Tuesday

RC's Live Amateur Draft Tracker -- Royals select Hochevar with first pick!



  • Round 1 (1): Luke Hochevar, RHP -- Fort Worth Cats (IND)

    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.


  • Round 2 (45): Jason Taylor, SS -- Floyd E Kellam HS (VA)


  • Round 3 (77): Blake Wood, RHP -- Georgia Tech


  • Round 4 (107): Derrick Robinson, OF -- Pk Younge Laboratory School (FL)


  • Round 5 (137): Jason Godin, RHP -- Old Dominion University


  • Round 6 (167): Harold Mozingo, RHP -- Virginia Commonweath University

    To read an earlier RC report on Harold Mozingo, click here. RC loves this pick.


  • Round 7 (197): Brett Bigler, OF -- UC Riverside


  • Round 8 (227): Josh Cribb, RHP -- Clemson University


  • Round 9 (257): Marc Maddox, 2B? -- University of Southern Mississippi

    Maddox was listed in Baseball America as a first baseman. RC will investigate.


  • Round 10 (287): Nicholas Van Stratten, OF -- St. Louis CC Meramec


  • Round 11 (317): William Chambliss, RHP -- Florida State University


  • Round 12 (347): Everett Teaford, LHP -- Georgia Southern University


  • Round 13 (377): Kurt Mertins, 2B -- College of the Desert


  • Round 14 (407): Daniel Best, RHP -- University of Southern Mississippi


  • Round 15 (437): Nicholas Francis, OF -- Pensacola JC


  • Round 16 (467): Tyrone Wilson, SS -- Southern Durham HS (NC)


  • Round 17 (497): Matthew Morizo, C -- Northeastern University


  • Round 18 (527): Chase Larsson, OF -- Kitsilano Secondary School
  • 58 Comments:

    At 6/06/2006 1:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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...

     
    At 6/06/2006 1:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    The Braves don't seem to have had problems with Boras....

     
    At 6/06/2006 1:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 1:39 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    I can't wait to see who the second pick is. Any ideas?

     
    At 6/06/2006 1:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I hate Scott Boras! I have a bad feeling about this.

     
    At 6/06/2006 1:45 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    Some guys still on the board:

    Joba Chamberlain
    Wes Hodges
    Dallas Buck

     
    At 6/06/2006 1:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Im guessing hs pitcher Black from NJ in rd 2

     
    At 6/06/2006 2:34 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    Sorry guys! The site is experiencing difficulty, and I've been unable to update it. I'll keep trying.

     
    At 6/06/2006 3:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Hey Dave, I'm assuming that you couldn't find anything interesting on Wood or Taylor.

    Royals Mania

     
    At 6/06/2006 3:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Sweet, Derrick Robinson is OURS!

    Royals Mania

     
    At 6/06/2006 3:24 PM, Blogger DL said...

    Robinson is a great athlete and a solid pick...but will they be able to sign him?

     
    At 6/06/2006 3:28 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 3:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 3:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:02 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Same thoughts here, Dave. With the strikeout totals for Godin, I'm wondering if he has a high-90s fastball or what kind of a strikeout pitch he uses to get people out.

    Royals Mania

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I would like to say also, that the Royals need to make sure they think EVERY pick through. As far as I'm concerned, no pick is less important than the others. You've got a chance to find some late round gems if you try, like when Billy Beane found Papelbon in like the 40th some round a few years ago.

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Theres info on Taylor on www.perfectgame.org and do player search.

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Taylor is gonna be a OF... the bat is his ticket

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:39 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I'm sure you're very happy now in 20-20 hindsight that you got a peak of him earlier.

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:48 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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...

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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...

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Does anyone know of a Justin Bristowish player of this season that maybe the Royals could try to give 2nd round money for?

     
    At 6/06/2006 4:53 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I like the drafting of Josh Cribbs.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:01 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    I might have a photo of him...I'll check

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:09 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:16 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    Yeah, Wood really is the question mark, isn't he? Everything else looks pretty solid to me so far.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:18 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    If we want power, I see that both Matt LaPorta and Alex D'Alessio remain on the board.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Kalish would have been nice, I love these VA guys.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:31 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I wonder if Dayton Moore is having some say in these picks, they seem like pretty wise choices.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I can't believe were this far, and no catcher has been chosen. Very disappointing.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    We seem to be stocking up on right handed pitchers. Where's the lefties?

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Tyler Chambliss?

    from Florida State(Tyler Chambliss)

    12-4, 2.97 ERA, 117 K in 115 IP, 1 CG, 50 walks

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Upp, there's the lefty. Kinda skinny.

     
    At 6/06/2006 5:57 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I have found some information on Kurt Mertins. He hit .387 in 155 ABs, with 4 HRs, 9 triples, five doubles, he had 37 stolen bases, 24 walks and strikeouts, 60 hits, and 42 RBIs. Sounds like a speedy middle-infielder that might be converted to shortstop if we need someone there.

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Let me just say that LaPorta had 24 HRs last season

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Daniel Best who we just selected was a second-team NCBWA division 1 all-american in 2005

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:16 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:37 PM, Blogger iberoyalsfan said...

    Nice job guys, this is cool seeing the guys being picked. this pick in the 15th round is taking a while.

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:40 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    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.

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Why has no one taken Matt LaPorta, I'm getting VERY mad lol

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:41 PM, Blogger iberoyalsfan said...

    Trone wilson a HS SS is the 15th pick

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Laporta went to the red sox.

    doesn;t matter really, he's almost certainly going back to school now I'd think.

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:54 PM, Blogger iberoyalsfan said...

    Matthew Morizio catcher, Northeastern University

     
    At 6/06/2006 6:56 PM, Blogger iberoyalsfan said...

    found this link from Royalboard http://gonu.com/baseball/morizio.shtml about Morizio

     
    At 6/06/2006 7:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    MLB.com has an interview with Deric Ladnier available talking about Hochevar.

     
    At 6/07/2006 10:07 AM, Blogger ASMR Review said...

    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!

     

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