Yankees, Mets MLB Draft Roundup

It worked once for the Mets, so they are trying it again. The Mets Wednesday selected J.J. Franco, son of former Mets closer John Franco, in the 42nd round of the MLB Draft.

Tyler Kepner of the New York Times reminds us that being selected early in the Major League Baseball draft means little about long-term success.

Will Cito Culver, a shortstop from Rochester, N.Y., be the next Derek Jeter? Will Matt Harvey, a standout pitcher at North Carolina, turn into a Mike Pelfrey?

Not to be a downer, but odds are these draft picks will fade into obscurity, if recent experience is any guide. Take the Yankees. Of their 16 first-round picks since 2000 (including their compensation picks), only Phil Hughes (2004), Joba Chamberlain (2006) and, arguably, Ian Kennedy (2006) have done anything of note. Even then, Hughes has all of 20 career wins.

Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees’ vice president of amateur scouting, doesn’t think much of what the Internet thinks of the team’s selection of Cito Culver in the first round Monday night.

“The main ranking that means something to me is what the ranking of our guys have,” Oppenheimer said. “I had basically over 100 years of scouting experience go in to see this kid. When guys like my cross-checkers who have been doing this for a long time, former major-league hitting coaches like Gary Denbo and former scouting directors like Bill Livesey come back with a thumbs up, that means a lot more to me than the public opinion of Baseball America or some of the other publications who just aren’t able to get to these guys and don’t have scouting staffs.”

Asked whether he thought he might be able to hold off and select Culver with the 82nd pick, Oppenheimer admitted the thought did cross his mind.

“I’m glad I didn’t,” Oppenheimer said. “After we did pick him, I got a call from one of our good competitors who is very successful who said he wouldn’t have gotten to us at 82.”

The Yankees made waves last night when they drafted shortstop Cito Culver with the last pick of the first round of the MLB Draft, and the response to the pick has been overwhelmingly negative. Pinstripe Alley, SB Nation's Yankees blog, has a roundup of the reaction here.

With the 32nd pick of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, the New York Yankees have selected switch-hitting short stop Cito Culver, a high school prospect from Irondequoit High School in upstate New York. Culver has committed to the University of Maryland.

From Baseball America’s Draft Blog:

Once again, this wasn’t a consensus first-rounder. Need more proof? Cito Culver ranked No. 168 on our board, but Culver had athleticism, plus tools to play shortstop and good infield actions, and the Yankees popped him at No. 32.

The Yankees usually go for shortstops and middle-of-the-diamond players internationally, but they have hit the catcher spot hard in the draft and have drafted plenty of middle infielders in recent years, such as David Adams, Corban Joseph and Carmen Angelini. The first two picks could still work out, but Angelini got $1 million as a 10th-round pick in 2007 and has yet to stick in full-season ball.

From Aaron Fitt’s draft report:

“The game comes easily to Culver, whose actions, instincts and range are all plus at times, though he has a long way to go to become a consistent defender, and some believe he profiles as a utility player down the road. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Culver is a solid-average runner and a switch-hitter with a loose, whippy swing from both sides of the plate.”

Check in at Pinstripe Alley for more commentary and fan reaction about Culver and the rest of the 2010 MLB Draft as it unfolds.

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The Mets selected North Carolina pitcher Matt Harvey with their first pick in the MLB Draft.
Harvey, 21, went 7-3 in 13 starts while compiling a 3.10 ERA this season for the Tar Heels. He was originally selected in the third round by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2007 draft, but the Angels were unable to sign him.

According to SB Nation’s MLB Draft site, MLB Bonus Baby, this is a solid pick.

Scouts still point to his awful mechanics last year, but he’s improved so much that it seems to be a dead issue, and he projects as a number two starter if things come together exactly right. His fastball is an easy plus pitch, getting some plus-plus grades, as he sits 92-95 most nights and can pump it up to 97, and he holds velocity deep into games, even when asked to throw absurd numbers of pitches. His breaking ball is a potential plus slider, which is distinctly different from the curveball he threw as a prep, which has gone by the wayside. His changeup is only a fringe-average pitch, but he gets by with his two plus pitches with ease. Even with Scott Boras still as his adviser, he’s expected to go in the top twenty picks, and he should command something around $2 million.

Be sure to visit Amazin’ Avenue, the SB Nation Mets blog, for more reaction.