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Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
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Blogmail response on Hafner
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Stallworth's contract terminated
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QB in Browns future: another mock draft
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KSU Notes – February 9
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Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
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Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
By Jonas Fortune
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 01:42 p.m. EDT, Jun 08, 2009
KENT: Fourteen former Kent State baseball players were part of major-league organizations last season.
That select group is about to get bigger after the Major League Baseball 2009 First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday.
''Potentially we could have nine [drafted]. That is potentially. I don't know if nine will get drafted, but we certainly have quite a number of guys who could go,'' Kent State baseball coach Scott Stricklin said. ''Realistically we will probably be in the six or seven range, but there are a lot of scouts who like a lot of our players. So, we could have as many as nine go.''
Kent State earned its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history last month. Despite losing in regional play, the Golden Flashes finished the season with a 43-17 record, the third best in school history. The strong season brought plenty of attention from major-league scouts.
Drawing the most attention are two junior right-handers, Kyle Smith and Brad Stillings.
Although neither pitcher had particularly strong 2009 seasons, their larger frames and projectability make them ideal baseball prospects. Baseball America recently projected the duo as fifth-round prospects in the draft.
Before the season, both players made Baseball America's top 100 College players list. Stillings was No. 21, Smith was No.55.
Smith, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound graduate of Louisville High School, was 4-2 this season with 4.79 ERA. He struck out 38 batters in 47 innings, walking 17.
''The word with Kyle Smith people use is projectable,'' Stricklin said. ''He is 6-foot-6, long and lanky and athletic. The ball comes out of his hand real easy. That is the No. 1 thing that people really love.''
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Stillings is all about his fastball. The pitch can get up to 95 mph. He also has the makings of a ''very good'' change-up, Stricklin said.
In April, Stillings became the ninth pitcher in Kent State history to throw a no-hitter, ending a 12-year drought for the team. At the time, Stillings was 5-0, but he finished the season 6-4 with a 7.52 ERA. He struck out 75 batters in 73 innings and walked 37.
''They are both in the 90-mph range,'' Stricklin said. ''They are both long, lanky and athletic, and professional scouts like to see that.''
It comes as no surprise that two senior left-handed pitchers, — reliever Jon Pokorny and GlenOak High grad Alan Morrison — could be drafted, too. Left-handers are always in demand.
''It is an advantage,'' Stricklin said. ''They talk about the easiest way to get to the big leagues is being a left-handed pitcher or [a] catcher. I don't disagree with that. Left-handed pitchers are hard to come by. Alan is big and strong, he throws the ball 88-90 mph and he had a good year.''
Pokorny is a player that Stricklin expects to be taken fairly early because he projects as a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen. Stricklin compared Pokorny to former Indian relievers such as Aaron Fultz and Paul Assenmacher.
''He has really good command of his breaking ball,'' Stricklin said. ''He can come out of the bullpen and throw his breaking ball for strikes and he can also throw it as a strikeout pitch.''
Seniors Greg Rohan, Chris Tremblay and Jason Patton could be drafted as positional players.
''As teams are looking at budgeting for the draft, seniors are more economical,'' Stricklin said. ''The signing bonuses aren't as big for seniors, so a lot of teams are looking for solid senior players.''
Rohan, a first baseman, finishes his career at Kent State with 48 career home runs, trailing only Mike Bishop and John VanBenschoten. Tremblay, an infielder, projects as a ''utility'' player at the next level and is liked by many scouts, Stricklin said.
''Jason Patton has a lot of tools that people like,'' Stricklin said about the outfielder who graduated from Perry High. ''He hits for a lot of power. He has the most raw power on our team. He hit 15 home runs. I think Jason has a chance to go on the first day of the draft.''
Stricklin would also like to see junior outfielders Anthony Gallas and Jared Humphreys, and draft-eligible sophomore pitcher Robert Sabo, be drafted in the first 20 rounds. Underclassmen have more leverage than the seniors. If they do not like the position they were drafted or the amount of money that is being offered, they can still return to school to improve for next year's draft.
College players are not draft eligible until after their junior year season or the age of 21.
''It's a personal decision. That is what we tell all the players,'' Stricklin said. ''We are never going to tell anyone not to sign as a junior. You just have to look at the decision and see what is best.''
If underclassmen are not selected in the first 20 rounds, then it might be wiser to return to school for another year of seasoning and try to get drafted higher, with a better signing bonus. It depends on the investment and the comfort level within the individual situations.
''What major-league teams also do for juniors is they usually pay for the rest of their school,'' Stricklin said. ''That is a positive thing for them. None of our guys are on full scholarships. You can't be on a full scholarship in baseball because we have so few.''
Jonas Fortune can be reached at jfortune@thebeaconjournal.com.
KENT: Fourteen former Kent State baseball players were part of major-league organizations last season.
That select group is about to get bigger after the Major League Baseball 2009 First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday.
''Potentially we could have nine [drafted]. That is potentially. I don't know if nine will get drafted, but we certainly have quite a number of guys who could go,'' Kent State baseball coach Scott Stricklin said. ''Realistically we will probably be in the six or seven range, but there are a lot of scouts who like a lot of our players. So, we could have as many as nine go.''
Kent State earned its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history last month. Despite losing in regional play, the Golden Flashes finished the season with a 43-17 record, the third best in school history. The strong season brought plenty of attention from major-league scouts.
Drawing the most attention are two junior right-handers, Kyle Smith and Brad Stillings.
Although neither pitcher had particularly strong 2009 seasons, their larger frames and projectability make them ideal baseball prospects. Baseball America recently projected the duo as fifth-round prospects in the draft.
Before the season, both players made Baseball America's top 100 College players list. Stillings was No. 21, Smith was No.55.
Smith, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound graduate of Louisville High School, was 4-2 this season with 4.79 ERA. He struck out 38 batters in 47 innings, walking 17.
''The word with Kyle Smith people use is projectable,'' Stricklin said. ''He is 6-foot-6, long and lanky and athletic. The ball comes out of his hand real easy. That is the No. 1 thing that people really love.''
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Stillings is all about his fastball. The pitch can get up to 95 mph. He also has the makings of a ''very good'' change-up, Stricklin said.
In April, Stillings became the ninth pitcher in Kent State history to throw a no-hitter, ending a 12-year drought for the team. At the time, Stillings was 5-0, but he finished the season 6-4 with a 7.52 ERA. He struck out 75 batters in 73 innings and walked 37.
''They are both in the 90-mph range,'' Stricklin said. ''They are both long, lanky and athletic, and professional scouts like to see that.''
It comes as no surprise that two senior left-handed pitchers, — reliever Jon Pokorny and GlenOak High grad Alan Morrison — could be drafted, too. Left-handers are always in demand.
''It is an advantage,'' Stricklin said. ''They talk about the easiest way to get to the big leagues is being a left-handed pitcher or [a] catcher. I don't disagree with that. Left-handed pitchers are hard to come by. Alan is big and strong, he throws the ball 88-90 mph and he had a good year.''
Pokorny is a player that Stricklin expects to be taken fairly early because he projects as a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen. Stricklin compared Pokorny to former Indian relievers such as Aaron Fultz and Paul Assenmacher.
''He has really good command of his breaking ball,'' Stricklin said. ''He can come out of the bullpen and throw his breaking ball for strikes and he can also throw it as a strikeout pitch.''
Seniors Greg Rohan, Chris Tremblay and Jason Patton could be drafted as positional players.
''As teams are looking at budgeting for the draft, seniors are more economical,'' Stricklin said. ''The signing bonuses aren't as big for seniors, so a lot of teams are looking for solid senior players.''
Rohan, a first baseman, finishes his career at Kent State with 48 career home runs, trailing only Mike Bishop and John VanBenschoten. Tremblay, an infielder, projects as a ''utility'' player at the next level and is liked by many scouts, Stricklin said.
''Jason Patton has a lot of tools that people like,'' Stricklin said about the outfielder who graduated from Perry High. ''He hits for a lot of power. He has the most raw power on our team. He hit 15 home runs. I think Jason has a chance to go on the first day of the draft.''
Stricklin would also like to see junior outfielders Anthony Gallas and Jared Humphreys, and draft-eligible sophomore pitcher Robert Sabo, be drafted in the first 20 rounds. Underclassmen have more leverage than the seniors. If they do not like the position they were drafted or the amount of money that is being offered, they can still return to school to improve for next year's draft.
College players are not draft eligible until after their junior year season or the age of 21.
''It's a personal decision. That is what we tell all the players,'' Stricklin said. ''We are never going to tell anyone not to sign as a junior. You just have to look at the decision and see what is best.''
If underclassmen are not selected in the first 20 rounds, then it might be wiser to return to school for another year of seasoning and try to get drafted higher, with a better signing bonus. It depends on the investment and the comfort level within the individual situations.
''What major-league teams also do for juniors is they usually pay for the rest of their school,'' Stricklin said. ''That is a positive thing for them. None of our guys are on full scholarships. You can't be on a full scholarship in baseball because we have so few.''
Jonas Fortune can be reached at jfortune@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Canton, OH
Posted 01:15 PM, 06/09/2009
Yeah, right. . .Scott, what are you smokin' ?????
FEAR THE ' ROO. . .
Posted 02:07 AM, 06/11/2009
Fear the who?
