http://0rz.net/a51sc


  Jim Bowden, The Examiner
  May 31, 2006 7:00 AM

  WASHINGTON - With the 15th and 22nd picks in the first round of next week's
  draft, we have a chance to find more good players.

  There won’t be a Ryan Zimmerman, someone who would play for us this year.
  In fact, it normally takes between three-to-five years for good players to
  be ready for the big leagues.

  Here is a look at some of the better players in this year’s Amateur Draft.
  I'm not going to divulge some of our potential sleepers. I think you
  understand why.

  Andrew Miller, a left-handed pitcher out of the University of North Carolina,
  Brad Lincoln, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of Houston and
  high school southpaw Clayton Kershaw are expected to be taken in the top
  five picks.

  Lincoln doesn't have as high a ceiling as Miller, but might be the closest
  pitcher to the big leagues. Kershaw is a dominant left-hander from Highland
  Park High in Texas.

  But the question remains for all clubs: With the high failure rate of
  first-round high school pitchers, do you take him anyway? Remember, that's
  how the Cubs got Kerry Wood. But for every Kerry Wood there are even more
  Brien Taylors and Todd Van Poppels.

  The top college baseball position players have been well publicized. Evan
  Longoria, the shortstop from Long Beach State, will be long gone before we
  can even consider him. He is the surest position player likely to reach the
  big leagues. And yes, he is somehow related to actress Eva Longoria from“
  Desperate Housewives” which should be enough reason to draft him.

  Former major leaguer Franklin Stubbs’ son, Drew, will also be an early pick.
  He is a Gold Glove caliber centerfielder with speed and power. I doubt he'll
  be there for us at 15.

  There are some strong college pitchers that could be available at our turn.
  Right-hander Greg Reynolds from Stanford, Daniel Bard from North Carolina,
  Brandon Morrow from Cal-Berkeley, Josh Butler from San Diego, Joba
  Chamberlain from Nebraska and Tim Lincecum from Washington should all go
  somewhere in the first round.

  Besides Kershaw, there are other high school pitchers who should go in the
  first round, including Jeremy Jeffress from Halifax County in Virginia, Chris
  Tillman from Fountain Valley in California and Sean Black from Lenape in New
  Jersey. Former major leaguer Doug Drabek’s son, Kyle, will also be another
  first-round selection.

  The problem with drafting high school pitchers is based on the last two
  decades of drafting the number of high school pitchers making the big leagues
  and being successful is slim. However, if it works it is the best way to get
  a front-line starter to help build a franchise.

  There are some very good potential high school hitters in this draft like
  Lars Anderson from Jesuit in California, Chris Parmelee from Chino Hills in
  California, Chris Marrero from Edward Pace in Miami, Billy Rowell from Bishop
  Prep in New Jersey and Stephen King from Winter Park, Florida.

  Our draft philosophy is simple. We will select the best player available,
  taking into consideration numerous factors such as signability, character
  and passion. We want to draft winning people, not just winning players.

  Overall, we will emphasize starting pitching, middle of the order potential
  impact bats and true leadoff hitters. We will look for defense up the middle.
  We feel we succeeded last year with Zimmerman, our first-round selection.

  We plan on continuing to draft players of that caliber and people of that
  quality.