Written by Greg Fertel
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05 June 2008
This post will have my thoughts about the sandwich round, as well as discussion and debate about the picks. After taking Gerrit Cole, a high school pitcher, it will be interesting to see what the Yankees do with #44. The amount of top pitchers still available, especially high school pitchers, might mean that another pitcher will be the best available player at 44. I would be happy if Shooter Hunt, Tim Melville, Jake Odorizzi or Brett DeVall were still available, and it would be hard to pass them up. That said, the Yankees could use position players, and I would love to see Zach Collier last to #44, as he is probably the best high school bat remaining. I was suprised that Collier didn't go in the 1st round, and he would have been in the running for the #28 pick if I was running the draft.
5:12: Well, there goes Shooter Hunt right away to the Twins at 31. That is a great pick at that spot, and they are lucky to get a talented arm like Hunt in the sandwich round after overdrafting a reliever in Gutierrez. This pick could be a steal for them here.
5:13: Well, there goes Odorizzi to the Brewers, another smart pick. We could see a lot of high school pitchers go in the next few picks, since only 1 was picked in the 1st round (2 if you include Ethan Martin, who seems to project better as a pitcher).
5:16: Outfielder Zach Collier goes off the board at #34 to the Phillies, after the Mets take college pitcher Brad Holt. Collier is another guy I would have liked to see fall, but it wasn't likely. They have a nice draft going with Collier and Anthony Hewitt, though there is a lot of risk, but high reward.
5:22: Some more arms go off the board in high school lefty Mike Montgomery, Mississippi righty Lance Lynn, and high school lefty Brett DeVall. The way this round is going, it seems like the best pitcher available at 44 will likely be a righty, though Lobstein is a possibility. Most of the top college hitters have been taken, as have a lot of the most intriguing high school bats.
5:26: The Yankees took
Jeremy Bleich, a lefty pitcher from Stanford, at #44. This seems like a bit of a reach, as most lefties tend to be overdrafted. I don't really know anything about him. I would think that there would be some better lefties available, especially among the high school ranks. This seems like a relatively low-ceiling pick, but given that I don't know any scouting information about him, I can't really pass judgement.
