MLB Draft Round up: Harvard Westlake pair selected; Dodgers select Seager
The first round of the 2012 MLB first-year player draft is in the books with multiple players with local connections being selected. FOX Sports West's rundown:
Harvard-Westlake pair goes in first round
Surrounded by family and friends at an Encino restaurant, left-handed pitcher Max Fried of Studio City Harvard-Westlake looked up at the television screen and heard Commissioner Bud Selig announce his name as the seventh overall selection in baseball's amateur draft.
"Honestly, it's all a blur," Fried said Monday night. "It's an unbelievable feeling."
Fried was selected by the San Diego Padres. His Harvard-Westlake teammate, Lucas Giolito, was selected No. 16 overall by the Washington Nationals, ending a day of uncertainty for the 6-foot-6 right-hander.
"No one had any idea where I'd go," Giolito said. "I could have gone anywhere. To go that early feels really good, especially after my arm was injured. I had a huge question mark next to my name."
Giolito sprained an elbow ligament in March after being clocked throwing a couple of fastballs at 100 mph. He was considered a candidate to be the No. 1 pick until the injury ended his senior season.
The Houston Astros selected 6-foot-4 shortstop Carlos Correa from Puerto Rico with the No. 1 pick. The 17-year-old has accepted a scholarship to Miami, but the recommended bonus for the No. 1 spot is $7.2 million.
Outfielder Byron Buxton, from Appling County High in Baxley, Ga., went second to the Minnesota Twins.
It's the third time in five years that a team in Southern California has produced two first-round draft picks. In 2007, Chatsworth High had Mike Moustakas taken No. 2 by the Kansas City Royals and Matt Dominguez No. 12 by the then-Florida Marlins. And last year, UCLA's Gerrit Cole was chosen No. 1 by the Pittsburgh Pirates and teammate Trevor Bauer went No. 3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
UCLA Coach John Savage can claim Fried and Giolito as Bruins, but it remains to be seen for how long. Both signed with UCLA in November.
Some might wonder whether Savage is secretly a consultant for the Padres, since they drafted UCLA signees Austin Hedges and Joe Ross last year and spent $5.5 million to sign them and will likely need to spend about $3 million to sign Fried.
"The Padres got us again," Savage said. "I'm happy for Max. From where he was a year ago to where he is now is pretty awesome."
Fried, who's Jewish, considers Dodgers Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax his baseball hero. He wears Koufax's No. 32 and throws a curveball patterned after Koufax.
"It's just something I've been wanting to do since I was 5 years old," Fried said. "Ever since my first Dodger game, I've wanted to play professional baseball. Now that the opportunity is here, it's something I'm going to embrace and really enjoy."
Clubs have until 2 p.m. PDT on July 13 to sign prospects.
"We'll see how negotiations play out and what's a fair deal," Giolito said.
-- Eric Sondheimer - LA Times
Stanford RHP goes No. 8 to Pittsburgh
STANFORD, Calif.-- Stanford right-hander Mark Appel was selected No. 8 by the Pirates in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft Stanford has now had 11 first round picks since 2000.
Appel, a first team All-American, enters his start this weekend in the Super Regional at Florida State as the Pac-12 leader in strikeouts (127).
Giolito falls to No. 16
In the winter, Lucas Giolito of Harvard-Westlake was a candidate to be the No. 1 player selected in baseball's amateur draft. After throwing a 100 mph fastball in late February, the momentum was clear. Then an elbow injury in early March left everything up the in the air.
"I had a huge question mark next to my name," he said.
On Monday, he was taken No. 16 by the Washington Nationals, a team he said he had not even spoken with.
"It was a huge surprise but a pleasant one," he said.
"It's a very exciting day. No one had any idea where I'd go. I could have gone anywhere. To go that early feels really good, especially after my arm was injured."
Giolito will have another month of rehabilitation to show the Nationals before he must make a decision by July 13th whether to sign or attend UCLA.
"We'll see how negotiations play out and what's a fair deal," he said.
What's clear is that Giolito has impressed many with his maturity in dealing with the setback from a sprained elbow ligament that wiped out his senior season and probably cost himself several million dollars in bonus money.
"After I hurt myself, the year got tough, but I went about it the same mentally I've learned, taking it one day at a time and going about my business the best I can," he said.
Giolito said he was also very happy for his high school teammate, Max Fried, a left-hander selected No. 7 by the San Diego Padres.
"We had a mini-celebration at my home," he said.
-- Eric Sondheimer - LA Times
Dodgers take position player
The Dodgers' first-round pick came around Monday – and surprise, surprise – they did not select a starting pitcher.
Instead, with the 18th overall selection the Dodgers selected high school third baseman Corey Seager.
The left-handed hitting Seager, 18, is the younger brother of Mariners' third baseman Kyle Seager and played at Cabarrus High School in North Carolina.
Seager is 6 feet 3 and 190 pounds, and most project him as having more power than his brother. He played shortstop in high school.
He might not be the easiest signing, having committed to two-time national champion South Carolina.
The Dodgers are currently fairly devoid in the minors of an impact bat at third, or much anywhere else.
The Dodgers had selected a pitcher in the first round in the last six consecutive drafts.
- By Steve Dilbeck - LA Times
ASU shortstop, signee go in first round
TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State junior shortstop Deven Marrero was selected 24th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Monday.
The Milwaukee Brewers took ASU baseball 2013 signee Clint Coulter 26th overall.
UCLA junior outfielder Jeff Gelalich was selected by the Cincinnati Reds as the No. 57 overall pick in the supplemental first round of the 2012 MLB Draft on Monday evening.
Gelalich leads UCLA (45-14) with a .372 batting average, the second-highest mark in the Pac-12 Conference, and has belted a team-leading 11 home runs in all 59 games. The native of La Verne, Calif., becomes the 18th UCLA ballplayer selected in the first round or supplemental first round of the MLB Draft.
“You always dream about this happening, and when it does, you don’t know what to do,” Gelalich said. “It’s definitely surreal. This is what I have worked for my whole life. This is what I’ve dreamed of doing, and it’s what I’ve wanted to do. I feel really blessed.”
