Draft Tracker
June 05, 2007 10:19 AM | General
June 5, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University’s Adam White will be watching and waiting when the major league draft commences at 2 pm Thursday afternoon. For the first time ever, ESPN2 will televise the proceedings live until 6 pm.
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| Outfielder Adam White could be picked as early as the 10th round in this year's major league baseball draft.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
White, a redshirt sophomore centerfielder, is expected to go somewhere between the 10th and 15th rounds.
Baseball America rates the Phillipsburg, Pa. resident the fifth-best prospect in a Mid-Atlantic Region that is not overly stocked with high-end talent this year. West Virginia teammates Tyler Kuhn and Levi Maxwell are also ranked ninth and 13th respectively.
“White is going to be the first guy picked (in West Virginia) and if he was taken in the 10th round I wouldn’t be surprised,” one area scout told Baseball America.
White has major league speed and covers a lot of ground in the outfield. The question remains whether or not he will be able to consistently hit professional pitching.
“That is definitely my weakest skill,” White admitted. “My arm has gotten a lot better and my defense has, too. I know I have the arm, defense and speed – speed that is major league caliber. I have seen professional players on TV and I know I have the ability when it comes to those three skills. Hitting is going to be the biggest thing I need to get better at.”
White batted .365 in 211 at-bats this year for West Virginia with an on-base percentage of .439 as the team's leadoff hitter. He was also able to reduce the number of times he struck out. However, his stolen base numbers were down and he says he led the team in fly outs.
“The thing I wish is I wish I would have hit the ball on the ground more,” White said. “I think I led the team in fly outs which doesn’t help me because I’m a fast guy. That could have transitioned into 10-15 more hits if I got the ball on the ground more often.”
Although the Big East isn’t considered one of college baseball’s power conferences, the league did perform well this year getting three teams into the NCAA tournament. Conference runner-up Louisville advanced to the Super Regionals after eliminating Missouri on Monday.
“That always helps because some people always degrade northern players as not being as good as southern players,” White said. “We get a slow start up here because of the weather while they get six or seven games in when we’re playing our first game.”
In some ways, White actually sees that as a benefit.
“The southern guys get to play all year-round and we don’t up here. There is a lot of room for growth for northern players,” he said.
White has already worked out for the Yankees, Braves, Nationals, Cardinals, Mets and Indians and admits he has gotten a lot of interest as of late.
“They talk to you but they never really tell you where you are going to go or anything,” White said. “I’d rather not know and sort of be surprised than to be told I am going to go higher and have my hopes up and then fall and be disappointed.”
White has already sat down with his family to come up with a game plan for Thursday.
“I want to get what my skills are worth and what my potential is worth,” he said. ‘I also want to get the rest of my education paid for.”
If a team doesn’t come up with a satisfying offer, White always has the leverage to return to West Virginia for his junior season.
“I’m really not quite sure. I’ll have to wait and see,” he said.
Meanwhile, middle infielder Tyler Kuhn is also a candidate to be drafted, particularly on Friday. The junior hit .332 with five home runs, 15 doubles and knocked in a team-best 52 runs. He played shortstop as West Virginia this year but is projected as a second baseman in the pros.
According to Baseball America, Kuhn is a good contact hitter but lacks speed and doesn’t possess a plus tool. He might not be drafted high enough to leave.
Levi Maxwell had a sub-par junior season going 4-5 with a 6.04 ERA, but scouts have always liked his arm strength and he could be a late-pick possibility on Friday as well.
The entire draft will be carried on MLB.com.
Recently, leftfielder Justin Jenkins opted to sign a free agent contract with the Cleveland Indians ahead of the draft.
Last year, two West Virginia players were selected: catcher David Carpenter to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 12th round and outfielder Stan Posluszny to the Seattle Mariners in the 34th round. The Mountaineers have had at least one player picked in five of the last six years.
