Baseball: 9 players get big-league offers

In 2000, the UCLA baseball team had twelve players selected in
the Major League Baseball draft, setting a collegiate record. This
year, it nearly duplicated that record, with nine players picked in
the MLB draft that ended on Wednesday.

The impressive group of draftees was led by junior P/1B Wes
Whisler, who was grabbed by the Chicago White Sox with the 53rd
pick in the second round.

Whisler had a good feeling he would be drafted that high and was
not surprised by the selection.

“I had an area where I was going to be, I just was not
sure of the team,” Whisler said.

Whisler has not decided if he will sign with the White Sox or
stay with the Bruins for his senior year.

Despite a mediocre year statistically (3-5, 5.24 ERA, .279, 7
HR), Whisler was drafted high due to his 90+ m.p.h. fastball and
solid changeup and slider. Scouts on MLB.com also noticed that the
muscular Whisler, with a few adjustments, could improve quite a
bit.

UCLA coach Gary Adams believes that Whisler will get a good
amount of money from the White Sox, which would probably hasten his
exit from the Bruins.

“I think Wes is going to get a pretty large chunk of money
considering his spot in the draft,” Adams said.

The next highest selection for the Bruins was senior pitcher
Casey Janssen, the 117th selection in the fourth round by the
Toronto Blue Jays.

Janssen was the ace of the UCLA pitching staff with a 10-4
record and a 3.14 ERA. The Blue Jays, an organization that puts
more emphasis on statistics than other teams, were probably
impressed with his excellent strikeout to walk ratio, which is just
over 3 to 1.

Janssen confessed to knowing little about the Blue Jays but was
happpy to be picked by them and feels that Toronto will give him
the chance to move rapidly in their minor league system.

“I know very little about the organization but it seems
like an organization that will push me through their system
quickly,” Janssen said.

After Janssen, the next pick from the Bruins was outfielder
Billy Susdorf, selected by the Texas Rangers in the sixth round,
the 171st overall selection.

Susdorf’s year was shortened by injury, as he missed 28
games due to a broken kneecap. But he hit well enough (.319, 4HR)
to be chosen higher than he expected.

“I was a little surprised, if I had a good season and was
healthy, this would have been where I expected to go,”
Susdorf said. “But with the injury, I would not have been
surpised with any pick from the 6th round to the 20th.”

Susdorf indicated that he will most likely sign with the
Rangers.

“I’m pretty sure I’m going to leave,” he
said. “In the sixth round they will put a lot of effort and
time into me, and that is all I ever wanted.”

He was excited to be going to the Rangers due to the rapid
promotion of many of their prospects after the trade of All-Star
shortstop Alex Rodriguez.

“I’m really happy to be going to them, Susdorf said.
“Ever since the A-Rod trade, they have been promoting people
to the major leagues from their AA and AAA clubs.”

The Bruins had two more selections in the first day of the
draft, as junior shortstop Ryan McCarthy was chosen by the White
Sox in the ninth round (269th selection) and junior pitcher David
Johnson was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 15th round
(436th selection).

Adams is unsure of which picks are leaving and which are
staying, and he believes Johnson’s case is the hardest to
predict.

“Johnson is the hardest one to pick out of the
nine,” Adams said. “I can think of a lot of good
reasons for him to stay and only one to leave, which would be the
chance to start his pro career a year earlier.”

The first pick for the Bruins on the second day of the draft was
redshirt sophomore relief pitcher Kyle Wilson, selected by the Los
Angeles Dodgers in the 22nd round (658th pick).

Adams picked Wilson to be the biggest surprise out of all the
Bruins that were drafted.

“There aren’t many guys who can pitch 94 mph that
far in the draft,” Adams said. “He also has a good
curveball, and I can see him being a good setup man in the major
leagues.”

The three final selections from the Bruins were senior 3B/OF
Brandon Averill in the 24th round (724th overall) by the Houston
Astros, senior 2B Mike Svetlic by the Chicago Cubs in the 29th
round (876th selection), and junior outfielder Matt Thayer by the
San Diego Padres in the 31th round by (912th selection).

Adams stressed that the news of official signings will be
delayed due to finals and the limited budgets that teams set aside
for the draft.

“They are not in a real hurry to sign guys,” Adams
said. “Finals are coming up, and they want to give these guys
a chance to breathe. Since they try to sign guys from the seventh
round on initially, it will take longer for the earlier picks to be
signed.”

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