possible beltran trade tie-in: about a quarter of the yankees picks have gone for catchers. hmm.
7 of the first 8: RHP. i think that's a mistake; imo the yankees should focus on developing position players and fill pitching holes with FA talent.
this was a crap draft, and a terrible year for the yankees to have 4 of the top 42 picks.
mlb has a nice page here http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/draftday/y2004/index.jsp#, check the draft tracker box to the right.
― John (jdahlem), Monday, 7 June 2004 20:50 (twenty-one years ago)
AMATEUR DRAFT
A's picks go for power, patience
Ron Kroichick, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
South Carolina catcher Landon Powell once entered baseball's amateur draft hoping not to get drafted. This time, he was perfectly content to hear the A's call his name with their first choice.
Oakland had four of the top 40 picks in Monday's draft, and the A's followed their history of favoring powerful, patient college players: Powell, Fresno State outfielder Richie Robnett, Stanford outfielder Danny Putnam and Texas pitcher Huston Street. Not a baby-faced high school kid in the bunch.
Powell once fit that description, though his father, Ron, and notorious baseball agent Scott Boras tried a slick maneuver. They had Powell obtain his general equivalency degree (GED) as a high school junior in Apex, N.C. Because Powell already was 18, he became eligible for the draft.
Many major-league teams apparently did not realize Powell was eligible, and even those that did let him go undrafted. That was Boras' plan, hoping Powell would become a free agent -- essentially circumvent the draft.
No clubs were interested enough to offer Powell big money, so he went to South Carolina. He was not taken until the 25th round of last year's draft, after his junior year, partly because he was overweight and partly because of lingering resentment over the high school ploy.
A's scouting director Eric Kubota acknowledged that baseball probably "held it against" Powell.
"I think it took the industry a long time to warm up to him," Kubota said. "But you look at his season, there's not a college catcher in the country who can match up to him."
Powell, a switch hitter, is batting .339 with 19 home runs, 64 RBIs and an A's-friendly on-base percentage of .425. He's playing at 235 pounds now, about 25 pounds lighter than what he weighed after last year's College World Series.
Powell also has cut his ties with Boras.
"I didn't know a whole lot about the situation," Powell said of his dodge-the-draft episode. "My father took control and worked with Scott Boras. I was really in the background. ... In my father's eyes and Boras' eyes, that was the plan (to not get drafted)."
The A's picked Powell with the No. 24 overall choice. Two spots later, they pounced on Robnett, an athletic center fielder.
General manager Billy Beane suggested the players he really coveted were Putnam, whom the A's took at No. 36, and Street, whom they got at No. 40. Beane said Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta and Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told him they would not take Putnam or Street, and Beane guessed other teams would avoid A's-style players.
― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 04:54 (twenty-one years ago)