Aug. 16, 2007

By Douglas Kroll

CSTV.com

	DOUG KROLL Doug Kroll is an editor for CSTV.com, focusing on baseball. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- BASEBALL 1/17: So Cool In SoCal 1/10: Starting With Not Such A Clean Slate 1/3: Closing the Gap 12/27: For Starters 12/20: Second Is Just Fine 12/13: Not Short On Talent 12/06: Stars In The Outfield 11/29: Staying Hot On The Hot Corner 11/23: First Thing Is First 11/16: Best Backstops 11/08: Engineering Perfection 11/01: Up The Coast 10/25: Sun Devils Best In Fall 10/18: Taking The Plunge 10/11: Tourney Time 10/4: Red Raider Savior 9/27: Not Fooling Around 9/20: Continuing To Right The Ship 9/13: Flying Back With The Ducks? 9/6: Same Faces, New Places 8/30: More And More Like MLB 8/23: Laying Down A Full House 8/16: No Hitch At Deadline 8/9: College Homerun Kings 8/2: Bringing The Tradition Back 7/23: Cape Cod Update - All-Star Edition 7/19: Bringing The Quack Back 7/17: Summer League Update - Week 5 7/6: A Ride On A Carousel 7/2: Summer League Update - Week 3 6/28: Omaha In Review 6/26: Summer League Update - Week 2 6/25: Second Time As Good As First 6/21: Back In The Saddle 6/20: Series On The Line 6/19: Expect the Unexpected 6/19: Planting Seeds...Again 6/18: Cape Cod Summer League Update 6/18: Cards On Their Heels 6/17: Pac-10 Showdown 6/17: Is It April Or June? 6/16: Seeds of Success 6/16: Sunday, Bloody Sunday 6/15: Final Chapter For Price 6/13: Omaha in the Cards 6/7: Big Blue Oaks 6/7: The Right Price 5/31: Go Johnnies Go 5/17: Not So Mid Anymore 5/10: In And Out 5/6: On the Road With ECU: Day Three 5/5: On the Road With ECU: Day Two 5/3: On the Road With ECU: Day One 5/3: Staying True to the Family 4/26: Having Fun With Two 4/19: Pitching Is Name Of The Game 4/12: Going Coastal 4/5: Right On Key 4/3: April Schedule Planner 3/29: Northern Exposure 3/22: East Carolina Set To Make Waves 3/8: Shedding The Blues 3/1: March Baseball Schedule Planner 2/25: Seawolves Swept in Carolina 2/24: A Loss Is, Well, A Loss 2/23: On the Road With The Brook 2/15: Florida Looks To Chomp Out Of Rut 2/9: Winthrop Winning The Tough Way 1/29: February Baseball Schedule Planner 1/28: Same Game, New Team, No Year Off 1/21: The Real All-Americans 1/19: Just One Of Those Weeks FOOTBALL 8/24: When Is A Win, A Win? 8/21: Topping Harlon's Hill Twice 8/2: Mid-American Conference Preview 8/2: Thunder and Lightning in Kalamazoo 8/2: Showing Flashes 12/16: Sweet Home Alabama 12/15: Humble Woodhead Wins Harlon Hill 12/14: Familiar Foes, Only On The Biggest Stage 12/7: Blooming in Bloomsberg 11/30: Grand Valley To Face One And Only Rival 11/15: Something New, For Newberry 11/1: Chadron's On The Map 10/28: What Can Brown Do For U-Conn 10/23: Asserting Identity 10/11: Leaf Fits Right in at West Texas 10/4: Pioneers Post Impressive Feats 9/27: Bible Belt Clash 9/20: Regaining Respect at Ashland 9/13: It's the GLFC, Not the GLIAC 9/7: Four Horse Race At Valdosta State BASKETBALL 10/23: Jayhawks, Longhorns Top Big 12 10/19: Memphis The Class Of C-USA 1/8: In The Zone, Hofstra Goes To It 12/28: Sweet Stroke For Stokes 12/05: Hofstra Wins Battle Of Long Island 11/30: Despite Loss, Great Day For Sea Wolves 10/17: CSTV's Top Five Games 10/16: Shiny Pearl in Knoxville 10/13: FSU's Thornton Still Blossoming W. VOLLEYBALL 8/23: Cardinal Comeback 8/21: Pavan Paves Her Way 8/21: Rock Stars In Diguise 8/20: Nebraska's Staying On Top M. WATER POLO 9/5: West Is The Best 9/3: 2007 Men's Water Polo Preview

For a moment on Wednesday, there was some thinking that college stars such as first overall draft pick David Price from Vanderbilt or Georgia Tech's Matt Wieters would be returning to college, thanks to baseball's new deadline put in place that saw draft picks have to sign before midnight Aug. 15. 

It turned out to be wishful thinking.

Guys like Rick Porcello (Detroit Tigers) will not be attending North Carolina, and Mike Moustakas (Kansas City Royals) will never wear the USC Trojans uniform. But having guys from the first couple of rounds in college baseball was just a pipe dream for many. 

For the second straight year, the 30 first round picks were all signed, but the new deadline rule did see the number of unsigned players jump from a year ago.  According to Baseball America, the number of players not signed in the first five rounds went from four to 14. 

While it can't be proved that this was due to the new rule, it probably had something to do with it.

We also saw ridiculous money thrown around, so without further ado, here's a look at the guys who signed that were in limbo and those who didn't will have an impact on the college baseball landscape.

David Price, P, Vanderbilt, No. 1 Overall, Tampa Bay Devil Rays

The deal for this year's top pick was still up in the air as of Wednesday afternoon, with rumors spreading that the Devil Rays didn't have the money to sign him.  Unfortunately for Vanderbilt, they did.  The dream of Price coming back to dominate the SEC in his senior year, was just that, a dream.  The lefty received a $5.6 million signing bonus, the second-highest in draft history behind Justin Upton who received $6.1 million from the Arizona Diamondbacks for going No. 1 in the 2005 draft.  Price also gets a six-year major league deal that guarantees him $8.5 million and could be worth as much as $11.25 million.  Expect Price's name on the back of a Devil Rays jersey at Tropicana Field some point in 2008. 

Michael Moustakas, SS, Chatsworth H.S., No. 2 Overall, Kansas City Royals

This year's top high school draft pick was locked up by the Royals for $4 million on Wednesday.  Moustakas was signed on to attend USC this fall, but head coach Chad Kreuter can't be too upset with his signing.  The Trojans still have a very capable shortstop returning, as Grant Green is back for his sophomore season after hitting .316 and starting all 56 games in his first collegiate season.  In the simplest of terms, the Trojans didn't expect Moustakas on campus.

Josh Vitters, 3B, Cypress H.S., No. 3 Overall, Chicago Cubs

Josh Vitters, a third baseman, could end up being the replacement for Aramis Ramirez a couple of years down the road at Wrigley Field after signing for $3.2 million on deadline day.  Vitters had signed on with Arizona State, but much like Moustakas, he didn't really stand a chance of landing in Tempe.  If he had, the Sun Devils would have been the easy favorite to win the title in 2008, with the already ridiculous lineup they are returning full of sophomores.  Unfortunately, it looks like the Sun Devils will also lose last year's starter at the hot corner, Matt Hall, who was benched after regional play.  Arizona State has enough talent where they still probably won't be exposed if they don't have a true third baseman in 2008.  Vitters would have been nice.

Matt Wieters, C, Georgia Tech, No. 5 Overall, Baltimore Orioles

Talk about a Scott Boras classic.  The two parties could not have been further apart during negotiations.  Wieters and Co. were looking for somewhere in the $11 million range, while the Orioles were defiant to get it down to $6 million.  A couple of minutes before midnight, the O's won the battle and likely signed their catcher of the future.  This is a huge loss for the Yellow Jackets, considering he was a huge potent bat in that lineup, a good player behind the plate and oh yeah, closed games for them too.  Wieters' replacement in Atlanta will likely be junior Jason Haniger, who backed him up the last two seasons, including eight starts behind the dish in 2007. 

Jarrod Parker, P, Norwell H.S., No. 9 Overall, Arizona Diamondbacks

Georgia Tech was also interested in the negotiations of its top pitching recruit this fall, Jarrod Parker from Indiana.  The 6-foot-2 flamethrower (he's been clocked in the mid-90's) could have been a replacement for Wieters as the Yellow Jackets' closer if they decided to move him away from being a starter.  His numbers in his senior year were ridiculous: 12-0 with a 0.10 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 70 innings.  North Carolina will have no sympathy for Mike Hall and his staff, as the Tar Heels and Georgia Tech were definitely stripped of what could have been very impressive young pitching staffs.  But again, it shouldn't come as a surprise. 

Madison Bumgarner, P, South Caldwell H.S., No. 10 Overall, San Francisco Giants

The North Carolina native was set to join the Tar Heels in 2008 along with the best high school pitcher talent-wise in the draft, Rick Porcello, and now both won't be in Chapel Hill.  Bumgarner signed a $2 million deal with the Giants, with some scouts thinking the lefty can one day hit 98 mph on the radar gun.  The way head coach Mike Fox has built up the Tar Heels the last couple of years into being national runners-up, something tells me he's got a backup plan.

Matt Dominguez, 3B, Chatsworth H.S., No. 12 Overall, Florida Marlins

Cal State Fullerton's top prospect in this year's recruiting class signed on with the Marlins Wednesday, agreeing to a $1.8 million deal.  The Titans lose senior third baseman Evan McArthur, and Dominguez would have been quite a nice fit for a lineup that really struggled to score in 2007. 

Andrew Brackman, P, N.C. State, No. 30 Overall, New York Yankees

Do the Yankees have a lot of money to throw around or something?  Andrew Brackman, N.C. State's 6-foot-11 starter who can hit 100 mph, signed quite the deal with the Yankees.  Said by many to need Tommy John surgery immediately, Brackman was still able to sign a contract that guarantees him $4.55 million.  Brackman may not throw a baseball again for at least a year even though he was assigned immediately to Single A Tampa, and considering he needs the surgery already even though he's never thrown more than 78 innings in a season, the deal is questionable.  He hasn't thrown a baseball since May, when he finished his junior season prematurely, and was in Birmingham, Ala. Wednesday when the deal was hammered out, to meet with the best orthopedic doctor in the nation, Dr. James Andrews.  While they say the ligament isn't torn, the Yankees know full well that Brackman may still need the surgery.  It's not a huge loss to the Wolfpack, because if he had come back, who knows if he would have ever pitched for them again anyway. 

Other Notables Not In First Round:

Kyle Russell, OF, Texas, Fourth Round

The nation's home run king from 2007 returns for his junior season after the St. Louis Cardinals failed to sign him after his redshirt sophomore season.  Russell struggled this summer in the California Collegiate League, a wooden bat league, and it brings up the question of whether he can hit with a wooden bat once again.  That's been the knock on Russell now the last couple of years, but one thing's for sure, Texas will still have those same bats he hit 28 homeruns with in 2007.  While he may not project as a great pro player, all Longhorns fans care about is what he will do in Austin in 2008, as he tries to lead the `Horns back to Omaha after a couple of years of CWS drought. 

There are plenty of other notables. North Carolina will bring in right hander Matt Harvey who was picked in the third round.  First baseman Hunter Morris will head to Auburn, with Georgia's Joshua Fields returning for his senior season.  Fields will hope to have a much more potent 2008 as the Bulldogs look to rebound from an awful 2007.

One of the more interesting deals was from Jack McGeary, who was picked in the sixth round by the Washington Nationals, but was widely considered a first round talent.  McGeary will attend Stanford, where he signed to play, but will play minor league baseball in the summers.  The Nationals will pick up the tab for his education. 

The new deadline gives college coaches a few more weeks to figure out exactly what they will have as the dust continues to settle.  All-in-all, it didn't change what the biggest names did, but it did provide some suspense.

Look for many schools to release their full lists of recruits in the coming days, now that they know who's coming and going.