2008 MLB Draft: Day One Reactions

June 5, 2008
Thursday at 11 a.m. marked the beginning of the 2008 Major League Baseball Entry Draft. About 20 hours later, I'm still too lazy to respond to any of my draft-related emails, so I'll just ramble here for a bit instead. Here goes nothing:

Houston, we (still) have a problem

The first time I saw Jason Castro play was last May. The Stanford catcher -- just a sophomore at the time -- certainly passed the eye ball test. There was little doubt that he looked like a big leaguer.

The problem, however, was that he passed this eye ball test with a .167/.287/.225 vital line in 102 at-bats as the Cardinal's backup backstop.

Look, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder's .372/.423/.603 line this season was impressive -- very impressive. It just wasn't impressive enough to warrant being taken No. 10 overall -- especially when we take a look at who the Rangers tabbed with the very next pick.

Smoak is burning

If everything is bigger in Texas, then Justin Smoak should be Godzilla-sized within the next 24 minutes.

Of all the collegiate bats on the board, Smoak's is the one that I feel is the safest pick. After going .315/.434/.631 with 22 homers in 260 at-bats as a sophomore, the South Carolina product put up a fictitious .383/.503/.757 line with 23 jacks -- with a 57:28 walk to strikeout rate -- in 235 at-bats this season.

How a switch-hitting, patient slugger with with that kind of sample is still on the board with 10 picks in the books leaves me scratching my head -- and the Rangers brass rejoycing. Colorado getting Christian Friedrich at No. 25 was a steal; Texas getting Smoak at No. 11 was a robbery.

After all this, I really only have one question: Why oh why couldn't Smoak have slid one pick further to Oakland?

City by the Bay

As if missing out on Smoak by one pick wasn't a big enough slap in the face, A's fans now have to deal with the fact that their cross-bay rivals had one of the day's best showings.

The Giants were in a win-win situation -- they could take Smoak or catcher Buster Posey with the No. 5 overall pick and look like geniuses either way. Looking to get the most for their selection, San Francisco went for the man who can play nine positions as opposed to just one -- fair enough.

The Posey selection was just the beginning.

With their next two picks, the Giants picked up a pair of proven college bats: Conor Gillaspie (No. 37) and Roger Kieschnick (No. 82). Holding a trio of talented hitters to its credit, San Francisco decided to roll the dice on shortstop Brandon Crawford with its next selection (No. 117), which could prove to be a good value pick over time.

Across the bay, Oakland went with Jemile Weeks, Tyson Ross, and Peter Paramore with its first three selections. These picks made for a pretty good showing, but San Francisco steals the show this year. In a somewhat related note, the A's took Weeks in-between probably my two favorite guys to root for -- Smoak and Brett Wallace. Oh well.

No hardware just yet

Although the Giants had a great first day, they certainly haven't locked up any kind of top-draft honors -- their success has just been the most annoying success for me.

Staying in California, I really like what the Padres did today. Allan Dykstra picked the wrong year to become draft eligible -- just about any other year, we're singing his song as the draft's top college first baseman. It's not his fault he happened to come out with Yonder Alonso and that Smoak guy -- he's good. Getting both Logan Forsythe (No. 46) and James Darnell (No. 69) were major selections, too. Blake Tekotte was a good third-round pick.

After taking Pedro Alvarez at No. 2 overall, Pittsburgh had set itself up to have a good day. Adding Tanner Scheppers in the second (No. 48 overall) and Jordy Mercer at No. 79 certainly didn't hurt. Also, tabbing Chase D'Arnaud at No. 114 is a pick worth noting -- I've seen the Pepperdine product multiple times, most recently at the Stanford Regional last weekend, and have liked what I've seen.

Everytime I felt the A's made a good pick, the Cardinals would follow right after them with a better pick. Walking away from Day One with Wallace, Lance Lynn, Shane Peterson, Scott Gorgen, and Jermaine Curtis probably puts St. Louis in the lead with the first day of action in the books.

The Royals got off to a good start, too -- especially if they can sign Tim Melville (No. 115). Throw Tampa Bay into the mix -- Tim Beckham and Kyle Lobstein are a good one-two punch, and anytime you take a UC Davis product -- Jake Jefferies -- in the second round, you get bonus points in my book.

Name of the day

With the 16th pick in the fifth round, No. 158 overall, the Milwaukee Brewers select Maverick Lasker, pitcher, Sandra Day O'Connor High School. Wait, wait -- Maverick? Are we talking this Maverick or that Maverick? Either way, that's a really cool name.

Adam is waiting for the Brewers to take someone named Turncoat "Renegade" Rebel in the latter rounds of Day Two. He can be reached at aloberstein@projectprospect.com.