Not a bad week for Small Time Sports, as 96 players who I have had the priviledge of seeing in person have been selected for a shot at pro baseball. But no players from my college of High Point got picked, the first time in five years that my Panthers have been shut out of the draft. I am particularly disappointed about Jeremy Berg being passed over, as he was domiant with both HPU and the RedWolves this past year. David Anderson, Coastal Carolina's all-time home run leader, did not get picked. Only eight players from the Big South were picked (less than one per school). That is quite a bit of disrespect for one of the better mid-major conferences in college baseball. Quite a few Southern Conference players were picked, even though that conference isn't much better than the Big South.
Two players who have been regulars at Riley Park here in Sumter were taken in the first ten rounds. I am not one to disagree with my hometown guys getting picked usually, but some things stand out about B.J. Hyatt and Richard Jones.
Hyatt, the Houston Astros' 4th round pick, struggled this past year with the USC Sumter Fire Ants. Hyatt's ERA was a 7.24 with the JUCO Fire Ants and was a bit wild at times on the mound. Yet he was hounded by scouts all season long, because of his 6-4 , 205 lb. body and his mid-90s fastball. Too often players are scouted by potential rather than performance. Fire Ant ace Tyler Christman didn't get picked until Round 44, and his ERA was an outstanding 1.73. Hyatt lacked location on his pitches, and lost his spot in the USC Sumter rotation this year. In front of 125 fans (50 of which were scouts), Hyatt led USC Sumter to a Sloppiness of 16 against Patrick Henry CC, the highest total of sloppy plays this season before Dalzell's numbers Sunday. Hyatt shows promise but is a very sloppy pitcher. Too often I think scouts ruin young pitchers, as showing off for the radar gun leads to them not getting batters out like a pitcher is supposed to do. This ruins the level of talent in the pro game and scouts try to direct pitchers' amateur careers by asking them to show what they can throw. Accuracy doesn't seem to matter to scouts, thinking that pro coaches can always devlop this talent. But sometimes things don't pan out, as Cardinal pitcher Rick Ankiel lost his ability to throw strikes and is now an outfielder. Hyatt unfortunately doesn't have his bat to fall back on. Let's hope for his sake that now that he is in pro ball he can concentrate on making smart and effective pitches. I would really love someone to do well and represent our local college here in Sumter that has been underfunded lately by the state and is easily considered to be Small Time.
Among catchers, Richard Jones (who we saw this past weekend for the Thomasville Hi-Toms) got drafted over High Point catcher Billy Alvino who never got picked. Jones has more pop in his bat but does strike out some while Alvino virtually never does. He still needs to work on certain skills such as his catching. He once in the CPL tournament last summer allowed a passed strike on a called strike three. Alvino is also not a great defensive catcher but has made improvements in his game over the years. Jones I think needs one more year in college to become more polished and hopefully will improve his wood bat swing this summer. Hopefully he won't sign this year and become a better player as a result. Striking out three times against Christman Saturday is a sign that Christman may be the better (and younger) player.
But congrats to all 96 players I have seen get picked. I remember finding Dustin Ackley's freshman numbers at UNC outstanding when I saw him play HPU, and he is the first player from Small Time Sports who got picked. It must be noted that many excellent Small Time Sports players never get a crack at the Big Time, and more reason to come and support them now. Some are playing at their highest level, with even the minors being just a dream.
But some players who get drafted will make it further than imagined. One of these is High Point's own Mark Shorey, a 2006 31st round pick by the Cardinals who has made it to AAA. I will go see him play this weekend and talk about his success on here shortly.
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