The Major League Baseball amateur draft will be held on Tuesday,
and the UCLA baseball team may not find the results entirely to its
liking.
High-profile recruits such as outfielder John Drennen likely
will be drafted and sign with major league teams rather than don a
Bruin uniform. The coaching staff has resigned itself to unabashed
optimism entering draft day.
“We’re just looking to survive the draft,”
UCLA coach John Savage said. “Our best-case scenario,
realistically, is to probably lose Drennen and hold on to the
rest.”
Savage went on to say that he expects pitcher Brian Kirwan,
catcher Ryan Babineau, pitcher David Huff and outfielder/pitcher
Tim Murphy to at least test the waters on draft day. Drennen is
projected to go somewhere between the middle of the first round to
the supplemental picks between the first and second round.
For the Bruins, next year’s recruiting class was supposed
to serve as a springboard for the rebuilding of the program. Savage
has filled many of the holes on the current squad with incoming
recruits. But if the core of UCLA’s recruits forgo college to
play professional baseball, it will put a large dent in the
team’s hope for future success.
“We really have needs in every phase of the game,”
Savage said. “We hope draft day will let us know who
we’re going to have so we’ll be able to accurately
address our needs.”
The Bruins, who did not adequately fill the holes left by the
departing seniors in former UCLA coach Gary Adams’ final
season, will have even more holes to fill this year. Savage expects
Jarrad Page, Chris Denove, Brett McMillan, Adam Simon and Dan
Miltenberger all to leave school early and join the professional
ranks. The fate of the Bruins’ two best players this year,
Chris Jensen and Hector Ambriz, is still in question.
“Ambriz’s status gives him more options,”
Savage said. “He’s a redshirt sophomore, so he has a
full two years left if he wants them.”
Ambriz was the cornerstone of the Bruins’ pitching staff
and helped to solidify UCLA’s lineup for much of the season.
As for the No. 1 starter, Ambriz posted a 3.94 ERA, which was
easily the best on the team. And as the usual cleanup hitter, he
batted .338 with one home run and 18 RBI. If Ambriz decided to
leave, it would be a blow to a team that will be short of veteran
leadership.
Jensen was named an All Pac-10 Honorable Mention after missing
half of the season. He batted .368 with seven home runs and 21 RBI
in only 29 games. The impact of Jensen’s return for his
senior year cannot be fully measured because of his injury. But
considering the way he carried the offense over the last month of
the season, his loss would be devastating for UCLA.
But the Bruins’ main concern is the fate of the recruiting
class. This recruiting class has been widely considered one of the
top three in the nation, yet without Drennen the class may not be
as highly touted.
“We really need this class,” Savage said.