MLB Draft Report - Day 2; Southern Pigskin Features

MLB DRAFT


In Day 2 of the Major League Baseball Draft, LSU fared pretty well.  The following players and prospects were chosen on Tuesday:

C Micah Gibbs - 3rd round  (pictured)
OF  Leon Landry - 3rd round
INF Garin Cecchini - 4th round
P Kevin Gausmann - 6th round
P Austin Ross - 8th round
1B Blake Dean - 8th round
OF Lucas Leblanc - 11th round
SS Jacoby Jones - 19th round
OF Austin Southall - 19th round
P Ryan Eades - 19th round

I think we have three categories of players:  those that are definitely gone, those that are likely to stay, and those that are on the fence.

Here is what I think LSU is looking at:


GONE
P Anthony Ranaudo
2B Delino Deshields Jr.
P Cam Bedrosia
C Micah Gibbs
OF Leon Landry
P Austin Ross
INF Garin Cecchini

LIKELY STAYING
SS Jacoby Jones
P Ryan Eades

ON THE FENCE
P Zach Lee
P Kevin Gausmann
OF Lucas Leblanc
OF Austin Southall

Late Tuesday night, some reported that Garin Cecchini had already signed a contract but I could not find anything official.  Regardless, I fully expect him to sign if he has not already.  

Normally, I would expect any first round pick to sign; however, both Zach Lee and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in unique situations.  Because of that,  I still give LSU a fighting chance to ultimately land Lee.  Meanwhile, Lee has arrived at LSU and enrolled in summer classes along with the rest of the incoming true freshmen.

Kevin Gausmann was selected in the sixth round.  That is very high, but it is significantly lower than most expected him to go.  Because Gausmann expected to go much higher, he has a higher dollar amount in his head as far as what it will take for him to sign.  Here is an article on Gausmann's thoughts on the draft and his future.  I give LSU a chance at landing him, though not a great one.

The best news of the draft was when shortstop Jacoby Jones fell all the way to the 19th round.  Jones was expected by most to be selected in the top 5 rounds.  It now seems that Jones will end up at LSU, and he's someone that can compete for playing time immediately, perhaps at third base.

Even though we'll be fully ramped up for football season, when the August 15th deadline for draft picks to sign comes and goes, I plan on doing a full look ahead to the 2011 baseball team.

SOUTHERN PIGSKIN

I've got a couple of new pieces up on Southern Pigskin as Justin Davis and I continue to get together on ranking the top players in the SEC West.

Over the last few days, we have ranked the quarterbacks as well as the wide receivers.

LSU had a strong showing on the wide receiver list.  Go to Southern Pigskin and check out everything going on over there.  It's a great site to read up on everything going on in the SEC and ACC.

MLB Draft Report; LSU Holding Camp

BASEBALL

The first round and compensation round took place on Monday night.  Here is how the LSU players and prospects fared:

First, Anthony Ranaudo (pictured) was selected 39th overall by the Boston Red Sox.  The Slant wishes him the very best in his pro career.

Delino Deshields Jr. was selected eighth overall by the Houston Astros, and he'll certainly sign.  He never seriously considered attending LSU, and this is no surprise.

Pitcher Cam Bedrosian was selected 29th overall, and he's expected to go play pro ball.  I don't expect much drama with his contract situation.

In a bit of a surprise, LSU quarterback and pitcher signee Zach Lee, was selected 28th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  My first instinct was that no team would have selected Lee so high unless they had assurances that he would bypass LSU and sign.  However, I learned about a rule Monday night that if a team does not sign their first round pick, they are awarded a first round pick the following year.

The Dodgers are reportedly in some financial trouble.  Many, including Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus.com speculate that the Dodgers selected Lee with no intention of signing him.  The strategy would be to wait and use the pick next year.  He even put 5-1 odds that the Dodgers sign Lee.  We'll see.

We now play the waiting game with Lee to see if he signs by August 15th.

I'll update again after Tuesday as the draft continues.

RECRUITING


LSU is currently hosting a number of prospects on campus as part of the first of two summer camps.

A lot of the eyes were on the quarterbacks as all in-state prospects were on hand in efforts to earn an offer from the Tigers.  The consensus was that Catholic HS's Zack Oliver was the best of the bunch and that he would be the one to ultimately earn the offer.   However, Clinton's Stevie Douglas is competing neck and neck with Oliver and putting on a good show.  Haughton's Dak Prescott is also making a name for himself and has caught the eye of the coaches.

In addition to the in-state quarterbacks, South Carolina's Justin Worley is on campus and competing.  Worley has some big-time offers from places like Tennessee, Notre Dame, Stanford and Florida State.

South Carolina defensive back Ronnie Martin is on campus and reportedly standing out as the top defensive back in attendance.  Martin has an offer from LSU and is very high on the Tigers.  He also recently received an offer from Nebraska and South Carolina.  The offer from the Gamecocks may prove difficult for LSU to overcome, but hopefully Martin has a good visit.

LSU Commitment Trevon Randle is attending camp and reportedly doing very well.  Some rumors have been swirling that Randle could be re-considering his commitment to LSU, but that does not appear to be the case.

Thought not at LSU's camp, Tampa, FL quarterback Phillip Ely received an offer from LSU recently.  Ely has performed very well at a number of camps this summer and has earned offers from the likes of Arizona State, South Florida, Michigan State, Rutgers, and others.  LSU's offer stands out as one of Ely's best, and that will hopefully put the Tigers near the top of his list.  I love Ely as a prospect.

East St. John defensive back Floyd Raven attended a camp at Ole Miss and really put on a show.  He ran a 40-time of 4.44 and measured at 6'2".  He will likely shoot up the rankings.  He is scheduled to attend LSU's second camp in July and he could very well earn an offer at that time.

LSU's Baseball Season Ends; Major League Draft Preview

BASEBALL


LSU lost 4-3 to UC Irvine on Sunday, ending a bizarre season for the Tigers.  The Tigers came out smoking this year, owning a 32-6 record and Top 5 ranking near the end of April.  But then the wheels came off, and LSU lost 13 of their next 15, including an embarrassing 9-1 loss to Tulane.  The Tigers seemed to get their act together by winning six of the next seven including four in a row to win the SEC Tournament.  That brought us to this weekend's regional.  The Tigers competed, but missed several opportunities at the plate and ultimately bowed out.  

The season has to be considered a disappointment considering the high pre-season ranking and the way the first half of the season played out.  A few things contributed to the team not meeting expectations.  

First was the injury to Anthony Ranaudo's elbow early in the season.  Not only did Ranaudo miss about a month but once he returned, he never matched the expectations we all had for him based on how he played last year.  The team was counting on him to be the rock of the pitching staff this season and when that didn't happen, the staff found itself in disarray.  

On offense, the team was hitting the ball well but they were not producing the power numbers of the last two seasons.  Blake Dean had a very good season, but the home runs just weren't there in 2010...for whatever reason.  The team also struggled to find the right guy at third base.  Wet Delatte and Beau Didier both gave it a shot without much luck.  Grant Dozar then took over for a while.  Regardless, the offense was producing.  But then, left fielder and leadoff man Trey Watkins injured his elbow.   That left another hole in the lineup, and it forced the batting order to be re-shuffled.  The offense stopped producing as much.  

Once the losing streak started, the attitude of the team changed and it proved difficult to break out of.  Eventually, they did. Austin Ross pitched well down the stretch and helped settle the pitching staff.  Also, Mason Katz and Alex Edward played well at left field and third base respectively.  Their late season performance gives us something to look forward to next year.  

Speaking of next year, the Major League Baseball draft starts on Monday night, and it will be of great interest to LSU Baseball (and football) fans.   As far as returning players to LSU's roster, I did a piece on that last month.  

MLB DRAFT

With the draft starting tomorrow, I thought I'd re-visit LSU's players and prospects and their projection for the draft.  

Anthony Ranaudo will almost certainly be a first round pick tomorrow.  While he was at one point considered a Top 5 pick, he's now more likely to get selected around #20 overall.  Regardless, he has almost certainly thrown his last pitch as an LSU Tiger, and I wish him well.  

Micah Gibbs is also projected to be a first or second round pick.  That means he's almost certain to have played his last game for LSU.  

Things get more interesting after those two.  

Leon Landry is projected to be a high round draft pick and may go as early as the fourth round.  If picked anywhere in the top eight rounds, which seems like almost a certainty, then Landry will probably go pro.  

Austin Ross is a real wild card.  He is highly thought of by Major League scouts and could go as high as the sixth or seventh round.  Ross pitched well down the stretch this season, which is encouraging.  It would be nice if he could return to LSU's staff next year.  Right now, I'd give it a less than 50% chance that he returns.  

Blake Dean should be picked somewhere between rounds five and ten.  

Now, we'll take a look at LSU's incoming freshmen.  Not much has changed with these guys since my report last month.  Here are the guys to keep an eye on:

Pitcher Kevin Gausman from Colorado looks like he's going to be a first or second round pick.  However, his stock has dropped some recently, and the word is out that his commitment to LSU is very strong and that he's very serious about playing college baseball.  You can bet that if a team takes him high, they have received word from him that he's willing to sign.   I'd put him in the "Doubtful" category as far as him coming to LSU in the fall.  But if he drops into the later part of the second round, then it will be interesting.  

Pitcher Cameron Bedrosian from Georgia looks like a first or second round draft pick, and I think it's highly doubtful he plays for LSU next year.  

Infielder Delino Deshields Jr. has every intention of signing a pro contract and likely only committed to LSU in order to gain leverage in his negotiations with whoever drafts him.  I wouldn't get too excited about having him at LSU next year.  

Infielder Jacoby Jones from Mississippi currently has a second or third round projection right now, and he also has a strong commitment to LSU.  He is described as a very raw shortstop, but he could make an immediate impact at LSU next year.  The Tigers return Austin Nola, but he could certainly compete for a spot at third base or in the outfield.  

Infielder Garin Cecchini (pictured) from Barbe high school is another guy who could be drafted in the top five rounds, maybe as high as the third.  Cecchini injured his knee in March which did not help his draft status, although it has been rising of late.  One site even has Cecchini going in the first round.  He's also considered to have a strong commitment to LSU.  He could fill an immediate need for LSU next year at either third or first base.  

University High school outfielder Austin Southall could be picked somewhere in the top ten rounds and is one to watch.  Hopefully, he'll slide and ultimately end up at LSU.  
 Lastly, there is Zach Lee from Texas who, as we know, is LSU's quarterback recruit for the Class of 2010.  Based on talent alone, Lee is one of the Top 50 prospects in the draft.  However, teams know that Lee is seriously considering both sports at LSU.  That could push him farther down the draft.  One recent report from ESPN suggested that Lee has put word out that he's willing to sign.  I have a feeling that his situation will drag out until August.  At this point, call it a coin flip as to whether Lee plays for LSU next year.