Former UBC star Jeff Francis set to start Game 1

Jeff Francis is set to start for the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday Night in Game 1 of the World Series. He has pitched in two games in the playoff run where he has a 2-0 record with a 2.13 ERA. Hitters are only hitting a paltry .213 against the lanky lefty. Francis was a standout player with the University of British Columbia where he was drafted out of in the first round. Tbirdbaseball.net sent us a video of an interview done with the CBC about Francis which can be watched by clicking here.

Checking in with Jacob Thompson

Eric Strow, a senior writer of The Cavalier Daily, recently checked in with Jacob Thompson. He spent the summer of 2007 pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American games and several international exhibitions. He was shut down before the end of the summer to save his arm for the 2008 season. The full article from The Cavalier Daily is available here. The College Baseball Blog had a chance to see Thompson in 2007 when his Cavaliers visited Boston College. The full report is available here.

2007 HS All-American Team

The College Baseball Blog recently came across the 2007 National High School Baseball Coaches Association All-American teams. The two teams are filled by tons of 2007 draft picks but two names stick out in Ben Klafczynski and Matt Harvey. Ben Klafczynski did not sign a pro contract out of high school and opted to attend Kent State University to play under Scott Stricklin. He is expected to make an immediate impact with the Flashers and should compete for Conference Rookie of the Year. Harvey will be attend the University of North Carolina in the fall after being drafted in the third round but could not come to terms with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He is expected to compete for a starting spot in the weekend rotation in 2008. The full list of All-Americans is available here.

Why is NC State losing top players?

I have noticed a recent trend with the NC State baseball program with top players transferring to other schools across the country. After the 2006 season, Matt Mangini transferred for his junior season to Oklahoma State where he ended up getting picked up by the Seattle Mariners with the 52nd overall pick. This past summer Mike Roskopf transferred out of NC State to the University of Southern California for his senior season. Roskopf showed me some major power this past season when the Wolfpack visited Boston College. What is Elliot Avent doing to these kids? Is it just a random occurence that these players have transferred out the last two seasons? I hope someone has some insight into the reasoning these players have left.

Brown's Dietz signs with D-Backs

Brown University pitcher Jeff Dietz has signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2008 season. He won the Ivy League pitcher of the year award in 2007 while leading the Bears to the Ivy League title and their first ever NCAA tournament berth. Dietz went 9-3 including a complete game victory over Penn in the Ivy League championship series in which The College Baseball Blog was in attendance for. The CBB recap of the Ivy Championship is available by clicking here.

Harvard's Wilson signs with the Brewers

The Harvard Crimson released a special article about Steffan Wilson on Thursday. The article talks about how Wilson signed with the Milwaukee Brewers over coming back for his senior season. The article also discusses how many people are doubting the decision to go pro including Keith Law. The full article is available here.

Harvey and Striz heading to North Carolina

Matt Harvey of Fitch High School (CT) and Nate Striz of Sante Fe Catholic (FL) both will be heading to North Carolina after failing to sign professional contracts by the deadline on August 15th. Matt Harvey was expected to be a first round pick but slid to the third round (118th overall) where he was picked by the Los Anglos Angels of Anaheim. Teams were scarred away from drafting him with the association with Scott Boras. He was rated by Baseball America as the number 1 prospect in the senior class in February. He ended up being named the Louisville Slugger Connecticut Player of the Year. Nate Striz was a fifth round pick (182nd overall) by the Minnesota Twins. He was rated as the 95th best prospect by Baseball America before the high school season.

Both players are excellent additions to the North Carolina pitching staff. These players should be top of the line starters for the Tar Heels in the coming years while they try to make it to their third straight CWS Championship series.

UNC Release
LA Times Article on Harvey

Mike Moustakas signs

Baseball America is now reporting that Mike Moustakas has officially signed with the KC Royals. Moustakas was the second overall pick in the 2007 draft out of Chatsworth High School in CA. It looks like the report from the Kansas City Star from earlier this evening saying that Scott Boras had informed the KC Royals that Moustakas would be attending USC in the fall was just a bargaining ploy to make the Royals make a late offer which his client accepted. The deal went through 11 minutes before the signing deadline for 2007 draft picks.

Kansas City Star article about the signing
Baseball America Report

Yankees sign Brackman

The New York Yankees signed Andrew Brackman to a four year guaranteed deal which is worth a minimum of 4.5 million to a maximum of 13 million. The College Baseball Blog attended one of Brackman's starts in the 2007 season (sat about four people over from Keith Law of ESPN) and was less then impressed with his performance. He did not show me first round type material but throws a very hard fastball but his curveball needs a lot of work. The biggest issue that I have over Brackman is the arm issues he ran into at the end of the NC State season which hampered the Wolfpack's chances in the NCAA and ACC tournaments. There is not much mileage on his arm since he pitched in only 78 innings in 2007 while pitching in a combined 71.1 innings in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He was visiting famed surgeon James Andrews this week to look at his inflamed elbow where Tommy John surgery might be needed.

NC State Release
River Ave. Blues Article
CBB article on Brackman's start against Boston College

UCLA loses two recruits

The UCLA Bruins lost two big time recruits for the 2008 season in Ryan Dent and Jason Heyward. Dent was the 62nd overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Boston Red Sox. Dent received a $571,000 deal with the team. Heyward was the 14th overall pick by the Atlanta Braves. He received a 1.7 million dollar deal with the team. The rest of the UCLA freshman class will be attending classes in Los Angeles this year. The full press release is available here.

D-Rays Set Record In Landing Big Fish

Mo Patton of the Tennessean is reporting that David Price will receive a record $11.25 Million package over six years, surpassing the "Prior" record of $10.4 Million over six years between Mark Prior and the Cubs. The son of two Vanderbilt alums, Prior also pitched in Nashville as a Freshman before transferring to USC for the remainder of his NCAA career.

Price will be introduced at a Friday press conference. Congratulations to the Devil Rays and David on coming together for this deal.

In other Signing Day news noted by Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com:

-Texas 3B Bradley Suttle signed with the Yankees

-NC State RHP Andrew Brackman signed with the Yankees

-Texas OF Kyle Russell will return to Austin for another year

-Texas A&M's Blake Stouffer will return to school for a swan song

-Rice signee Carmen Angelini signed with the Yankees

Boston College News

According to a source, Boston College's ace pitcher Terry Doyle is expected to come back next season for his senior season. He is coming off a strong summer for the second straight year as he won Game 1 of the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship series on Monday. Doyle had an injury hampered season in 2007 while compiling a 4-5 record with a 5.87 ERA. This is huge news for Boston College as he is expected to lead the team to their first apperance in the ACC Tournament in 2008. If something changes, The College Baseball Blog will be all over it.

Tigers, top pick Porcello agree to deal

The Tigers are on the brink of announcing they have signed No. 1 draft pick Rick Porcello to a four-year major league contract with a guaranteed value of $7.285 million, according to multiple officials with knowledge of the negotiations.

The deal is the richest given to a high school player by the team that drafted him, and could increase in value if he attains certain roster bonuses.Porcello, a 6-foot-5 18-year-old right-hander from New Jersey, was considered one of the most talented players in the June draft, but slid to the Tigers at No. 27 overall because teams were concerned about his high price tag. He was expected to ask for a guarantee between $6.5 million and $8 million, and, it appears, that is exactly what happened. This signing hurts the North Carolina program as he was one of their top recruits for the 2008 season.

Detroit Free Press

Draft Deadline: The new rules

When MLB changed it's draft rules last October, there were two key points to note:

1) Teams that do not sign a top 2 Round pick will receive a comparable pick in the 2008 draft. If you fail to sign the 7th overall pick, you would receive pick 7A in 2008. For example, if Tampa fails to ink David Price and if Tampa finished last in the standings again, they would receive the first overall pick and then receive pick 1A (functionally, the second overall pick). This provides significant leverage by improving the team's BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement). A draftee is in the same spot as before, but it's a little easier for the team to stick to slot guidelines knowing they would be forfeiting a whole lot less. Source and a list of the unsigned first rounders.

2) Everything must be done by midnight Wednesday. That means not just an agreement in principal. A signed agreement won't even cut it unless the player has passed his physical. It's hard to tell if a physical can be performed before a contract is signed, because all draft rules aren't public, but which unsigned stars go in for a doctor's visit tomorrow or Wednesday morning can probably be an indicator as to who's close to closing their deal. Source.

Notable unsigned players as of yesterday include #1 Price (Tampa Bay), #2 Mike Moustakas (Kansas City Royals), #3 Josh Vitters (Chicago Cubs) and #5 Matt Weiters (Baltimore Orioles).

UPDATE: Yahoo Sports has written an article on this topic. It is available here.

FSU loses two players

The Tallahassee Democrat is reporting that Danny Rosen and D'Vontrey Richardson will not return in the 2008 season. Rosen has signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Rosen was expected to be the main set up man in the 2008 season for the Seminoles. He pitched in 26 games in 2007 while compiling a 5.52 ERA. Richardson will not return to the baseball field as he plans on focusing on football for the next few years. He was a surprise contributor in 2007 when he batted .351 in 51 games including starting 35. FSU has picked up freshman football player Taiwan Easterling who was drafted in the sixth round in 2007 by the Florida Marlins. The full article is available here.

Best College Program?

I want to be a Sports Agent website checks in with an article about the most successful baseball programs based on MLB players drafted and making it to the Majors. Using their calculations, They have USC in the top spot with 275 players drafted and 94 players making it to the Majors. Texas holds down the second spot followed by Arizona State, Stanford, and UCLA to round out the Top 5. The full article is available here.

Commodores Baseball Update

This is my inaugural post on the CBB and I’ll be helping Brian and the team cover Vanderbilt, SEC and Southeastern College Baseball. Up first are three recent developments with Commodore baseball: Ryan Davis’ transfer, David Price’s negotiations with Tampa Bay and a first commitment for the Class of 2009.

Mike Rapp of VandySports.com (Rivals) caught up with Coach Tim Corbin and discussed Davis’ transfer. Corbin wishes Davis well and thanks Ryan for his contributions to the program. Davis should be a key contributor to San Diego next year in the Outfield or at DH. Mike’s article can be read here.

Meanwhile, Chris Lee of VandySports.com landed the first public interview in some time with the #1 overall pick of the 2007 Draft. Negotiations appear to be heating up with Tampa in this final week of signing eligibility. Rivals subscribers can read Price’s thoughts and the potential for returning at Vandy for a swan song here (Rivals subscription required).

On the recruiting trail, Commodores recruiting coordinator Erik Bakich picked up his first verbal commitment for the class of 2009. Dough Fritz at the Johnson City Press is reporting that Catcher/Firstbaseman Dylan Pratt will enter the program as a Sophomore in the 2008-09 school year. Pratt was on the Commodores’ radar as a HS Junior; however, an injury led to a loss in interest. Recent strong performances changed Bakich and Corbin’s mind and Pratt will come on board after spending a year at Walters State Community College, where he will play alongside former Vandy target Adam Milligan. The full article can be read here. Perfect Game rated Pratt 8.5 out of 10 in the summer between his Sophomore and Junior years of High School.

In other Commodore news, it's expected that both All-American RF Dom De la Osa and reserve OF Jonathan White will be returning for their Senior seasons with the 'Dores, providing strong outfield depth for the '08 campaign.

Photo courtesy of Mike Rapp of VandySports.com

Adrian Alaniz tabbed to play in New York-Penn League All-Star Game

Former Texas Baseball standout Adrian Alaniz was one of five members of the Vermont Lake Monsters named to the National League roster for the 2007 New York-Penn League All-Star game, the league announced on Wednesday. Alaniz was one of 11 pitchers included on the 27-man roster for the game to be played Tuesday, August 14 at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y., home of the Hudson Valley Renegades.

TexasSports.com

Moreland signs with Rangers

Mitch Moreland of Mississippi State has decided to sign with the Texas Rangers according to a report in The Clarion-Ledger. Moreland hit .343 with 10 homers and 62 RBI for the Bulldogs in 2007. The full article is available by clicking here.

Checking in with Tony Thomas Jr.

The Idaho Statesman has checked in with an article about Tony Thomas Jr. and how he is adjusting to playing with the short season Boise Hawks who are affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. Thomas dominated the ACC in 2007 with a .430 average and was named the Player of the Year in the ACC while playing for Florida State. The Chicago Cubs picked him in the third round with the 97th overall pick. Thomas started the summer with the Mesa (AZ) rookie ball team but was quickly promoted to Boise. The full article is available here.