While the Cubs’ selection of Ben Christensen fueled the talk-show fires, the White Sox provided the lasting story of the 1999 draft. The Tribune forecast that at the time, saying the Sox “may have quietly put together one of the best classes in the history of the baseball draft.”
This time around that assessment applies to the Cubs. They used supplemental picks awarded for the defection of free agents Rondell White, David Weathers and Todd Van Poppel to put together a draft class with great promise.
It may even be better than the Sox’s ’99 class, which includes pitchers Dan Wright, Jon Rauch, Matt Ginter and Corwin Malone. If top pick Jason Stumm makes a successful recovery from Tommy John surgery, it will look even better.
Baseball America’s Allan Simpson, the Mel Kiper of amateur baseball, rates the Cubs and Indians as having made the best hauls in last week’s draft.
Rutgers’ Bobby Brownlie, who began this season ranked as a favorite to be selected first overall, slid to the Cubs, who were picking 21st. They followed up that choice with three more potential big-league starters with the free-agent compensation picks–Ball State lefty Luke Hagerty, Purdue’s Chadd Blasko and Orange Coast Junior College’s Matt Clanton–and then got Dunedin (Fla.) High School first baseman Brian Dopirak with a second-round pick they obtained after the Mets signed Weathers.
There were no Mark Priors in the draft, but the five players the Cubs selected in the top 56 picks are all potential impact guys. Brownlie and Blasko are represented by Scott Boras, which could mean they’ll be tough to sign, but the Cubs believe they’ll get deals done. The 6-7 Hagerty and the 6-6 Blasko are the type of raw prospects pitching coaches love.
Dopirak bears watching. He hit .490 with 11 homers and 51 RBIs in 100 at-bats against quality competition and was rated as having the best pure power among high school hitters.
“A scout told me he’ll either be a 50-home run guy in the majors or someone who strikes out a ton and flames out in Double A,” Simpson says. “No middle ground.”
Like the Cubs, Cleveland got lucky when Stanford lefty Jeremy Guthrie–who handed Prior his only loss in 2001–slid down from the top 10, largely because of the Boras factor. He could beat Pittsburgh’s Bryan Bullington, the draft’s top pick, to the big leagues in 2003.
After taking Guthrie with the 22nd pick, the Indians landed highly regarded high school players Matt Whitney, a third baseman, and Micah Schilling, a second baseman, with compensation picks. Cleveland added another top college pitcher, Villanova right-hander Brian Slocum, in the second round and Stanford outfielder Jason Cooper in the third round. Cooper was rated as the top power hitter among college players in the draft.
Boras was aghast that his cozy relationship with Tom Hicks didn’t pan out for Brownlie or Guthrie. Despite a need for young pitching, the Texas Rangers bypassed the two college aces to take University of South Carolina shortstop Drew Meyer with their pick in the first round, which was the only one they had in the first five rounds.
Texas scouting director Grady Fuson shied away from Brownlie and Guthrie because of their reported $5 million asking price as well as questions about Brownlie’s health and Guthrie’s workload. Stanford got 1341/3 innings out of Guthrie this year, including 13 innings and 144 pitches in a regional playoff game.
Up and running: Pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii and Eric Gagne appear headed to Milwaukee for the All-Star Game. But the Dodgers’ emergence as a strong playoff contender has more to do with run scoring than run prevention.
After averaging a Cubs-like 3.5 runs in their first 41 games, the Dodgers were scoring 6.6 runs per game in their last 18 entering the weekend. Slow starters Shawn Green (.400-10-20 in his last 16 games) and Eric Karros (.347-3-18 in his last 19 games) have fueled the recent surge.
With first-year GM Dan Evans in charge, and Fox writing the checks, Los Angeles figures to be active in pursuing midseason additions. After all, the Dodgers are tired of being reminded that they haven’t been to the playoffs since 1996 or won a playoff game since 1988.
If Omar Daal can pitch well enough as the fifth starter to help offset Kevin Brown’s absence, Evans can use his resources to upgrade at second base. Mark Grudzielanek is hitting .242 and has a history of late-season fades.
Prospective free agent Ray Durham is a possibility with the White Sox having at least four in-house possibilities to take over at second–Tony Graffanino, Jose Valentin and Triple-A candidates Willie Harris (.302, 21 stolen bases) and Tim Hummel (.242, team-high 25 walks)–and third baseman Joe Crede ready for a promotion. Given the Sox’s defensive problems, it makes little sense to bench Royce Clayton to play Valentin and Graffanino at short.
Making headlines: Lou Piniella may have found a way to upstage the World Cup in Japan. He did what former Japanese manager Bobby Valentine suggested last year, dropping batting champ Ichiro Suzuki from leadoff to the No. 3 hole for three games.
Suzuki went a sizzling 8-for-14 and the misfiring Mariners ( 9-10 since May 18) won two out of three. But all eight hits were singles, prompting Piniella to move him back into the leadoff spot Wednesday with Bret Boone back in the No. 3 spot.
Suzuki said he did not change his style because of the move.
“I cannot change,” said Suzuki, who hit his first homer Thursday.
Piniella didn’t want him to change, either. The reigning MVP is putting up better numbers than he did a year ago. His on-base percentage was up 73 points entering the weekend, in large part because it took him only 57 games to equal his 2001 total of 30 walks.
Homegrown Yanks: Brian Cashman may yet make a deal for an outfielder but the Yankees at least will give 23-year-old Juan Rivera a look in right field. He’ll share right with John Vander Wal, replacing Shane Spencer as a platoon partner.
Rivera has the same aggressiveness at the plate as Alfonso Soriano.
“He has something that you can’t teach,” Joe Torre said of Rivera, who was hitting .328 with six homers and 33 RBIs with Triple-A Columbus. “He has the ability to hit the ball to all fields. He seems to have the ability to make adjustments during a time at bat. I had said that about Soriano.”
When Rivera plays right, the Yankees can have homegrown players in six of the nine lineup spots. The others–Jorge Posada at catcher, Soriano at second, Derek Jeter at short, Bernie Williams in center and Nick Johnson as the designated hitter.
Rarity: Has Jerry Reinsdorf ever been more prescient than when he decided not to sign Wilson Alvarez to a long-term deal?
When Alvarez beat Toronto on Tuesday, it was his first victory in 1,010 days. He hadn’t won since Aug. 29, 1999, missing two years after surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff.
“It has been frustrating,” Alvarez said. “When they signed me, they trusted me. They thought I was going to be there every five days and I haven’t been. I owe them. I feel I have to go out there and do the best I can because that’s the only way to pay them back.”
At this point, it’s a little late for paybacks. Alvarez has given the woeful Devil Rays 16 victories and 322 innings while cashing more than $28 million in checks. He will have earned $35.35 million when his five-year deal ends at the end of the summer. Compared to Alvarez, Jaime Navarro was a bargain.
Well connected: First-round picks Prince Fielder (Milwaukee) and John Mayberry Jr. (Seattle) were hardly the only draft picks with baseball names.
Houston selected UNLV outfielder Jason Reuss, the son of Iowa pitching coach Jerry Reuss, in the 11th round. Cincinnati selected Rice shortstop/DH Jose Enrique Cruz in the 13th round.
Then there were the incestuous picks. Atlanta selected shortstop Jonathan Schuerholz, son of GM John Schuerholz, in the eighth round; the Astros selected pitcher-outfielder Shawn Williams, manager Jimy Williams’ son, in the 35th round, and first baseman Freddie Thon, son of scout Dickie Thon, in the 43rd round; the Dodgers selected third baseman Jon Riggleman, son of bench coach Jim Riggleman, in the 37th round, and the White Sox selected second baseman Anthony Manuel, manager Jerry Manuel’s son, in the 48th round.
Whispers: Despite that 7-1 record, Pedro Martinez is winning as much with his reputation as his stuff, which has been subpar all year. . . . With Juan Gonzalez starting to hit and the Rangers still losing, Jerry Narron could be the seventh manager to be made a scapegoat since the start of spring training. John Hart has a replacement ready in coach Terry Francona. . . . The Padres are trying an interesting tactic to hold down signing bonuses. Twelve of their first 22 picks were college seniors, who don’t have the option to go back to college. Overall, the size of bonuses is expected to drop, reflecting both borderline talent at the top of the draft and industry-wide belt-tightening. . . . For the first time in their history the Brewers are not playing the White Sox. . . . The Cardinals are 5-0 with Jason Simontacchi starting. . . . The Braves’ Javy Lopez is close to losing his starting job to Henry Blanco.
The last word: “Of all the games I’ve seen him pitch, that was the least `stuff’ I’ve ever seen him have. Even in the warm-up pitches it was different. When Pedro Martinez warms up, you can usually hear that mitt.”–Tigers bench coach Felipe Alou, becoming the latest to say Martinez has built his 7-1 record with mirrors.
