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Saying money isn't an issue, club waits to see who falls to the No. 3 pick.
By MARC TOPKIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 5, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have worked feverishly for the past year getting ready for today's first-year player draft, spending thousands of man hours, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, scouting, evaluating and determining whom they want to select with the No. 3 pick.
But they won't know until a little after 1 o'clock today just how it's going to work out.
Middle Tennessee State right-hander Dewon Brazelton is considered by many their most likely choice. They'll have a shot at either Georgia Tech third baseman Mark Teixeira or Minnesota prep catcher Joe Mauer, or perhaps both, but at a hefty price. They could invest in a highly touted high school pitcher such as Baltimore-area right-hander Gavin Floyd. Or they could do something completely unexpected.
The baseball draft is unlike those in the other major sports, primarily because the best players are not automatically the first ones selected.
Because teams operate under vastly different financial situations, because players have the leverage of college scholarship offers (especially in other sports), because agents (masquerading as advisers) try to manipulate the draft order by floating outrageous bonus demands, the baseball draft is virtually impossible to forecast.
And as of Monday night, this draft seemed as convoluted as any.
The Twins -- put off by the excessive financial demands of Southern Cal pitcher Mark Prior -- were reportedly considering Mauer and Brazelton for the top pick. The Cubs, conversely, were eagerly waiting to see if they indeed would get Prior, the consensus choice as the top talent in the draft. And the Rays were left pondering their possibilities.
"We've put all our work in and we've got all the names lined up, not just for the third pick but for all 50 rounds," Rays scouting director Dan Jennings said. "There's so much uncertainty with the one and two picks, at this point it's hard to get a feel for who will be there. But no matter what, we're going to get a quality guy."
The uncertainty at the top is due to financial matters.
Prior is big, strong and impressive: 14-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 189 strikeouts and 17 walks in 131 2/3 innings.
But it's his other numbers that are a concern. According to some reports, Prior wants a multi-year major-league contract worth in excess of $17-million.
The typically penurious Twins talked with Prior's people over the weekend, then promptly dropped the idea Monday and turned their attention to native son Mauer.
The 6-foot-4 left-hander has tremendous power, a strong arm and polished defensive skills. But he also has a scholarship offer to play quarterback at Florida State.
Obviously, it would be a nice story for the Twins to make him their own, but this is a business deal, and there was word Monday of a rift so wide, with Mauer seeking at least $8-million, that the Twins contacted Brazelton.
The 6-foot-6, 210-pound right-hander put up remarkable numbers for the Division I Blue Raiders, going 13-2 with a 1.42 ERA, 154 strikeouts and 27 walks in 127 innings. More impressive is a fastball that gets into the upper 90s, plus a devastating changeup.
Even better, he is considered the least expensive, and most signable, of the top tier players.
Whether the Twins take Mauer or Brazelton, the Cubs, who have the money but don't often spend it, are expected to take Prior.
And that's where it gets interesting for the Rays.
Teixeira, who missed 10 weeks with a since-healed broken right ankle, is a potential impact player, a switch-hitter who can hit for power and average and should be ready soon. He hit .412 at Georgia Tech with 164 RBI in 138 games.
But Teixeira is represented by hard-line agent Scott Boras and there has been talk he is looking for a deal in excess of $15-million, along with rumors they once told the Rays not to bother then may have changed their stance.
General manager Chuck LaMar said the Rays are "extremely well-budgeted" for their slots and he doesn't "expect money to be a factor." But he also said if a player asks for "what we think is an astronomical amount of money that we don't have budgeted," then finances will be considered as a "business decision."
So what do the Rays do?
If Brazelton is available, he would appear to be the Rays' safest pick. The 20-year-old junior starred for Team USA last summer and was the Sun Belt Conference's top pitcher, though there is some question of how he'll do against the highest levels of competition.
"He's going to be in the big leagues, I don't think there's any question," MTSU coach Steve Peterson said.
If Mauer is available, it's because the Twins thought he was asking too much, and that doesn't bode well for the Rays. Plus if they take Mauer, the Rays will find themselves in a nasty battle -- and an unwinnable public relations tiff -- with Bobby Bowden and the Seminole nation to get him signed.
Teixeira (tuh-SHARE-uh) could be a force in their lineup, but may be headed to that "astronomical" price zone -- and beyond.
The Rays only have to look at the struggles of their own Matt White and Bobby Seay to be reminded of the risks of drafting high school pitchers. Floyd -- whom ESPN's Peter Gammons said nixed a $3-million pre-draft deal -- is considered special, with a fastball 97-mph fastball and a knee-buckling curve. There also could be some less-heralded possibilities.