Kansas Baseball draft round-up
by James Quinn on Jun 11, 2009 6:06 PM CDT
in Kansas Jayhawk Baseball
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Kansas had four current players and two signees selected in this week's MLB draft:
David Narodowski - 15th round by Arizona
Shawn Blackwell - 24th round by Texas
Shaeffer Hall - 25th round by the Yankees
Paul Smyth - 35th round by Oakland
Tanner Poppe - 37th round by Kansas City
Brian Heere - 48th round by Boston
Blackwell and Poppe are both incoming freshman pitchers. Both are highly regarded. I have no idea what Blackwell's chances of signing with Texas are versus his coming to Kansas in the Fall. I understand that Poppe was leaning towards coming to Kansas but his selection by Kansas City might complicate that situation. Poppe is from Girard High School in Kansas, and the Royals have a recent history of paying over slot signing bonuses to late picks, so my confidence in him coming to KU is a bit diminished from where it was prior to the draft.
Two draft eligable players I was surprised not to see selected are Preston Land and Buck Afenir. Both might sign as undrafted free agents this week. Preston was drafted by the Twins out of high school and always attracted a fair amount of scouting interest during his time at KU. After a very impressive freshman season Land's struggled to rediscover his power stroke. He hit for low average and struck out often during his final three years at KU. Despite his unimpressive plate numbers I still expected to see him go in the draft due to his size, his good plate judgement and his plus defensive skills at first base.
Buck Afenir has always hit well for a catcher. Hell, Buck has always hit well for any position on this field. His defensive skills improved noticeably during the last year and a half. Afenir threw out 11 of 34 base stealers this season and was a favorite among the pitching staff due to his game calling, leadership and ability to block balls in the dirt. I came to believe Buck could stick at catcher in the pros. Given his offensive skills - he hit .333/.382/.534 his senior year - I fully expected him to be drafted and am rather surprised he was not taken.
A few other players drafted of interest to Jayhawk nation: Beau Stoker (SS of Bishop Ward HS); Connor Crumbliss(2B Sr. at Emporia State), Stephen Cilladi (C Sr. at Kansas Wesleyan), Chad Duling (SS at Bishop Carroll High School), Michael Morin (RHP at Shawnee Mission South High), Jeffrey Soptic (RHP at Shawnee Mission East High) and Vidal Nuno (LHP at Baker College). Morin and Soptic were both taken by the Royals. I love seeing some of the NAIA players like Cilladi and Nuno called. There are quite a few NAIA teams in the mid-west and often they have more than a few decent players on their rosters.
Major League organizations have until August 15th to come to terms with drafted players. Should they fail to sign the players before the deadline they go back into the draft pool the following year.
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Poppe and Blackwell.
Tanner Poppe will be offered $10,000 or less. I hope that he comes to KU, as the chance of a 37th round pick making the Bigs is about zero. He is a great raw talent that has little experience playing at a high level of baseball. Three years of Big 12 baseball under Coach Graves will answer any questions about whether he has a shot at being a successful Pro player. Blackwell, depending on his upside, which seems to be quite good, may be offered above slot money at his 24th Round position. Both of these players would be a strong addition to the existing KU staff.
ummm
whattya mean? whats wrong with this post?
1) the Royals aren’t going insult him with a $10k offer. they probably drafted him as a backup plan in case contract talks with one of their first couple picks go downhill. they’ll probably either offer him $500k plus (or whatever he wants), or not offer anything at all.
2) being a 37th round pick doesn’t diminish his talent. Poppe has plenty of it. if he does sign, they’re not going to be “ooo…well…he’s a 37th round pick! let’s hold him back!”
3) going to school would probably DECREASE his chances of making it. going and getting professional coaching right away would be ideal for him if the big leagues are is goal. plus he wouldn’t learn any bad habits that just get you by in college. sure, he might make more money in 3 years if he goes to KU, but it’s not going to increase his chances of making it. talent is talent…going to school isn’t going to increase or decrease his natural talent.
baseball rules.
Tanner Poppe
I am not saying that he isn’t talented but I am saying that very few 37th round picks make it to the majors. In fact, less than 10% of all players drafted make it to the Bigs. From what I have read he has a lot of talent but I don’t ever recall too many if any 37th round picks being offered $500,000 to sign. A player such a Tanner can only improve his draft stock if he can show that he can pitch successfully in one of the top three college conferences. I guess, that I am biased and I would rather see him pitching for the Jayhawks than for some Rookie or Low A Major league affiliate. It would be indeed a bright future for the Hawks to bring in players such as Blackwell and Poppe,
I would have to disagree with you on College decreasing his chances of making the Bigs or improving his stock. In the 2008 draft 38 of the draft picks in the top three rounds (1st Round, 1st Round supplemental and 2nd round) were not even drafted out of High School. Obviously, college baseball helped all of these 38 players become what was perceived as one of the top 80 or so players entering the realm of Professional baseball in the year they were drafted.
Baseball is a business. Major league teams don’t care about insulting someone. They want to get the best player they can for the least amount of investment.
Tanner Poppe
I think if Tanner were to come to KU we might only have him for two years before he is drafted. I think, based on his birthdate, that he would be draft eligible again in the June draft immediately following his sophomore season.
Off for a few days
We are off to a wedding this weekend and I don’t know that I’ll be on the internet for the next few days. If you read about any signings or other draft news please leave a comment here.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
Narodowski
Dave Narodowski has signed with the Diamondbacks. He is already in Arizona where he will work out for a week and then be sent to one of the Single A clubs. Good Luck Dave!!
Good luck to Dave as well,
And DAMN IT! as well.
I wish Narodowski all the luck and sucess in the world, but I really was hoping he would stick around for another year.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
According to a comment at Athletic’s Nation Paul Smyth signed a contract yesterday.
If this is accurate that means that four of the five KU players offered professional contracts signed (Smyth, Narodowski, Afenir and Hall). As far as I know Blackwell and Poppe have not signed contracts so they are both still headed to Lawrence. Signing deadline is August 15th.
Brian Heere is the only current drafted player to not sign to this point.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
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