It was tough to sit through the first round of the Major League draft and see the Dodgers without a pick, but the compensation round finally came and the club made its first pick.
They went with Aaron Miller of Baylor, and outfielder and a pitcher. He's left-handed, he's got great bat control and has some power. He is probably going to be an outfielder, and not a pitcher, and has the speed to cover a lot of ground at a place like Dodger Stadium.
By all accounts he is a very solid baseball player with good instincts and a natural feel for the game. Manny Ramirez will not be a Dodger after 2010, so finding a big bat to replace him will be important.
Miller seems like a pretty good pick, and some people had him as a first rounder, but he's not the guy I would have taken.
With Tanner Scheppers on the board, I was all about them taking the right-hander. Scheppers, if you remember, was at Fresno State in 2008, didn't sign after being drafted and played independent ball instead.
Apparently he sits at 95 mph on the gun for the most part and can hit 98. He can cut it and sink it and he throws a pretty decent changeup and curve. By all accounts, he's healthy, and he would have been a terrific pick.
Shoulder problems affected his draft status from last year, and after being selected in the second round by the Pittsburg Pirates, he decided to sign with the St. Paul Saints.
Second on my list was James Paxton, a very hard throwing lefty out of Kentucky. He could be Major League ready in a year or so, and he was projected to go in the first round.
The Dodgers passed on him, as well.
Will trade a first round pick for a PROVEN baller like ODAWG! Saw something on Dodgers Blue that the only first picks to make any impact for the Dodgers since 1983 are as follows
Driefort
Loney
Bills
Dewitt
Kershaw
Granted the impacts have come since Logan White headed that department, but serious too much value has been placed on the Draft and paying a college kid like Strasburg 30-50 million is stupid!!!!!!!! Although the crappy Nats have no choice but to sign him or risk losing their entire fan base.
Ya, I think this site did a whole big thing on Dodger first rounders from like 1990 and up to today. They don't pan out that often. Under Logan White, the Dodgers make good picks. Scheppers or Paxton might have been nice, but I'll trust this Miller kid is a ball player.
Thank goodness the Dodgers aren't the team dealing with Boras in regards to the Strasburg contract.