There's no doubt that lefthander Kevin James is Wisconsin's best prospect, but it's unclear whether he'll get drafted high enough to bypass a Boston College scholarship. He's a projectable 6-foot-4, 187-pounder who drew attention by consistently hitting 90-91 mph while pitching against suspended Illinois high school lefty Ian Krol in a Wisconsin scout league in the spring. James' curveball and command still need a lot of work, and scouts can't figure out why he doesn't dominate weak high school competition. James went 0-8 as a junior, and while he won his first start as a senior, he still issued six walks in five innings.James' bonus is the highest in the 9th round this year.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
9th Round Pick Kevin James Signs For $625,000
Who but Jim Callis with the details. Here's what BA had on James before the draft:
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I like this one a lot. It feels like Christmas in August, except we can't see the new toys play until next spring...
ReplyDeleteI hesitate to make the comparison because Matt Moore has a plus curveball, but when he was drafted, he was an 8th rounder with 91-93 MPH velocity from the left side. James has a high ceiling, but he's still very raw.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember Moore's bonus? Just curious. I have him signing on July 7th (2007, '07 draft), just don't have his bonus listed.
ReplyDeleteHe came much cheaper, $115,000 for Moore.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I knew he was cheaper, but didn't have the number. That's quite a difference in 2 years, with Moore picked a round higher.
ReplyDeleteare the agents to blame for all the over slot bonuses this draft?
ReplyDeleteTakes two to tango, agents only can make an offer or accept a team's offer. I get your point though, seems like a lot of over-slots, especially with 2 1/2 days to go before the deadline.
ReplyDeleteSeems like quite a hefty investment for a 9th rounder. Who knows- maybe it will pay off in the end???? Anxious to see if any of these recent picks will play this year...and where. Have any input?
ReplyDeleteJeff Malm will report to the GCL sometime soon and play there a bit(that's from The Heater)... With the pitchers, it's trickier since I don't know how many innings they pitched over the summer and if the Rays want to limit them.
ReplyDeleteGet Diekroger signed! Forget Washington and his agent Bor..ass and use the $$ to sign Diekroger.
ReplyDeleteI played with Kevin James and knew him my entire life. I can tell you from my experience catching him...he is a dominant pitcher.
ReplyDeleteI remember having to ice my hand after a bullpen session with kev. The Rays are lucky to have him. Good Luck
I also played with Kev for quite some time. Every time he took the mound, our team felt like we were going to win. He brought a great presence with him on the mound, and at the plate (yes, he was a PHENOMONAL hitter too). Noted he did go 0-8 as a junior, those losses were ALL because of horrible defense. Contact the school for his stats and you will see that his ERA if i remember correctly was 0.87 (that was either his jr. or sr. year, i know it was one of them) if that was not his jr. year ERA, i know it was under 2.0 for sure, and prbly under 1.5 as well. His senior year, while pitching at homestead high school he gave up 1 hit and struck out 18! 18 out of the 21 outs in a H.S. game being K's is REDICULOUS, expecially since homestead has a great ball club and went to state that year. Kev has a great work ethic, whenever we asked him if he was gonna be drafted he would say "i'm not sure", and when he was, everyone was asking him if he would sign. He would reply "i don't know yet, i want to finish my sr. year, win conference, and win state" He has the determination, skill, and work ethic to make it BIG in the MLB. Good luck Kev, hopefully down the road everyone at Whitefish Bay High School will be proud to say you went there, in place of the pride we have of Craig Counsell graduating from there as well.
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