Thornwood`s Cliff Floyd was selected by Montreal with the No. 14 pick in the first round of Monday`s amateur draft, and sounded like he`s ready to take French lessons.
Floyd, a 6-foot-4-inch, 225-pound first baseman and the Tribune Player of the Year as a junior in 1990, had made a verbal commitment to Creighton, but said Monday that he believes he can work out an agreement to sign with the Montreal organization.
”I`ll probably switch from first base to the outfield to take advantage of my speed,” he said.
Though rated as the top high school power prospect by Baseball America, Floyd said he feels his underrated quickness is his biggest asset.
”I know that they picked me for my power,” Floyd added. ”But with my speed, I think I can find a new position in the outfield and work my way to the top.”
The last Chicago-area first-round selection was Simeon outfielder Jeffrey Jackson, who was taken No. 4 by Philadelphia in 1989.
With the big news in Montreal being the firing of manager Buck Rodgers, the Expos were a little late in letting Floyd know he was their first-round selection. He was informed by a reporter instead.
Floyd entered Monday`s Class AA sectional title game hitting over .520 with 9 home runs and 67 runs batted in, after an All-State season last year
(13 homers, 61 RBIs).
The Cubs had a chance at taking Floyd with their No. 12 pick. Instead, they opted for a more defensive-oriented outfielder in Doug Glanville of Penn. Montreal was considered the favorite to take Floyd, since General Manager Dave Dombrowski is a Richards High grad and still has close ties in the south suburbs. The Expos scout the area well.
With Floyd as their leader, Thornwood was ranked No. 1 for most of the 1990 season before falling in the regionals, and have been No. 1 all this season.
Simeon shortstop Shawn Livsey, who was considered a Top 12 prospect by Baseball America, wound up as Houston`s first ”sandwich pick” (extra selections for teams who lost free agents; in this case, Class A free agent Danny Darwin). He was the No. 29 pick overall.
”He expected to be drafted a little higher,” said Simeon assistant coach Bill Parker, Livsey`s guardian. ”It`s a little crazy, but he`s still basically a first rounder. Shawn just wanted to be drafted and start playing, and he`ll make it from there.”
