RC's Live Amateur Draft Tracker -- Royals select Hochevar with first pick!
Hochevar (HO-Chay-ver) is 6-5, 205. He was widely regarded as the second-best pitcher available in the 2005 draft out of the University of Tennessee, but he slid to the Dodgers in the sandwich round at #40 due to signability concerns. After a heated contract dispute boiled over, negotiations broke down between Hochevar and the Dodgers, and it became clear that he wouldn't sign. He signed a short-term contract with the independent Fort Worth Cats to showcase his talents this spring, and he did very well, registering an ERA of 2.38 with 34 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22.2 IP.
Hochevar throws a fastball that sits between 90-97 MPH, along with a quality slider, curve, and change-up. He has prototypical size, and word is that he could move very quickly through the system once he signs. There was likely a pre-draft deal, so he could be in a minor league uniform very soon. RC loves this pick, and we can't wait to see what he can do.
To read an earlier RC report on Harold Mozingo, click here. RC loves this pick.
Maddox was listed in Baseball America as a first baseman. RC will investigate.
posted by Dave @ 12:37 PM
45 comments
45 Comments:
Interesting that picks #2 and #3 weren't even people the Royals were considering. Also interesting that they picked a Boras guy. I thought the Royals philosophy had become to stay the hell away from Scott Boras. I guess its a new era...
The Braves don't seem to have had problems with Boras....
Given the Royals' draft history, one can assume that Greg Reynolds for the Rockies will make an impact in a couple of years. The team that picks after the Royals usually gets a great player.
I can't wait to see who the second pick is. Any ideas?
I hate Scott Boras! I have a bad feeling about this.
Some guys still on the board:
Joba Chamberlain
Wes Hodges
Dallas Buck
Im guessing hs pitcher Black from NJ in rd 2
Sorry guys! The site is experiencing difficulty, and I've been unable to update it. I'll keep trying.
Robinson is a great athlete and a solid pick...but will they be able to sign him?
No, I'll have more on them later tonight. And hell yes! I hope we throw a lot of money at Robinson and get that dude signed.
Robinson is listed as having ran a 4.25 40 yard dash in high school by rivals. That is an amazing time and would obviously translate nicely to the outfield and basepaths (time was probably handheld though). I love the idea of getting some speed and excitement in the line-up; I just hope they have an idea about how set he is on playing at Florida.
After reading up on Robinson a little (thanks to the Florida faithful), it sounds like he is definitely ours to have. They said he really wants to sign to play pro baseball and it won't take anything exceptional to get him into our system. They also said he signed to play baseball first and football second.
Early impressions of the draft:
I love Hochevar
I think Jason Taylor might be a nice find
I'm still wondering what's going on with Wood in round 3
Derrick Robinson was a great pick
And Jason Godin was one of the CAA's best pitchers this year, ranking sixth nationally in Ks per 9 innings.
I'd say it's going fairly well right now.
Theres info on Taylor on www.perfectgame.org and do player search.
Taylor is gonna be a OF... the bat is his ticket
what's with this Godin guy?
What a weird draft.
love your draft coverage RC, not to dwell on this pay-for-content issue, but I wasn't planning on subscribing to scout, but sitting here on RC today is making me reconsider.
I'm so fired up about Mozingo. I've been talking about that guy since February, and I was really hoping the Royals would take him.
P.S. check out the A's draft, always interesting.
I really hope they address the draft, bonuses and compensaiotion picks in the next CBA, by far the biggest benificiarys are the big-market teams, it seems like Boston and New York have had at least 7 picks each in the first two rounds for the last few years. And it's always disapionting to see guys drop to them beacause of signability, like Craig Hansen last year
Funny thing is, I didn't even want to drive all the way to Farmville (well over 100 miles away) to see him that day, but Chris Ray convinced me to do it. And I was bored anyway.
We're at just as many OFs now (3) as we are Ps. Doesn't make much sense, as our best-stocked position in the Farm System is... OF.
I suppose the last 2/3rds of the draft will be projectible pitching to draft and follow, and college organization players, but...
We're at just as many OFs now (3) as we are Ps. Doesn't make much sense, as our best-stocked position in the Farm System is... OF.
I suppose the last 2/3rds of the draft will be projectible pitching to draft and follow, and college organization players, but...
I think the Royals have to take the best player on their board, position be damned.
They don;t have the luxery of drafting to fill holes this early.
I like the drafting of Josh Cribbs.
I might have a photo of him...I'll check
any info on Cribbs?
any big name guys falling due to signabiliy etc?
LaPorta is still on the board.
check out Bristow's stats from Aubrun last year:
http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2005-2006/histcarr.html#5
/255/.310/.296
I was strongly in favor of the royals throwing god money at this kid to sign him, looks like they were right in staying away.
Although, maybe they were more interested in him as a pitcher.
Sorry, no info or photos on Cribb. I got a couple of shots of his back, but nothing worth publishing. All I know is that he's a senior with very good stats pitching for one of the best two teams in the country. I like the pick.
Yeah, Wood really is the question mark, isn't he? Everything else looks pretty solid to me so far.
Given Baird's recent draft History, and the idea that he influenced a number of these picks, I'll given him the benifit of the doubt with Wood, he could be another Butler, Bianchi type guy. Still I supposed they could have waited a couple rounds to pick him.
Here's to Moore building a better international system as well! Looking at some other teams top propsect lists it's apparent how the Royal's lack of an international pressence is hurting the team
If we want power, I see that both Matt LaPorta and Alex D'Alessio remain on the board.
Kalish would have been nice, I love these VA guys.
Looks like Maddox played third base this season for Southern Miss, hitting .313 with 18 HR. Interesting that the Royals drafted him as a second baseman.
Van Stratten hit .498 with 13 triples. Looks like another speed/defense guy.
Meramec CC is where my nephew attends and plays baseball. I'll try to get some more info from him.
We seem to be stocking up on right handed pitchers. Where's the lefties?
Upp, there's the lefty. Kinda skinny.
As you know, LaPorta was hurt for a good deal of the season, and he wound up hitting under .250, I believe. I'm still surprised he hasn't been taken yet. If memory serves, I think he might have been one of the guys represented by Boras, so that might be holding teams back.
Hey guys...we're working on something really exciting that will blow everyone away, so please bear with us. It will be a bit before we continue with our draft updates.
royalsbeliever,
we drafted a bunch of very solid catching prospects last year (thiebault,howell, etc.), so it doesn't seem to be a priority in the early rounds this year.
Nice job guys, this is cool seeing the guys being picked. this pick in the 15th round is taking a while.
I'm pleased to announce that we've just interviewed Luke Hochevar, and we'll have a transcript of the full interview available for you shortly.
I'll start updating the picks again.
Trone wilson a HS SS is the 15th pick
Laporta went to the red sox.
doesn;t matter really, he's almost certainly going back to school now I'd think.
Matthew Morizio catcher, Northeastern University
found this link from Royalboard http://gonu.com/baseball/morizio.shtml about Morizio
MLB.com has an interview with Deric Ladnier available talking about Hochevar.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this draft. I think the 2nd and 3rd round picks Jason Taylor and Blake Wood were big time reaches. But they did a nice job populating our minors with polished college pitchers with great K-BB numbers that should move quickly, and athletic, speedy outfielders with good plate discipline. I think Harold Mozingo could be the absolute steal of this draft. Marc Maddox has a chance to be pretty good. There is a lot to like about this draft and I'm excited about the future of this franchise for the first time in awhile.
2008 KC Rotation
1. FA
2. Zach Greinke
3. Luke Hochevar
4. Denny Bautista
5. J.P. Howell
Billy Buckner and Andrew Sisco are still possibilities as well!
Post a Comment
<< Home