Three KU baseball signees drafted

Three Kansas University baseball signees were drafted this week by major-league organizations in the first-year player draft.

Infielder Thomas Mirabelli (Pittsburgh, 28th round), right-handed pitcher Hayden Edwards (Kansas City, 31st round) and left-handed pitcher Tyler Watson (Washington, 37th round) were selected Wednesday on the final day of the draft.

All three players have until July 13 to sign with the club which drafted them, otherwise they will enroll at KU and play for the Jayhawks beginning in 2013.

Mirabelli, a 5-foot-8 infielder from Rocky River, Ohio, was named Northeast Ohio Rookie of the Year in 2010, helping St. Edwards High School to a state championship. He hit .450 last year as a senior and batted over .400 for his high school career. He is the son of Cleveland Indians Vice President John Mirabelli. He was selected with the 856th overall pick by the Pirates.

Edwards, a 6-foot-9 right-handed pitcher from Shawnee Mission, was the No. 1-ranked high school player in the state according to Perfect Game USA. As a junior, Edwards earned all-state honors in both baseball and football, helping Blue Valley High School to the 2010 5A state football championship. Edwards led Blue Valley to a state runner up finish last month in the 5A baseball championship. He was drafted by his hometown Royals with the 943rd overall selection.

Watson, a 6-foot left-handed pitcher from Georgetown, Texas, was also a two-sport star in high school, earning all-state honors as a pitcher for the baseball team and as a kicker for the Georgetown High football team. He pitched for the Premier Baseball national champions this past summer, posting a 7-1 record on the mound and started the championship game for the D-Bat Mustangs. Tyler’s father, Gene Watson, is also the Coordinator of Professional Scouting with the Kansas City Royals. He was drafted with the 1,134th overall pick by the Nationals.

While he has until July, Watson said he has already made up his mind and plans to play at KU next season.

“I really got along well with the coaching staff when I went on my visit,” he said. “I love coach Price and I can’t wait to play for him.”

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dagger108 1 year ago

Mbe Watson could walk-on the football team as well

We're short on kickers this year.

ohjayhawk 1 year ago

The scary thing is, the D-III baseball team in the town I live in now just had two players drafted (one each in the 21st and 32nd rounds). Granted the team is a D-III powerhouse, but is this indicative of the talent that KU has these days that a non-scholarship program can have one fewer player drafted with a much better overall round average?

truefan 1 year ago

That's not exactly true. Many major college baseball teams stay away from signing kids that they are sure will be drafted and signed by a pro team. It's not because they don't want their talents, it's because they don't want to be left high and dry when the kid signs and leaves for the majors. Often, those kids will sign with a safety school just as insurance if they don't get drafted as high as they were expecting. Any school, such as the DIII school you mentioned, that gets lucky enough to have signed a kid who is disappointed on draft day ends up with a great player for a few years. I'm sure the DIII school is glad to have signed such talent, but I would be shocked if both of them do not sign with their respective teams for a nice bonus.

Take a look at this article for reference. It sounds like Price keeps getting burned by this, which is most likely his own fault for allowing KU to be the kid's safety school.

Waiting game: Ritch Price uncertain of draft’s effects by Matt Tait KUsports.com

ohjayhawk 1 year ago

Ok. I must admit, I read through the story so quickly, I missed that the players drafted were signees the first time around. So, my comparison is apples to oranges. However, that also means that (going apples to apples), KU had only 1 fewer senior (8-7) on this year's team than the D-III team, and two fewer draftees (0 drafted). To me, this is even more unsettling. Not even one player was good enough off a D-I program in a power conference to be selected out of 1238 picks over 40 rounds?

bb73 1 year ago

The sheer # of players in a ML farm system is unlike any other sport. The kids that sign out of HS are either top talent or those not inclined to the academic side. So college baseball is often the best place to develop skills. Forget these draft positions. They tell you very little. At these draft positions scouts are seeing who might be interested. It is akin to throwing mud balls at a wall to see what sticks.

Also, there are some scouts that couldn't pick real talent out to save their life.

JHWKDW 1 year ago

Good luck Mirabelli,Watson,and Edwards!Hope to see you guys in the Majors soon!

I think Edwards considering the woes the Royals have going with their pitching if you do good you may be up here helping the Royals before you know it!

Well best of luck guys!

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