MLB Draft 2012

DoubleDipper wrote:Two of our three players from Edmonds, WA have been selected in the draft:

Junior RHP Chris Johnson went to the Giants in the 17th round, and Senior RHP Owen Jones is headed to the Dodgers after being drafted in the 19th round.

Looking forward to two UP guys facing each other on the mound in a Giants vs. Dodgers rivalry game!

Kyle Kraus, former University of Portland pitcher joins John Canzano on The Bald Faced Truth to talk about the recent MLB draft. Kraus was drafted in the 7th round of the draft and Canzano starts the interview asking him about how he celebrated being drafted and if he was surprised where he was drafted at.
Kraus talks about how he didn’t expect to be drafted so soon, but as a kid he always knew he wanted to be a professional baseball player. He also talked about how he became a pitcher as a child and is now thankful for that.

Canzano asks him about the University of Portland’s program and why he chose to go there out of high school. Kraus talks about his brother already attending UP and making a change was the most important part of his experience there. They also talk about his philosophy of pitching and size isn’t a factor in his mind because he goes out there and pitches like everyone else. Lastly, they discuss the Cape Cod league and Kraus’ experience there along with the process he went through after being drafted.

The first members of the Red Sox 2012 draft class have started to trickle their way into the pro ranks, as seven players have joined up with the Lowell Spinners who will open their 17th season on Monday.

The players are only weeks removed from their final collegiate games and the thrill of being selected in the draft was still very fresh on their minds during Media Day at LaLacheur Park on Thursday.

“I was ecstatic when they called me [last] Tuesday,” said Kyle Kraus, a right-handed pitcher out of Portland University. “I’ve always wanted to play baseball professionally and to get the opportunity to take that next step and potentially make it to the big leagues is big.”

Kraus, a seventh round selection, went 7-6 with a 2.03 ERA and walked only 11 batters in 111 innings during his senior season. His 27 career wins is a Pilots record.

The Spinners host the Connecticut Tigers for two games on Monday, June 18th and Tuesday the 19th, both games starting at 7:05 p.m.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Chris Johnson's season starts tonight.

DoubleDipper wrote:

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Chris Johnson's season starts tonight.

Is Chris pitching in Keizer tonight? If so, what time?

DaTruRochin wrote:Bahahaha and he's already got a major league facial expression with his delivery....

DaTruRochin wrote:Hahahahha but what if he has one of those stupid magnet necklace thingies?

http://www.phitenusa.com/

DaTruRochin wrote:Hahahahha but what if he has one of those stupid magnet necklace thingies?

http://www.phitenusa.com/

By RONALD BLUM; AP Sports Writer

At 5-foot-11, Kyle Kraus didn't expect to be a high pick in the Major League Baseball draft after going 7-6 with a 2.03 ERA as a senior at the University of Portland.

Then about 2 hours before second-day selections started June 7, his telephone rang. On the line with the 22-year-old right-hander was Pat Portugal, a Northwest area scout for the Boston Red Sox.

"They called me that Tuesday morning and said, `Hey, we want a senior in the seventh round or the 10th round that will sign for $1,000. Would you do it?'" Kraus recalled. "I said: Yeah.'"

Signing bonuses have dropped for many top picks in this year's amateur draft, the first under restrictive rules adopted in baseball's new collective bargaining agreement. Teams face penalties if they exceed specified totals for their bonuses.
As a result, some clubs selected players they knew they could sign for close to nothing.

Kraus was taken with the 241st pick overall, assigned a value of $143,000 in baseball's labor contract. If he had not signed, the Red Sox would have seen the cash from his slot deducted from their total.

With the money saved, the Red Sox were able to sign their top pick, Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero, for $2.05 million - $300,000 over the amount slotted for the 24th selection overall.

"My whole thing was, I'm not 6-5 and I don't throw 95 (mph), and so I'm not going to make a whole lot of money being a senior out of college," said Kraus, who has made two relief appearances for Lowell, Boston's Class-A affiliate in the New York-Penn League. "I figured I can't turn down $1,000 in the seventh round when I don't even know if I'll get picked up later on for the same amount. It's a dream come true. Yeah, I would have liked to have slot money, but for me money is not the reason why I'm playing this game."

Marrero's selection helped push the Red Sox into picking Kraus.

"As the draft is developing and the players end up being there and you know what their signability roughly is going to be, then you need to start making adjustments," said Mike Hazen, a Boston assistant general manager. "We sort of had to adjust in the seventh and 10th round this year, among other rounds, to sort of make the cap work."

Each team has a different threshold, which triggers varying strategies. Two picks after the Red Sox chose Kraus, Arizona used the 243rd selection on Andrew Velazquez, a shortstop from Fordham Prep in the Bronx. He signed for $200,000.

up7587 wrote:Hmm. Maybe he wasn't a finance major.

EVERETT — When Chris Johnson was drafted this June by the San Francisco Giants and learned he'd be assigned to Salem-Keizer of the Northwest League, he couldn't help smiling.

He knew he'd be going home.

The Meadowdale High School graduate is back in his old stomping grounds as the Volcanoes visit Everett for their three-game series against the AquaSox.

"It's definitely nice to be playing back here again," said Johnson, a pitcher who graduated from Meadowdale in 2009. "I remember going to a couple AquaSox games when I was a little kid and those were real fun. So, it's kind of weird to be out here playing against them after watching them play for years growing up."