2009 Draft: Day Three Highlights

Day three featured rounds 31 through 50, so there likely was little Major League talent selected. Still, there were a few interesting picks. Here is a quick review of some of them:

• Niether Joe Patterson nor Mike Sodders were drafted off of my watch list, marking the first time a couple players were not drafted off of my watch list. As I mentioned a couple times throughout the draft coverage, I did not have nearly the usual amount of time to prepare because I was gone in China the two weeks before the draft. Both players exploded on the college scene this year, and perhaps with further research I would have downgraded them. I am still a little surprised neither were drafted, but as underclassmen they will return to school. Once they were not drafted by the end of day two, I figured they would not be drafted at all.
• Brian Marquez was not drafted at all, which really surprises me. He is a Washington native, and played at Green River Community College for a few years before moving on to New Mexico State. He did not look like much of a prospect until this year, where he batted over .400 with 21 home runs as a shortstop. It looks like he may have had a fluke year, and obviously teams think he did. However, a senior shortstop that had the kind of season Marquez did is worth drafting somewhere in a 50-round draft.
• One possible guy to watch for from the later rounds is RHP David Erickson, the Padres selection in round 32. He was a reliever at UConn, and had a great senior season. He also excelled in the Cape Cod League this past summer.
• The Pirates 33rd round selection, Elon outfielder Pat Irvine, had a monster year at the plate. He is already 23 years old, and really came on strong only in the past year, but he is certainly the type of player worth taking a chance on late in the draft.
• The Mariners picked UW right-hander Jorden Merry in the 40th round. He really struggled this year, but was good as a junior. It's nice to see a local pick, and maybe Merry just had an inopportune bad year.
• The Yankees picked Pat White in the 48th round. They had him listed as an outfielder, but even messed up in the conference call and originally called him a quarterback! He is the same well-known former starting quarterback for the Mountaineers, and a second round draft pick of the Dolphins in the NFL. Clearly, he will go with the Dolphins, but as a college senior the Yankees will have a full year to negotiate with him. In other words, the Yankees will still hold his rights for quite some time after the NFL season is over. If White completely fails in the NFL this year (which is highly doubtful), he's now got a backup option.

The draft was fun, as it always is. Spreading it over three days was a good idea, though I still think it could be shortened to maybe 40 rounds, or even less than that. More coverage of the Mariners picks will follow in the days to come.