SB Nation User Blog: James Quinn

Paul Smyth, Kansas RHP, taken in 35th round by Oakland

James Quinn — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:04:35 -0000

Paul Smyth, Kansas RHP, taken in 35th round by Oakland

Hello Athletic fans. Oakland drafted Kansas closer Paul Smyth in the 35th round this week. I've been covering Jayhawk baseball for the last three years at Rock Chalk Talk. I linked a short prospect profile of Paul above. Smyth pitched at KU for four years. He was mostly good. He has a lot of movement on his fastball when it is right. His velocity is in the high 80's to low 90's. He has a useful slider. He was frustrating in that he would go through rough patches and give up runs in bunches for 3-5 games in a row, and then be the model of pitching perfection for two or three weeks straight afterwards. Paul has good skills for a 35th round pick, a competitive mentality, and he still has more room to grow than one might expect from a 4 year NCAA starter with 129 games under his belt. He had an off senior year which may have been due to a non-chronic arm injury. I hope your coaching staff works with him and he makes it up the ladder.

Kansas Baseball draft round-up

James Quinn — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:35:18 -0000

At 6'6, 225 lbs Tanner Poppe was a stand out athlete at Girad High School in football, basketball and baseball. He settled on baseball and committed to KU earlier this spring. Poppe was drafted by the Royals today in the 37th round. (via www.cjonline.com

View full size photo uploaded June 11, 2009

Kansas had four current players and two signees selected in this week's MLB draft:

David Narodowski - 15th round by Arizona

Shawn Blackwell - 24th round by Texas

Shaeffer Hall - 25th round by the Yankees

Paul Smyth - 35th round by Oakland

Tanner Poppe - 37th round by Kansas City

Brian Heere - 48th round by Boston

Blackwell and Poppe are both incoming freshman pitchers. Both are highly regarded. I have no idea what Blackwell's chances of signing with Texas are versus his coming to Kansas in the Fall. I understand that Poppe was leaning towards coming to Kansas but his selection by Kansas City might complicate that situation. Poppe is from Girard High School in Kansas, and the Royals have a recent history of paying over slot signing bonuses to late picks, so my confidence in him coming to KU is a bit diminished from where it was prior to the draft.

Two draft eligable players I was surprised not to see selected are Preston Land and Buck Afenir. Both might sign as undrafted free agents this week. Preston was drafted by the Twins out of high school and always attracted a fair amount of scouting interest during his time at KU. After a very impressive freshman season Land's struggled to rediscover his power stroke. He hit for low average and struck out often during his final three years at KU. Despite his unimpressive plate numbers I still expected to see him go in the draft due to his size, his good plate judgement and his plus defensive skills at first base.

Buck Afenir has always hit well for a catcher. Hell, Buck has always hit well for any position on this field. His defensive skills improved noticeably during the last year and a half. Afenir threw out 11 of 34 base stealers this season and was a favorite among the pitching staff due to his game calling, leadership and ability to block balls in the dirt. I came to believe Buck could stick at catcher in the pros. Given his offensive skills - he hit .333/.382/.534 his senior year - I fully expected him to be drafted and am rather surprised he was not taken.

A few other players drafted of interest to Jayhawk nation: Beau Stoker (SS of Bishop Ward HS); Connor Crumbliss(2B Sr. at Emporia State), Stephen Cilladi (C Sr. at Kansas Wesleyan), Chad Duling (SS at Bishop Carroll High School), Michael Morin (RHP at Shawnee Mission South High), Jeffrey Soptic (RHP at Shawnee Mission East High) and Vidal Nuno (LHP at Baker College). Morin and Soptic were both taken by the Royals. I love seeing some of the NAIA players like Cilladi and Nuno called. There are quite a few NAIA teams in the mid-west and often they have more than a few decent players on their rosters.

Major League organizations have until August 15th to come to terms with drafted players. Should they fail to sign the players before the deadline they go back into the draft pool the following year.

Brian Heere, Kansas outfielder, drafted by Red Sox in 48th round.

James Quinn — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:09:25 -0000

Brian Heere, KU right fielder.

View full size photo uploaded June 11, 2009

Brian Heere, Kansas starting right fielder, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 48th round of the MLB draft. Heere is a red-shirt sophomore with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining. He certainly would be welcomed back by the Hawks should he not sign a professional contract before the August deadline. Brian is a product of Lawrence High school.

After playing very sporadically in 2008 Brian broke out in 2009. In 209 at bats Heere hit .364/.459/.531 with 12 doubles, 4 triples and 5 home runs. He drove in 40 runs and scored 55. Brian showed remarkable patience at the plate in his first full year of NCAA action. He walked 39 times while striking out only 29. Brian stole seven bases in nine attempts. Brian also distinguished himself in the outfield only making two errors all year while providing consistently steady, and at times outstanding defense.

Brian's production was recognised by his being named second team all Big-12.

Should Brian sign a professional contract Kansas would have to replace two outfielder slots. Starting centerfielder Nick Faunce graduated in May. Casey Larson, Jason Brunansky, Jimmy Waters, Zac Elgie and Jake Marasco all started games in the outfield last season and will return in 2010.

Like Aman, I do not expect Heere to take the dive into professional baseball yet, but he will have an offer on the table and anything can happen. Hearing your name called on draft day is something to which every college baseball player looks forward. Below are Aman Reaka's thoughts on Heere prior to the draft:

Brian Heere and Robby Pricewould shock me if selected this year but if either of them can work out a deal to go in the top 10 rounds then I could see a slight chance that one of them might sign. Both seem to be prototypical college ballplayers that would want to play as much college ball as possible and to continue their education. Robby has his Senior season and playing his last year for his father to look forward to and Heere I'm quite sure will strive to get his degree before testing any professional baseball opportunities.

Big-12 Players taken in the 2009 MLB draft

James Quinn — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:40:19 -0000

After the jump the full list of Big-12 Players taken in the 2009 MLB draft. Please let me know if i left anyone off. Also, if you would like a comment regard signees drafted please feel welcome to do so.

Round 1

Aaron Crow RHP (12) – Formerly of Missouri – Kansas City

Kyle Gibson RHP (22) – Missouri, Jr. – Minnesota

Aaron Miller LHP (36) – Baylor, Jr. – Dodgers

Garrett Richards (42) – Oklahoma, Jr. - Angels

Round 2

Andrew Oliver LHP (58) – Oklahoma State, Jr. - Detroit

William "Alex" Wilson RHP (77) – Texas A&M, Sr. – Red Sox

Round 4

A.J. Morris RHP (112) – Kansas State, Jr. - Washington

Andrew Doyle RHP (124) – Oklahoma, Jr. - Texas

Round 5

Tyler Blandford RHP (143) – Oklahoma State, Jr. - Seattle

Brandon Belt 1B (147) – Texas, Jr. - San Francisco

Austin Wood LHP (150) – Texas, Sr. - Detroit

T.J. Wise C (157) – Oklahoma, Sr. - Dodgers

Round 6

Shaver Hansen SS (173) – Baylor, Jr. – Seattle

Dustin Dickerson 1B (188) - Baylor, Jr. - Florida

Brooks Raley LHP (200) - Texas A&M, Soph. - Cubs

Round 7

Jamie Johnson CF (210) - Oklahoma, Jr. - Detroit

Round 8

Craig Fritsch RHP (240) - Baylor, Jr. - Detroit (Tigers are taking a lot of Big-12 players!)

Round 9

Trevor Coleman C (263) - Missouri, Jr. - Seattle (Will he leave?)

Robert Anderson RHP (276) - Oklahoma, Jr. - Arizona

Bryant Hernandez SS (277) - Oklahoma, Jr. - Dodgers

Kendal Volz RHP (288) - Baylor, Jr. - Boston

Round 10

Tyler Lyons LHP (315) - Oklahoma State, Jr. - Yankees

Round 11

Justin Bloxom LF (322) - Kansas State, Sr. - Washington

Aaron Baker 1B (325) - Oklahoma, Jr. - Pittsburg (7th Sooner drafted already)

Neil Medchill LF (345) - Oklahoma State, Jr. - Yankees

Round 12

Nathan Karns RHP (352) - Texas Tech, Jr. - Washington (First Red Raider taken)

Kyle Colligan CF (373) - Texas A&M, Sr. - White Sox

Round 15

David Narodowski SS (456) - Kansas, Jr. - Arizona (First Jayhawk taken)

Mike Nesseth RHP (471) - Nebraska, Soph. - Angels (First Husker taken)

Round 17

Michael Dabbs OF (527) - Oklahoma State, Sr. - Philles

Round 19

Adam Hornung OF (591) - Baylor, Sr. - Angels

Round 20

Thomas Keeling LHP (615) - Oklahoma State, Jr. - Yankees

Round 21

A. J. Ramos RHP (638) - Texas Tech, Sr. - Florida

Round 22

Andrew Biery SS (657) - Kansas State, Sr. - San Fransico

Round 23

Chris Richburg 1B (689) - Texas Tech, Sr. - Cincinnati

Round 24

Jeffrey Tezak 2B (733) - Nebraska, Sr. - White Sox

Round 25

Shaeffer Hall LHP (765) - Kansas, Jr. - Yankees

Round 26

Nathan Long RHP (783) - Texas, Sr. - Oakland

Antwonie Hubbard RHP (785) - Oklahoma, Jr. - Cleveland

Matthew Harughty 2B (793) - Oklahoma, Sr. - White Sox (9 Sooners drafted now.)

Round 27

Kyle Mach 3B (807) - Missouri, Sr. - San Fransico

Round 30

Robert Vaughn C (913) - Kansas State, Sr. - White Sox (Good for Vaughn. One of my favorite non-Jayhawks)

Round 31

Rayner Campbell 3B (935) - Baylor, Jr. - Cleveland

Round 32

Luke Anders 1B (957) - Texas A&M, Jr. - San Fransico

Aaron Senne RF (972) - Missouri, Jr. - Minnesota

Round 34

Dylan Brown CF (1023) - Oklahoma State, Jr. - Oakland

Scott Migl, RHP (1031) - Texas A&M, Jr. - Houston

Round 35

Paul Smyth RHP (1053) - Kansas, Sr. - Oakland

Kevin David C (1070) - Oklahoma State, Soph. - Cubs

Round 36

Lance Hoge LHP (1094) - Kansas State, Sr. - Mets

Round 37

Ryan Lollis RF (1107) - Missouri, Sr. - San Fransico

Brodie Greene 2B (1127) - Texas A&M, Jr. - Phillies

Round 38

Adam Bailey RF (1155) - Nebraska, Jr. - Yankees (His leaving would really hurt the Huskers.)

Round 40

Greag Folgia SS? (1205) - Missouri, Jr. - Cleveland (Did Folgia ever play short stop?)

Round 48

Brian Heere RF (1458) - Kansas, Soph. - Boston

Paul Smyth, Kansas RHP, drafted by Oakland in 35th Round

James Quinn — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:11:39 -0000

Paul Smyth, KU closer

View full size photo uploaded June 11, 2009

Kansas closer Paul Smyth was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 35th round in today's MLB draft. Smyth pitched at KU for four years, serving as the team's closer for the last three. He finished his KU career with a school record 129 apperances. Paul is second on KU's all-time saves list with 27. Don Czyz holds the record with 31.

Smyth had an off senior year. He missed a few weeks with an injury. He was 1-5 with a 5.40 ERA and 9 saves. In 30 innings he gave up 34 hits, walked 10 and struck out 19. In his career Smyth went 14-15 with a 4.10 ERA. In 195.1 Innings he gave up 227 hits, walked 51 and struck out 147.

Paul will always be remembered by KU fans for his closer mentality. He always wanted the ball at the end of the game. Perhaps the highlight of Paul's career came this March when he saved three one run games in a row during KU's sweep of Texas in Lawrence.

Coach Price spoke several times of his plans to move Colton Murray into the closer role next season. Murray pitched as one of Smyth's set-up men throughout the 2009 season.

Here is Aman Reaka's scouting report on Paul:

RHP) SR. Paul Smyth, 6', 215 (5.40, 30 ip, 34 hits, 10 bb, 19 k, 6 HR)
My season preview for Smyth:
Smyth should be in line to get many accolades this season and be on many lists for many more. Smyth is a strike-thrower with a cutter in the 90-92 range. He also has a decent slider to go along with it. He has an odd arm angle that is difficult for most batters to hit. Smyth will have a chance to be one of the dominant pitchers in the league this year and if this young pitching staff can get the ball into his hands, I will expect great things from him.

Smyth ran into the injury bug a little bit this year and i think it really caused him to struggle throughout the middle portion of the season. He did show decent signs of progress at the end of the year however. He was in line to be one of the first Jayhawks taken this year but his lack of strikeouts and the injury will move him down quite a bit. Smyth has a cut fastball in the 88-92 range with a decent off speed pitch and a decent slider. His cutter gets a lot of movement and is very tough for right-handers to hit. With his arm angle and his potential upside, he is definitely worth a team taking a chance on. It will all depend on if his injury potential scares any teams away. I'd guess Smyth to go in rounds 30-40.

Shaeffer Hall, Kansas left handed pitcher taken by Yankees in 25th round

James Quinn — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:37:56 -0000

Shaeffer Hall, Kansas left handed pitcher taken by Yankees in 25th round

Hello Yankee fans. today New York drafted Shaeffer Hall, a shortstop out of the University of Kansas, in the 25th round. I have been covering Jayhawk baseball at Rock Chalk Talk for the last three years. I've linked a profile of Shaeffer above. He's a fairly well developed left handed pitching prospect. We'll miss him quite a bit here in Lawrence should he leave.

David Narodowski, Kansas shortstop taken in 15th round by Arizona

James Quinn — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:33:52 -0000

David Narodowski, Kansas shortstop taken in 15th round by Arizona

Hello Diamondbackers. today Arizona drafted David Narodowski, a shortstop out of the University of Kansas, in the 15th round. I have been covering Jayhawk baseball at Rock Chalk Talk for the last three years. I've linked a profile of Nardo above. He's a very good prospect. We'll miss him quite a bit here in Lawrence should he leave.

Shaeffer Hall drafted by the Yankees in the 25th round

James Quinn — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:22:49 -0000

Shaeffer Hall, KU left handed starting pitcher.

View full size photo uploaded June 10, 2009

Kansas left handed starting pitcher Shaeffer Hall was drafted in the 25th round by the New York Yankees. This is the third time Shaeffer has been drafted. The pick comes a bit later than Aman had expected. Hall is a junior and has one year of NCAA eligiblity remaining. He certainly would be welcomed back by the Jayhawks.

Hall moved into the Friday night starter role this season and performed very well while facing some of the most talented line-ups in college baseball. He went 5-6 in 15 starts with a 4.18 ERA. In 92.2 Innings he gave up 104 hits, walked 10 and struck out 65. Hall pitched a no-hitter in his first start of the season vs. Air Force and ended his season pitching a complete game shut out vs. Dartmouth in the NCAA tournament.

Last week Coach Price indicated that he expected Hall to accept a professional offer this off-season.

Hall transferred into KU as a sophmore. In 2008 he went 4-2 mostly as a mid-week starter. That season, in 59.2 innings he gave up 73 hits, walked 21 and struck out 46.

Here is Aman Reaka's scouting report on Hall:

LHP) JR. Schaeffer Hall, 6'2, 200 (4.18, 92.2 ip, 104 hits, 10 bb, 65 k, 9HR)

This is what i wrote about Hall in my season preview:
Hall will be the Friday starter to begin the season. He is a control pitcher that throws 3 pitches for strikes. He has a good breaking pitch and a great change up. He has been drafted twice and definitely has the capability to fulfill this role as staff ace, but he will need to be very tough on Friday nights or someone else may push him for this spot.

I think Schaeffer will be the first Jayhawk taken on Wednesday afternoon. He was drafted out of HS in the 28th round by the Texas Rangers and after his freshman year of Junior College in the 23rd round by the Cleveland Indians. Hall has been on the radar of MLB scouts for several years. He is the rare and perfect example of a pitcher with very little velocity but with 3 solid pitches (a plus changeup), great command and great control. Coach Price likes to compare him to the ageless wonder for the Phillies, Jamie Moyer. Hall gives up slightly more than 1 hit/inning, doesnt get many strikeouts but he walks almost no one and keeps the ball down inducing a ton of ground ball outs and weak hits. Hitters rarely get a good look at a bad pitch and rarely make good contact with his pitches. Hall also has decent size and is a lefty. After throwing his no-hitter in the first game of the season, and flirting with a couple others, along with beating some of the top teams in the nation and going up against some of the top pitchers in this draft, Shaeffer should get picked somewhere between rounds 10-18. I would expect Shaeffer to sign a contract and begin his professional career as I'm not sure his stock can get much higher than it is right now.

David Narodowski drafted by Arizona in 15th round

James Quinn — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:24:40 -0000

David Narodowski, KU shortstop.

View full size photo uploaded June 10, 2009

Kansas shortstop David Narodowski was the first Jayhawk taken in the 2009 MLB draft. Narodowski was selected in the 15th round by the Arizona Diamonbacks.

David had an impressive year at the plate, hitting .354/.434/.542 in 240 at bats. He hit for good power for a middle infielder with 19 doubles and 8 home runs. Narodowski scored 64 runs and drove in 43. He stole six bases in 10 attempts.

Narodowski was both very impressive and inconsistant in the field. He made at least a dozen show stopping plays at shortstop but also committed 20 errors. Most of his errors were on rushed throws to first base.

Narodowski is a junior so he has one year left of NCAA eligiblity. He would certainly be welcomed back by KU. Narodowski was honored by the Big-12 by being named Newcomer of the Year in 2009. This was Narodowski's first year at KU after transfering in from a Juco.

There is no clear back-up at shortstop should he choose to leave. James Stanfield played short for a few games when Narodowski was injured in mid-season. Stanfield hit for good average but did not show power. Stanfield's defensive range is also a question mark. He seemed better suited to second base in the limited action I saw. Of course defense is one area in which a player can improve dramatically while in college. Just look at how far Buck Afenir has come as a catcher for evidence. Another possiblity is Brandon Macias, (South Mountain College, Phoenix, Arizona), who signed on to join KU next year. Coach Price said Macias was "Rated by many as one of the top defensive infielders in the country. Plays in a wood bat conference and hit 350 with 7 homeruns as a freshman. Was at Arizona State on scholarhship in the fall of his freshman year."

Here is Aman Reaka's scouting report on Narodowski:

SS) JR. David Narodowski, 5'10, 193 (.354, 19 doubles, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 33 bb, 46 K, 6 SB)
This was my preseason preview of Nardo:
David is flat-out "show time" on defense. He has amazing lateral speed with a good arm and he runs through the ball when he fields it. I have seen this kid get to some balls that just aren't reachable by very many players. So he's all defense right? Wrong. This kid can hit the ball. He hits to all fields and has a shocking amount of power for a guy his size. He was a great find for this coaching staff to get this kid to transfer to Kansas. I would expect him to really surprise the Big 12 this year.

Narodowski "Nardo" has really helped himself in this year's post season. He showed a lot more power and tore through the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA regional in North Carolina. He showed an amazing skill set on defense this year (a few too many silly errors here and there). I could see him moved to 2b at the next level because he doesnt really posses a cannon of an arm. Offensively, he shows plenty of power with his 19 doubles and 8 homeruns. He strikes out a little bit much but he also walks quite a bit. He has decent speed as well and already works, looks and acts like a professional athlete. With Nardo's post-season success and power showing, I think he really moved himself up the draft charts. I would expect Nardo to be selected in rounds 20-30 and I have this feeling that he will sign and unfortunately be done with his Jayhawk career.

Fun fact - Every shortstop who has played at Kansas under Ritch Price has been drafted. David is the fourth consecutive Jayhawk shortstop to hear his named called in June. The man Narodowski replaced this year, Erik Morrison, was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star team a few days ago.

Texas takes down TCU 10-4, up 1-0 in Austin super regional. LSU, Fullerton and Arkansas advance to Omaha.

James Quinn — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:11:38 -0000

Michael Torres went 4-5 with two homeruns and four RBIs leading Texas to an easy 10-4 win over TCU in the first game of the Austin super regional. Chance Ruffin (10-2) went the distance, giving up seven hits and four runs. He walked one and struck out seven. Kyle Winkler (7-1), the TCU starter, lost for the first time in 2009.

Last week I linked to an essay published at Burnt Orange Nation that speculated Augie Garrido might be aware sacrifices ultimately do not help a baseball team win the specific game they are playing that night and that perhaps Garrido likes to see his team bunt so often as part of his larger goal of building a roster full of "team players" as opposed to individual stars. Garrido's decreased use of bunts in "important" games was used as evidence to back up this theroy. Anyway, we can put the whole idea to rest now. Last night, in the most important game of UT's season, the Longhorns set an NCAA record by laying down seven sacrifice bunts.

Link to the UT recap and boxscore.

First pitch for Game #2 is 2PM CST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. Link here to the BON open thread.

[Update: TCU 3 - Texas 2 FINAL - Series now tied at one. ]

Other scores from last night:

Rice 3 @ LSU 5 - Tigers advance to Omaha with back to back wins.

East Carolina 1 @ North Carolina 10- UNC up 1-0.

Louisville 2 @ Cal State Fullerton 11- Fullerton blows out UL two straght nights to move on to Omaha.

Southern Miss 9 @ Florida 7 - Southern Miss up 1-0 on the road.

Arkansas 9 @ Florida State 8- Razorbacks sweep FSU in their home statdium! Arkansas seems to have regained their early season form and will be back in Omaha.

Clemson 4 @ Arizona State 7 - Sun Devils up 1-0.

Virginia 4 @ Mississippi 3 - Series tied 1-1.