Padres eye college left-handers in draft

By: JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer | Sunday, June 5, 2005 9:01 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- With their sights set on a college left-handed pitcher, the Padres' first pick Tuesday in baseball's amateur draft figures to come down to polish vs. potential.

"Historically, we like college players," Padres scouting director Bill Gayton said. "We got away from that a little bit last season, but we'll probably stay with the college philosophy this time around. And the areas we need help in the organization are left-handed pitching and corner outfielders."

According to the draft experts at Baseball America, the top college lefties are Ricky Romero of Cal State Fullerton, Brian Bogusevic of Tulane and Cesar Ramos of Long Beach State. Romero will be long gone before the Padres pick at No. 18.

That leaves the Padres with a choice between Ramos ---- perhaps the most-polished pitcher in the draft ---- and Bogusevic, the pitcher with a higher ceiling.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Bogusevic is 13-1 with a 2.72 ERA. In 119 1/3 innings, he has 119 strikeouts and only 38 walks. And he is hitting .320. Bogusevic throws an 89- to 93-mph fastball with a solid slider and change-up. And he's the fastest runner on the Green Wave team, running the 60-yard dash in 6.6 seconds.

The 6-2, 190-pound Ramos is 10-6 with a 2.27 ERA. In 123 innings, he has 92 strikeouts and only 14 walks.

He has a fastball clocked consistently at 85-88 mph and touches 90. But he has great command of both his four-seam and two-seam fastballs as well as an effective slider, curve and change-up.

Baseball America has Bogusevic ranked as the 19th-best player in the draft and Ramos as the 33rd. Both are semifinalists for the Roger Clemens Award, given annually to the top college pitcher. Bogusevic and Ramos also are first-team All-Americans.

It's believed Gayton is leaning toward Ramos. Padres general manager Kevin Towers is said to favor Bogusevic.

"I love guys who are in consideration for the major postseason awards," Gayton said. "Those guys have shown they can perform. Plus, I believe big numbers, great stats, equal consistency."

With five picks in the top 100 (18, 35, 66, 76, and 98) Gayton hopes the Padres can have a draft that will stock the franchise with prospects for years to come. The 35th and 76th selections are compensation for Boston's free-agent signing of left-hander David Wells.

The last time the Padres had this many early picks was 1999, when the team had seven picks in the top 79. They took Vince Faison, Gerik Baxter, Omar Ortiz, Casey Burns, Mike Bynum, Nick Trzesniak and Alberto Concepcion. Only Bynum, who appeared in 29 games for the Padres from 2002-2004 and was 2-5 with a 7.73 ERA, ever played in the big leagues.

"With five picks so high, we need to capitalize on that," Gayton said. "Honestly, picking 18th is tougher than last year when we chose first. You don't want the first pick because it means the big club had a bad season, but when you do, it means you control the draft. When you chose 18th, 17 other clubs dictate what you do."

The Padres picked high school players with their top three picks in 2004, including shortstop Matt Bush at No. 1 overall.

This year, with a little luck, the Padres could get both Bogusevic at 18 and Ramos at 35. If Ramos is gone, the Padres could go a different direction with the 35th pick, a sandwich selection between the first and second rounds.

Should they stay with the college philosophy, the candidates include first baseman Stephen Head of Mississippi, outfielder Trevor Crowe of Arizona, shortstop Tyler Greene of Georgia Tech, outfielder Travis Buck of Arizona State and right-hander Joey Devine of North Carolina State.

Should the Padres deviate from the college plan, local high school prospects Henry Sanchez of Mission Bay, John Drennen of Rancho Bernardo and Sean O'Sullivan of Valhalla could be available.

Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.