MVN - Most Valuable Network

This Draft Recap Has Upside

Time to review the first day of the draft.

First Round – Mike Moustakas, 3B/SS

It wouldn’t be a stretch to claim that Moustakas had the best prep career in California history.

With Scott Boras as his representation, there were some feelings prior to the draft that he would fall due to signability concerns. Moustakas also has accepted a scholarship to USC which he can use as leverage in his contract negotiations.

Minor league guru John Sickles ranked Moustakas as the third best hitting prospect in the draft, just ahead of another California prep player, Josh Vitters.

Royals scouting director Daric Ladiner was predictably enthusiastic in his post-pick press conference, describing Moustakas as “an impact bat.” The Royals see him starting his professional career at Idaho Falls and will move up the organizational ladder on an as-needed basis. Ladiner specifically said he did not expect Moustakas to move one level at a time.

Although many feel that Moustakas will ultimately move from shortstop to his more natural position of third base, the Royals plan to keep him at short as long as possible. But how about a move to second base? He’s got some power, and a slugging second baseman would be a nice luxury.

Moustakas is a heck of an athlete. He was quarterback of his high school football team and reportedly has a rocket for an arm. He also moonlighted as a closer for the Chatsworth High team.

Second Round – Sam Runion, RHP

Runion was ranked by Baseball America as the 109 prospect in the draft. He won five of seven decisions with a 2.17 ERA for AC Reynolds HS in Asheville, North Carolina. Most impressive was his 85 to 12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 59 innings.

Here’s what BA had to say about Runion:

Runion offers a good feel for pitching as well as a hard, heavy fastball that sits near 90 mph with good sinking action. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot and tends to drop down, leading to hanging sliders. When he stays on top of his slider, it has hard, late break. He shows feel for a changeup, but profiles best as a durable long reliever or set-up man in the mold of Dan Wheeler.

Third Round – Danny Duffy, LHP

Duffy was ranked as the 73rd best prospect in the draft according to Baseball America. He’s hit 94 mph with his fastball and has a curve and slider. The knock on him is he tires quickly and is unable to maintain his velocity deep into games.

He’s a power left hander who the Royals project as a starter.

Fourth Round – Peter Hodge Nielson, RHP

Nielson (or is it Hodge Nielson?) has “upside” according to Ladiner. He’s hit 94 mph on the gun and features a curve. He doesn’t turn 18 for another week.

Fifth Round – Adrian Ortiz, CF

Ortiz is a speed merchant. He hit .355 with a .387 OBP for Pepperdine this year in a leadoff role. He was successful in 15 of his 16 stolen base attempts.

Ladiner said Ortiz could go “gap to gap” but those hits are singles. The most extra base hits he had in a season of college were 14 as a freshman.

Ortiz was a fifth round pick by the Cubs in 2004, so his stock has remained virtually unchanged. There are some questions about his baseball instincts and he never had a “breakout” season for the Waves.

The Verdict

I’m not surprised the Royals went with Moustakas in the first round. After David Price went to the Devil Rays, the pitching pool became very risky. They never seemed interested in the catcher Matt Weiters or Vitters. He’s not a bad pick, but I wonder how his power will develop as he moves through the system.

Likewise, the pitchers in rounds two, three and four weren’t a big surprise, either. With Dayton Moore in charge, the Royals love to stockpile pitchers. I’m not sold on Runion, but am intrigued by Duffy. And I am a sucker for the left-handed power pitchers.

The Ortiz pick seems to be a bit of a reach. They always seem to go for a “speed” guy around here, with the hope he’ll learn to hit. It’s a long shot that never really seems to pan out.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2007 at 9:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.