http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070607&content_id=2010577&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Tigers have the 27th pick and a sandwich pick at 60 (compensation for Jamie Walker).

The Padres have 8 picks before the 3rd round.

Everybody post your mocks.

First 4 rounds would be plenty.

Am I a nerd because I'm watching or Am I cool because I'm watching?!? Well I haven't figured it out yet, but I've got 2 1/2 hours before work and there isn't sh!t on TV so I'm watching this thing dammit.

So, I know jack shit about this stuff. The only reason I knew anything about Miller last year was because I watched the last couple innings of the college world series while channel surfing.

What caliber player will we get at #27? Will we even see this player in the next 5 years?

There actually is a stud pitcher from Seton Hall that is asking for stupid money and is projected to slide VERY far. There is a chance he could slide all the way to the Yankees at #30. We only got Miller last year because everyone thought he was "unsignable" before us.

P.S. The word "unsignable" has been used at least 2.7 million times so far and is easily Pee-Wee's word of the day in the draft.

Draft him! It's not my money anyway.

So what are we drafting? Pitching and catching?


*insert joke here*

Pitching. S&W are saying the guy they chose was the best high school pitcher in the draft.

Porcello it is.

scouting report on this kid

Fastball: Porcello ran his fastball up to 96 mph and was throwing 94-95 mph very comfortably.
FB Movement: Porcello showed good movement with his two-seamer and his four-seamer was simply overpowering. The ball was jumping out of his hand.
Curve: Porcello threw his curve in the low 70s.
Slider: His slider sat at around 80 mph.
Changeup: Porcello threw a change in the 80 mph range and it was a much-improved pitch from last summer.
Control: Porcello's command and control were a bit of a concern over the summer, but he began to answer those questions with outstanding command in this outing.
Poise: Porcello was never really challenged in this game, but he showed excellent poise on the mound.
Physical Description: Porcello is a tall, lanky and projectable right-hander with an easy, smooth delivery.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: Where do you start? He's got four pitches, especially if the changeup continues to improve, with a plus, plus fastball, great command and terrific mechanics.
Weaknesses: Command of his breaking pitchers hasn't always been there in the past, though it was not an issue in this outing. Pitching in the Northeast, he doesn't get to pitch during the season as much as his colleagues in southern California or Florida.


Player Name: Rick Porcello
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, NJ
School Type: High School
Academic Class: Senior
Birthdate: 12/27/88
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Report Date(s): 04/09/07
Game(s): Morris Knolls HS

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/04/11/qfgPpZD3.jpg

I am sorry but why are Baseball Gm's retarded? I love DD doesn't care about signability. We got the 2nd or 3rd rated player overall and the number 1 HS kid at 27.

What blows me away is teams are willing to spend 20-50 million on unproven international Free Agents; but think it bad business to spend 15 million over several years for a North American prospect.

They said this kid is just like Verlander. I like how he can hit his fastball at 94-95 consistently, and he has 3 other pitches. I agree JS, how the Royals can throw Gil Meche all that money then skip on Miller to take Hochevar is crazy to me.

well, to be fair. a hs er, even the best in the country, has a long way to go. how'd giving all that money to henson turn out?

that said, i love that we're the team that does this stuff now. im no baseball genius, but if i was drafting, i'd start by looking at the pitchers who can throw the hardest. sounds like i'd go with porcello too. can dd gm all four detroit teams?

I say turn the kid into a closer and have him here by next week!

Ok, kidding. Like diddy said it will likely be AT LEAST 3-4 years with him being a HS kid, but by then he'll be the #5 guy behind Bonderman, Verlander, Miller, and Trahern.

I really do hope they find an intimidating stud and convert him to a reliever soon. Zumaya is the closer for the future, but we've seen that we obviously need an intimidating guy for the 7th and/or 8th inning besides Rodney, and someone that can close when Zumaya has to shut it down like he has the last two seasons.

Compensation round pick: #60
Brandon Hamilton
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Stanhope Elmore HS, Millbrook, Ala.
School Type: High School
Academic Class: Senior
Birthdate: 12/25/88
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Report Date(s): 02/24/07
Game(s): Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa

Fastball: Hamilton was throwing in the 87-92 mph range, but his average velocity was down.
Curve: Hamilton will show glimpses of an above-average spike curve.
Changeup: Hamilton's change is a below-average pitch that is way behind the other two offerings.
Control: Hamilton did not have good control or command in this outing.
Poise: His poise and mound presense were well below-average.
Aggressiveness: When Hamilton struggled in this outing, he backed off all of his stuff and lost his aggressiveness.
Physical Description: Tall, projectable body.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: Good two-pitch combination when working. His fastball and spike curve are good offerings when he can command them.
Weaknesses: It's very hard to consistently control a spike curve. He showed a lack of competitiveness in this outing.
Summary: Hamilton's pure stuff and ability to pitch are there, and that will keep scouts coming. But he will have to show he can deal with adversity on the mound and be more aggressive.

2nd round pick: #91
Player Name: Danny Worth
Position: Shortstop
School: Pepperdine University
School Type: College
Academic Class: Junior
Birthdate: 09/30/85
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 165 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Report Date(s): 04/17/07
Game(s): UCLA

Hitting Ability: While Worth is not known for his offensive ability, he has made a lot of improvement with the bat this year, doing a better job of using the whole field. He's a tough out who hits line droves gap-to-gap.
Power: He has no real power outside of the ability to spray line-drive doubles.
Running Speed: Worth is an average runner, at best.
Arm Strength: His arm strength is average, but he has an extremely quick exchange to make up for it.
Arm Accuracy: He has a very accurate arm.
Fielding: Worth is as sure-handed as they come. Any ball he gets to is an out.
Range: Worth doesn't have outstanding range, particularly in the hole, but he has tremendous instincts and cheats to that side to make up for it.
Physical Description: Worth fits the mold of a slender defensive-minded shortstop.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: His glove. Worth is a vacuum at short and might be the most sure-handed shortstop in the draft.
Weaknesses: While he's iimproved with the bat, it's definitely behind the glove. He'll never be more than a glove-first spray hitter.
Summary: College shortstops who can catch the ball are usually in high demand and often in short supply, so Worth should get plenthy of attention. He's very sure-handed and has tremendous defensive instincts. He's become a better hitter this year, with good plate discipline and a shorter swing that's allowed him to spray the ball to all fields. But it's his glove that will carry him.

So far after three picks, it sounds like the BEST case scenario is that we drafted the next stud pitcher, a middle relief guy who might never make it to the majors, and the next Ozzie Smith.

Except Ozzie was crazy fast and had huge range. Sounds more like the next Neifi Perez.

Except Ozzie was crazy fast and had huge range. Sounds more like the next Neifi Perez.

Sadly, agreed.

3rd round, pick #121 (Tigers 4th pick of the day)

Player Name: Luke Putkonen
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: University of North Carolina
School Type: Four-Year College
Academic Class: Sophomore
Birthdate: 05/10/86
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Report Date(s): 04/22/07
Game(s): Florida State

Focus Area Comments
Fastball: Putkonen has above-average velocity that sits in the 90-94 mph range.
Curve: His curve is slightly below-average.
Changeup: Putkonen has a changeup, but it grades out as below average.
Slider: See a theme here? Putkonen's secondary offerings, including the slider, are all below-average.
Control: He does have average to a tick above-average command of his fastball.
Poise: Putkonen has average makeup overall.
Physical Description: The big right-hander reminds some of Ryan Madson as far as body type goes.
Medical Update: Putkonen redshirted in his freshman year of 2005 following Tommy John surgery. He is currently healthy.
Strengths: A power arm and the ability to command the fastball that comes out of it.
Weaknesses: His secondary pitches are all well behind the fastball.
Summary: Putkonen has been so-so as North Carolina's Sunday starter, but does possess intriguing arm strength. He throws an above-average fastball and can command it fairly well. The only problem is that his other offerings are far behind the heater. He might be better suited to a bullpen role, but the lack of a good secondary offering makes it hard to project him.

Ok, 4th and 5th round and they're done for the day.
Both rounds the Tigers grabbed 6'5" LHP's. One from LSU and the other from high school.
The team with the amazing offense at the big league level and deep pitching in the farm system finished the day having chosen 5 pitchers and a defensive shortstop.
I just hope they can add a little bit of offense for the farm tomorrow, but it's nice to see that they realize great pitching wins championships and they're not laying off it just because they have a wealth of talent in the organization already. I also hope we've picked more Verlanders and Zumayas and not Andersons, Sleeths and Baughs.
They did add offense primarily the past two seasons, with 5 of the top 6 being position players last year and 4 of the top 5 the year before.

imo, you get as many young arms as possible, and then you trade them for established bats, ala the sheffield trade this summer. its all a crapshoot, anyway.

There actually is a stud pitcher from Seton Hall that is asking for stupid money and is projected to slide VERY far. There is a chance he could slide all the way to the Yankees at #30. We only got Miller last year because everyone thought he was "unsignable" before us.

P.S. The word "unsignable" has been used at least 2.7 million times so far and is easily Pee-Wee's word of the day in the draft.

Nice call Philly.

BTW, here are the national views (from Mlive) on our drafting of him:



The Detroit Tigers have had some pretty amazing drafts in the past few years. Justin Verlander. Cameron Maybin. Andrew Miller. Thursday was no different, even though the Tigers were drafting over 20 slots lower then have in the years they drafted Verlander, Maybin, and Miller. With their first round selection, the Tigers selected high school phenom Rick Porcello, and if he lives up to half the praise the national media has given him and the Tigers today, he will be a star in the Tigers rotation for a long time to come (assuming, of course, the Tigers sign him to a contract, which is how he slid to Detroit in the first place).
CNNSI, for example, had Porcello ranked as the top high school player in the draft, who they projected as a top 5 pick.

June 6, CNNSI: (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/highschool/06/06/top.20/index.html) Porcello, the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year, dominated opponents this spring as the ace of the No. 1 team in the RISE Top 25. He is the top pitcher in a very deep class of hurlers and appears on target to be selected among the first five picks, possibly as high as No. 2. If Porcello falls out of the top five, he can blame his agent, Scott Boras, for scaring teams away. Porcello's four-pitch arsenal includes a mid-90s fastball, a slider, a curveball and a changeup. The right-hander got rocked in the New Jersey Non-Public North A semifinals (a 9-8 win over Don Bosco) but could get a chance for redemption on Saturday in the state title game against St. Joseph's (Metuchen, N.J.). ESPN.com's Keith Law ranked Porcello as the fourth best talent in the entire draft and projects him as a top-of-the-rotation starter.

June 6, ESPN.com: (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/draft2007/insider/news/story?id=2896488) Porcello was the top prep pitcher on my draft board. He has the potential to be a front-of-the-rotation pitcher with a few minor tweaks needed in his delivery so he can maximize his stuff. His calling card is a mid-90s fastball with good, late tailing action. He throws two curveballs, and he'll raise his arm slot slightly to get on top of them. His better curveball is thrown at 79-80, and is a sharp downer with a very late break. Porcello is a good athlete who is very quick off the mound. In an ESPN Insider article, Law called the pick of Porcello the best in the draft.
June 7, ESPN Insider: (http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/draft2007/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=2897182&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb %2fdraft2007%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumni st%3dlaw_keith%26id%3d2897182)The best pick for value at a particular pick was easily Rick Porcello, one of the five best prospects in this draft, taken by Detroit at 27. The Tigers have been very aggressive in the draft under Dave Dombrowski, going over slot in the last four first rounds, and if they can get Porcello signed, it'll be a steal given where they picked. FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry agreed, naming the Tigers his top team "winner" for the first round of the draft.
June 7, FoxSports.com: (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6900032) The rich get richer. The defending AL champs have plenty of good young pitching, and now they add Rick Porcello to the growing list. Porcello, a New Jersey prep phenom, is a Scott Boras client and, as such, has signability concerns. It's those very concerns that caused a top-four talent to fall all the way to Detroit at number 27. Porcello is the best right-hander in the draft and the best high-school arm in the draft. Signing him will be difficult, and under the new rules the Tigers have until only August 15 to get something done. However, they have the resources and a recent history that suggests they're willing to pay above draft slot. Is this the best organization in baseball? You can make a compelling case that it is. Baseball America was a big fan of the pick as well.
June 7, Baseball America: (http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=104) Detroit scouting director David Chadd did it again-he isn't afraid of the high-dollar talent and he popped the best player on the board in righthander Rick Porcello. And that's the first pick in a while that made everyone in the BA office go, "Ooooooh." What it will take to sign Porcello will dictate if he joins a future ridiculous Detroit rotation of Jeremy Bonderman, Andrew Miller and Justin Verlander. If it takes Josh Beckett money (big league contract, $7 million), then Porcello will be a North Carolina Tar Heel next year. But my guess is the Tigers will get something done.
Baseball America also has a list of the other Tigers draft picks (http://www.baseballamerica.com/draftdb/2007xteam.php?team=DET) on day one, including 5 pitchers in their six selections. And as I wrote at my personal blog, Mike Ilitch deserves a lot of credit (http://swarheit.blogspot.com/2007/06/mlb-draft-makes-clear-tigers-are-part.html), because without his financial support, Verlander, Maybin, Miller, and now Porcello would never be Tigers.

imo, you get as many young arms as possible, and then you trade them for established bats, ala the sheffield trade this summer. its all a crapshoot, anyway.

I agree. Keep taking young arms and you can always move them for a solid positional player.

He's going to cost a fortune but I love how DD, Chadd and Ilitch have approached the draft lately. Yeah, giving 10 mill to an amateur is hugely risky, but when you factor in the cheap pre-free agency and arbitration years, if you even hit on 50% of them, you make out ahead. Seriously, what's ten million when you have teams like the Cubs giving 10-12 million to frigging Bobby Howry for Chrissakes. They've found an inefficiency in the market and how teams budget for the draft and have pounced.



We've gotten Maybin, Miller, Porcello and Verlander the last four years, each generally considered a top three talent. Verlander's already hit and Maybin and Miller look like they should too. Not a bad haul.

He's going to cost a fortune but I love how DD, Chadd and Ilitch have approached the draft lately. Yeah, giving 10 mill to an amateur is hugely risky, but when you factor in the cheap pre-free agency and arbitration years, if you even hit on 50% of them, you make out ahead. Seriously, what's ten million when you have teams like the Cubs giving 10-12 million to frigging Bobby Howry for Chrissakes. They've found an inefficiency in the market and how teams budget for the draft and have pounced.



We've gotten Maybin, Miller, Porcello and Verlander the last four years, each generally considered a top three talent. Verlander's already hit and Maybin and Miller look like they should too. Not a bad haul.

Very, very true.

The draft is the cheap part of the MLB. You pay 10 million to get the ABSOLUTE BEST talent for 7-10 years in the draft vs. 10 million getting you an average MRP for 3 years.

The draft(and latin signings) are the biggest bargains in the market.

The draft(and latin signings) are the biggest bargains in the market.


I agree with detroitsportscity.

If any of you were wondering about what the talent level is in the later rounds of the draft, I have a bit to share.
At West Michigan this season (Tigers low A club, where Maybin spent the season last year) the starting rotation is made up of the guys drafted a year ago in rounds 7, 8, 10, 13 and 19. The closer was picked in round 14. Position players picked in rounds 3, 4, 5, and 18 are regulars batting .273, .294, .233, and .338 respectively. Of course, the first round pick was Miller and the second round pick is playing (struggling) at high A Lakeland.
The draft before that, 2005, was the Maybin draft. The team did not have a 2nd round pick. The 3rd and 11th round picks were sent with Humberto Sanchez for Sheffield. The 6th, 7th, 14th, 19th, 27th, and 30th picks are all fairly productive with Maybin at high A Lakeland, while the 5th, 10th, 12th, and 16th pick are all at AA Erie.
Many of the guys from the 2004 (Verlander) draft are out of the organization. There are a couple reasons for that. Reason #1: often if a guy isn't progressing well enough and the potential is lost they will be let go by their third year in the organization. Reason #2: many guys will be traded within their first few years in an organization. Reason #3, and perhaps the biggest reason: David Chadd, the director of scouting and an absolute genius, did not join the organization until 2005. This was his third draft with the team and you could easily say that there are more quality prospects in the organization from those drafts than from the 6-7 previous drafts combined. You can't crap on those drafts too much, since they did produce Verlander, Zumaya and Granderson, to name the most significant, but with Dombrowski and Chadd at the reigns it's easy to believe Detroit will compete for a pennant for the next decade and beyond - as long as Ilitch is committed financially to keep these guys in the organization. Dombrowski struggled to contend consistantly in Montreal and Florida because the top prospects left via free agency because ownership wouldn't offer competitive contracts.

and not Andersons, Sleeths and Baughs.
Anderson was doing amazing for us until he hurt his arm. Sleeth is still making a comeback after an injury, i do believe. Not sure what happened to Baugh so that one is legitimate. But Anderson was definitely a very good pick for us and Sleeth may still turn into something.

Kieth Law:



Best pick

The best value selection was easily Rick Porcello, one of the five best prospects in this draft, taken by Detroit at No. 27. The Tigers have been very aggressive in the draft under Dave Dombrowski, going over slot in the past four first rounds, and if they can get Porcello signed, it'll be a steal given where they picked.
If we factor in the players' likely signing bonuses, Wendell Fairley may be the best pick of the round, although he fell to the Giants at 29 for another reason. Fairley has tremendous upside and projects as a right fielder who hits for power, controls the strike zone and can run. He fell because of concerns about some off-field issues and the fact that he hadn't been seen in some of the better national competitions like the Area Code Games. He's a top-10 or top-15 talent if the off-field stuff isn't really an issue.

I'd also put Jarrod Parker in the mix for the best pick (No. 9 to Arizona), as he was the best high school pitcher in this draft (non-Boras category).

I saw in the late rounds they drafted Kaline's grandson, Gene Lamont's kid, Zumaya's brother and Robertson's brother.

I saw in the late rounds they drafted Kaline's grandson, Gene Lamont's kid, Zumaya's brother and Robertson's brother.
Are you serious? I wonder how many of those were based on potential and ability?

"Favors" like that happen all the time in the baseball draft.

Mike Piazza was one of those favors back in the day (mildly related to Tommy La Sorda).

They almost never work out, just like anybody else drafted in the 1,354th round.

Well, if his brother's arm is anything like Joel's, it's worth the chance.

I wonder how many guys we'll actually sign from this draft. Grabbing HS players is often a risk because they have plenty of time to go to college instead and may choose that route. We drafted 18 HS players I think. Meanwhile we drafted 10 college seniors. They are usually much more likely to sign because they're out of alternatives.
Also, it went until pick 841 before they picked someone that wasn't up the middle. All the Tigers picks up to that point were pitchers, catchers, middle infielders or center fielders. In fact, of all their picks there was one LF and one 1B. Everything else was up the middle.
Most of the picks seem like guys that will take at least 3-4 years to get through the farm system if they make it to the big club. It will be interesting to see the prograssion for the next few years on a draft without a guy we're all expecting to see. The last 3, Verlander, Maybin and Miller, have come with early expectations. Verlander was almost an instant ace, Miller is up and 2-0, and Maybin is producing and drawing serious trade offers. I think Maybin is satisfying people but it's expected that HS position players can be ready before pitchers most of the time. That's certainly not always true, and Bonderman is an example of a HS kid that made it through quickly - pitching only one full season in the minors before making his big league debut and staying with the club. With almost any other organization he would have spent AT LEAST one more season in the farm system but he was impressive in spring training and the Tigers needed the help. Unless they turn one of these kids into a closer immediately and he's Eric Gagne, Jonathon Papelbon, or Billy Wagner at the top of their game, these guys will all wait a while and most Tigers fans won't be too curious about their progress.

Deadline dealings: While the Tigers look towards the July 31 deadline for potential trades, they have an Aug. 15 deadline looming to sign picks from June's First-Year Player Draft. With just under four weeks to go, it appears any deal with first-round pick Rick Porcello will likely come down to the final days.

The Tigers have worked through the early stages of talks involving the talented right-hander, who is being advised by agent Scott Boras and his group. No contract, however, is close.

"We're just keeping the coals burning, making everybody understand what our interest is," said scouting director David Chadd, who also is in talks with fifth-round pick Casey Crosby, among others.

Both Porcello and Crosby have commitments to Division I colleges should they not sign by the deadline -- Porcello to North Carolina, Crosby to Illinois. Porcello's expected contract demands were a major reason why the universally-acclaimed best high-school pitcher in the draft fell to the Tigers with the 27th overall selection.
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070719&content_id=2096001&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det