Strasburg sharp in longest pro outing
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- In the longest outing of his fledgling professional career, Stephen Strasburg allowed a run and four hits over five innings in Phoenix's 10-2 victory over Surprise in Monday afternoon's Arizona Fall League game.
The 21-year-old sensation out of San Diego State made his delayed fourth AFL outing on five days' rest to set him up to start Saturday's Rising Stars Game, and he again looked the part.
Strasburg was consistent and methodical with flashes of awe-provoking stuff in raising his record to 3-1 and lowering his ERA to 5.28.
"It's a long progression," he said. "I just want to fine-tune everything. You can't settle for what you've done in the past. They might figure you out, so you always have to be ready.
"It was a pretty decent day."
Strasburg was given an instant 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning at Surprise Stadium, on a two-RBI single by Chris Marrero followed by fellow Rising Star Grant Desme's single for another run, and he never looked back.
For a second consecutive start, the notable right-hander took the Rafters to school. The subject: Strasburg 101. A fastball clocked at 101 mph was one of four to hit triple digits in the first.
Even a pickoff throw to first base, on Dan Descalso after he had singled with one out in the first, tripped the radar at 92 mph. So both Phoenix first baseman Brandon Snyder and catcher Nevin Ashley could attest to Strasburg's good stuff.
His appearance in the road game -- about 25 miles west of the Desert Dogs' Municipal Stadium digs -- provoked a relative rush on the box office, with many in the eventual gathering of 456 walking up to line up for tickets as first pitch approached.
Strasburg didn't disappoint. His next appearance will be quite higher profile as he starts Saturday night for the Eastern Division in the AFL's all-star game on the MLB Network.
The Nationals' and the nation's No. 1 choice in June's First-Year Player Draft walked one and struck out six, all swinging, most of them at biting sliders into the dirt.
Strasburg stretched out to 68 pitches, 43 of them strikes, in the five innings, two outs beyond his previous longest outing, the 4 1/3-inning turn last Tuesday against Surprise.
As was the case then, Surprise broke through against him in his last inning. Brandon Laird led off the fifth with a double off diving left fielder Corey Brown's glove, and he worked his way home on a pair on infield grounders.
"I wanted to go out and build off the previous start," said Strasburg, whose timetable calls for him to reach to 75 pitches before the AFL schedule runs out in a couple of weeks.
It's all about building back up an arm that had essentially been holstered for four months. At San Diego State, it wasn't unusual for Strasburg to approach 130 pitches in a close game, although coach Tony Gwynn normally took him out of blowouts after he crossed 100. But that last collegiate outing was on May 29.
"Coach Gwynn was really protective of me," Strasburg said. "It's a gradual progression, and I just have to stay on my program."
Strasburg's effort reinforced the notion that, regardless the stature of the man in the middle, baseball is a nine-man game. The Rafters hit numerous hard shots, but right at fielders.
The best defensive play behind Strasburg was turned by third baseman Josh Bell, who charged a third-inning bunt by Jarrod Dyson and nailed him with a strong, sidearm throw.
Paul Menhart, a pitching coach in the Nationals' organization, is chaperoning Strasburg here in the same capacity with the Desert Dogs. Skull sessions with Menhart are all part of the education.
"I talk to him a lot," Strasburg said, "particularly about the mental game. He's been around the game for a long time, and I listen to everything he has to say.
"One of the biggest things has been learning to call your own game. In college, the coach pretty much calls the game, so you don't have any input. Here, you have to think about what pitch to make."
At least, Strasburg has to be concerned only with making his pitch, not hitting it. He seems to have the easier task.
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Teen LHP Kikuchi snubs MLB offers
TOKYO -- Highly touted teenage lefthander Yusei Kikuchi has turned down offers from several Major League Baseball teams and will continue to pitch in his native Japan next year.
"I have decided to play in Japan, not for a MLB team, and I would like do my best here," Kikuchi said in a televised interview on Sunday. "I'll try to take on the world once I have become the number one pitcher in Japan."
The 18-year-old lefty's decision to stay in Japan comes just days after telling reporters he was still undecided on his future following talks with all 12 Japanese domestic teams and eight MLB clubs, including the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees.
Kikuchi, whose fastball has been clocked at 96 mph, spoke to representatives from MLB and Japanese clubs over four days at his high school in northern Japan.
Japanese baseball officials have requested Kikuchi not consider any offer from MLB clubs before Japan's amateur draft on Oct. 29.
As many as 10 professional teams in Japan, except the Yomiuri Giants and Hiroshima Toyo Carp, are expected to select him as their top pick at the draft, public broadcaster NHK said.
Last year, Junichi Tazawa became the first amateur player to snub the draft and join the Boston Red Sox from Nippon Oil's corporate team.
(c) 2009 ESPN Internet Ventures.
Baseball Hosts "Scout Day" at LDM Park
NORMAN, Okla. -- After leading the Big 12 with nine players drafted off the 2009 roster, it was no surprise that 28 scouts, representing 20-plus Major League Baseball teams, were on hand Tuesday afternoon for the Sooners' annual "Scout Day" at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The OU baseball team held an eight-inning scrimmage that was highlighted by strong pitching performances on both sides.
"This is a big part of our program each and every year, to have MLB teams watching our players in the fall and spring," said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway. "This program prides itself in not only competing year in and year out for championships, but developing some of the best talent in the nation for the next level of our sport. I think it is safe to say we have a proven track record in each of the last five years and today's attendance by the scouts is evidence in that."
Since taking over in 2005, Golloway and company have sent 29 Sooners into the MLB draft, including two first round picks (Garrett Richards in 2009 and Jackson Williams in 2007) and 11 players taken in the first 10 rounds.
In 2009, Richards began the draft for Oklahoma as the first Sooner taken, while also becoming the third first round draft pick at OU since 2004 and the second in the last three years. He was followed by Andrew Doyle (4th round), J.T. Wise (5th round), Jamie Johnson (7th round), Chase Anderson and Bryant Hernandez (9th round), Aaron Baker (11th round), Antwonie Hubbard and Matt Harughty (26th round).
While the Sooners will have several new faces on the field in 2010, plenty of talent has been added to fill some of the holes left by the draft and graduation. The 2010 recruiting class was just recently ranked No. 16 in the nation by Baseball America, and was one of just three recognized in the Big 12.
The 2010 roster boasts eight players that have been drafted in their careers, including four newcomers that were selected in last June's draft before their arrivals on the Norman campus. That group includes Chad Kettler (Coppell, Texas) in the 24th round by the Cubs, Bobby Shore (San Marcos, Calif.) in the 40th round by the Orioles, Danny Black (Roseville, Calif.) in the 42nd round by the Yankees and Ryan Gibson (Yukon, Okla.) in the 48th round by the Marlins.
The Sooners have been participating in team practices since Sept. 21 with anywhere from two to four scrimmages held a week. While the recent inclement weather in that past two weeks has presented some challenges, progress continues towards the spring season.
"It's no secret that we would like to be further along, but the weather has hindered that," added Golloway. "Baseball is a game played outside with weather permitting and we are not the only team dealing with it right now. The coaching staff has done a good job in emphasizing to the players that we can't over concern ourselves with things we can't control.
"We are focused on getting better and working on the fundamentals, whether it be outside on the diamond or inside in the cages. That is exactly what we have been doing and will continue to do as we approach the 2010 season."
(c) 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.
2009 MLB draft takes smaller bite out of NU
Take out the mouthpiece, Mike Anderson. Your Nebraska baseball program just went 5-for-6 against the Major League Draft -- a batting average that will undoubtedly make the Huskers a bigger threat to produce some more impressive streaks next season.
''The last two years we have just been kicked in the teeth by the draft,'' NU's coach said Tuesday, referring to the fact that 14 of 19 Husker recruits or underclassmen chosen in 2007 and '08 had opted for the pros.
Less than a week after this year's early-June talent search, that number went to 15 of 20, when Geoff Baldwin, a first baseman recruit out of Grand Junction, Colo., signed with Kansas City following his 10th-round selection.
But when the deadline for MLB teams to sign their picks arrived at 11 p.m. Monday, Baldwin stood as the lone wolf, with five others deciding Nebraska was their best option.
That group includes four right-handed pitchers:
* Phoenix's Tom Lemke, a 10th-round pick of Texas.
* Junior-to-be Mike Nesseth, chosen in the 15th round by the Los Angeles Angels.
* Kurt Giller, a 21st-round pick by Toronto from Manhattan, Kan.
* Ryan Hander, a 39th-rounder by the Los Angeles Dodgers from Sioux Falls, S.D.
Nebraska right fielder Adam Bailey also will return for his senior season after being picked in the 38th round by the New York Yankees.
"We're a little thankful," Anderson said. "This is the first time (in a while) we felt like we had Plan A intact.
"...Going to Plan B, C, D, E or F three years (in a row) -- it can be crushing to your program.''
For comparison's sake, 2009 Big 12 champ Texas lost lost five of 11 draftees who could have been with the Longhorns next season. Oklahoma, which finished second, lost eight of 12.
Though Nebraska's luck this year won't guarantee success, it could easily be argued that the personnel losses from the past two drafts represent the biggest contributing factor to the Huskers' last-place finish in the league last season. During Anderson's first six seasons, NU finished fourth or better five times and won two titles.
''For the most part, I'm very comfortable with what's going on,'' Lemke said Tuesday. ''I know it's going to be a blast playing there. I've always been a Husker fan and now I get a chance.''
Lemke said the Rangers told his adviser a couple weeks ago that they weren't going to be able to meet a signing bonus requirement that had been established before the draft. He decided then that Nebraska was where he was meant to play, and maintained that mind-set when the Rangers contacted his adviser again Monday and said they might be able to come up with the money.
Nesseth had gone into summer figuring he'd likely return to NU after also having set a lofty signing bonus demand. On Tuesday, he sounded far from disappointed the Angels didn't meet that figure.
''I'm just really excited to go out and prove something,'' Nesseth said.
Undoubtedly, having other draftable talent around him will help that cause.
''It makes me feel great -- really great,'' Nesseth said of Nebraska retaining almost all of its draftable talent. ''It's going to make our team that much deeper and stronger.''
(c) 2002-2009, Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.
Orioles Top Prospect No. 26: Brett Jacobson
Reliever Brett Jacobson came to the Orioles via a trade with the Detroit Tigers earlier this season as the centerpiece (and only piece) of the Aubrey Huff deal.
And while he didn't necessarily enhance his reputation as "inconsistent," he still provides the Orioles with one of the most talented relieving prospects in the system.
Jacobson came to the Orioles from the Tigers, but before that he came to the Tigers via the fourth round of the 2008 MLB Draft. The 6'6'' right-hander could have gone higher due to his skill set but fell to the fourth after concerns about his consistency scared other teams away.
Prior to being a part of the Detroit organization, Jacobson was a three-year starter/reliever at Vanderbilt. He started each season as a starter, but finished each in the bullpen, where he had much greater success. It was coming out in relief that the Tigers saw the chance to develop Jacobson as a quick-moving reliever.
(c) 2009 Bleacher Report, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Top amateur to choose Japan or MLB
Kikuchi would be first high schooler to opt for big leagues.
Yusei Kikuchi, the 18-year-old left-hander projected to be the No. 1 overall selection in next month's Japanese amateur draft, is expected to decide as early as this week whether to become the first high school player to bypass Japan's draft and sign with a Major League organization.
Kikuchi pitched an inning for Hanamaki Higashi High School in the National Sports Festival in Niigata on Monday, striking out the side in order while registering a 95-mph fastball. Representatives from all 12 Japanese teams and eight Major League teams were in attendance, according to the Kyodo News Service.
Amateur players must declare for the Oct. 29 draft by Oct. 15. If Kikuchi is drafted by a Japanese team and he instead signs with a Major League club, he would be subjected to a three-year ban from Nippon Professional Baseball if he were to ever want to return to play in Japan.
If Kikuchi were to be drafted and sign with a Japanese team, he would have to wait nine years to be a free agent or enter a posting system, which would require permission from his team to allow Major League clubs to bid for the right to negotiate with the player. Daisuke Matsuzaka took that route when he signed with the Red Sox in December 2006.
Kikuchi's high school coach, Hiroshi Sasaki, told Kyodo that the pitcher "says he is about 50-50" as to his decision.
"We don't want to let him go to the Majors. We definitely want him to remain in Japan," Takayoshi Nakao, a scout for the Hanshin Tigers, told Kyodo.
Scouts from the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Cubs, Giants, Tigers, Braves, Rangers, Mariners and Indians have reportedly watched Kikuchi in tournaments.
"He was impressive," Brian Lambe, a special assistant to the general manager for the Mets, told Kyodo after Kikuchi's tournament outing. "He has a strong, quick arm. Good balance and a strong bottom half."
Right-hander Junichi Tazawa requested that Japanese teams not draft him last year, and he went on to sign a three-year, $3.3 million contract with the Red Sox. But Tazawa, undrafted out of high school, was 22 at the time and had been pitching in a Japanese industrial league.
Tazawa, Kazuhito Tadano and Mac Suzuki are the only Japanese players to have played in the Majors without having played Japanese pro ball.
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
NCAA cracks down on baseball advisers
The NCAA walks a fine line with baseball players selected in the annual June draft. Players are free to seek guidance, but the NCAA distinguishes between "agents" and "advisers" and makes it clear that athletes who fail to recognize the difference put their eligibility at risk.
The line is hazy, and teams and agents routinely wink at practices that fall beyond the letter of the law. But as the money increases and the draft becomes a prime financial battleground, the signs are pointing toward an attempted crackdown by the NCAA.
The NCAA Eligibility Center recently distributed a questionnaire to college baseball players that suggests tighter oversight of advisers in the draft. Many agents questioned where the initiative will lead, only seven months after an Ohio judge upheld former Oklahoma State pitcher Andy Oliver's right to representation in the draft.
"The court ruling said a player is allowed to have representation like anyone else in America," said Scott Boras, baseball's most prominent agent and an active presence as an adviser in the draft. "Why should an 18-year-old kid not have the benefit of counsel when dealing with a professional franchise? It makes no sense."
ESPN.com obtained a copy of the form, which includes 16 questions for coaches to distribute to recent recruits and current college players who were selected in the June draft but didn't sign professional contracts. Among them:
1. Provide the name and contact information (e-mail address and phone number) of your adviser.
2. Is your adviser an attorney?
3. Did your adviser have any direct communications with any MLB clubs on your behalf?
4. Did your adviser discuss your signability with any clubs?
Stephen Webb, the NCAA's associate director of amateurism certification, declined comment on the letter. He referred ESPN.com to the organization's media relations department, which sent a two-paragraph response via e-mail.
The NCAA said the questionnaire is part of an effort to ensure "a consistent determination of prospective student-athletes' eligibility status," and is "solely motivated to gather information to be used during the certification process."
"It is important that the Eligibility Center gather all necessary information in order to make an accurate determination," the NCAA said. "As such, it has previously sent similar requests for information to prospective student-athletes in other sports, including golf and soccer."
Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's vice president of labor relations and human resources, said the letter is strictly an NCAA initiative.
"Our position is, we draft a kid, he tells us who he wants to deal with, and that's who we deal with," Manfred said.
Nevertheless, the letter includes a waiver for players to sign that would allow the NCAA to forward information to MLB clubs. Sources said that provision has generated concern within the Players Association, which oversees the certification of agents and negotiates draft rules in collective bargaining.
Michael Weiner, the union's general counsel, declined to comment.
The NCAA has occasionally punished players who sought assistance in the draft. In 2002, Vanderbilt pitcher Jeremy Sowers sat out six games after it was discovered that his representatives talked to Cincinnati Reds officials who had drafted him out of high school.
Oliver was declared ineligible for the 2008 NCAA regional tournament after it was discovered that advisers Bob and Tim Baratta had sat in on negotiations with the Minnesota Twins in 2006. After Oliver switched to Boras in March 2008, the Baratta brothers reportedly turned in Oliver to the NCAA and submitted a $113,775 bill for services rendered.
Oliver filed a lawsuit and was reinstated at Oklahoma State when Tygh M. Tone, an Eric County (Ohio) common pleas judge, ruled that NCAA regulations limiting the role of attorneys in counseling student-athletes are impossible to enforce and allow for the exploitation of players.
Oliver re-entered the draft in June, with Boras as his adviser, and signed with the Detroit Tigers for a $1.495 million bonus as a second-round pick. Following the judge's ruling in Oliver's favor during the bench trial, Oliver is seeking damages in the jury trial, which is scheduled to begin in October.
Rick Johnson, Oliver's attorney, said the latest NCAA memo is a direct violation of Tone's ruling in Oliver's behalf.
"It illegally and unethically seeks attorney-client privileged information, and it misstates the NCAA's bylaws and what is required of student-athletes, who are not required to disclose this level of information, sign releases, etc., without any probable cause or due process," Johnson said in an e-mail to ESPN.com.
Johnson added that the NCAA Eligibility Center is "a wholly-owned, for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit NCAA," which has no authority to communicate with student-athletes.
"Student-athletes, who are young, generally unsophisticated and unable to hire legal counsel, are being intimidated to give up all sorts of rights that no sane person would agree to do," Johnson said.
Although the adviser-agent distinction appears rooted in semantics, the NCAA defines an agent as someone who tries to market a player's skills to an MLB club or communicate directly with a team on a player's behalf. That's prohibited under the rules. An adviser, in contrast, stays in the background while the player and his family negotiate directly with teams.
Boras, a lawyer, said he adheres to NCAA regulations by charging a fee to players whom he advises in the draft.
"We are compliant with the NCAA rules by mandate," Boras said. "We have to go to families and charge them for information that we would otherwise not charge for. And we have to go through the bailiwick of having the parents deal with the teams through our counsel, which is crazy."
Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, whose program has sent pitcher David Price and several other high picks to professional ball in recent years, considers the NCAA's latest efforts a positive step in distinguishing between qualified advisers and inexperienced, rogue agents who stalk high school and college players in the quest for a commission.
"The kids need advisement when they get to that level," Corbin said. "A lot of agents and advisers are very good at what they do, and it makes sense that people in the business who have been around can help the parents and the child try to sort through this process. Otherwise, parents and kids could get abused.
"I think this stems from the 'cling-on' guys who see the high school kids as a quick buck. You have groups of people who are chasing kids through parking lots to get their services. It's run awry to the point where there probably has to be some legislation to keep it from getting out of control."
Rising payouts in the draft have prompted commissioner Bud Selig to call for a hard slotting system for bonuses, with no exceptions. This year, Major League Baseball recommended that teams reduce draft bonuses by 10 percent, but Baseball America reported that the total payout for the first five rounds stayed even between 2008 and 2009.
Pitcher Stephen Strasburg, selected first overall by the Washington Nationals, set draft records with a $7.5 million bonus and a $15.1 million guaranteed payout while using Boras as his adviser.
One agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the NCAA's attempts to limit or crack down on advisers could put draft picks at a distinct disadvantage in negotiations.
"Are you going to have Joe Bob the refrigerator repairman negotiating with the New York Yankees?" the agent said. "A team has experts, and these kids and their families are playing in a field that they have no idea about."
(c) 2009 ESPN Internet Ventures.
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