Jim Salisbury | Phils have reason to be excited about draft

Major League Baseball's draft doesn't create as much buzz as those of the NFL or NBA.

It doesn't have Mel Kiper's hair or all those Ping-Pong balls, and teams certainly aren't going to tank games to increase their chances of getting a Pat Burrell. (Has it really been nine years since the Phillies made him the first pick? Time flies when you're hitting .224 and haven't made an all-star team.)

The draft was founded in 1965, with Rick Monday going first to the Kansas City A's. For more than 40 years, it consisted of scouting directors and their staffs gathering around the telephone and making their picks in a conference call.

This year, ESPN2 will televise the first round, beginning at 2 p.m. today, from Walt Disney World.

"It will be good for the draft to get this kind of exposure," Phillies scouting director Marti Wolever said. "It will put a nice spotlight on the college and high school game."

The Phils are excited about this draft because they have five of the first 113 picks, a decent haul compared with recent years. From 2000 to 2004, the Phils had just 20 picks in the top five rounds of those drafts. Atlanta and Oakland had 37 picks each in the top five rounds of those drafts. The Phils forfeited picks in those drafts for signing free agents Mike Jackson, Rheal Cormier, Jose Mesa, Jim Thome and David Bell. The Phils also forfeited their first-round pick in 2005 for signing Jon Lieber.

Fewer top picks weakened the farm system, particularly the position-player side. The Phils took steps toward improving a thin system with their first two picks last year - power-armed pitcher Kyle Drabek and hard-hitting second baseman Adrian Cardenas. They hope the upgrade continues today. They will pick 19th in the first round and have a supplemental pick at 37 as compensation for losing free agent David Dellucci.

Despite an overall lack of depth in the system, the Phils have pitchers they like in the low minors, particularly Drabek, Carlos Carrasco and Edgar Garcia.

Because of that, Wolever seems to be leaning toward taking a hitter with the first pick. (No surprise there. Wolever loves bats. He pushed for Chase Utley in 2000.)

"We'd be pleased if we could get an offensive position player or two to start off," Wolever said. "Then we'd like to follow with some pitching in the middle rounds."

Of course, it's possible the Phils could take a pitcher with their first pick, depending on who's available. Some of the pitchers the Phillies like include Indiana high schooler Jarrod Parker, a righthander, and Phillippe Aumont, another high school righthander from Quebec. Georgia high school lefty Josh Smoker and Rice lefty Joe Savery are also intriguing.

Hitters on the Phillies' board include Jason Heyward, a high school outfielder from Georgia, and catcher Devin Mesaraco from Punxsutawney High School. Junior college third baseman Beau Mills, the son of former Phils coach and current Red Sox coach Brad Mills, could appeal to the Phils.

High school shortstops Drew Cumberland and Pete Kozma could be worth watching. The Phils also like Rutgers third baseman Todd Frazier.

Tampa Bay has the first pick and seems to have zeroed in on Vanderbilt lefty David Price.

While the early rounds draw the most attention, scouts put considerable effort into preparing for the later rounds. Good finds can lurk deep in a draft. Mike Piazza was a 62d-round pick. Jeff Kent went in the 20th round, Albert Pujols in the 13th, and Ryan Howard in the fifth.

"This is a deep draft," Wolever said. "The player you get in the first round might not be a lot different than the player you get in the third round. From the third to the 10th round, there's a whole bunch of stuff that looks the same. We've spent time on a lot of names."

Wolever and assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle have overseen the Phils' draft since 1993. A number of their picks - Utley, Howard, Scott Rolen, Randy Wolf, Jimmy Rollins - have become all-stars, and another, Cole Hamels, seems destined to join that group. Other high picks, like 1995 first-rounder Reggie Taylor, did not pan out.

Second-year GM Pat Gillick shares with Wolever and Arbuckle an affinity for athletic players with tools and sky's-the-limit raw ability. The Phils selected one of those players, outfielder D'Arby Myers, in the fourth round of last year's draft. Look for more today. However, don't hold your breath waiting for the Phils to buy high-priced talent out of college commitments. In recent years, the commissioner's office has tried to control signing bonuses, and the Phillies are not ones to break rank and pay above "slot."

Nonetheless, today will interesting. The Phillies could be just hours away from the having their next Chase Utley. Or their next Reggie Taylor.

2006:

Luke Hochevar, rhp (Kansas City Royals)

2005: Justin Upton, ss (Arizona Diamondbacks)

2004: Matt Bush, ss (San Diego Padres)

2003: Delmon Young, of (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) 2002: Bryan Bullington, rhp (Pittsburgh Pirates)

2001: Joe Mauer, c (Minnesota Twins)

2000: Adrian Gonzalez, 1b (Florida Marlins)

1999: Josh Hamilton, rf-lhp (Devil Rays)

1998: Pat Burrell, 3b (Philadelphia Phillies)

1997: Matt Anderson, rhp (Detroit Tigers)

1996: Kris Benson, rhp (Pittsburgh Pirates)

1995: Darin Erstad, of-lhp (California Angels)

1994: Paul Wilson, rhp (N.Y. Mets)

1993: Alex Rodriguez, ss (Seattle Mariners)

1992: Phil Nevin, 3b (Houston Astros)

1991: Brien Taylor, lhp (N.Y. Yankees)

1990: Chipper Jones, ss (Atlanta Braves)

1989: Ben McDonald, rhp (Baltimore Orioles)

1988: Andy Benes, rhp (San Diego Padres) '

1987: Ken Griffey Jr., of (Seattle Mariners)

1986: Jeff King, inf (Pittsburgh Pirates)

1985: B.J. Surhoff, c (Milwaukee Brewers)

1984: Shawn Abner, of (N.Y. Mets)

1983: Tim Belcher, rhp (Minnesota Twins)

1982: Shawon Dunston, ss (Chicago Cubs)

1981: Mike Moore, rhp (Seattle Mariners)

1980: Darryl Strawberry, of (N.Y. Mets)

1979: Al Chambers, of (Seattle Mariners)

1978: Bob Horner, 3b (Atlanta Braves)

1977: Harold Baines, of (Chicago White Sox)

1976: Floyd Bannister, lhp (Houston Astros)

1975: Danny Goodwin, c (California Angels)

1974: Bill Almon, inf (San Diego Padres)

1973: David Clyde, lhp (Texas Rangers)

1972: Dave Roberts, inf (San Diego Padres)

1971: Danny Goodwin, c (Chicago White Sox)

1970: Mike Ivie, c (San Diego Padres)

1969: Jeff Burroughs, of (Washington Senators)

1968: Tim Foli, inf (N.Y. Mets)

1967: Ron Blomberg, 1b (N.Y. Yankees)

1966: Steve Chilcott, c (N.Y. Mets)

1965: Rick Monday, c (Oakland Athletics)

Here are some of the area's prospects for the major-league baseball draft scheduled for today through Saturday.

High School

Name   School   Pos.   Ht.   Wt.   

Mark Adzick   Penn Charter   LHP   6-4   170

Chris Berroa   Pennsauken   OF   6-0   168

David Giuliani   West Deptford   OF   5-10   192

Phil Gosselin   Malvern Prep   SS   6-0   175

Kyle Greenwalt   Souderton   RHP   6-1   195

Dan Grovatt   Seneca   LHP   6-1   175

Sheldon Johnson   Deptford   RHP   6-2   205

Matt Moceri   Camden Catholic   1B   6-7   250

Bill Rice   Washington Twp.   RHP   5-11   175

Alex Pracher   Cherokee   RHP   6-2   170

Matt Szczur   Lower Cape May   C   6-0   190

College

Name   College/High School   Pos.   Yr.   Ht.   Wt.   

Georgia College/

Mike Antonini   Cardinal O'Hara   LHP   Sr.   6-2   220

Georgia Southern/

A.J. Battisto   Pottsgrove   RHP   Sr.   5-10   195

Penn State/

Craig Clark   Spring-Ford   LHP   Sr.   6-2   195

Virginia/   LHP/

Sean Doolittle   Shawnee   1B   Jr.   6-3   185

Gerard Haran   College of New Jersey   C   Sr.   6-0   210

James Madison/

Kurt Houck   Boyertown   RHP   Sr.   6-6   220

Kutztown/

Mike McCardell   W.C. Henderson   RHP   So.   6-6   210

Mike McGuire   Delaware/Ridley   RHP   Jr.   6-7   240

Craig Muschko   La Salle   RHP   Jr.   6-2   200

Dan Terpak   Villanova   OF   Jr.   6-3   190

Walters St. CC (Tenn.)/

Jack Tilghman   Souderton   RHP   So.   6-2   205

- Jeff McLane and Sam Carchidi

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