The St. Louis Cardinals selected high school RHP Shelby Miller out of Brownwood High School in Brownwood, TX with their top pick in Tuesday night’s MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Miller is considered by many to have the best fastball in the draft and it was rated tops among prep pitchers by Baseball America. He was rated the 7th-best right-handed pitcher in the draft by Baseball America. The 18-year-old is a solid athlete, also starring on the football field as a tight end and punter for Brownwood High School. Shelby has a commitment to attend Texas A&M as its top baseball recruit.
“Shelby was the best player available to us when we picked and we were glad he was available,” said Cardinal Vice President, Scouting and Player Development Jeff Luhnow. “He is a strong kid with a solid make-up and a plus-plus fastball that is difficult to hit. We are going to do our best to sign him and get him in the Cardinals system soon.”
Miller was 10-2 with a 1.90 ERA this past season for Brownwood. He struck out 153 batters in 77.0 innings pitched and allowed 36 walks and 38 hits.
It is the third time in the last six years that the Cardinals went with a high school prospect with their first pick. Their last top pick out of a high school program was Peter Kozma in 2007. Miller, 6’3, 195”, is the first high school pitcher selected in the first round by the Cardinals since they selected Brian Barber with the third of three first-round selections in 1991 (compensation from Mets for Type B free agent Vince Coleman).
The Cardinals chose catcher Robert Stock out of the University of Southern California with their second round pick (67th overall). Stock was a two-way player with the Trojans as he also was a member of the pitching staff. Stock batted .226 with six home runs and 30 RBI this past season. He walked 23 times and struck out 24 in 137 at-bats. Stock batted .263 with 14 home runs and 74 RBI in his three-year Trojan career.
On the mound, Stock was 5-4 with a 2.90 ERA (77.2 IP / 25 ER) in 20 outings (nine starts). He walked 39 and struck out 86 in 77.2 IP. In his last start, Stock threw seven scoreless innings at Cal, allowing four hits and striking out seven. He made national headlines after he bypassed his senior year in high school to join the Trojans as a 17-year-old freshman in 2007. Stock was named 2005 Baseball America Youth Player of the Year.
Joseph Kelly of the University of California-Riverside was chosen in the third round by the Cardinals (98th overall). He was named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year as a freshman in 2007. Kelly gained a save in the Big West Championship-clinching win over #10 UC Irvine on 5/27/07. This season, he was 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA in 23 games out of the bullpen. Kelly’s father, Joseph Sr., played football at Vanderbilt University and for the San Diego Chargers.
2009 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT – CARDINALS’ DAY 1 RECAP
| Rd., | Player | Pos. | B-T | Ht. | Wt. | School | Hometown |
| 1 | Shelby Miller | RHP | R-R | 6-3 | 195 | Brownwood H.S. | Brownwood, TX |
| 2 | Robert Stock | C | L-R | 6-1 | 190 | University of Southern California | Westlake Village, CA |
| 3 | Joseph Kelly | RHP | R-R | 6-1 | 170 | UC Riverside | Corona, CA |
Shelby Miller………. what do you think the chances are of this signing? 1/10 Maybe. Reading the scout dialog on Holiday is funny………. Boras isn’t going to stand in the way of that move because he knows things aren’t going well there for Holiday, and that he has a much better chance of showing well else where………………. In truth, besides dealing with Billy Bean, there is no chance DeWitt moves anything into the outfield without moving 1 if not 2 of the boys out. He isn’t coming here…………………….. Tony’s statement on Lohse has some play in it. He is trying to enhance the panic a bit, hoping to see a move. He says as much in his statement. I see him pitching this month.
Brian, you may possibly know I enjoy the draft, baseball that is. This thread must be for Jumbo, your loyal correspondent.
Or not, as the case may be.
The last time we drafted a high school pitcher with our first choice was 1978, 31 years ago, as the crow flies. The pitcher was Don Collins. Mr. Collins did not reach the majors, for reasons possibly now lost to history. Its a long climb for any pitcher, usually longer for high schoolers, Rick Ankiel aside.
While I would have been happy with Paxton, or Wheeler, James, Gould, or Jenkins, I was happy about Miller too. He is this year’s hard throwing Texan who normally would go within the Top 10. There was a nice broad pool of amateurs this year, yielding a fine talent in Miller. Once I saw Minor, Leake, Stetson (sp?), Pollock, and Green get selected, I knew we had to end up with somebody good. Rare among fans, I trust the Cards to make sensible decisions and my faith was not misplaced.
Jim Rapoport is from Westlake Village, IIRC. \It must be a baseball hotbed in S. California. Stock was ultra hot coming out of high school and going to USC, much, much, much hotter than Shane B. A lefty swinger with a strong arm, USC trained, what’s not to like? If he cannot hit, he can become a pitcher.
Speaking of that, Troy Percival too was a catcher turned closer, HoF calibre. Like Adam Reifer, Percival matriculated at Cal-Riverside. In Kelly, we have added another Riversidian closer, our third.
The area scout credited on the selection of Miller was Ralph Garr Jr. Garr and Joe Almaraz were hired by the Baltimore Orioles in 2000, to scout, respectively, east and west Texas. Almaraz joined the Cards probably in late 2004 and was credited on the signing of Darryl Jones, Jaime Garcia, Mark McCormick, and Josh Wilson in the 2005 draft. Almaraz may have also helped recruit Garr. Garr continued with the Orioles at least through the 2006 draft. Now it appears Garr and Almaraz are again sharing the duties of scouting Texas amateurs, for a different team. Texas is one of the major source areas for amateurs, so deserves to be well-covered.
The chances of signing Miller are high. The Cards design bonuses to fit the circumstances of individual players and he wants to play. The Cards pay the piper when obliged to do so (e.g., Carpenter, Lohse, Glaus, Pineiro).
Give this a listen gang.
http://www.insidestlaudio.com/ITD_Audio/061009-7BillDeWitt.mp3
What Colby has that others missing is an independent appetite. He wants those fancy sports cars and the like. He knows that its power numbers that hold the (keys). He also got a dik hi fas ball set on a tee, which doesn’t hurt.
Stock’s offensive numbers listed in this story and Kelly’s pitching numbers are not exactly encouraging. Sure, you make Stock a pitcher, but what’s Kelly’s upside?
Interesting interview, WC. Nothing terribly earth-shattering, but it was a bit surprising to see the host go after DeWitt so directly.
What are you getting out of that discussion?
Too much can be read into amateur statistics. Stock is by age just a sophmore and lots of sophmores in a tough conference improve as juniors. I would look for Stock to hit well enough to develop well as a catcher. If not, he has pitcher as a fall-back.
Kelly’s upside is in pitch quality. He will saw off some wood bats.
I found it interesting just to sample a bit of Jr’s presentation Nut. About 4months ago, in an interview with Mo and Strauss I think, he used the term ” downward spiral ” correlating payroll deductions and talent holdings in the publics perception. It was a term he obviously heard Mo use to Daddy, cautioning against sudden or dramatic reductions. It got as much run around as the”dry Powder” comment. Daddy was pissed and Jr. didn’t speak in public for 2 or three months. The softball field announcement I believe was his return. Thats who daddy is. Jr. is a good republican and uses talking points in the grand tradition. Jr has half of daddy’s finesse and it shows. He has no future as a poker player. There was no new information for me. As I’m sure you’re aware, I think I know it all already.
“I’m sticking to my game plan and not letting anybody else in,” Rasmus said.
Anybody what to take a guess here? Speculations are encouraged.
Brian, Jumbo, Nut……… this is Cardinal Baseball right now.
“Right now, we have a lot of guys ‘in between,’” McRae said, noting that a number of hitters are behind the fastball and in front of off-speed pitches. “That’s exactly the way it was back then. As a hitter, that’s the worst place you can be. Because when you’re ‘in between’ you’ve got no chance.”
McRae said he believes the problems are more related to approach than mechanics. The matter has been discussed in meetings and a simpler approach encouraged.
“You need to commit to an approach,” McRae said. “You can’t be up there thinking ‘maybe this’ or ‘maybe that.’ You don’t give yourself a chance that way.”
This might be what he is blocking out? Betcha……..
I am ok with where Colby is at. To succeed in baseball, it is helpful to have great determination and mental focus. Like many other players, Colby needs to be himself and be comfortable with what he is trying to do at the plate.
My guess is TLR and the coaching staff wanted to bring Colby along slowly, putting him in favorable situations, to build up his experience and confidence. The idea would have been, don’t swing for the fences, but just make contact. Collect walks. Steal some bases. Bat leadoff or 2nd, in front of Albert. And this makes very good sense, in so far as it goes.
However, this did not factor what Colby and his Dad think. Each may be very strong minded, which can be a very good trait. It looks like it is coming in useful now. Colby likes swinging hard. That’s what he is about.
Since Luddy has struggled since his injury, and while Rick and Chris have had some difficulties, Tony has put 2 and 2 together and moved Rasmus to cleanup. Its unconventional to bat the rookie behind Albert, but necessity is the mother of invention. So far, the experiment is working. Ankiel seems to be hitting again and even Duncan is coming up with a few hits. We may be turning the corner and headed toward better times.
How about that Franklin? That last splitter almost did nothing. It better to be lucky than good some days. I like his attitude, he was laughing it off in the 8th but then sucked it up in the ninth.
About Colby Jumbo, whose trying to get in? I rest my case against McRae.
Brian,
Although all these young men seem to poccess all the right tools, to me it is very scarry in-light of the already fallen in the last few years that maybe we are expecting just a little to much out of them.
Not all the top picks in the past, but a lot are either done or struggling with what use to come so natural to them as baseball players.
Names are not relavent but I think that not only the Cardinals but the MLB overall needs to look at the impact of all the money, glitz, and glory.
We are losing good young ballplayer as they can hardly handle it when put into perspective with their age. Some to drugs, others to the overwhelming expectations put onto them.
Mostly though they are still growing up in every aspect.
Its like giving them a sharp turn at 180mph and expecting them to negotiate it correctly without any knowledge or training. I understand that a few make it from highschool, but the greater majority do not the odds are a little better out of college, but even then why are the rewards so big in the beginning?
Just a serious thought after following mucho minor leaguers for a while now..
I am happy the case about McRae has come to an end. Hal was a great hitter himself and he knows more about hitting than most players are going to learn.
Ultimately, its up to the guy in the box to hit, not to a coach. If a pitcher is not collecting outs, is this all due to Dave Duncan? No. Responsibility lies solely with a player.
If the player wants to hear some ideas, he can talk to a coach. If Rasmus wants to stick with what he is accustomed to doing, then fine, he should.