Draft day…THE day of truth or “Amor Fati”?
Did you know that a HS right handed pitcher has never been taken as number 1 pick in the MLB draft?
If Texas HS pitcher Tyler Kolek is drafted # 1 he would be the first… and if Houston advisor Nolan Ryan, and like minded Texas ranchers have anything to say about it, this is likely to happen.
Yes Matt Bush was the # 1 pick by San Diego Padres, but at the time of the draft he was considered a position player and only moved to pitcher when he proved he couldn’t hit.
Who, might you ask, is the highest HS right handed pitcher drafted up to this point? Virginians might be pleased to hear the name of Vienna’s John/Jay Franklin drafted overall number 2 way back in 1971.
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2012/aug/07/top-100-jay-franklin-madison-baseball-1971/
WTF? 100 innings on the year… 202 K’s, 363 K’s in his HS career! :shock: :shock:
Ah… and who was manning the pitch clicker on that 29 K day? Kidding of course… I was there and as awe- struck as all those at Fairfax HS. (now Paul XI) watching a “superhero” moment as pitch after pitch sailed over the top of wood bats wondering why hitters were constantly swinging below the baseball…a foul tip drawing applause from the crowd.
Needless to say 29 K’s in a HS game is one Va. state record we know will never be broken.
The 18 YO Jay easily blew minor league hitters away going 7-0, and with empty seats in San Diego, management decided to bring the young gun up. Considered insane today, major league teams often staged recently signed HS phenoms at the end of the year when teams were out of the race to fill the vacant seats. Anyone remember the Texas phenom David Clyde?
Imagine this… Jay Franklin went from pitching against a bunch of pimple faced HS hitters in a state championship, to the best in the business a few months later. From the Prom to Pros….needless to say he met his match when trying to throw a fastball by a guy named Hank Aaron (HR 638), and giving up a few more HR’s to proven fastball hitters like Darrel Evans.
Lesson learned…see you next spring.
However…as the story goes Jay felt something pop in his elbow when fielding a bunt making an off balance throw spring training next. Long story short…TJ was not perfected at the time and things spiraled out of control not long after.
No doubt “being in the right place at the right time” has much to do with the luck of how many points we garner on the heroic ledger. Had Jay been a top round pick today would TJ surgery have reloaded his cannon to continue on in our glorious battle?
.
Draft Day…THE day of truth or “Amor Fati”?