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#Post#: 13131--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: buff
Date: June 5, 2011, 8:43 am
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Sunday, May 29, 2011
Updated: June 3, 8:19 AM ET
Kansas City faces tough decision
By Mitch Sherman
ESPN Recruiting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The late Paul Splittorff, an iconic pitcher
from the Kansas City Royals' greatest era and an accomplished
sports broadcaster, pondered the potential this spring of Bubba
Starling.
"The ones who are blessed are really blessed," Splittorff said
from his perch in the Kauffman Stadium press box as the Royals
played the Minnesota Twins on April 29.
Splittorff died 27 days later at age 64 of complications from
melanoma.
He continued to study the game until his final days, working on
the Royals' broadcasts into May. Those were his passions -- the
Royals and broadcasting. Splittorff won 166 games, more than any
Kansas City pitcher, and he did it as a smart left-hander
without an abundance of talent.
He recognized talent, though, in Starling, the prodigy from
nearby Gardner, Kan., and Splittorff imagined a marriage between
the Royals and Starling, a sure top pick Monday in the Major
League Baseball draft.
Bubba Starling, who has drawn comparisons to Texas all-star OF
Josh Hamilton, is one of the top prospects in the MLB draft
class and some say he might be the best.
"He's got the five tools, he's a stud," Splittorff said. "I saw
him in football and basketball. He's head and shoulder above
every high school kid out there -- big, fast and strong. The
people here would love it. How could they not?"
The Royals pick fifth Monday, behind Pittsburgh, Seattle,
Arizona and Baltimore. Starling, regarded as the premier athlete
in this draft, may not last until Kansas City picks. But if he
does, the Royals will face pressure to draft the 6-foot-5 center
fielder, who lives 10 miles south of the Kansas City metro.
Buzz about Bubba began around Kansas City even before he starred
with the under-18 U.S. national team last summer. But that's
when fans of the Royals started to envision Starling in a K.C.
uniform.
In the home clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, team staffers often
approach outfielder Alex Gordon to discuss Starling. Gordon
played baseball at Nebraska, with which Starling has signed to
play football and baseball.
"For sure, I think it'd be great to see him on the football
field," Gordon said. "I want him to go to college. I'm a Husker
fan before I'm a Royals fan.
"Don't tell anybody that."
The football scholarship complicates matters with pro baseball
-- and potentially the Royals. Notably, because of the college
option and with cutthroat negotiator Scott Boras as his adviser,
Starling will command an inflated signing bonus this summer.
Expect Boras, according to ESPN baseball analyst and former Blue
Jays executive Keith Law, to advise the Starlings to start
negotiations near the $6.25 million awarded top pick Bryce
Harper a year ago by the Nationals. Another Boras client,
Donovan Tate, signed in 2009 as the No. 3 pick for same figure
with San Diego after contemplating a football-baseball career at
North Carolina.
But the Royals, apparently, aren't scared by big numbers.
J.J. Picollo, K.C.'s assistant general manager for scouting and
player development, watched Starling practice on consecutive
days in April before joining more than four dozen scouts for his
return from a quad injury after three weeks out. Starling
homered twice, stole three bases, doubled and walked four times
in a 14-inning doubleheader.
Gordon has heard the stories. His loyalty to the Huskers aside,
the 27-year-old former first-round pick still recommends
college.
"I grew up more as a man and a person in college," Gordon said.
"If I'd have come to baseball straight from high school, who
knows if I'd be here today?"
But ultimately, if the first four teams pass, the Royals control
the fate of Starling, whose growing fan club would make plenty
of noise.
"I don't remember a buzz about a local kid bigger than Bubba,"
said Ryan Lefebvre, part of the Royals' TV and radio broadcast
team since 1999.
Lefebvre came to Kansas City from Minneapolis, where he
broadcast for the Twins after an All-Big Ten baseball career at
the University of Minnesota. He left town before the Twins
drafted hometown star Joe Mauer with the No. 1 overall pick in
2001, but Lefebvre remembers the circumstances.
Minnesota passed on college stars Mark Prior and Mark Teixeira
to take Mauer, now a three-time batting champ and the 2009
American League MVP.
"There was a feeling the Twins had to take him," Lefebvre said,
"because you couldn't miss on a kid like that."
Something similar is cooking with the Royals, who haven't
enjoyed a hometown hero since the days of Frank White, who -- as
a community college student near Kansas City -- worked on the
construction crew that built Kauffman Stadium before its 1969
opening.
"You can't miss on your locals," Lefebvre said. "The Royals are
still haunted by the fact that Albert Pujols played junior
college right down the street. That comes up every time we play
the Cardinals."
It shouldn't, Law said.
"The teams that draft that way have gotten in a lot of trouble,"
Law said.
Flush with young offensive talent, the Royals need a college
pitcher, Law said, and ought to take one -- even if Starling is
available. Don't misunderstand, he said, Starling is plenty
good.
"He's an off-the-charts athlete," Law said. "When he fills out,
he's going to be an absolute monster."
But he's not for the Royals. So Law agrees with Gordon. Still,
they're in the minority.
Jeff Langrehr, Starling's high school basketball coach, speaks
the popular opinion.
"I'm being selfish, but I hope it happens," said Langrehr,
brother-in-law of Mitch Webster, a Royals scout and former big
leaguer. "I'm a big Royals fan and a big Bubba fan. It's a
multifaceted decision, but if he's there, I guess they have to
decide if they can afford him."
Mitch Sherman is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached
at mshermanespn@gmail.com. Follow Mitch Sherman on Twitter:
@mitchsherman
#Post#: 13150--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: Deeg
Date: June 5, 2011, 10:37 am
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I wish all these mock drafts would take a break, because Wilken
is going to have to dig deeper and deeper to find a guy no one
has ever heard of.
#Post#: 13156--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: Cactus
Date: June 5, 2011, 10:55 am
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Bubba Starling: QB or MLB?
It is very long and may not contain much new news
HTML http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?id=6609946
#Post#: 13168--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: buff
Date: June 5, 2011, 11:25 am
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One thing that gives me hope on Bubba becoming a cornhusker is
that football is his first love. He is represented by Scott
Boras who has sent his guys off to college before instead of
blinking on a contract. I have heard that it might take 7
million to get him to come to Lincoln.
#Post#: 13169--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: CurtOne
Date: June 5, 2011, 11:30 am
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--- Quote from: buff link ---
>
> One thing that gives me hope on Bubba becoming a cornhusker is
that football is his first love. He is represented by Scott
Boras who has sent his guys off to college before instead of
blinking on a contract. I have heard that it might take 7
million to get him to come to Lincoln.
>
--- End Quote ---
"to come to Lincoln" or "NOT to come to Lincoln"? The first one
is Camby Tressel territory.
#Post#: 13175--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: buff
Date: June 5, 2011, 11:51 am
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Sorry that he does go play football. Personally I would take
the money and run and I'm not getting my hopes up because he
sounds like a great QB prospect. I think it is probably 60/40
baseball right now and that is if he gets that 7 million dollars
to sign.
#Post#: 13177--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: Chris27
Date: June 5, 2011, 12:04 pm
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Rawnsley's latest stab at entering the mind of Wilken:
--- Quote ---
> 9. CHICAGO CUBS
> Jose Fernandez, rhp, Alonso HS, Tampa
> There is often nothing more difficult in any draft than trying
to figure out what Cubs veteran scouting director Tim Wilken is
thinking. In keeping with past draft, he’ll most likely do
something off the board that will raise eyebrows in the
industry; more often than not, he will eventually be proven
right. In a good-news/bad-news scenario, Fernandez’ best
major-league comparison might be volatile Cubs righthander
Carlos Zambrano.
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 13181--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: Deeg
Date: June 5, 2011, 12:46 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I take issue with "more often that not". I think that
reputation is mostly folkloric, due to Wilken striking gold on a
couple of bizarro picks which buys him a lot of mystique.
They're outweighed by the flops, which tend to be forgotten.
#Post#: 13182--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: CurtOne
Date: June 5, 2011, 12:51 pm
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Red Sox, Reds, Braves, Marlins, Rays, Rockies, Twins, Dodgers,
Royals...some of the first teams I think of in terms of
producing great prospects year after year. Wilken doesn't work
for any of them. There are great scouts and farm directors out
there that go unsung. My fear with Wilken is that he lets his
clippings go to his head. Agreeing with Deeg.
#Post#: 13183--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2011 Draft
DIR By: Ron
Date: June 5, 2011, 12:58 pm
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--- Quote from: Deeg link ---
>
> I take issue with "more often that not". I think that
reputation is mostly folkloric, due to Wilken striking gold on a
couple of bizarro picks which buys him a lot of mystique.
They're outweighed by the flops, which tend to be forgotten.
>
--- End Quote ---
I have no idea whether "more often than not" is accurate. But I
do respect David Rawnsley's opinion. It's not like he's some no
nothing journalist talking out his hat - Rawnsley is presumably
basing that on his own observation, rather than folklore.
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