The Major League Baseball Draft is a paradox, an event dealing in instant gratification mixed with years of waiting. Never was that more evident than during Tuesday’s first round where highly-rated recruits plummeted out of the first round and lower ranked players zoomed up the draft order.
Matt Hobgood, Norco
Photo by Louis Lopez
A total of 15 high school players were chosen in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, including seven pitchers and eight position players. Donovan Tate of Cartersville, Ga., was the top high school player chosen, picked by the San Diego Padres with the No. 3 pick. Matthew Hobgood of Norco, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, was the top pitcher selected, chosen with the fifth pick by the Baltimore Orioles.
However as the draft played out during the day, it became obvious that some of the nation’s top players were not going to be chosen among the top 32 picks. Part of the reason for the slide is signability. A player has a college commitment and asks for a certain dollar figure on a signing bonus that will make it worth forgoing the college education in order to play in the minor leagues.
Some teams refuse to match a prospect’s signing offer and simply move on to the next player. Thus the need for instant gratification for a player who won’t see the big leagues for two to three years.
Among the 24 five-star prospects identified by Baseball America earlier this year, only 13 were chosen among the top 111 picks made during the first three rounds Tuesday. Among the notable players not chosen included a quartet of outstanding catchers in Yuba City’s Max Stassi, Coppell’s Jonathan Walsh, Troup County’s Luke Bailey and Eagle View Academy’s Austin Maddox.
While the five-star catchers experienced the rocky side of the draft, a pair of Texas outfielders reaped the benefits. Randal Grichuk of Lamar Consolidated moved into the first round, taken with the 24th pick by the Los Angeles Angels. Grichuk has the power to hit at the big league level, belting 21 home runs this year to rank as the national leader according to MaxPreps.
Meanwhile outfielder Slade Heathcott of Texas High School in Texarkana was a surprising pick by the New York Yankees considering that Heathcott had ACL surgery during football season.
Hobgood was another feel good story. Projected near the bottom of the first round, the Norco pitcher, who also led the nation in home runs with 21, moved up to the top after impressing Baltimore Oriole officials earlier this month. On Monday, Hobgood was named the National Gatorade Player of the Year.
Hobgood went one spot ahead of East Paulding’s Zach Wheeler, who went to the San Francisco Giants with the No. 6 pick. The Giants have made a habit out of selecting pitchers in the first round as Wheeler joins a growing list that includes Tim Lincecum and minor league players Tim Alderson and Madison Bumgarner.
Jacob Turner of Westminster Christian Academy landed at the No. 9 spot to the Detroit Tigers. Turner has one of the top strikeout ratios in the country, averaging over two strikeouts per inning.
Tyler Matzek of Capistrano Valley was projected to go among the top five picks, but he ended up going to the Colorado Rockies at No. 11. Matzek capped his high school career over the weekend by picking up the win and hitting a home run for the only score in a 1-0 victory over Edison in the Southern Section Div. 1 championship game. Matzek has one of the top fastballs in the draft, often hitting near 97 mph.
The Texas Rangers didn’t have to go far to find their first pick. Matthew Purke of Klein went to the Texas team with the No. 14 pick. Although Purke did not have the same stellar statistics he exhibited as a junior when he struck out 147 batters, he still gives the Rangers one of the best young left-handed pitchers in the country.
Bobby Borchering was one of four infielders chosen in the first round, three of which hailed from Florida. Borchering is a third baseman from Bishop Verot and was considered the top non-pitcher in the Sunshine State. He went to the Arizona Diamondbacks with the No. 16 pick.
Other Florida infielders chosen included shortstop Nick Franklin of Lake Brantley at No. 27 to Seattle and second baseman Levon Washington of Buchholz to Tampa Bay with the 30th pick.
The only other high school infielder selected was Jiovanni Mier of Bonita with the 21st pick by the Houston Astros.
New Jersey native Mike Trout of Millville was the lone high school athlete in attendance at the MLB draft site. He celebrated his selection by the Angels with the 25th pick in front of the cameras and the press on the MLB Network.
The only other pitchers chosen included Chad James, a lefthander from Yukon and Shelby Miller, a right-handed pitcher from Brownwood. The Marlins chose James with the 18th pick and Miller went to the St. Louis Cardinals with the No. 19 selection.
Texas had the most first-round selections among high school players with four while California and Florida each had three, Georgia had two and Oklahoma, Missouri and New Jersey had one apiece.
