SB Nation User Blog: James Quinn

Royals Review Minor League Project – Links to 2008 reports

James Quinn — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:03:09 -0000

Earlier this year several Royals Review posters started a community wide effort aimed at providing more coverage of the KC minor league system. (More info here) I’ve certainly noticed a lot more coverage of the junior Royals this year here at Royals Review.

Below are links to some of this 2008 minor league coverage. I am sure I’ve overlooked some stories. I thought it would be a good idea to collect these reports, high-light them, and make it easier for people trying to track down information on our future heroes.

Enjoy and keep these stories coming.

Burlington Royals Position Players by CentralChamps2009 (June 16)

Idaho Falls Chukers Pitching Staff by Grudz (June 18)

Royals minor league POY (at midterm) by daveyork (June 16)

Observations from a couple of Omaha games by Gordonrules (June 2)

The making of another Royal pitching prospect by kcscoliny (June 2)

Ignoring Omaha by tcon125 (June 2)

Up North in Omaha by Royaldaddy (May 16)

Cortes returns by Gordonrules (May 15)

Minor Talent by Dubya (May 6)

When is it time... by focs (May 6)

Dayton Moore’s handling of Royal top prospects is hurting the organization by djk royal (May 3)

NWA Naturals - Relief Pitchers Report by NYRoyal (May 1)

NWA Naturals - Starting Pitchers Report by NYRoyal (April 30)

O-Royals Pitcher Report by Doublestix (April 20)

Northwest Arkansas Naturals Update by Dubya (April 14)

Burlington Bees: Pitching Report by adschfield (April 13)

Burlington Bees: Hitters Report by lordbyronk (April 10)

Omaha Royals Hitters: April 9 Update by Royalsretro (April 9)

Intriguing Player at each Level by Doublestix (April 2)

John Allman signed by Cleveland Indians

James Quinn — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:59:50 -0000

The one player I was most surprised to not see selected in last week's MLB draft was outfielder John Allman. Allman was one of the better baseball players to ever wear the crimson and blue. He is a plus corner outfielder defensively. While not a guy who will steal a lot of bases Allman remained a threat on the pads and chose his spots well. During his four years at KU he was 17 for 20 in stolen base attempts. John is a natural pure hitter. He never hit under .333 for a season and his on base percentage for his career toped .450. The biggest mark against him was that he did not generate enough power to project well as a corner outfield prospect - Seventeen homeruns over 735 NCAA at-bats. His slugging percentage remained high (.553 his senior year) on the strength of doubles, but scouts like to see more drive from a player in right or left field.

I did expect to see Allman go late and be given a look by a pro team. His skill set identifies him as a player with four near pro-level skills. A bit of a bump in a few of these areas or a bit more pop in his bat and Allman would have a real shot at rising up through the minor leagues.

When I found this KU news release sitting in my mailbox Tuesdays I was particularly happy for John:

Former Kansas outfielder John Allman has signed a professional contract with the Cleveland Indians' organization. Allman becomes the second Jayhawk outfielder in as many years to ink a deal with the Cleveland organization, and will likely join Brock Simpson in the Indians' minor league system.

"I am absolutely thrilled for John," Kansas head coach Ritch Price said. "He has been one of the best players to ever play at KU and has worked extremely hard to get there. We're all very excited that he gets to chase his dream of playing professional baseball."

Allman, an All-Big 12 honoree the past three seasons, led the Jayhawks with a .365 batting average and a .484 on-base percentage. He clubbed 17 doubles and six homers while driving in 49 runs in 2008. The St. Louis, Mo., native finishes his KU career with a .344 average, 55 doubles, 17 homers and 159 RBIs. His 55 doubles rank fifth all-time at KU, while he is sixth in RBIs and eighth in runs scored (165).

He also played a solid left field all four years of his Kansas career, collecting 13 outfield assists and committing just seven errors in 340 chances.

Allman was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in each of the last two years, and became the first Kansas player since 2006 to be honored with the Big 12's Player of the Week award on the week of May 5.

As a non-drafted free agent in a crowded position John will be a long shot to make it through the Cleveland system, but ever since he arrived at Hoglund as a freshman walk-on all Allman has asked for was a chance to prove what he could do on the field. John has been one of my favorite players over the last four years. I know I am far from alone in wishing him all the best. I wouldn't be shocked at all to see him at AA in the next couple of years.

Here is bkmhoxx' pre-draft take on Allman:

John Allman LF (6`2, 225 lbs)
Allman is a senior who has worked very hard to get where he is. He doesn't really possess the tools that a lot of guys with his resume have. Allman has a good bat and hits for average with some gap power although his kind of power probably wont ever translate into HR's. He plays a good LF with decent range and shows good hands. This year I think John will need to cut down on some of his strikeouts, continue to hit for a high average and show a little pop in his bat. If he does that my guess would be 25th round on the high side, 40th round on the low side.

CURRENT TAKE: Allman had a great senior year. His avg. was way up to .365. He hit 17 Doubles with 6 HR and 48 RBI. He had more walks with 35 but his K's went up as well to 32. I think John helped himself a touch by hitting for such a high avg. this year and his defense was gritty and quite amazing at times. My preseason prediction was rounds 25-40. I would guess Allman to be drafted somewhere very near round 30 this year. (He does have a chance to go as high as the 20th round depending on what teams see him developing into.

Sam Freeman, University of Kansas LHP, 32nd Round

James Quinn — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:14:28 -0000

Sam Freeman was the 32nd round draft choice of the St. Louis Cardinals today. I cover the University of Kansas baseball team at Rock Chalk Talk . I thought I would cross-post this story about Freeman here. Freeman is only a junior and I think there is a good chance he will return to KU for his senior year, but who knows...

Sam Freeman drafted by St. Louis Cardinals

From the KU news release:

Here is bkmhoxx' take on Freeman:

Sam Freeman LHP (5'11, 170 lbs)
Freeman is a JUCO transfer that was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 24th round. He's also a talented leftie with a fastball in the 88-92 range. He has an excellent off speed pitch and a plus slider. More than likely Freeman will be a weekend starter and if he can prove himself in the Big 12, he should move up the draft chart nicely. I would guess 8th round on the high side, 20th round on the low side.

CURRENT TAKE: Freeman had a rough year. He definitely shows flashes of his dominance but its few and far between. He has a stiff and rather herky-jerky motion and is very quick through his delivery. This is one reason he is so tough to hit as its tough to pick up the ball and it happens very fast. However he did show very poor command of hs pitches and control of the strike zone this year. Freeman had an 8.53 ERA in 31.2 innings, giving up 45 hits, 20 walks and getting 20 K's. With his delivery coupled with a nice fastball and a great slow curve, I can see teams drafting Freeman fairly high despite his season totals. I guessed rounds 8-20 before the season and i would fit him somewhere near round 20 this year, but more likely to be near the 30th. Freeman definitely needs to stay and iron out his command. He could be a top 10 rounds draftee next year for sure.

Freeman only pitched one year for the Hawks. He started 2008 strong but was moved to the bullpen after struggles in March. Most of this problems were of a control nature. He was not used extensively during the second half of the season. I have a fair amount of faith in Freeman's ability to develop into a good pitcher and hope he decides to return to KU in 2008. He has a very good chance to improve his draft status.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas junior Sam Freeman has been selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 32nd round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft. Freeman is the first Jayhawk to go in this year’s draft with the No. 965 pick.

Freeman, a 5-foot-11 left-handed pitcher from Carrollton, Texas went 4-1 with an 8.53 ERA in 13 appearances this season for KU. The Kansas junior won three of his first four starts in a Jayhawk uniform, including a 6-2 decision at Texas on March 16.

Freeman started his collegiate baseball career at North Central Texas College, where he played two seasons before transferring to KU. He was previously selected by the Cardinals in the 23rd round of the 2007 draft.

Ryne Price, University of Kansas C/OF

James Quinn — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:08:02 -0000

Ryne Price was the 33rd round draftee of the San Fransico Giants today. I have been covering Ryne for the last few years at the blog Rock Chalk Talk . I thought I would cross post a story I wrote for that blog here. Ryne Price is the career home run leader at Kansas. He is a real grinder and has some plus skills. Sneaky power, good baserunning and a good arm either from the catcher position or from right field. Good luck to him and his future career in the Giants organization.

Ryne Price drafted by San Fransico Giants

This from the KU news release:

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior Ryne Price has been selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 33rd round of the Major League Baseball first year player draft. Price is the second Jayhawk to go in this year’s draft, as Sam Freeman was taken in the 32nd round by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Price, a 5-foot-11 outfielder/catcher from Lawrence, Kan., was four-year starter who played several different positions during his college career. He finished his Jayhawk career with a .275 batting average, a school record 35 home runs and 155 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He became the first Jayhawk to hit 30 home runs in his career (later joined by Morrison), and finished ninth in KU history in RBIs (155).

Price enjoyed a career year in 2008, setting career bests in batting average (.305), hits (65), doubles (17), home runs (11), RBIs (60), total bases (118) and stolen bases (nine).

He becomes the second member of his family to be drafted after four years at KU. Ryne’s older brother Ritchie was drafted by the New York Mets following the 2006 season.

Here is bkmhoxx' take:

Ryne Price C/RF (5'11, 190 lbs)
Ryne is a senior who plays 2 positions. He will play RF and he backed up at catcher last year. Ryne will likely do the same this year, possibly backing up at catcher a bit more. Ryne lives for the game of baseball and you can see it when you watch him play. He has a few things going for him that I think could get him some looks at the professional level. He is a leftie with plus power that could easily develop into decent HR totals. He has a great arm and he runs fairly well. I can easily see a professional team taking a chance on Ryne at the catching spot if not RF. This will be a big season for him to show that his defense behind the plate will improve quite a bit and his strikeouts will drop. If he can do those 2 things and continue to show his positives, I think he will have a shot. My guess would be 30th round on the high side, 45th round on the low side.

CURRENT TAKE: Ryno had a very nice year. He hit .305 with 11 HR, 17 Doubles, 60 RBI, 22 Walks, 58 K's and 9 Steals. Ryne shows plus power and is a fairly good hitter as well. He also has decent speed for a guy with his build. Im not sure he can catch at the next level or not. If he can be converted, then he will be a steal wherever he is drafted. If he plays RF, then he will have a much tougher road to the big show. I guessed rounds 30-45 at the beginning of the season but that was before he had such a great senior campaign. I would bump that up quite a bit now to somewhere around 20-25. He too has a decent chance to be the first Jayhawk drafted.

Ryne Price has been a special player at KU. He is the career home run record holder and has been beyond a doubt the most hard-nosed player to wear a Jayhawk uniform during the last few years. Ryne has exhausted his college eligibility. I would love to see Ryne beat the odds and stick with the Giants. He is a plus baserunner, has good power, can play several positions at least passably well defensively and is a tireless worker who would rather drink flaming poison then quit in a game. He leaves with nothing but the best wishes from the KU baseball fan base.

Link here to an earlier write up about Ryne as part of the 2008 NCAA season preview.

Nick Czyz and Andres Esquibel drafted by Seattle Mariners

James Quinn — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:58:23 -0000

I have been covering the University of Kansas baseball team at Rock Chalk Talk for the last few years. Today the Seattle Mariners drafted a pair of Jayhawk pitchers. I thought I would pass on links to stories about these two pitchers posted at Rock Chalk Talk.

Andres Esquibel, RHP, 38th Round

Nick Czyz, LHP, 35th Round

Esquibel has exhausted his college eligablity, Czyz is only a junior. I think there is a good chance Czyz will return to KU next year. Esquibel is a real bulldog who keeps his team in the ball game. He pitched eight innings of one hit baseball earlier this year vs. Texas Tech. He still has some potential for further development.

On Erik Morrison, Shortstop, University of Kansas

James Quinn — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:50:46 -0000

The Rangers 46th round draft choice this year was Erik Morrison, a shortstop out of the University of Kansas. I have been watching Erik play for four years now and thought I would cross post this story from Rock Chalk Talk , a blog were I cover KU baseball. Best of luck to Erik, he's been a hell of a player here in Lawrence.

Erik Morrison drafted by the Texas Rangers

This from the KU news release:

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior Erik Morrison has been selected by the Texas Rangers in the 46th round of the Major League Baseball first year player draft. Morrison is the fifth Jayhawk to go in this year’s draft. He joins teammates Sam Freeman (St. Louis Cardinals), Ryne Price (San Francisco Giants), Nick Czyz (Seattle Mariners) and Andres Esquibel (Seattle Mariners), who were all taken earlier in the day.

Morrison, a 6-foot-1 infielder from Arroyo Grande, Calif., was a four-year starter, played both shortstop and third base in his Kansas career. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, but elected to return to KU for his senior campaign. He completed his Jayhawk years with a .279 average, 31 home runs and 171 RBIs. He also swiped 27 bases, including a career high 13 this season.

Morrison ranks second to Ritchie Price in games played in a Jayhawk uniform and at bats and is ninth in hits (244), fourth in doubles (57), second in home runs (31) and third in runs batted in (171). He was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for the second-straight season.

Morrison joins former teammate Kyle Murphy, who was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 19th round of last year’s draft. Murphy is currently in extended spring training in the Rangers’ organization.

And here is bkmhoxx' take on EMo:

Erik Morrison SS (6'1, 195 lbs)
Morrison is a senior who was drafted in the 49th round in last years draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates but declined their offer and came back for his senior season at KU. With a solid senior campaign, he should be able to drastically improve his draft slot. Morrison has some very nice tools and has very high upside. Defensively he has a plus arm I would grade to be about a 7. He is a good fielder with good hands. He will flash the leather a lot this year and show off his arm strength although it would help him to cut down on some of his errors (10) and keep his emotions in check. Offensively, Morrison shows a good swing with decent power (7 HR) and decent speed (6 SB). The issue with Erik will be whether or not he can keep his average (.296) at a respectable level or not. If he can eliminate just a few errors, get his average up n the .310-.320 range and show more improvement, Morrison could be looked at fairly early. My guess would be 8th round on the high side, 20th round on the low side.

CURRENT TAKE: This year E-Mo got his avg. up to .308, he hit 7 HR again and showed more speed with 13 Steals. He did have 16 doubles which shows possible power development in his future. He did however go from 10 errors last year to 16 this year, with 19 walks and 38 K's. I guessed rounds 8-20 at the beginning of the season, and while he did get his average up a little higher, I think his errors and strikeouts may hold him back a little bit. I personally think he can remain at SS at the next level. Most of his errors were throwing errors which are concentration errors. He will be a low risk/high reward type player for a team to take a chance on. He has a chance to be the first Jayhawk taken (I think it will be Paul Smyth). I would guess Morrison to go somewhere in rounds 15-20.

Morrison leaves KU near the top of several offensive categories. He is #2 overall in career homeruns, and third in RBI's. We here at Kansas have gotten used to having him in the line-up and will undoubtedly miss him more then we yet realize. Erik did not explode into superstardom as seemed possible after his stellar sophomore season but he did remain a very productive bat in the lineup and provided fairly good defensive play at two of the most demanding positions on the field, third base and shortstop. Morrison is also a plus baserunner and a real spark in the clubhouse. It was clear this year that he had stepped up and assumed a leadership role on the team. Morrison has exhausted his college eligibility. I doubt you could find any KU fan happy to see him leave, or wishing him anything but the best at the next level. Morrison still seems to have a lot of yet unrealized upside both in the batters box and with the glove. If things come together for Morrison in the minors the Rangers got a real steal here.

Link here to an earlier write-up of Erik Morrison as part of the 2008 season preview.

Erik Morrison drafted by the Texas Rangers

James Quinn — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:45:04 -0000

This from the KU news release:

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior Erik Morrison has been selected by the Texas Rangers in the 46th round of the Major League Baseball first year player draft. Morrison is the fifth Jayhawk to go in this year’s draft. He joins teammates Sam Freeman (St. Louis Cardinals), Ryne Price (San Francisco Giants), Nick Czyz (Seattle Mariners) and Andres Esquibel (Seattle Mariners), who were all taken earlier in the day.

Morrison, a 6-foot-1 infielder from Arroyo Grande, Calif., was a four-year starter, played both shortstop and third base in his Kansas career. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, but elected to return to KU for his senior campaign. He completed his Jayhawk years with a .279 average, 31 home runs and 171 RBIs. He also swiped 27 bases, including a career high 13 this season.

Morrison ranks second to Ritchie Price in games played in a Jayhawk uniform and at bats and is ninth in hits (244), fourth in doubles (57), second in home runs (31) and third in runs batted in (171). He was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for the second-straight season.

Morrison joins former teammate Kyle Murphy, who was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 19^th round of last year’s draft. Murphy is currently in extended spring training in the Rangers’ organization.

And here is bkmhoxx' take on EMo:

Erik Morrison SS (6'1, 195 lbs)
Morrison is a senior who was drafted in the 49th round in last years draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates but declined their offer and came back for his senior season at KU. With a solid senior campaign, he should be able to drastically improve his draft slot. Morrison has some very nice tools and has very high upside. Defensively he has a plus arm I would grade to be about a 7. He is a good fielder with good hands. He will flash the leather a lot this year and show off his arm strength although it would help him to cut down on some of his errors (10) and keep his emotions in check. Offensively, Morrison shows a good swing with decent power (7 HR) and decent speed (6 SB). The issue with Erik will be whether or not he can keep his average (.296) at a respectable level or not. If he can eliminate just a few errors, get his average up n the .310-.320 range and show more improvement, Morrison could be looked at fairly early. My guess would be 8th round on the high side, 20th round on the low side.

CURRENT TAKE: This year E-Mo got his avg. up to .308, he hit 7 HR again and showed more speed with 13 Steals. He did have 16 doubles which shows possible power development in his future. He did however go from 10 errors last year to 16 this year, with 19 walks and 38 K's. I guessed rounds 8-20 at the beginning of the season, and while he did get his average up a little higher, I think his errors and strikeouts may hold him back a little bit. I personally think he can remain at SS at the next level. Most of his errors were throwing errors which are concentration errors. He will be a low risk/high reward type player for a team to take a chance on. He has a chance to be the first Jayhawk taken (I think it will be Paul Smyth). I would guess Morrison to go somewhere in rounds 15-20.

Link here to an earlier write-up of Erik Morrison as part of the 2008 season preview.

Andres Esquibel drafted by Seattle Mariners

James Quinn — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:35:17 -0000

This from the KU news release:

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior Andres Esquibel has been selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 38th round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft. Esquibel is the fourth Jayhawk to go in this year’s draft, joining teammate Nick Czyz (35^th round) in Seattle’s organization. Left-handed pitcher Sam Freeman (32^nd round) was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals and outfielder Ryne Price (33^rd round) was taken by the San Francisco Giants.

Esquibel, a 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher from Vista, Calif., was a key pitcher for the Jayhawks this season. He transferred to KU following one season at Palomar (Calif.) Community College, went 10-7 in his Kansas career, including 7-3 in 2007. He posted a 5.17 ERA with 139 hits allowed in 141 innings. Opponents batted just .258 against the 6-foot-2 right-hander.

Esquibel was utilized as a set-up man in 2007, but was forced into the starting rotation this season due to injuries. He allowed one hit in eight innings of work against Texas Tech on April 12, becoming the first Kansas pitcher to one-hit a conference opponent in nearly 20 years.

Prior to his 2006 campaign at Palomar Junior College, Esquibel began his KU career at San Diego State.

Here is bkmhoxx's take on Esquibel:

Andres Esquibel RHP (6'2, 220 lbs)
Esquibel is a senior that has quite a bit of upside. His fastball sits at 88-91. He currently has only an average off speed pitch and an average slider. Esquibel pounds the strike zone and if he can develop a plus pitch or secondary pitch, he could prove to be very effective. My guess would be 20th round on the high side, 35th round on the low side.

CURRENT TAKE: Esquibel had a few bad outings this year that ruined his numbers. He had a 5.65 ERA in 73.1 innings, giving up 72 hits, 27 walks and striking out 45. He is a true "pitcher" that has good control and keeps the ball down. He doesnt have electric stuff but he does a good job on the mound. With 3 average pitches and good command, he will more than likely take his game to the next level. My preseason prediction was rounds 20-35. I would look for Esquibel to go off the board somewhere between those rounds. My guess would be more towards the 30-35 range.

Andres was a surprise team leader in 2008. Over the last two years I have really warmed to him quit ea bit as a Jayhawk baseball fan. About half way through this season I started to look to Esquibel as a pillar of stability on the team, not just a swingman on a hot streak. Esquibel developed into a real workhorse of a pitcher, willing to assume whatever role best suited the team. He was able to add to his fastball and seems to have also improved quite a bit in terms of inducing groundballs out of hitters as opposed to fly balls. Andres is plenty big enough to assume a professional workload. Perhaps if he added a bit more movement on the fastball, or made his offerings a bit more "heavy" and he might prove to have what it takes to stick around for a while. Andres has exhausted his college eligibility, leaving KU one of the more popular players on the team.

Nick Czyz drafted by Seattle Mariners

James Quinn — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:24:11 -0000

This from the KU news release:

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas junior Nick Czyz has been selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 35th round of the Major League Baseball first year player draft. Czyz is the third Jayhawk to go in this year’s draft as junior pitcher Sam Freeman (St. Louis) was taken in the 32^nd round, and senior outfielder Ryne Price (San Francisco) was selected in the 33^rd round.

Czyz, a 6-foot- from Blue Springs, Kan., made a team-high 13 starts for the Jayhawks this season and complied a 2-7 mark with a 6.12 ERA. Czyz struck out 59 in 64 2/3 innings and pitched the team to wins over North Dakota State and Texas Tech. Czyz is tied for ninth in KU history for most games started.

He becomes the second member of his family drafted after suiting up for the Crimson and Blue. Nick’s older brother Don Czyz was selected in the seventh round of the 2006 MLB draft by the Florida Marlins.

And here is bkmhoxx' take:

Nick Czyz LHP (6'2, 215 lbs)
Czyz is a junior. Hes a talented leftie with a fastball in the 86-90 range. He has a good off speed pitch and a good curve but neither are a very solid "out" pitch quite yet. If he can improve his command and find an "out" pitch, my guess would be 8th round on the high side, 15th round on the low side.

CURRENT TAKE: Czyz had a good year. He had a few bad outings which ruined a few of his numbers. He showed increased velocity on his fastball which came in in the low 90's while topping out at 93/94. His slider worked well and came in around 80/81. I would say that his slider is now officially an "out" pitch. He had a 6.12 ERA in 64.2 innings, giving up 74 hits, striking out 59 and walking 41. He definitely needs to improve his command and cut down on the walks but right now, he definitely shows signs of a good bullpen guy for the next level. I originally guessed rounds 8-15 and i would probably narrow that down to somewhere near the 15th round at this point. I do think Nick could come back and be a top pitcher in the Big 12 next year and really improve his draft status. It will depend how much money he is offered this year. He has a good chance to be the first Jayhawk drafted.

Nick never really found his groove in 2008 and his final numbers lean in a disappointing direction. It seemed most of Nick's problems came from not being able to economize on pitch counts which prevented him from getting deep into games as a starter. He had many of his games marred by one bad inning, which almost always fell later in the game after he may have lost some crispness due to fatigue. Nick maintained excellent K/9 and H/9 ratios and did put together several superb starts against quality opponents. I am very optimistic that Nick can take the next step and become a very solid Big-12 starting pitcher. He has been right on the edge of this performance level throughout his three years at KU. I hope Nick decides to return for his senior year. He has a very good chance to improve his draft status and, speaking selfishly, I want him in the rotation next year.

Ryne Price drafted by San Fransico Giants

James Quinn — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:16:04 -0000

This from the KU news release:

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior Ryne Price has been selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 33rd round of the Major League Baseball first year player draft. Price is the second Jayhawk to go in this year’s draft, as Sam Freeman was taken in the 32^nd round by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Price, a 5-foot-11 outfielder/catcher from Lawrence, Kan., was four-year starter who played several different positions during his college career. He finished his Jayhawk career with a .275 batting average, a school record 35 home runs and 155 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He became the first Jayhawk to hit 30 home runs in his career (later joined by Morrison), and finished ninth in KU history in RBIs (155).

Price enjoyed a career year in 2008, setting career bests in batting average (.305), hits (65), doubles (17), home runs (11), RBIs (60), total bases (118) and stolen bases (nine).

He becomes the second member of his family to be drafted after four years at KU. Ryne’s older brother Ritchie was drafted by the New York Mets following the 2006 season.

Here is bkmhoxx' take:

Ryne Price C/RF (5'11, 190 lbs)
Ryne is a senior who plays 2 positions. He will play RF and he backed up at catcher last year. Ryne will likely do the same this year, possibly backing up at catcher a bit more. Ryne lives for the game of baseball and you can see it when you watch him play. He has a few things going for him that I think could get him some looks at the professional level. He is a leftie with plus power that could easily develop into decent HR totals. He has a great arm and he runs fairly well. I can easily see a professional team taking a chance on Ryne at the catching spot if not RF. This will be a big season for him to show that his defense behind the plate will improve quite a bit and his strikeouts will drop. If he can do those 2 things and continue to show his positives, I think he will have a shot. My guess would be 30th round on the high side, 45th round on the low side.

CURRENT TAKE: Ryno had a very nice year. He hit .305 with 11 HR, 17 Doubles, 60 RBI, 22 Walks, 58 K's and 9 Steals. Ryne shows plus power and is a fairly good hitter as well. He also has decent speed for a guy with his build. Im not sure he can catch at the next level or not. If he can be converted, then he will be a steal wherever he is drafted. If he plays RF, then he will have a much tougher road to the big show. I guessed rounds 30-45 at the beginning of the season but that was before he had such a great senior campaign. I would bump that up quite a bit now to somewhere around 20-25. He too has a decent chance to be the first Jayhawk drafted.

Ryne Price has been a special player at KU. He is the career home run record holder and has been beyond a doubt the most hard-nosed player to wear a Jayhawk uniform during the last few years. Ryne has exhausted his college eligibility. I would love to see Rynn beat the odds and stick with the Giants. He is a plus baserunner, has good power, can play several positions at least passably well defensively and is a tireless worker who would rather drink flaming poison then quit in a game. He leaves with nothing but the best wishes from the KU baseball fan base.

Link here to an earlier write up about Ryne as part of the 2008 NCAA season preview.