The O's Day At The Draft

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Okay, here we go. All I have is a list of names. Gotta do me some research on these guys. :D


A lotta pitchas.


Rd. Pk. Overall
1 7 7 Nick Markakis lhp Young Harris (Ga.) JC GA
2 7 44 Brian Finch rhp Texas A&M U. TX
3 7 74 Chris Ray rhp William & Mary VA
4 7 104 Bob McCrory rhp U. of Southern Mississippi MS
5 7 134 Nate Spears ss Charlotte HS, Port Charlotte, Fla. FL
6 7 164 Eric Sultemeier OF U. of Texas TX
7 7 194 Justin Azze lhp U. of Hawaii HI
8 7 224 Nathan Nery lhp Moon Area (Pa.) HS PA
9 7 254 Jarod Rine of West Virginia U. WV

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I found this in a Baltimore Sun article from today:

http://www.sunspot.net/sports/baseball/bal-sp.orioles03jun03,0,7809377.story?coll=bal-sports-baseball

(Scouting Director Tony)DeMacio has a fondness for left-handers, as evidenced by selections such as Loewen, Chris Smith and Richard Stahl since 1999, and the Orioles have paid close attention to Nick Markakis of Young Harris (Ga.) Junior College. He also batted .455 with 17 homers and 74 RBIs as a junior, which intrigues the Orioles. A club official confirmed "We are looking at him both ways."

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http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/baseball/images/mugs/finch-brian-mug.jpg

Brian Finch, Junior, Texas A&M
6-04, 195 lbs
Throws very hard (low 90s) ... Used mostly out of the pen in college with some spot starts ... Also played some outfield ... Played as a true freshman for the Aggies in 2001 ... Will earn his 3rd Varsity letter this season ... Went 6-1 with a save, 5.40 ERA, 22 games, 9 of them starts

Was All-State in Texas out of West Columbia High School (located just south of Houston) in both his junior and senior years ... Homered in an All-Houston Area All-Star game in 2000 ... Was drafted in the 2000 draft, Round 23, by the Angels ... Went to A&M instead.

Enjoys hunting, fishing and playing golf during his spare time ... Born 27 September 1981 in Matagorda, Texas.

Should see him on TV if my Aggies can get past this weekend's Super Regional playoff action for the College World Series.

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Ooh! Ooh! Thanks, Willie!! :thumbsup: Never "too much information"! :D

Thanks!

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Oh, man. Am I glad we got this kid! Sounds like he's got a really good head on his shoulders, too! (See the last couple of comments.) And it seems the O's had their hearts sort of set on him, so it worked out as planned! :thumbsup:

06/03/2003 4:40 PM ET
Markakis impresses Orioles
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- When 19-year-old Nick Markakis drilled a ball 15 rows past the right-center-field wall at Camden Yards, the Orioles knew they had a potential power hitter.

Club officials were thoroughly impressed with the left-hander from Young Harris (Ga.) College who also finished his sophomore season with a 12-0 record as a pitcher.

The club selected Markakis with its first-round pick, seventh overall, in Tuesday's First-Year Player Draft.


Markakis was the 2002 Junior College Player of the Year by Baseball America after hitting .455 with 17 homers and 74 RBIs.

This season for Young Harris, Markakis hit .439 with 21 homers, 92 RBIs and an .843 slugging percentage. He went 12-0 with 1.68 ERA as a pitcher. Scouting director Tony DeMacio said Markakis will exclusively play outfield for the Orioles organization.

"He's a very fine-looking, two-way player," DeMacio said. "We like him as an outfielder first. We think he's going to develop into a fine power hitter. That's what we're looking at right now."

The Orioles' system has been devoid of quality left-handed pitchers as well as power hitters. Markakis said he will play anywhere they ask him to.


"I'm just real excited," Markakis said from his Georgia home. "The workout went well. I love Baltimore. It was really nice. Whatever they want me to do, I'll do."

The new front-office duo of Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan has maintained the philosophy of rebuilding the team through the farm system. Markakis' selection could be a good beginning to the 2003 Draft, their first with the Orioles.

Markakis worked out in Baltimore on Monday, and the team was impressed with his power.

"We saw what we were looking for -- power," DeMacio said. "He continued to come on as a player. We had interest in him from the very beginning. We have seen him in both ways, and we think he's the best fit for us."

Markakis was a 35th-round pick of the Reds out of Woodstock (Ga.) High School in 2001 but opted to attend Young Harris. He was drafted by Cincinnati in the 23rd round last June and was in the same situation as 2002 Orioles first-round pick Adam Loewen.

The Reds had until May 27 to sign Markakis, but he rejected their final offer and re-entered the draft.

"The two years at junior college really helped me out," Markakis said. "The Reds put just one offer on the table, take it or leave it. After they made that last offer, I didn't get one phone call from them."

It has been a good week for the retooling of the Orioles' farm system. The club signed Loewen just five minutes before the deadline to a Major League contract. Loewen, also a left-hander, is expected to report to the team's minor league training facility in Sarasota, Fla.

The Orioles have had poor luck with first-round picks in recent memory, but Loewen and Markakis have been highly touted.

"This kid really has continued to evolve, and we think there is a lot of growth potential there," Beattie said. "We really like his swing, and as a left-handed hitter in a ballpark like [Camden Yards], I think it's a good fit."

Markakis said one of the reasons why he did not sign with the Reds was because he wanted to develop physically. He was 6 feet tall and weighed 160 pounds out of Woodstock High but has grown to 6 feet 2 inches and now weighs 185.

"The size wasn't there, the maturity wasn't there," he said. "But as I got experience with the college, I became more disciplined and was able to handle myself in better situations. Now, I'm ready to move on to my pro career."

Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Nanner, he does seem older upstairs than most his age ... And that's also all the more reason why I think MLB should subsidize college baseball by picking up at least part of the expense of the university level moving to wooden bats ... The benefits would seem to be 4-fold:

1) The PR kick for doing this in incalculable.

2) The tax break for doing this is very calculable. Can you say, "Cha-cha-cha-ching go the Accountants!"

3) MLB could probably lop 5 or so rounds off its draft each June and eventually all 30 teams could probably drop one Low-A minor league club from its expense ledgers ... Let those kids go to college programs for another year or two.

4) The talent that is developing on the college level is using the same equipment being used on the professional level, thereby much easier to judge that talent and no adjustments once they get to the pros.

Just my $0.02.

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That's worth more than $0.02. :D

And I totally agree!

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Junior, Bats-Right, Throws-Right ... 6-02 180
High School - The New Braunfels (Texas) Unicorns

Stats
60 games - .318 AVG (68 hits) ... 9 HR ... 50 RBI ... 20 SB (26 att)

What is your weirdest food craving? Bread with barbecue sauce

What is your favorite sports movie? "For Love of the Game"

Most recent movie you have seen: "Austin Powers, Goldmember"

Favorite channel to watch on TV: Discovery Channel

Favorite flavor of ice cream: Butter pecan (Magic will just love him! :lust: )

Favorite MLB team and player: Houston Astros/Lance Berkman

Favorite MLB ballpark: Pac Bell Park in San Francisco

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http://www.texassports.com/images/baimages/2002_03/mugs/sultemeier_eric.jpg

Kid was a stud down the road in high school at NB (drafted by Cincy out of HS) ... Always seems to be part of the winning rally or winning inning for the Longhorns ... Very smart, all-around player ... Probably more of speed/gap double & singles kinda' offensive force with potential for 30+ SB.

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Who is your favorite baseball player?
I would have to say Lance Bergman of the Houston Astros because he is from my hometown of New Braunfels. I have met him once or twice and he is a good guy. He plays outfield and is a young guy who is extremely dedicated to what he does and always plays hard. I like that in a player.

How often does your family get to watch you play?
I am an only child, so my parents come to every one of my home games since it is only about a 45-minute drive for them. They also try to go to as many away games as they can. Every once in a while my grandparents or some of my cousins will come up for a game to watch me play as well.

What are the advantages or disadvantages of attending a school close to home?
Well, I think I went home a little too much as a freshman, but I have not been home yet this year. I really like that my family is able to come and watch me play because that is very important to me.

Have you ever been able to go somewhere during spring break?
No, I have never had a spring break in my life. In high school, we would always play on the Tuesday or Wednesday of spring break and then we usually played in a tournament over the weekend. This year, we got Monday off and that is about it. I went home to watch my high school team play that day, so I could say hi to all of my old coaches.

What was your summer experience like playing for the Beatrice Bruins in Nebraska?
Tim Moss and Michael Hollimon were on the team with me and we played games in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. Sometimes it got rough because we had to drive our own cars to the games, especially when we had to drive to the game, play and then drive back to Beatrice all in one day. I think it helped me a lot because I had a chance to play every day. There weren't very many guys on the team, so everyone got a lot of playing time. It was also good for me to see college pitching during the offseason. Playing at the level that we normally play at during the year helped me prepare for this season and become a better overall hitter.


What do you want to do after college?
I definitely want to see if I can get drafted out of college and play professionally, but if that doesn't work out, I would like to coach and teach history at the high school level. I want to stay in Texas, and I wouldn't mind going back to New Braunfels and teaching at my old high school.

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And yet another guy with a good head on his shoulders! :thumbsup:

Thanks, Willie!

I like those stats! :eek: