...or is it just me? Well, after all the back and forthing - pitcher or not? Boras client or not? - it was Justin Upton we went for, so we've now got two of the best shortstop prospects around. Fingers crossed one at least will work out; better yet, both, and we can trade one for a stud starting pitcher.
The words "five-tool player" crop up almost every time Upton's name gets mentioned, though at age 17, the comparisons being thrown around (Edgar Renteria! No, Chipper Jones!) seem a little premature. He's certainly got potential, but then again, at 17 I had potential - though admittedly, was not timed at 6.23 seconds for the 60-yard dash. But my point is, if you'd told me then I'd end up in Arizona, selling beads and working for an Internet company, I'd probably have said..."What's the Internet?". Hey, that was 1983, y'know.
Interestingly, Hochevar - supposedly a potential #1 pick - ended up being passed on, all the way through the first thirty choices. Even with our second choice, we spurned him, going for Matthew Torra, a pitcher from U.Mass. Hochevar didn't get chosen until all the way down at #40, when he went to the Dodgers. They're the ones who'll have to deal with Boras. Of the other two contenders for our first pick, Craig Hansen slid to #26 overall, while Mike Pelfrey went at #9, to the Mets.
Overall, we did concentrate on pitching, with 8 of our first ten choices being arms. The first, Torra, is a rightie from the University of Mass, currently tipping the scales at 225 lbs. Indeed, we seemed to be trying to corner the market in large flamethrowers - Matthew Green, in the second round, and Jason Neighbourgall, our third round pick are both 6'5". Neighbourgall has touched 100 mph with his fastball, but is notoriously wild - guess we're hoping we can teach him control. Oddly, his former room-mate at GTech, Micah Owings, was picked by Arizona two slots later; imagine they'll room together in Lancaster?
Diamondbacks Top 20 Picks
- #1 (#1 overall) Justin Upton - SS/3B, Great Bridge HS, Chesapeake, Va
- #2 (31) Matthew Torra - RHP, U.Mass
- #3 (49) Matthew Green - RHP, U.Louisiana
- #4 (81) Jason Neighborgall - RHP, Georgia Tech
- #5 (83) Micah Owings - RHP, Tulane
- #6 (111) Mark Romanczuk - LHP, Stanford
- #7 (141) Christopher Rahl - RF, William + Mary
- #8 (171) Gregory Smith - LHP, Louisiana State
- #9 (201) Anthony Cupps - RHP, U.Mississippi
- #10 (231) Ryan Schreppel - LHP, Cal.State Fullerton
- #11 (261) Joshua Ford - C, Baylor
- #12 (291) Cody Evans - RHP, Cal.State Long Beach
- #13 (321) Brett Jacobson - RHP, Cactus Shadows HS.
- #14 (351) Bryan Byrne - 1B, St. Mary's College
- #15 (381) Daniel Roberts - LHP, Chipola JC.
- #16 (411) Rusty Ryal - 3B, Oklahoma State U.
- #17 (441) Gregory Thomson - CF, St. John's U.
- #18 (471) Craig Pfautz - LHP, Darton College
- #19 (501) Jason Urquidez - RHP, Arizona State U.
- #20 (531) Jake Elder - C, U.Minnesota