Around the NL: Catch of the draft

As the baseball draft nears in a few weeks, teams will pour over stats, scouts’ reports in search of “can’t miss” major leaguers. Scouts are scurrying from ball field to ball field to catch high schoolers, college players, and maybe even a few early summer leagues to find some diamonds in the rough.

When it comes to catchers, skills that translate to the major leagues are tougher to recognize. If you’re trying to spot the next big thing behind the plate, the draft will most likely provide little help. You see, a 17th-round draft pick has a better chance of making The Show than a first-rounder. No kidding, I have proof.

Of the 16 regular catchers in the National League this season, five were not eligible for the draft, signing free agent contracts.

Of the 11 that were drafted, only one — Michael Barrett of the Cubs — was a first-round pick. Chris Snyder of Arizona and Brian McCann of the Braves were second-round choices. But two of the best offensive catchers in the league, Russell Martin and Johnny Estrada, were passed over until the 17th round. Martin was taken by the Dodgers in 2002 and Estrada was snatched up by the Phillies in the 17th round in 1997. Incidentally, Paul Lo Duca had to wait until the 25th round in 1993 to hear his name called by the Dodgers. Ivy Leaguer Brad Ausmus was truly a long shot to become a major leaguer. Ausmus was selected by the New York Yankees in 48th round way back in 1987. After struggling for six seasons on the farm with the Yankees, the Rockies were impressed enough to take Ausmus in the 1992 Expansion Draft. Now more than 1,700 games later, Ausmus is a three-time Gold Glove winner and All-Star. Not to mention one of the most respected players in the game.

Bottom 10
Among the 90 players in the NL who have enough plate appearances to be on pace to qualify for the batting title, three are sitting below the Mendoza Line. Adam Everett (.196) of Houston, Adam LaRoche (.193) of Pittsburgh and Joe Borchard (.192) of Florida. Everett (2-for-19) and Borchard (1-for-19) appear to be mired in a slump. But LaRoche is showing signs of climbing above the .200 mark with a recent 8-for-22 streak.

Among the names in the Bottom 10 are a few surprises — and anvils on someone’s fantasy team in the batting average category. Carlos Delgado of New York stands at .209 with just three home runs. A trio of former All-Stars and MVP candidates sits at .220. Jim Edmonds of St. Louis — with just four extra-base hits — his teammate Scott Rolen and Andruw Jones. The four extra-base hits by Edmonds is the lowest total in the NL among qualifiers, tied with fellow Cardinal David Eckstein. Juan Pierre of Los Angeles, Paul Lo Duca of New York and Lance Berman of the Astros each have six knocks for extra bases.

Hot and Cold
So far in the merry month of May, as many hitters — with as many as 50 plate appearances — are below .200 as there are above .300. The Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal leads the list of hot hitters at .397. Abraham Nunez of Philadelphia, Randy Winn of the Giants, Ryan Doumit of Pittsburgh and Cesar Izturis of the Cubs are all above .300.

The cold list includes San Diego catcher Josh Bard, his teammate Jose Cruz, Orlando Hudson of the Diamondbacks and Florida teammates Alfredo Amezaga and Joe Borchard. Prior to his current 12-for-69 pitfall, Hudson had been among the top second basemen in the league, earning All-Star consideration. Now the race for the top second baseman in the league is wide open.

Player of the Week: Hunter Pence, OF, Houston Astros
Pence went 13-for-22 last week for an impressive .591 average. He coupled that with five runs, two home runs, five RBIs, a stolen base and a 1.716 OPS.

Pitcher of the Week: Randy Johnson, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Johnson helped the D-Backs to two wins in 11.2 innings of work by posting a 1.54 ERA, a 0.69 WHIP and 19 strikeouts.

Numbers Game:
12: Greg Maddux allowed 12 hits to the Mariners on Saturday, marking only the 14th appearance in Maddux’s 682 starts that he’s given up at least 12 hits.

15: The Diamondbacks and Rockies collided at Coors Field last week with the team producing a combined total of 15 runs (scores of 3–0, 3–5, 3–1). That tied the record for the fewest runs allowed in the 224 total three-game series in the history of Coors. The Rockies-Cardinals also managed only 15 runs in July of last year.

1–20: By losing three consecutive games to the Angels this weekend, the Dodgers ran their interleague road record since 2005 to a miserable 1–20, the worst in the majors.

10: The Braves and Red Sox each had their moments in a doubleheader Saturday at Fenway. Boston took the first game 13–3 while the Braves won the second contest 14–0. That’s only the second time in the last 60 years that a doubleheader was split with each team winning by at least 10 runs. The Yankees and Indians did it in 1978.

League Leaders (through May 22nd games):
Batting Average:
1.    Derrek Lee (.381)
2.    Todd Helton (.359)
2.    Matt Holliday (.359)

Home Runs:
1.    Prince Fielder (14)
1.    J.J. Hardy (14)
3.    Chipper Jones (12)

RBIs:
1.    J.J. Hardy (41)
1.    Carlos Lee (41)
3.    Prince Fielder (36)

Stolen Bases:
1.    Jose Reyes (25)
2.    Juan Pierre (16)
2.    Shave Victorino (16)

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds