June 11, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

MLB's raid on Stanford takes its toll

by Nathan Kurz

Danny Putnam was sitting with his family in his room, listening to the Major League Baseball draft on his computer Monday morning. As soon as his name was called, as the 36th pick overall to the Oakland A's, sophomore teammates John Mayberry, Jr. and Jed Lowrie-who live just down the hall from Putnam-came roaring into his room, yelling at the top of their lungs.

They were elated for their teammate's new professional future, and they weren't shy about showing it.

After all, Oakland general manager Billy Beane called Putnam's cell phone only a few minutes later.

"He came to the game on Saturday but didn't get a chance to talk to me," Putnam explained.

But by the time next fall rolls around, Lowrie and Mayberry will come to realize that one man's gain is another man's loss.

Or in Stanford's case, one team's decimation.

The Cardinal had a decade-high 10 players drafted to the pros, including its entire starting outfield. Of the 10, a school-record seven were in the first 11 rounds, one more than were taken in both 1992 and 1998.

The team of 2003 had eight draftees (with Sam Fuld returning for his senior season), 2002 had eight (with Ryan Garko returning), 2001 had two and 2000 had seven.

Of the 11 drafted, only sophomore Ben Summerhays is expected to return.

The biggest surprise of the draft for Stanford was the earlier-than-expected selections of juniors Donny Lucy (2nd round) and Mark Jecmen (7th), two players manager Mark Marquess and company had probably been counting on to return for their last years.

Both essentially announced their intentions to leave this week, though. Lucy and Jecmen spoke with the local area scouts for the White Sox and Indians, respectively, on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

"This is a good fit for me," Lucy said. "I'm sure its not going to be a lengthy negotiation process."

Junior designated hitter Chris Carter, who was taken in the 17th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, also made public his decision to sign a pro contract.

He'll try to adjust to playing first base after not playing in the field for three years at Stanford and only as an outfielder in college. Carter may join fellow ex-Cardinal Carlos Quentin on the Lancaster Jethawks A-ball team this summer.

Summerhays was draft-eligible as a sophomore because he had reached his third year after the graduation of his high school class; Summerhays spent two years on a Mormon mission.

While Stanford's pitching staff took a big hit in 2003 with the loss of four key pitchers (Tim Cunningham, Jeremy Guthrie, John Hudgins and Ryan McCally), this year the Cardinal's offense got pretty much depleted.

The six key position players selected-Sam Fuld, Jonny Ash, Brian Hall, Putnam, Carter and Lucy-accounted for nearly two-thirds of Stanford's total offensive production this season.

Carter sat out against lefties, and sophomore John Hester seems ready to start at catcher, but replacing an entire starting outfield will certainly be a difficult task for Stanford to accomplish next year.

Reigning Pac-10 player of the year Lowrie will return, as well as Mayberry, shortstop Chris Minaker and the team's top two pitchers, Mark Romanczuk and Jeff Gilmore.

But the rebuilding project in the outfield can only begin with their new recruits, the most-highly regarded of which is Michael Taylor, a 6-foot-5, 234-pound outfielder from Florida. He was expected to be taken in perhaps the first or second round of the 2004 draft but went undrafted, mostly because of his and his father's recent public insistence on his wanting to attend Stanford.

In fact, according to Baseball America, Taylor boasts an America Online screen name and e-mail address that exemplifies his interest in coming to the Farm.

Also, during his informal visit to Stanford, he had a number of constructive conversations with members of the political science department and asserted his desire to achieve professionally.

Baseball America ranks Taylor as the No. 8 high school prospect, one of only a handful in the list's top 10 planning to enroll in college in the fall.

The other impact hitter from the recruiting class is Randy Molina, a 6-foot-2 left-handed third baseman from South Gate.

Stanford's best pitching recruit is Erik Davis, a 6-foot-2 right-hander from nearby Mountain View. Davis was rated the No. 15 prospect by Baseball America and has a fastball in the low-90s with some sink, but changes speeds well with an advanced changeup.

"It's always exciting to get a new class," Marquess said. "It's also always a big adjustment so we'll see where they're at in the fall."

Perhaps the most important question mark entering the offseason will revolve around the progress of a number of freshman pitchers, including Greg Reynolds, Matt Leva, Blake Holler and Jeff Stimpson.

Reynolds, Leva and Holler all had a stint as the No. 3 starter but none established himself for good all year. Reynolds was the most highly recruited, Leva pitched a complete game in the playoffs, and Holler finished the year on a roll.

"Almost every freshman at one point or another has shown the ability to be an everyday player this year," Holler said. "It's just a matter of getting more consistent."

Stimpson threw 12 2/3 scoreless innings to begin his collegiate career but struggled in the Pac-10 with an 6.75 ERA.

Ryan Seawell, who hit .333 with seven RBI and five runs in 20 games, will probably fill one of the open corner outfield spots and Jim Rapoport will probably take over for Fuld in center.

Sophomore reliever Kodiak Quick will perhaps fill O'Hagan's slot as closer, but sophomore Matt Manship, who had nine saves as a freshman, could also battle for the role.

Given Stanford's losses in the draft a year ago and the fact the Cardinal bounced back with a 46-14 record this season, Marquess likely isn't too worried as he makes plans for a summer vacation.

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