Posted on 09. Jun, 2009 by in All, Dayton Dragons Baseball, General Baseball.

 

060909-mlb-draft
For the Dayton Dragons, the Cincinnati Reds Organization and the entire baseball community, today is the start of something important.  In a few hours, the Washington Nationals will make their first pick and begin the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Draft.  This event will be held at the MLB Network studios in New York City and is scheduled to run until June 11th when all the rounds should be completed.
The Cincinnati Reds will have the eighth overall pick in the draft.  They will also have the 43rd overall pick, which is a supplemental first-round or ”sandwich” pick that they received for not signing free agent Jeremy Affeldt, who was with the club last season.
For the Dayton Dragons, draft day is an exciting time, but also a scary time.  Players get to see who some of their future teammates are going to be as they all make their way through the system and try to reach the major leagues.
But it can also mean more competition.  Dragons starting pitcher Matt Fairel said it could be an intimdating thing.  “You have to stay one step ahead of the new draft picks.  Each team is drafting and signing anywhere from 40-50 guys that want your job. There are not enough spots for everyone and some players are going to have to go home.”
The First-Year Player Draft was first held in 1965.  Unlike the other major sports, baseball holds their draft in the middle of their season.  The baseball draft is also quite larger than the rest, usually lasting around 50 rounds, where the NBA draft for example only has two.
The draft goes in the reverse order of the previous year’s major league standings. If two teams finish with identical records, the previous year’s standings of the two teams is the tiebreaker, with the team having a worse record receiving the higher pick.
Overall, the First-Year Player Draft is an exciting and positive event.  The futures of so many clubs are affected by what goes on during these few days.  Speaking to numerous Dragons players, they all said that they will have the draft on in their hotel room or at the ballpark today to see what the future of the Reds holds.
“It is a nerve-racking, but exciting day,” Fairel said.  “It is like the changing of the guard.  But people have to remember that you have no control over what happens.  A lot of guys are disappointed that they fell farther than they thought they should have, and players always look and say ‘I am better than that guy picked ahead of me.’”


Leave a Reply


 

Random Quote

“Baseball was, is, and always will be to me the best game in the world.”
by Babe Ruth

Archives