wrapping up the draft

I’ll leave it to the league to figure out exactly how many players from the Cape got drafted. For now, I want to focus on drafted players who are on 2008 rosters. By my count, there are 20 of them, and it looks like a good chunk will still play on the Cape this summer. Here’s a rundown of the players who were taken on the second day and what their plans look like (the rundown for the first day is here).

• First, the big news. USC’s Tom Milone has signed with the Nationals, who picked him in the 10th round. Milone played for Chatham last year and was the league’s pitcher of the year. He was on the A’s roster again this year, with his presence hinging on how the draft went. It would have been nice to see him again, but this is probably the best option for him. Congratulations to Tom and best of luck.

• Nothing new on Tim Fedroff, UNC’s draft-eligible sophomore. He was a seventh-round pick of the Indians. Judging from this piece, and this one, I’d be surprised if he signed. Fedroff is scheduled to play for Falmouth this summer.

• According to the Lincoln Journal Star, Nebraska junior pitcher Dan Jennings plans to play on the Cape, for Cotuit.
  

  “I’m headed to summer ball and see what happens,” Jennings said from his parents’ West Des Moines, Iowa, home Friday afternoon.

• Cal-Poly’s Kevin Castner also expects to be in Cotuit, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Castner was a 10th round pick of the Rangers.
  

  “I will play out the summer in the cape,” Castner said. “It’s probably the best place I can go after the draft. It’s the best college players around the country, and the stage is set for me to prove what I’ve got and hopefully get a deal.”

• Nothing definitive for Appalachian State’s Garrett Sherrill, who is on the Hyannis roster for the second year in a row. But the Salisbury Post talked to Sherrill, who sounds like he’s ready for pro ball after being drafted in the 12th round by the Brewers.
  

  Sherrill says his arm feels the best it has in a long while, and he’s looking forward to his next assignment. Assuming he signs quickly, he’ll probably be assigned to Helena, Montana, in the Pioneer League, but there’s also an outside chance he could start out in the low Class A South Atlantic League with the West Virginia Power.

• Mississippi State’s Brandon Turner, who missed the season with the injury, was picked in the 12th round by the Marlins. The Cleveland (Tenn.) Daily Banner reports that Turner is waiting to hear before he heads to the Cape, where he’s on the Bourne roster.
  

  “He got drafted better than we expected, especially after he missed most of the season,” Turner’s dad, Mike, expressed. “A lot of the scouts knew him from last year. He was able to go some workouts recently to let them see he’s healthy. He was supposed to leave today (Saturday) for Massachusetts to play in the Cape Cod Wooden Bat League this summer, but he’s negotiating with the Marlins to see what they are offering.”

• According to the Ann Arbor News, things are also up in the air for Michigan’s Adam Abraham, who was taken in the 13th round by Cleveland. The Indians also took UM teammate Zach Putnam. Abraham is on the Hyannis roster.
  

  Abraham, who has another year of eligibility left, will be weighing the same choice. He’ll either go off soon to the Cape Cod League to prepare for another season of college ball or sign and be sent to one of Cleveland’s minor-league affiliates. Abraham, who was selected 411th overall, went into the draft content with returning for his senior year, though the enticement of being able to play pro ball in the same organization with several good friends could lure him into signing. “That makes it very interesting,” Abraham said. “The comfort level would be a lot higher with those guys going with you.”

• It’s the same story for Bethune Cookman’s Joseph Gautier, who’s on the Harwich roster. From the News-Journal in Florida:
  

  Gautier and Pruitt, who both have a year of eligibility left, both said they were not yet sure if they’d return to school for their senior years. “I’m a big believer that when the boat comes you have to take it, and this might be my boat,” Gautier said. “But I thought I’d be taken in the first 10 rounds, and it didn’t happen, so we’ll have to see.

• One of the more interesting guys on this list is Wichita State’s Dusty Coleman. He was ranked in the top 200 prospects, but slipped to the 28th round because he’s considered such a tough sign. From the Argus-Leader in South Dakota:
  

  It’s possible some big league clubs figured that the 21-year-old Coleman would be difficult to sign, considering he has committed to play in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League this summer and has two seasons of college eligibility remaining. “He can come back next year if he doesn’t get the signing bonus he wants to get,” Brad Coleman said over the phone from Tallahassee. “We’ll wait and see how that all comes about.”

• Duke’s Nate Freiman, who played for Orleans last summer and is on the roster again, was projected pretty high but wasn’t taken until the 28th round. No immediate reaction that I can find, but Freiman had this to say in an April interview with GoDuke.com:
  

  “I’m not thinking about the draft. I love school and I expect to be back next year. I‘ve always thought of this as a four-year deal.”

• North Carolina’s Adam Warren, who just tossed a gem to lead the Tar Heels to the College World Series, is on the Chatham roster. He got drafted in the 36th round, but it sounds like he expects to play on the Cape. From the New Bern Sun Journal:
  

  “I was a little disappointed, as far as what round I got drafted in. But they said they were going to follow me this summer and kind of take it from there.”

• Chad Bell, a junior-college player at Walters State, plans to play in Harwich this summer, according to the Knoxville News:
  

  “I was hoping to go a little sooner,” the left-handed pitcher said about being selected in the 37th round. “I guess I was probably asking a little much. I’m happy with it. They can watch me play this summer (in the Cape Cod league) and we’ll see what happens. It will take a lot of money for me to go. They know that. So we’ll just see what they think after watching me throw a couple times this summer.”

• I’ve got nothing on Notre Dame’s David Phelps or NC State’s Jeremy Synan. Phelps, who is on the Hyannis roster, was a 14th-round pick. Synan, on Chatham’s roster for the second year in a row, was taken in the 42nd round.

That was exceedinly long. To sum up, Tom Milone is not coming to the Cape. A lot of other players probably are. These are guys you definitely want to watch this summer.

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