Now we get to the organizational filler, but one or more of these guys could possibly distinguish themselves. In lieu of scouting reports, I’ll share what numbers I find relevant. But really, the numbers aren’t that relevant, because we know so little of the context. If they were high on tools, they probably wouldn’t have been drafted where they are, but you never know.
24th round, pick 729. Keith Butler, RHP, Wabash Valley College. Struck out 59 in 43 innings, Wabash is a division II JUCO school.
25th round, pick 759. Josh Squatrito, RHP, Towson U. Career school leader in saves, struck out 111 in 90.1 innings.
26th round, #789. Christian Beatty, CF, North Carolina A&T. Goes by C.J. Hit .365/.460/.641 with 38 walks to 29 strikeouts in 192 at-bats. Was named the 4th best prospect in the Coastal Plain Summer League this past summer. BA says: “Beatty has hit 23 homers in two seasons as a starting outfielder for N.C. A&T, and he showed good power with wood this summer, batting .304/.382/.505 with nine homers and 44 RBIs for league-champion Thomasville. One of the league’s best athletes, Beatty has a strong, compact 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame. He is a switch-hitter who makes good contact from both sides and generates excellent backspin from the left side—and he hit all of his homers this summer lefthanded. He’s still refining his pitch selection and offensive approach, but he made progress in that area this summer. Beatty is an average runner who can play all three outfield positions but profiles best in right field, where his strong arm is an asset.” Is on twitter @cjbeatty44. Could be an interesting sleeper.
27th round, #819. John Folino, RHP, UConn. Started 10 games, threw 64.1 IP. 58/18 K/BB, 3.92 ERA. Senior. ..gets by with mediocre stuff but a good feel for pitching. Folino’s fastball is fringe-average at best, and his slider and changeup are below-average, but he competes and locates. He’ll be a late-rounds roster filler.
28th round, #839. Justin Edwards, LHP, Kennesaw State. Sunday starter after Jenkins and Heckathorn, two first rounders. Opposing offenses had to be relieved to see him. 5.90 ERA, 64 K’s to 33 BB. Allowed 88 hits in 71.2 IP.
29th round, #869. Daniel Calhoun, LHP, Murray State. Led Division I pitchers in walk rate with just .56 BB/9. Struck out 85 to just 6 walks in 97 innings. Made 13 starts, 11 of which were complete games. Soft-tossing control artist with a four pitch mix that keeps hitters off balanced. Interesting late round pick.
30th round, #899. Chris Corrigan, RHP, Ole Miss. They start and end with Ole Miss hurlers on Day 2. Corrigan got beat up in his few relief outings, don’t know much else.
31st round, #939. Tyler Bighames, SS, Estero HS. Upside pick that could be a tough sign. Perfect Game said a year ago “Tyler Bighames is a 2009 SS with a 6′2”, 198 lb. frame from Estero, FL who attends Estero. Tyler has a strong athletic build, good balance and actions in infield, good arm strength, comes in on ball well. Good balance in swing, very good strength, attacks ball, very good bat speed, impressive BP, good games swings, ball jumps off bat, 95 off bat in games, very interesting player both in the field and at the plate.” Oregon commit. Will likely have to move to 3B with his size. You can read more about him here.
32nd round, #969. Travis Lawler, RHP, Midland College. ERA north of 5 in a division 2 JUCO. That’s all I can tell you, maybe he can throw hard.
33rd round, #999. Devin Goodwin, SS, Delta State. Goodwin hit .345/.465/.631 and was 18-19 on steal attempts.
34th round, #1029. David Kington, RHP, Southern Illinois. Canadian was a JUCO transfer with underwhelming stats. Yep, that’s all I got.
35th round, #1059. Andrew Moss, RHP, Lincoln (Mo.). I got nothing.
36th round, #1089. Justin Smith, RHP, Utah Valley. In a tough place to pitch, struck out 91 in 91.1 IP with a 4.73 ERA. Led team in ERA by far. Says BA – … flies under the radar a little bit at Utah Valley. He has a smaller frame, but had success this season with a fastball that sat 88-91 mph and touched 93. He also has a plus slider and a changeup with good depth.
37th round, #1119. Rich “the Rock” Rocobaldo, Mt. Olive. The scout made sure we knew his nickname was the Rock on the conference call. The scout also called Rich made sure he heard, so it helped break up the grim monotony that is Day 3 of the draft. Hit .417/.518/.765. Walked 34 times to just 15 strikeouts in 187 at-bats. At his home park “Do You Smell What The Rock Is Cooking” is played after each hit or defensive play by Racobaldo. His favorite TV show is Animal Cops. His major is in Recreation/Leisure Studies. (?) Rock on.
38th round, #1139. John Durham, LHP, Warner Southern. I think the team’s webmaster quit. NAIA school.
39th round, #1179. Taylor Terrasas, SS, Santa Fe HS (TX). Louisiana Tech commit.
40th round, #1209. Jesse Simpson, RHP, College of Charleston. Was on Brooks Wallace Award watch list to start season. Struck out 84 in 89.2 with a 5.54 ERA.
41th round, #1239. Cale Johnson, RHP, McKendree College. Most of you know McKendree is in Lebanon, IL. Ace of the staff with a 9 complete games, 87 K’s to 22 BB and a 2.63 ERA.
42nd round, #1269. Terry Aaron, RHP, Southern Arkansas. Struck out 78 in 60.2 with 2.97 ERA.
43rd round, #1299. Manuel de la Cruz, Imperial Valley College.
44th round, #1329. Kyle Heim, LHP, Iowa. Middle reliever for Iowa with lackluster numbers. Happy to see them draft a Hawkeye, though.
45th round, #1359. Adam Heisler, CF, U of Southern Alabama. Hit .390/.441/.507 with 16 steals in 23 attempts. Says his coach “Adam Heisler is extremely fast and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield. He does a good job of swinging the bat and can handle the bat well with two strikes.”
46th round, #1389. Josh Klocke, C/RHP, Southeast Missouri State. Hit .394/.484/.654, struck out 22 in 23.2 IP with 7 saves.
47th round, #1419. Michael Thompson, RHP, Bellarmine College. 118 strikeouts to 21 walks in 95 IP. Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year. Senior. Cardinals love these small schools.
48th round, #1449. Jason Novak, RHP, UCLA. Cut and paste from team site. Novak went 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 19 relief appearances in 2009. A junior in 2008, Novak went 1-1 with a career-best 3.60 ERA in 20 relief outings, logging 28 strikeouts in 35.0 innings. He pitched a career-high 41.0 innings as a sophomore in 2007, going 3-0 with a 4.83 ERA and 38 strikeouts. Novak went 1-1 with a 5.35 ERA, collecting 31 strikeouts in 38.2 innings as a freshman in 2006.
49th round, #1479. Andrew Hillis, RHP, Brentwood HS. Has a pretty nice fastball/slider combo. Video here. BA says “Scouts aren’t high on Hillis’ makeup, though he has a pro body and average stuff (88-90 mph fastball). Adkins is consistent and pitches at 88-90 mph. He’s switched to a slider for his breaking ball and has a good feel for a changeup. His 6-foot-5, 180-pound frame inspires scouts to project him aggressively, but perhaps not enough to buy him out of his college commitment to Middle Tennessee State.” Apparently he ties firecrackers to cat’s tails or worked at a telemarketer before. “Makeup issues” is just so vague. Doubt he signs.
50th round, Tyler Lavigne, San Diego State. Was SDSU’s #2 after Strasburg. Struck out 87 in 94.1 IP with an ERA of 3.05.
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so is Hillis’s name also adkins? I have a good friend who played baseball at brentwood high, so i have him getting info on hillis and his “makeup” issues
that article on binghames makes it seem like he could be willing to start his pro career…if we sign him, he could be the best 3rd day pick
Amazing that Lavigne lasted until the 50th round. Found this article that describes him as throwing a sinker in the low 90s. Doesn’t sound like he’s at all likely to leave SDSU for 50th round dough.
oh and hillis’s homepage says he is committed to UT, while that blurb says MTSU
Really like calhoun just based on the stats. Heisler sounds interesting.
I know I am supposed to be politically correct and show some benefit of the doubt here, but the last 2 days of the draft was just total pain to watch unfold. It was the 2004 and 2006 playbook redux and nothing that was said in the weeks leading up to the draft in terms of a change of strategy was lived up to.
So kudos for Shelby Miller, you took the 1 HS kid, threw us a bone, got everyone to shut up and then went right back to doing what everyone was complaing about to start with. 6 HS kids in 50 rounds (half will likely sign), 3 RH relievers takent before you take your 1st LHP, that is change?
This to me is a 1 player draft, this is Shelby Miller and a bunch of mud slung at a wall hoping it sticks.
So excuse my melodramatic statements, but I just felt like I watched a computer make the picks from the 4th round on.
If we arent going to spend in free agency, not going to take on money in trade, not going to give up prospects in trade and not spend a bunch in the draft, what exactly are we doing here?
Am I following an org that is striving to win or striving to maximize their finanical returns..right now, I cant tell the difference and that is disconcerning.
So kudos for Miller, credit for Stock’s boldness…but until Miller has his name on a signed contract, I am going to sit this draft/prospect stuff out for awhile.
What a complete waste of time that was, just stocked the system with relievers, 2B’s and 4th OF’ers.
Congrats!
What a whiner! Take that DeWitt is cheap, Lunhow is ruining the organization BS to Cards Talk. Nobody comes here for that.
It’s probably best you do sit this stuff out for awhile. Facts are, as much as you think you know about this process…anything beyond the first couple of rounds is anybody’s guess. You’ve proclaimed the draft a bust before one guy steps on the field. HS does not always equal better no matter how hard you want to push the issue.
This guy is a contributor to the site? What a joke. Can’t believe I read something like that on this site.
Pickle-
Honestly how can you say a computer made the picks from round 4 on…that is being disigenouis. How does a computer come up with Ryan Jackson, who’s top skill–defense–doesn’t translate into stats well–he has to be seen. Or Patrick Daugherty who be owner of a 9 era. A computer is definitely not picking these guys.
I am not saying that I disagree with you in that I much rather have had shelby miller and the pirates draft where they took a lot of chances and will have to pay up. And there are obviously some players that the computer dug up, but this is far from the whole draft.
They are obviously leaning heavely on the scouting department, even the Stock pick–he doesn’t hit like a catcher–someone has to see something in him that the stats are missing.
Having watched a lot of High School and College players I really believe that context and story make all the difference. Take Strasburg–kid wasn’t drafted out of high school because of the bad body fear, got to college, got it together…Jamie Garcia is a similar story. In the draft as a whol you are looking for people that can grow into major leaguers–a plus potential skill and correctable flaws. This is even more true later in the draft.
I don’t know what a “god feel for his changeup” is, but if Andrew Hillis posseses one he is a must sign! :). J/k. Very nice write-up as usual.
cut and paste job, I take no fault!
I’m stoked to hear we’re going well over slot for Bighames.
I know the 34th rounder Kington. 88-90 MPH fastball, nasty curve really has legit movement, nothing else worth mentioning stuff wise. Needs coaching badly, SIU doesn’t have the greatest coaches.
I don’t have much to complain about with this draft. As far as I’m concerned, they went with the upside pick Miller, and whatever it takes to get him signed, do it. That might mean taking money from the rest of the draft, but usually if you get one good player, and a few role players from every draft that’s a good draft. Besides, Days 2 and 3 are usually what Luhnow excels at, so I’m willing to wait on these guys.
Tyler Bighames Will sign with the Cards…Lots of Potential..Kinda a suprise that he didnt go to the Ducks and go grow his skills there. But sometimes the money will dictated everything….
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jun/12/mlb-draft-its-all-cards-bighames/
Don’t count on Tyler Bighames, the 31st pick, being that tough of a signee. Article from the News-Press about how the family couldn’t get teams to believe that he was willing to go pro. Details of the contract he’s set to sign on Tuesday are included.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090612/SPORTS/906120395/1010/RSS07
Sorry. didn’t see it elsewhere.
Hey. I just want to give a late shout out to the site and contributors. I’ve been beat up by work and travel with little time to prep and follow the draft. I’m also a Cards Talk refugee.
Thanks to Pickle, Few, UncleBuck, Erik and others for the great draft prep thread over on CT. Thanks to DGoold for his great coverage over on PD.
And a BIG THANKS to Future Redbirds and all the contributors with the 2 days of Draft Chat, draft summaries and continued follow-up. I re-lived the draft vicariously through you guys. Good stuff guys. Kudos.
– RSR
P.S. I appreciate the varying opinions and discussion. And I give Pickle his due. There’s nobody thats not actually on the Cardinal payroll who invests more time and energy into the draft.
Yeah its frustrating they don’t take a few more risks on HS in the first couple of days. But months ago we predicted a profile for the 1st 10 picks as 7 College, 2HS, 1 JC. Can’t be too upset when that’s exactly what you got.
Much rejoicing at the Miller and Stock picks. Some head scratching to follow. But still some very interesting picks through the balance of the draft. You gotta wonder if they’ll ever find that top end LHP, but they took more shots this time.
Fun stuff. I enjoyed all the coverage and conversation.