Day One summary

This is depressing. Of the Royals’ five selections today, four are younger than I, including one, who is over a full year younger.

ROUND 1, PICK 2—Mike Moustakas, 1b/3b

If they weren’t going to take a pitcher with the second overall pick in the draft (they could have made it easy on themselves by losing one of the last three games last season and just picked David Price, but what can you do?), I would have hoped the Royals would have gone with catcher Matt Weiters. That said, I’m very willing to admit I know little about the various potential Royals draftees, so perhaps I should leave my love of good-hitting catchers alone and just listen to the experts.

Baseball America on Moustakas:

No premium draft pick had a better season than Moustakas, who had one of the great careers in California high school history. [...] He was the starting quarterback at Chatsworth as a freshman and has a bazooka for an arm--his fastball sat in the low 90s early in the year in relief roles and hit 97 mph in April. His power arm isn’t his best tool though, as Moustakas’ quiet, quick hands, polished approach and strength at the plate produce light-tower power and a smooth swing he repeats easily. Earlier in the year, scouts wondered about his defensive position--he’s Chatsworth’s shortstop but will move immediately as a pro. Most believe third base would be the first natural spot and others dreamed of his arm behind the plate, but most agree now that it doesn’t matter. His bat will play at any spot, even first base, though it would be a shame to waste that arm there. [...]

But Sam Mellinger at The Star has an interesting tidbit:

Most projections had Moustakas moving to third base or first base, but Royals scouting director Deric Ladnier and general manager Dayton Moore each said today that they think Moustakas can play shortstop in the big leagues.

ROUND 2, PICK 2—Sam Runion, RHP

Funny but hurtful tidbit from the Asheville Citizen-Times:

Baseball America currently rates Runion as the country’s 109th-best draft prospect, high school or college, meaning the AFLAC All-American would go somewhere in the third round if projections hold true.

How about the beginning of the second? He’s also either super-smart or really good at Home Ec. Royals Corner:

Runion has a big, solid frame, and reports are that his fastball sits in the low-90s with heavy sink. He also throws a slider that is a potential plus pitch. Reynolds was an AFLAC All-American, and he maintained a high school GPA of 4.3.

ROUND 3, PICK 2—Danny Duffy, LHP

Mr. Duffy graduated today—what a day, eh? Anywho, the LA Times has an interesting feature on Duffy I recommend you read if interested. Also, here is some good stuff from a past Baseball America blog post:

His fastball touched 95 according to our sources, sitting at 91-93 with his four-seamer. His two-seamer had good life in the upper 80s, with tailing action away from righthanded hitters.

Duffy’s mechanics aren’t clean, but his arm works well, which encourages scouts that his mechanical flaws can be remedied in the future. That would improve his greatest weakness, his command. His changeup is nothing but a show-me pitch at this point, but he’s a high school lefty throwing in the low-90s, so throwing a changeup would be doing hitters a favor.

He’s not a finished product, but he’s a power lefty with upside. At 6-foot-3 and close to 200 pounds, Duffy has to get in better shape or his rather mature frame will get away from him, but if he tones up his body, he’ll be able to get even better with his power repertoire. His stuff may be too good for him to keep his commitment, as Duffy could get popped in the first three rounds.

ROUND 4, PICK 2—Peter Hodge Nielsen, RHP

Because “Peter Hodge Nielsen” has zero results in Google, I looked around. Royals Corner had the name “Mitch Hodge,” which I figure is right. So who is Mitch Hodge anyway? It turns out he is a philosopher and classicist, a Hollywood stunt car driver, a web designer, the administrator and administrator of an Internet philosophy journal and master debater, and a professional bodybuilder and youth pastor. Perhaps more appropriately to our discussion, he’s a right-handed pitcher out of Canada. We’ll trust RC for the bio:

Hodge, a Canadian pitcher, was selected by the Royals with the club’s fourth round pick. Hodge is a big-bodied kid who works his fastball in the low-90s, along with a sharp breaking ball in the mid- to upper-70s.

ROUND 5, PICK 2—Adrian Ortiz, OF

The only college player selected by the Royals today, Ortiz is an outfielder from Pepperdine. Weighing in at 165 pounds over a 6-foot frame, Ortiz is the fastest player in the draft. Here are two links you might want to read: his Pepperdine bio; RC.