Notes On The Amateur Draft

I have a theory about the direction Major League Baseball is headed. More and more, the big-time, massively expensive free agents are becoming a liability. Look at the litany of signings that have disappointed in the last several years--the Barry Zitos, the J.D. Drews, the Andruw Joneses, the Pedro Martinezes. Couple those with the contracts that haven't soured yet but display bright red flags--think Johan Santana, Miguel Cabrera, Alfonso Soriano, etc.

Contrast those free agency flops with the incredible infusion of young talent MLB has seen recently: Jacoby Ellsbury, Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmerman, Alex Gordon, Justin Upton. Jay Bruce has absolutely set baseball on fire in the week since his debut--he's 15 for 26 with 3 HR, 2 SB and 12 runs scored. More than that, he's singlehandedly ignited baseball passion in Cincinnati. Reds fans, always known as some of the greatest in the game, haven't had true hope in decades. They placed their bets on hometown hero Ken Griffey Jr., but his enormous contract and litany of injuries have held the Reds back for years.

What do Bruce, Ellsbury, Braun, Zimmerman, Gordon and Upton have in common? They were all first-round picks in the 2005 MLB Draft. This year's draft is coming up on Saturday, and the House of Georges is going to focus on possible picks for a few noteworthy teams. Long relegated to the agate type of the sports world, the MLB Draft is poised, amidst the new personnel realities of baseball to become the Next Big Thing.

My theory is this: within five years we'll pay as much attention to baseball's selection day as we do to the NBA's, if not the NFL's. This is a wonderful thing, at least for those of us that are inclined to be massive geeks. It's extremely democratic, even socialist, as it allows fans of small-market teams the first crack at the stars of tomorrow--and those stars are appearing in big-league cities faster than ever. Welcome, my friends, to the brave new world of America's Pastime.

While this year's Draft isn't as loaded as the historic 2005 version, it will be the first one ever televised live. The Bay-Rays have the first pick, and if they have a good week they'll be the first team ever--ever!--to have the No. 1 pick at the same time possessing baseball's record.

The Royals are once again ensconced in the Top 5 with the third selection, and my hope is that they won't cheap out or outright blow the pick as the have for the last dozen or so years. If you need a reason to spit on the memory of Allard Baird, his draft record is your most damning evidence.

The Mets and Twins are the only teams with multiple first-round picks, thanks to a pretty cool rule other leagues may look at adopting: you sign my top free agent, I get your first-round pick. So once the Angels and Braves snagged Torii Hunter and Tom Glavine, they yielded their No. 1 selections to the players' former teams. MLB teams are also not allowed to trade draft picks, which is probably good news for fans of win-now-at-all-costs teams like the Yankees.

The Cubs pick at 19, the Rockies at 25, and your defending champ Red Sox are dead last in the first round.

We do have some entertaining names among early prospects: Buster Posey, Justin Smoak, Shooter Hunt, Yonder Alsonso, Kyle Skipworth, Petey Paramore, Ike Davis, Niko Vasquez. And there are of course some famous bloodlines: Rickey Weeks' brother Jemile is a 2B prospect out of Miami, two of Lenny Dykstra's kids are potential first-rounders, and Mark Schlereth's son is a nasty lefty pitcher from the University of Arizona.

There's also this pretty incredible bit: Howie Long has another son, Kyle, who could easily be a No. 1 pick. He's also been offered a full scholarship to play O-Line at Florida State--he's 6-7, 265. But he's elected to play baseball, as a power-hitting, soft-handed first baseman, for the Seminoles instead. I guess having a multi-millionaire Hall of Famer for a dad and the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft for a brother frees you up from making a financially motivated decision as a high school senior. Call it the Cooper Manning Corollary.

And one final note: there is an outfielder from the University of Texas named Kyle Russell who will be picked, most likely in the second or third round. He led the nation in home runs last season and was considered an elite prospect entering this year, but he's regressed quite a bit. Put aside the fact that he matriculates at t.u., which of course makes him a douchetastic fuckstick. Just look at his name. Kyle Russell. I'm pretty sure he'll be forced to give a Mike Piazza "I Like Girls" press conference at some point during his career.