After the dust settles from Wednesday’s conclusion of baseball’s amateur draft, Kansas University coach Ritch Price expects one thing to be absent from his roster.
No, it’s not a starting pitcher or sweet-swinging outfielder.
It’s “draftitis.”
“Once you get through your junior year, there’s no pressure,” Price said. “They’ll have the best year of their careers next year. And they’ll be affordable signs for pro clubs a year from now.”
The Jayhawk skipper was speaking about junior outfielders Matt Baty and Gus Milner, along with shortstop Ritchie Price and right-handed pitcher Kodiak Quick.
Milner and Quick had hopes of going in the draft’s first 15 rounds, but when that window passed, it sealed their return to Hoglund Ballpark in 2006. Milner was tapped in the 47th round by the Cleveland Indians, the 1,406th pick overall.
One junior who will not be back, however, is outfielder A.J. Van Slyke, who was a 23rd-round selection by the team he grew up watching in his back yard — the St. Louis Cardinals.
Van Slyke was the Jayhawks’ biggest offensive standout in 2005, leading the team with 12 home runs and 57 RBIs while hitting .323. He’s following in the footsteps of his father, Andy Van Slyke, who hit 41 home runs and drove in 204 runs for the Cardinals in the first four years of his major-league career.
Four rounds before Van Slyke’s name came off the board, KU catcher Sean Richardson received some good news of his own. The senior from Vista, Calif., went in the 19th round to the Minnesota Twins.
Richardson could be switched to the outfield in the pros.
“I haven’t heard anything about going to outfield yet,” he said. “I’ll be catching until they tell me otherwise. Scouts always liked my athletic ability behind the plate. I knew there might be a chance I might get moved there eventually.
“I’m just excited, and I’m just glad I’m going to be getting an opportunity.”
Kansas University baseball coach Ritch Price battles mixed emotions this time of year.
As his program continues to rise, he sees the baseball draft, which begins Tuesday, as a potential setback every year.
But at the same time, it’s necessary.
“It’s another sign of the development of our program,” Price said. “As we get better, we’re going to need to lose three or four guys a year. It means we’re recruiting the right players and developing the right players.”
Price said two Jayhawks who just wrapped up their college careers — catcher Sean Richardson and pitcher Mike Zagurski — likely would be drafted and signed.
Those don’t hurt.
Juniors who get picked impact the program. In baseball, players at four-year colleges can be drafted as juniors or seniors. Often, drafted juniors are offered much better signing bonuses, which makes the appeal for them to leave that much stronger.
Price expects to lose outfielder A.J. Van Slyke, who recently completed a pre-draft workout with the St. Louis Cardinals. Outfielder Gus Milner could go, too.
Kodiak Quick could be the third — and most damaging — early defection. Quick, a hard-throwing right-hander with great movement on his pitches, was KU’s ace on the mound this year, and the pitching at KU still wasn’t deep.
He was 10-6 with a 3.41 earned-run average for KU, which finished 36-28 and qualified for the Big 12 Conference tournament.
“Obviously, that’s the guy we’re really hoping to get back,” Price said. “It could be devastating.”
The draft is 50 rounds long over two days, but all the money is on the first day. A junior selected in, say, the 40th round wouldn’t have much incentive to sign and likely would go back to school looking to move up after a solid senior season.
Kansas lost third baseman Travis Metcalf last year after the junior was picked in the 11th round by the Texas Rangers. He was on the fringe of where Price feels is the cut-off line between a no-brainer and a tough decision.
“For me personally, if you’re picked in the first 10 rounds, you should sign,” Price said.
¢ Nice to know ya: Oklahoma City two-sport prep standout C.J. Henry announced his intention to walk-on for the KU men’s basketball team this fall — if he’s not drafted high enough in Tuesday’s draft.
His KU commitment could be a negotiating tool.
Henry, a shortstop, is expected to go pretty high in the draft, perhaps in the first round, which comes with seven-figure contracts that are awfully hard to turn down.
Baseball America projects Henry as the 18th-best prospect in the draft. Price, who made an in-home visit and offered Henry a scholarship, said he expected Henry to go somewhere in the first four rounds.
¢ High picks: Players KU faced this season are expected to be top-10 picks.
Nebraska third baseman Alex Gordon likely will be a top-five pick and could go second to the Kansas City Royals. Heading into Saturday’s regional clash with Creighton, Gordon was hitting .379 with 18 home runs, 61 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in just 65 games.
Another is Wichita State pitcher Mike Pelfrey, a hard-throwing right-hander expected to go early in the first round. Pelfrey’s advisor is the notorious Scott Boras, though, and the intimidation of Boras’ bulldog negotiations may cause Pelfrey to slip a few spots.
Pelfrey allowed one earned run in five innings April 13 against Kansas.