Diamond Dawgs Drafted (through Round 10)

Clint Frazier (signee) - Drafted in first round, fifth overall, by the Indians. The closest he'll get to playing for Georgia will be a future exhibition when the Braves get him in a trade and he plays against the Dawgs.

Kyle Farmer - Drafted in the eighth round, 244th overall, by the Dodgers. As a catcher.

I'd expect Powell to go soon, but he is still on the board. I'll have other updates later, as the MLB draft is nearly as long as the NBA post-season. Actually it is *only* 40 rounds.

TD

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Perno Talks Draft and Scholarships

Coach Perno talked about the impact of the MLB draft on the incoming baseball class today with 960 the Ref.  The short version is that he thinks stud C/1B Miles Head is likely to sign a pro deal instead of come to UGA, but he's probably the only guy we'll lose.  

Perno also discusses the new scholarship rules for baseball and his anger at the NCAA for telling them not only how much he can give but how he can give it.  I won't bore you with the details, but dividing 11.7 scholarships between an entire college baseball team is difficult.  It's more difficult with rules about how much of a scholarship you may allocate to players.  Perno might need a finance professor and a team of lawyers to field a team.

It's worth a listen.

Quinton

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MLB Draft Update: More Dawgs Drafted

If you see a Dawg drafted, feel free to add it to the comments section.

Day 1:
-- Rich Poythress (1B) - 2nd Rd/ 51st Pick overall to Seattle
-- Trevor Holder (RHP) - 3rd Rd/ 81st Pick overall to Washington

Day 2:
-- Drew Weaver - (RHP / Jr.) - 202nd to Washington
-- Matt Cerione (OF / Jr.) - 13th Rd / 383rd pick to Seattle
-- Zach Dotson (LHP / HS) - 13th Rd / 404th pick to NY Mets
-- Jeff Walters (RHP / Jr.) - 506th to Baltimore
-- Michael Demperio (2B / Jr.) - 771st to Anaheim
-- Alex McRee (LHP / Jr.) - 787th to LA Dodgers
-- Miles Head (3B/C / HS) - 798th to Boston
-- Eric Swegman (RHP / JUCO) - 838th to Atlanta
-- Bryce Massanari (C / Sr.) - 901st to Colorado

Update: I expect everyone back except for Weaver and Cerione. If you read what these kids are thinking about doing in terms of staying or going post a link.

PWD

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MLB Draft tonight. Where will Poythress go?

At 6:00 pm tonight, the MLB Draft will air on the MLB Network. Rich Poythress, two high school kids from in state, and two pitchers at Kennesaw State could all go in the first round of the draft. Of those, Poythress is projected lowest with estimates ranging from late first to mid-second round. Regardless, he's expected to go pro.

The first three rounds will air tonight. According to MLB.com, "Once the first night is done, the Draft will continue with the fourth through 30th rounds, via conference call from MLB Headquarters in New York, at noon on Wednesday, June 10. Rounds 31-50 will be on Thursday, June 11, starting at 11:30 a.m."

The Atlanta Braves draft 7th, 87th and 118th. They don't have any picks in the Second Round or Compensatory Round A. Rich won't go 7th, and he'll be gone by 87th.

The other guys to watch for UGA are:

• Joey Lewis (C - Jr.) -- .282 avg, 19 HRs and 58 RBI in 62 games. Considered a solid defensive catcher. Will he be drafted high enough to make it worth his time to come out? I get the sense that Perno doesn't expect him back. I'm pretty sure that I heard an announcer say that Joey's batting average is about 50 points higher when he's playing catcher vs. designated hitter. That stat will probably spark his draft status higher than I would've anticipated a month ago.

• Bryce Massanari (C - Sr.) -- .305 avg, 19 HRs and 57 RBI in 61 games. Expected to be a late round selection.

• Trevor Holder (Sr. - RHP) -- Produced a 7-5 record with a 4.48 ERA. Has good stuff at times, but gave up a staggering 19 HRs last year. He'll make a minor league roster, but I can't see much growth if he doesn't get his long ball problems under control.
  

Also, Dean Weaver (Jr.) is Georgia's right handed closer. He'll be drafted, but will it be enough to entice him to jump? He'd be well served by sticking around for another season. Alex McRee has big league stuff, but his control fell off a cliff this season. He'll be back for sure. Rumors are suggesting that Matt Cerione won't be back regardless of his draft status. We'll see. His swing is such a wreck that he needs to be back.

Out of the signees, I'm definitely not an expert. I know that Perno signed 16 kids in what some to consider to be the #1 class in the country. I think he's mostly sweating a couple of the JUCO arms and incoming freshmen Zach Dotson (LHP) and Miles Head (C/IF). Perno told the ABH:

Zach [Dotson] is the most talented freshman pitcher we have coming in," Perno said. "He is a big-body left-hander with a power fastball and is the most projectable pick in the June draft."

Also per the ABH, Dotson, ranked the No. 86 prospect by Baseball America, is a left-handed pitcher from Guyton. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete helped Effingham County to the state playoffs with a 6-2 record and a 2.39 ERA last season. He also participated in the East Coast Pro Showcase and was an alternate for Team USA.

Head, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound catcher and infielder, hit .522 with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs last season at Whitewater High School.

I'll try and do some sort of recap tomorrow of Day 1, but this is hardly my strong suit.

See Also:
-- Quality photos of Rich Poythress - College Baseball Photoblog

PWD

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