Steer verbally committed to the University of OR as a sophomore, but is ranked No. 85 by Baseball America for California draft-eligible players, so he’s expected to be selected in the fourth OR fifth round.
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With no consensus No. 1 talent this year, there was plenty of suspense right up until the pick was announced. Whether the Phillies chose right remains to be seen but as of now Moniak goes down in draft history as the eighth high-school outfielder to be a first pick.
Kevin Gowdy, a tall, projectable right-handed pitcher out of Santa Barbara HS in California, was selected by the Phillies to open the draft’s second round Thursday night. “It’s always a kid’s dream to get draft by a major league team, but to be the No. 1 pick – it’s insane”.
For the nation’s top team, Puk is 2-3 with a 3.21 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 70 innings. He was vying to become the highest Iowan ever selected, trying to pass Marshalltown native Jeff Clement, who was the third overall pick in 2005.
Most of the Florida players eligible to be drafted will be selected at some point over the next two days. We’ve got interest in several hitters and several college pitchers, and a couple of high school pitchers. Shore hasn’t been charged with a loss since April 2015, and has thrown complete games against Miami, Georgia, and Vanderbilt in 2016, with the wins over the Hurricanes and Bulldogs coming via shutout. Among prominent high school players, Trinity Christian pitcher/outfielder JC Flowers will likely be the first prep player off the board. “I use my speed to help that out, but I’d definitely say hitting”. Like I said, there was definite separation between him and others as far as the opinions of our people. The Houston Astros took Texas high-school right-hander Forrest Whitley with the 17th choice, and the Texas Rangers grabbed left-hander Cole Ragans of North Florida Christian in Tallahassee in No. 30. The right-handed high school player can crank it up to 100 miles per hour and has an exceptional change-up, power curve and tough slider. “I’m a big believer that you cannot teach somebody how to pitch”.
But Puk, a left-hander, still ended up going high in the first round, sixth overall to the Oakland Athletics. He was college teammates with the A’s first-round pick, A.J. Puk.
A potential top-10 pick at the start of the spring, Buddy Reed saw his draft stock slip considerably this spring with a sub-par.255/.358/.397 for the Gators. Strasburg is 9-0 with a 2.85 ERA.
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When asked at what time the Phillies came to the conclusion Moniak was their guy, a smirking Klentak confirmed that they made the decision “pretty close to the time that we made the actual selection” Thursday night. Rounds 3-10 are Friday, followed by 11-40 on Saturday.
