Phillies pick, reach deal with highly rated centerfielder in third round

The Phillies used the 89th pick in the draft Friday to get a player who projected much higher than that.

Cord Sandberg's scholarship to play quarterback at Mississippi State may have scared some teams away from selecting him, but when he slipped to the third round, the Phillies drafted the centerfielder from Manatee High School in Bradenton, Fla., and immediately reached an agreement to sign him.

Sandberg, 18, said during a telephone interview that he would sign for around $775,000. The Bradenton Herald first reported the agreed-upon deal. Sandberg's bonus is about $175,000 more than the roughly $600,000 value slotted for the 89th pick.

"I think he slipped a little bit because of [the football scholarship], but I don't think he had a great senior season," said Marti Wolever, the Phillies' assistant general manager in charge of amateur scouting. "His last [showcase] tournament, he did OK, but nothing special, so that kind of leads to where he was for us in the draft."

Sandberg, 18, said he had known for a while that he would choose baseball over football.

"I had a passion for both sports," he said. "But when it came down to it, I put so much work into baseball, and I have a passion for the game. To be picked and have this great opportunity to go play for a great organization, I couldn't pass that up."

J.P. Crawford, the shortstop from Lakewood High School in Southern California whom the Phillies took with their first-round pick Thursday, said he is also eager to sign and get his professional baseball career started. Crawford's slot value for his signing bonus is just under $2.3 million.

"When they called my name, it was unbelievable," Crawford said. "I can't wait to put on the jersey and start playing again. I want to sign and get down [to Clearwater, Fla.] as soon as possible."

Sandberg worked out for the Phillies during spring training at the Carpenter Complex. He met third base coach Ryne Sandberg that day. The two are not related, but they both passed up scholarships to play quarterback in college in order to sign with the Phillies. Sandberg had a scholarship to Washington State, but signed with the Phillies after being taken in the 20th round of the 1978 draft.

"It was really cool talking to him," said Cord Sandberg, who was the 40th-ranked draft prospect by Baseball America. "I didn't realize how big he was. He definitely could have played football at his size. He just told me whether I played football or baseball to go with my heart, and it would be the right decision."

The Phillies used their second pick of the third round to take Jan Hernandez, a righthand-hitting shortstop from the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico.

"He'll probably play third base for us," Wolever said. "He has a real upside and a chance to hit for some power."

The Phillies took 11 players through the first 10 rounds, and they have just over $6 million to sign them. Wolever said going over slot on Sandberg should not impact the team's ability to sign their picks.

Louisville junior third baseman Tyler Young, a 2010 graduate of Malvern Prep, was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh round (No. 218 overall). Through 61 games this season, the 5-foot-10, 178-pounder was batting .349 (76 for 218) with 57 RBIs and 54 runs. He had 13 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, and a .528 slugging percentage.

Phillies Picks

J.P. Crawford, 16th overall (Round 1), SS, Lakewood H.S. (Calif.), 6-foot-2, 180 pounds

Andrew Knapp, 53d (2), C, California, 6-1, 192

Cord Sandberg, 89th (3), CF, Manatee H.S. (Fla.), 6-3, 215

Jan Hernandez, 96th (3), SS, Beltran Academy (P.R.), 6-1, 194

Jake Sweaney, 121st (4), C, Garces H.S. (Calif.), 6-3, 180

Ben Holmes, 151st (5), LHP, Oregon State, 6-1, 210

Jason Monda, 181st (6), OF, Washington State, 6-4, 205

Trey Williams, 211th (7), 3B, College of Canyons (Calif.), 6-1, 210

Justin Parr, 241st (8), OF, University of Illinois, 6-2, 190

Shane Martin, 271st (9), RHP, SW Okla. State, 6-4, 215

Jon Prosinksi, 301st (10), RHP, Seton Hall, 6-3 195

Rick O'Brien contributed to this article.