The 2006 Draft

Yankees Pick... Ian Kennedy?
Yes, it's that time of year again where hope springs eternal. Projections and wishcasting and all that take form in picking names one by one for the future.

This year, the Yanks picked at the 21 slot thanks to Tom Gordon going to the Phillies in the off-season. The yankees lost their No 28 pick to the Red Sox for signing Johnny Damon, but having a pick in the first round is quite okay if you spend it wisely. Last year it was C.J. Henry. this year it's Ian Kennedy.

Who is Ian Kennedy? A RHP from South California. MLB.com's description has him at 6'-0" 195lbs. University of So Cal. Was drafted in 14th round in 2003. Lost some speed(!) "has an aggressive style and a hard curveball."
There's more here.

Kennedy was the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year in 2005, though his numbers dipped a bit as a junior in 2006. He went 24-12 in three seasons with USC and also pitched for Team USA in 2004-05.

"He's a quality college pitcher, he's had a lot of success in college and for Team USA," Oppenheimer said. "We scouted every game this guy pitched this year. In terms of his stuff, we're very happy with it."

He wasn't even on the 30-man top draft picks from Baseball America so already I'm wondering "what's going on there?"
Round 1 Comp pick - Joba Chamberlain RHP 6'-2" 230lbs. University of Nebraska Lincoln. Fastball in low-90s; Changeup & slider.
Round 2- nil
Round 2 Comp Pick - nil
Round 3 - Zachary MacAllister. RHP 6'5" High School pitcher.
Round 4 - Colin Curtis L/L 6'-1" 200lbs. RF Arizona State University "Cancer survivor. Can hit for average, draw walks, steal some bases but not much power."
Round 5 - George Kontos 6'-3" 215lbs. RHP Northwestern University, no report.
Round 6 - Mitchell Hilligoss 6'-1" 200lbs SS Purdue University
Round 7 - Timothy Norton 6'-5" 230lbs RHP University of Connecticut. Fastball and splitter pitcher, with FB at low-90s.
Round 8 - Dellin Betances 6'-8" 215lbs. RHP High School pitcher. FB in the mid-90s.
Round 9 - Mark Melancon 6'-2" 215lbs RHP University of Arizona
Round 10 - Casey Erickson 6'-2" 200lbs. RHP Springfield college. No description.
Round 11 - Jeffrey Fortenberry 6'-2" L/L LF 175lbs Baylor University
Round 12 - Nicholas Patterson 6'-3" RHP 210lbs U Tampa.
Round 13 - Daniel McCutchen 6'-2" 195lbs RHP U Oklahoma
Round 14 - Donald Hollingsworth 5'-7" 170lbs L/L LF U Riverside
Round 15 - Gabriel Medina 6'-5" 235lbs RHP Emporia State University
Round 16 - Paul Patterson 6'-8" 215lbs RHP Northern Kentucky University
Round 17 - David Robertson RHP 5'-11" 180lbs RHP University of Alabama Tuscalona
Round 18 - Paul Howell 6'-3" 185lbs LHP High School pitcher.

So after 18 rounds, 4 position players, 1 LHP and a platoon of assorted RHPs. None of the position players inspire much confidence. It seems the Yankees are hell-bent on stocking up on Pitchers. Amongst this crowd, the really intersting one is Dellin Betances, who is this years' Anthony-Jackson-Pick: the high-risk-high-reward player who falls through the rounds for whatever reason.

Betances is a rare specimen: He is an 18-year-old right-handed pitching prospect with a fastball in the mid-90's, a well-developed breaking ball and the intimidating stature of a basketball power forward.

That explains the steady parade of scouts who have made their way to Brooklyn this spring, including the dozen or so who stood behind the backstop and watched him pitch a one-hitter, striking out 16 bewildered New Utrecht hitters over seven innings in a first-round Public Schools Athletic League playoff victory in late May.

It also explains why, a few months ago, Betances seemed destined to become the first high school player from New York City to be chosen in the first round of baseball's amateur draft since Manny Ramírez in 1991.

"Down the road, this kid's going to be throwing 100 miles per hour," said Mel Zitter, who coached Betances and Ramírez in his Youth Service League Inc. baseball program. "People understand with Dellin, that down the road, he's going to be a No. 1 or No. 2 major league starter."

But scouting is a fickle science, and in an era in which seasoned college talent tends to trump pure speculative possibility, scouts are reluctant to overvalue a gangly teenager in the days before the draft. Betances could go anywhere from the first to the fifth round, according to several experts.

Betances is exactly the kind of player they should be looking for.
Here is a piece on Hilligoss:

Hilligoss played youth league ball in Mattoon all the way through American Legion when he was a three-time Most Valuable Player for Post 88, which won the 2003 state championship and was runner-up in 2002.

Now he is waiting to hear where his first professional summer season is to be played.

“There were no contract talks,” Hilligoss said. “They said they would be in touch later. That all will start a day or so later. They said ‘congratulations on being a Yankee and we’ll talk to you soon.’ ”

Hilligoss still has the option of playing in the Cape Cod summer collegiate league this summer and returning to Purdue for his senior season.

But Purdue assistant coach Todd Murphy is not counting on having back the shortstop who led the Boilermakers with a .386 batting average, .576 slugging percentage and .453 on-base percentage after winning the Big Ten Conference batting title as a sophomore at .403.

He's certainly interesting.
Here's a piece on Mark Melancon:

Arizona relief pitcher Mark Melancon became a draft-day risk because he missed the last seven weeks of the season with an elbow injury.

The closer who at one time was regarded as a potential first-rounder slipped to the ninth round on Tuesday before the New York Yankees took him with the 284th pick. Melancon said he'll use the slight as motivation.

Melancon was one of three Arizona players drafted, along with junior shortstop Jason Donald, who went to the Phillies in the third round (97th overall), and senior second baseman Brad Boyer, picked in the 13th round (386th overall) by San Francisco.

Donald said the Yankees got a steal, if they can sign Melancon. "Once he gets healthy, he's going to prove he should have been taken earlier," Donald said.

Melancon said he will sign with the Yankees if they offer appropriate compensation, but otherwise will consider returning for his senior season.

So yet another interesting high-risk-high-reward player.

UPDATE:
Here's the list of the rest of the names. Right now, that'ss all they are:

Round 19 - Christopher Kunda R/R 2B 6'-0" 175lbs Oregon State U
Round 20 - Kevin Russo 5'-11" 190 lbs R/R 2B Baylor U
Round 21 - Russell Raley R/R 2B 5'-10" 185 lbs U Oklahoma
Round 22 - Brian Aragon L/L LF 6'-1" 210lbs North Carolina
Round 23 - Brandon Thompson L/L LHP 5'-11" 175lbs Chandler Gilbert CC
Round 24 - Brian Baistey R/R C 6'-3" 215lbs U South Florida
Round 25 - Kevin Carby S/R SS 5'-11" Texarhana CC
Round 26 - Tomothy Dennehy L/L LHP 6'-1" 195lbs Lubbock Christian U
Round 27 - Michael Lee R/R RHP 6'-6" 190lbs Bellevue CC
Round 28 - Barrett Bruce R/R RHP 6'-3" 195 Highschool
Round 29 - Orlando Torres 6'-0" 184lbs High School
Round 30 - Brock Ungricht R/R C 5'-10" 190lbs San Diego State U
Round 31 - Zachary Prestly L/R CF 6'-1" 185 lbs High School
Round 32 - Thomas Palica L/L LHP 6'-3" 215lbs Golden West CC
Round 33 - Luke Trubee R/R RHP 6'-3" 210 lbs U Dayton
Round 34 - Tiger Ladendorf R/R SS 5'11" 185lbs High School
Round 35 - David Van Ostrand L/R 3B 6'-6" 215lbs Allan Hancock Col
Round 36 - Jared Rogers R/R RHP 6'-6" 170lbs High School
Round 37 - Timothy O'Brien R/R 3B 6'-1" 210lbs San Diego State U
Round 38 - Michael Diyorio L/L LF Florida Southern Col
Round 39 - Kevin Smith L/R 1B 6'-1" 210lbs U Oklahoma
Round 40 - Tanner Chitwood L/L LHP 6'-3" 230lbs High School
Round 41 - Ohmed Danesh L/L LF 6'-0" 185lbs High School
Round 42 - Dan Duffy R/R SS 5'-10" 175 lbs High School
Round 43 - Erick Erickson R/L LHP 5'-10" 174lbs High School
Round 44 - James Lasala R/R C 6'-1" 205lbs Iona Col
Round 45 - Nathan Albert R/R RHP 6'-3" 215lbs Bakersfield Col
Round 46 - Jeff Ludlow R/R RHP 6'-2" 190lbs High School
Round 47 - Charles Smith R/R C 5'-10" High School
Round 48 - Jeffrey Loveys R/R RHP 6'-8" 245lbs Ball State U
Round 49 - Chase Odenreider R/R RF 6'-0" 210lbs Creighton U
Round 50 - Sam Honeck L/L 1B 6'-2" 210lbs Grayson County Col

Notably, no Jeff Maier. :)
Lots of 6-foot-something tall, RHPs. It's like they're buying slabs of meat. Ian Kennedy's upside is sounding like a possible analogue of Moose. That'd be a nice pitcher to complement Phillip Hughes in the next dynasty.