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There will be Hillsborough County players drafted Tuesday, but this is going to be one of those rare times when the county's first draft choice will have time to eat a good lunch, or go fishing, or go to the mall ... or all three before worrying about whether the phone has rung.
Several county players are expected to be selected in the amateur draft. It's just that the question is how low as opposed to the typical "how high?" fans are accustomed to asking.
Jesuit's Shane Robinson and Tampa Catholic's Craig Corrado highlight the county's draft prospects, followed closely by Leto's Sergio Perez, but it would be considered somewhat of a coup if any of them went in the first 10 rounds. That would come close to breaking a record for the county.
Since 1990, the longest Hillsborough has had to wait for a player who played high school in the county to be drafted was in 1991, when Brandon's Bruce Thompson finally broke the ice in the eighth round. Chris Manser was the first Hillsborough player to go in the 1995 draft, and that was in the seventh round.
Every other year since 1990, the first county player drafted went in the first five rounds. Among those are five first-round picks, including Tampa Catholic's Denard Span at No.20 last year.
WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR: Entering this season, Florida State junior right-hander Marc LaMacchia, a former East Lake High star, was considered the team's best draft prospect by Baseball America.
But LaMacchia saw his hopes of being a high pick dashed when he injured his elbow in March.
Last month, LaMacchia had Tommy John surgery and missed the rest of the season. He appeared in two games, allowing one hit and no earned runs and striking out 11 in 82/3 innings.
GETTING NOTICED: Dunedin's Joey Angelberger, East Lake's Chris Coghlan and Dixie Hollins' Jesse Litsch were selected to play in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Classic at Fireman's Field in Sebring this weekend.
The FACA games, pitting all-star teams from the North, South, East and West regions of the state, are 10 innings and played with wooden bats, allowing the dozens of scouts in attendance to get a more accurate read on a player's hitting ability.
That will help all three players improve their profiles. Angelberger (USF), Coghlan (St. Petersburg College) and Litsch (South Florida CC) have signed with their respective colleges and could be drafted in the lower rounds.
OFF THE CHART: St. Petersburg College sophomore catcher Bobby Wilson, a former Seminole star, signed with Anaheim, which selected him in the 49th round last season. He joins two other SPC players, Michael Simard and Brian Lahair, who signed as draft-and-follows rather then re-entering the draft.
- Compiled by staff writers Bob Putnam, John C. Cotey and Mike Readling with information from Baseball America.