most likely Morgan will transfer to a division one school, hoping to improve his stock. His team made the JUCO world series where he hit .300 with two RBIs. Morgan would definitely fill a need in the organization and he does have the talent to be a good catcher, both offensively and defensively. 31. Robert Grinestaff, 18 – C – L/L – C – Jeffersonville High School Robbie Grinestaff was chosen by the Sox in the 31st round. Grinestaff checks in at 5'11 and 185 pounds. He bats left handed and throws right handed as a catcher. Last year at Jeffersonville High School in Indiana, Grinestaff showed plenty of speed if the Sox wanted to switch him to the outfield. But with his good receiving skills and his power potential the Sox will be happy to keep him behind the plate. He projects to be a power-hitting catcher with a good arm and plate blocking skills. Definitions: JUCO - A junior college player. Typically they play two years at a junior college and then transfer to a Division One school if they get a chance. You can draft JUCO players as freshman or sophmores. 2003 Draft Breakdown: 50-41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Are we starting a legion of catchers? How many total catchers did we draft? Is that normal? To be honest I never paid much attention to the baseball draft. Thank you for the insight. I'm printing and saving to see how they turn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KipWellsFan Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Major league baseball seems very thin on catchers and if we have a few productive catchers in our system they could become very valuable. I like the idea of drafting lots of catchers. And besides, we really don't have many good catchers in our system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted July 14, 2003 Author Share Posted July 14, 2003 Typically teams will draft quite a few catchers latter on because so few ever pan out and its a position thats so thin. Also remember that a lot of guys won't end up signing so they aren't really a part of the organization till they sign. One of the catchers, Deuchler (40th or so) is doing very good thus far in the minors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Hey Jason, can I make a suggestion? Can you print the city and state the players are from? I can figure out most of the colleges, but have no idea where the high schools are unless you mention it in the write up (which you sometimes do). Just a thought. And thanks for doing all of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted July 15, 2003 Author Share Posted July 15, 2003 Hey Jason, can I make a suggestion? Can you print the city and state the players are from? I can figure out most of the colleges, but have no idea where the high schools are unless you mention it in the write up (which you sometimes do). Just a thought. And thanks for doing all of this. Ya, starting with the next one I'll find out exactly where the school is located. I'll also go through tomorrow and make changes to the ones that I just did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 Hey Jason, can I make a suggestion? Can you print the city and state the players are from? I can figure out most of the colleges, but have no idea where the high schools are unless you mention it in the write up (which you sometimes do). Just a thought. And thanks for doing all of this. Ya, starting with the next one I'll find out exactly where the school is located. I'll also go through tomorrow and make changes to the ones that I just did. Gracias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MnSoxFan Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 We have only signed 2 catchers and neither of the two we signed were top notch, would have been nice to sign either of the Indiana HS catchers we drafted, but sure we will not now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grebeck Fan Club Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 Any guys we sign have to be better than what we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KipWellsFan Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 Typically teams will draft quite a few catchers latter on because so few ever pan out and its a position thats so thin. Also remember that a lot of guys won't end up signing so they aren't really a part of the organization till they sign. One of the catchers, Deuchler (40th or so) is doing very good thus far in the minors. Yah, Deuchler is doing quite well hitting .405 with 6 RBI and a stolen base in 37 at-bats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishmookie Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 hopefully a couple guys can help down the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.