by
Greek Giant
I really do not understand the timing of the draft, right before the All Star Game. It is a bit annoying since it takes some shine of the Midsummer Classic and forces baseball blog writers to have their attention on two things simultaneously, no small feat…
Anyway, yesterday the Giants selected nine straight pitchers before selecting Vaun Brown in the tenth round. Brown is an outfielder from Florida Southern. Among the 8 pitchers selected by the Giants in day two, seven of them are from college programs. For rounds 11 and 12 the Giants went with position players as well.
Here is the list:
Round 1, No. 14 — RHP Will Bednar
School: Mississippi State
Age: 21
2021 stats: 92.1 innings, 3.12 ERA, 1.061 WHIP, 139 strikeouts, 26 walks
Round 2, No. 50 — LHP Matt Mikulski
School: Fordham
Age: 22
2021 stats: 68.1 innings, 1.45 ERA, 0.820 WHIP, 124 strikeouts, 27 walks
Round 3, No. 85 — RHP Mason Black
School: Lehigh
Age: 21
2021 stats: 72.1 innings, 3.11 ERA, 1.313 WHIP, 95 strikeouts, 31 walks
Round 4, No. 115 — RHP Eric Silva
School: JSerra Catholic High School (CA)
Age: 18.8
Round 5, No. 146 — LHP Rohan Handa
School: Yale
Age: 21
2021 stats (New England Collegiate Baseball League): 17 innings, 0.53 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 25 strikeouts, 8 walks
Round 6, No. 176 — LHP Seth Lonsway
School: Ohio State
Age: 22
2021 stats: 68 innings, 4.37 ERA, 1.221 WHIP, 98 strikeouts, 43 walks
Round 7, No. 206 — RHP Nick Sinacola
School: Maine
Age: 21
2021 stats: 79.1 innings, 2.04 ERA, 1.034 WHIP, 139 strikeouts, 23 walks
Round 8, No. 236 — RHP Ian Villers
School: Cal
Age: 20
2021 stats: 38 innings, 3.55 ERA, 1.237 WHIP, 36 strikeouts and 11 walks
Round 9, No. 266 — RHP Mat Olsen
School: Central Arizona Community College
Age: 21
2021 stats: 88.2 innings, 2.13 ERA, 133 strikeouts
Round 10, No. 296 — OF Vaun Brown (RHH)
School: Florida Southern
Age: 23
2021 stats: 130 plate appearances, .387/.462/.793, 1.254 OPS, 13 home runs, 12 walks, 26 strikeouts
Round 11, No. 326 — OF Donovan McIntyre (LHH)
School: Marian Catholic High School (IL)
Age: 18
Round 12, No. 356 — RHP Landen Roupp
School: UNC Wilmington
Age: 22
2021 stats: 101 innings, 2.58 ERA, 1.099 WHIP, 118 strikeouts, 42 walks
Rounds 13-20 are yet to come.
2021 All Star Game
Ok, so let me begin by saying I grew up Loooooving the All Star Game. From 1978 to about 1999 I watched pretty much every pitch of every Midsummer classic. It was a lovely ritual in our family. My mom, dad and sister and I would order pizza and soak in the greatness of players like Gary Carter, Pete Rose, Dave Winfield, Willie Stargell, Barry Bonds, Matt Williams, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Nolan Ryan, and so on. It was fun not only because you got to see the best in the game play. It was fun because each league wanted to win badly. The games were very competitive and a source of pride. In the 2000s, quite frankly the game has become a bit of a joke. MLB has let the All Star game devolve into a circus show with players taking selfies at home plate in the middle of at bats. It seems to get worse every year. One year it got so bad that both Managers used all their players and the game ended in a tie with the Commissioner of baseball at the time, Bud Selig proclaiming the game a tie on the fly.
Today I want to say the game matters but if the players and Managers do not take it seriously how can fans invest their time and energy in the game? My theory is the All Star Game is a victim of the oversimplification and ego-centrism of sports culture in general and also the disappearance of distinction in the identities of the two leagues which have been diluted thanks to interleague play and the abolition of league Presidents. It is sad.
Today’s starting pitchers are Shohei Ohtani against Max Scherzer. Ohtani alone is worth watching. What a story! Go National League. Go BCraw!
Here are some highlights from the 2012 All Star Game. Trivia: Who was the winning pitcher? Who was the MVP?
Hint: They were both Giants