Twins Pick OU's Redman In First Round of Draft
OMAHA, Neb. - Oklahoma junior left-hander Mark Redman made a 40-round jump in the amateur baseball draft.
As a senior in high school three years ago, Redman was selected in the 41st round by the Detroit Tigers.
Early Thursday afternoon, he was selected in the first round by the Minnesota Twins, the 13th pick overall.
Consistency, superb control and the ability to throw a fastball in the low 90s improved Redman's worth, making him the first OU player to be drafted in the first round since right-handed pitcher Jack Armstrong in 1987.
"They were my favorite team when I was younger," the 21-year-old Redman said of the Twins. "They've been with me ever since last January, asking questions and keeping an eye on me. Now, it's just a matter of signing. " Is Redman (15-2; 2.16 ERA) signable?
"Oh, yeah," he said without hesitation.
There is one drawback, however. The American League uses a designated hitter.
"Too bad it's not a National League team so I could bat," Redman said with a chuckle.
- California made Nebraska outfielder Darin Erstad the first pick in Thursday's draft.
Erstad, who was the punter for national champion Nebraska, hit .410 in 57 games for the Cornhuskers this year with 20 doubles, 19 homers, 76 RBIs and 11 steals.
Erstad, drafted by the New York Mets three years ago after he finished high school, has two years of football eligibility remaining, but probably won't kick again.
Thirteen players in the first round were taken from colleges and 14 from high schools. Thirteen were pitchers.
Teams will continue drafting through Saturday. The rest of the draft probably will be released June 12. The delay is to prevent college coaches from using the draft list as a recruiting tool.
San Diego used the second pick on Ben Davis, an 18-year-old catcher at Malvern Prep outside Philadelphia. Davis, a switch-hitter, is batting .507 with six homers and 37 RBIs in 71 at-bats.
Jose Cruz Jr., a 21-year-old outfielder from Rice who is a son of former major leaguer Jose Cruz, went to Seattle on the third pick. Cruz hit .377 with 16 homers and 76 RBIs in 223 at-bats for the Owls.
Texas used the No. 7 pick to select Florida State right-hander Jonathan Johnson, who is 11-3 with a 2.95 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 125 innings for the Seminoles. He is scheduled to pitch today against Oklahoma in the College World Series opener.
Former Midwest City star A.J. Hinch, who was projected as a potential overall first pick last fall before rumors of a sore shoulder made his stock drop, went in the late second or early third round to Minnesota.
Like Redman, Hinch, a junior catcher at Stanford, is in Omaha preparing for the College World Series. He'll enter Saturday's opener with California State Fullerton batting .369 with seven home runs and 51 RBIs.
The 1992 Gatorade Circle of Champions national prep baseball Player of the Year also is considered by several scouts to be the finest defensive catcher in the nation.
Becky Hinch, A.J.'s mother, said that Stanford coaches opted to give her son some time off from throwing last fall after he had completed a grueling summer schedule with USA Baseball, and that some scouts may have took that as an indication he had a sore shoulder.
But Becky Hinch pointed out that A.J. Hinch hasn't missed a game this season for the Cardinal.
Oklahoma State had at least two players drafted. Pitcher Jason Bell was selected in the second round by Minnesota and third baseman Tal Light was picked by the Colorado Rockies in the eighth round. Both Bell and Light just completed their junior seasons.
Bell, from Orlando, Fla., has a 31-8 career record for the Cowboys and was 12-4 with a 3.10 earned run average this season. He struck out 120 in a school-record 145 innings pitched.
Bell owns the Big Eight record for consecutive victories with 19. He was a first-team All-America last season and has been made a second- and third-team selection by a couple of publications this year.
Light, a Lumberton, Texas, native who transferred into the O-State program from Seminole Junior College this year, led the nation in runs batted in with 104, and had 26 home runs while batting .335.
He spent a good portion of the year as OSU's designated hitter because of a back ailment, but closed the season at third base. He has been named a first-team All-America by the Smith Super Team and is a third-team pick on two other lists.
Both Bell and Light were named All-Big Eight this season.
- The College World Series has its fair share of first-round picks, and so did the Baseball America luncheon on Thursday.
Redman was on hand. Seated at the table directly behind him was Tennessee first baseman/pitcher Todd Helton, who was selected eighth overall by the Colorado Rockies; at another table behind Helton sat Florida State right-handed pitcher Jonathan Johnson, who was picked seventh overall by the Texas Rangers.
In all, this year's CWS features six first-round picks. Others are: Southern California outfielder Geoff Jenkins (ninth by the Brewers); Florida State left-handed pitcher David Yocum (20th by the Dodgers); and Clemson first baseman David Miller (23rd by the Indians).
Only the first round of the draft is made public. A complete list will be released in about 10 days. The draft runs through Saturday.
- OU coach Larry Cochell said as many as eight other Sooners potentially could be selected: Damon and Ryan Minor, Rich Hills, M.J. Mariani, Russell Ortiz, Toby Wilmot, Jesse Zepeda and Tristan Paul.
The Mets reportedly have showed a strong interest in Ryan Minor the past couple weeks.
Cochell said there's a chance Mariani, a third baseman, might be drafted as a pitching prospect. BIOG: NAME:
Archive ID: 613507
comments