Stephen Drew Thread

[Dback Jon]

First Round Pick: Stephen Drew

From FSU's website:

http://seminoles.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/drew_stephen00.html

At Florida State: Junior regarded as the top shortstop in the country...named a first team preseason All-American by Baseball America...led the ACC and ranked ninth nationally last year in runs per game (1.28)...named to the 2003 NCAA All-Regional Team after recording two home runs and 10 RBI...tied for fifth at FSU with 12 career triples...has been thrown out just five times in 51 career stolen base attempts.

Sophomore Year (2003): Third team Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America All-American...voted the All-ACC first team shortstop for the second straight year...led the ACC with 83 runs scored and eight triples...finished third in the conference and led FSU with 33 stolen bases...third in the ACC with 47 walks, eighth with a .582 slugging percentage, fifth with 86 hits and 10th in on-base percentage (.435)...started the year 0-for-10 before recording a double and a triple vs. VMI (2/2)...went 4-for-5 with four runs, two RBI and a triple against Evansville (2/14)...his three-run homer erased a 2-0 deficit in the fourth vs. Appalachian State (2/21)...tied a school record with five walks vs. Siena (3/4)...went 8-for-14 (.571) with three RBI and three runs scored in the series win over No. 15 Florida...knocked in four runs while going 2-for-5 with two runs and a triple against St. Joseph’s (3/11)...went 3-for-5 with two runs, two RBI including a home run in the first ACC game of the season against Virginia (3/14)...had two doubles and two stolen bases while going 4-for-4 against The Citadel (3/26)...had stolen 31 conscutive bases before being thrown out on 3/28 vs. UNC...hit his fourth home run of the season in 4/12 win over Clemson...hit his second leadoff homerun of the season against Miami (4/25) as the Seminoles went on to win 1-0...went 1-for-1 with a double and four walks against Miami (4/27)....hit .500 (3-for-6) with 6 walks (.750 OB %), 1 HR, 1 2B and 5 runs scored in three games against UM in Tallahassee...went 3-for-5 with a double, two homers and a season-high five RBI at Georgia Tech (5/4)...had three hits at Jacksonville (5/6) with four runs scored...went 3-for-6 with three runs and two doubles at Maryland (5/11)...went 4-for-4 at Duke (5/16), including his eighth homer of the season....31-for-82 in last 19 games (.378) with 6 HR, 8 2B, 2 3B, 29 Runs and 28 RBI...average went from .304 to .327 during that span...named to the NCAA All-Regional Team, going 6-for-20 (.300) with two homers and 10 RBI...had nine RBI in the two Sunday games vs. South Alabama (6/1)...went 1-for-2 in the opening game of the Super Regional against Texas (6/8), but missed the second game due to a hamstring injury.

Freshman Year (2002): Baseball America Freshman of the Year...named ACC Rookie of the Year...selected to the ACC All-Tournament team and MVP of the ACC Tournament...named second team All-ACC at shortstop...second team Baseball America All-American...Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American...named to the NCAA Tallahassee Regional All-Tournament team...fifth in the ACC in batting average (.402)...earned ACC Player of the Week honors (May 27)...started in all 46 games he played in as a true freshman...third in the ACC with a .750 SLG %...hit a triple in his first career at bat...second on the team with 16 home runs...had three or more hits in 11 of the 46 games he played in...fractured his left foot running the bases in the seventh inning at Hawaii on Feb. 1 and missed 28 games...returned on March 26 against Mercer from his foot injury...led the team with a season batting average of .402...had two walk-off home runs (9-7, 13-inning win over Miami on April 7 and 10-8 win over Maryland on May 11)...homered and collected at least two hits in the five games that followed a hitless game...hit two home runs and a double while going 3-for-4 and driving in four runs vs. Florida A&M on May 3...picked up a career-high five RBI at Miami on April 14 and against Duke on May 6...had a career-high 15-game hitting streak from 5/11-6/9...went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs with a home run and a double in the ACC Championship game...hit .409 with three home runs, two doubles and had a SLG% of .909 in the ACC Tournament...went 4-for-5 with 3 runs and 3 RBI with two home runs and a triple in the NCAA Regional Championship game...had a SLG% of 1.200 in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional...went 5-for-6 with four runs scored and two doubles in game two vs. Notre Dame in the Super Regional.

Prep: Letterman all four years at Lowndes County High School…All-State MVP his senior year…preseason All-American prior to his senior season…led his team to the state championship his junior year…named to the All-Tournament team as a junior…summer 2001 East Cobb League MVP.

Personal: Brother of former Seminole All-American J.D. Drew (Atlanta Braves) and Tim Drew (Montreal Expos)…J.D. and Tim are the only set of brothers ever to be selected in the first round of the MLB draft in the same year…born March 16, 1983...majoring in Sport Management

 

[Dback Jon]

From Baseball America:
With less than a week to go, the Padres zeroed in on Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew with the No. 1 pick. Then they were stopped cold when owner John Moores abruptly decided that San Diego wouldn't exceed Major League Baseball's recommended bonus for the No. 1 slot, believed to be in the neighborhood of $3.5 million. That took Drew out of play and sent the Padres to local Mission Bay High shortstop Matt Bush, who signed for $3.1 million on Sunday. Drew and Long Beach State righthander Jered Weaver, also once under consideration to go first overall, are tumbling down the first round and could slide all the way through.

 

[cardsunsfan]

So what do you guys think? There sure is a difference between the excitment of the NFL draft and the baseball draft

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'd be surprised if he ever wore a DBacks uniform.

 

[green machine]

I like this pick alot. I think when they drafted Corey Meyers they passed up Ben Sheets because of signability issues. Drew is regarded as one of the top SS in the country, and at 15 I think he's a great pick.

 

[Evil Ash]

I like this pick alot. I think when they drafted Corey Meyers they passed up Ben Sheets because of signability issues. Drew is regarded as one of the top SS in the country, and at 15 I think he's a great pick.

According to a couple of sites that I saw, he was regarded as the best prospect period (regardless of position) and the only reason he dropped was due to signability issues.

So I'd say it was a good pick

 

[Ryanwb]

According to a couple of sites that I saw, he was regarded as the best prospect period (regardless of position) and the only reason he dropped was due to signability issues.

So I'd say it was a good pick

Hopefully the D'backs relationship with Scott Boras will bare fruit and we can get him signed. If he wants top 5 money like the rumors say it might just be a wasted pick.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

According to a couple of sites that I saw, he was regarded as the best prospect period (regardless of position) and the only reason he dropped was due to signability issues.

And Boras will say he should get paid like one. Expect nothing less than a Rickie Weeks-like contract (3.6 bonus + 5 mil guaranteed) or watch Drew go play in the indy leagues for a season and get snatched up by someone else next year.

 

[Matt L]

i think he is related to j.d. drew who also held out on the phillies when he was drafted. after deciding that he wouldn't play for the phillies he joined the cardinals and showed promise but was often on the DL. i hope this same thing doesn't happen with this drew.

 

[johnnyblaze600]

Video of Stephen Drew

Not as big as JD Drew but faster with a stronger arm. I've heard Stephen decribed as an "athletic Todd Walker". He could reach the majors pretty quickly. His swing is one of the sweetest you will see.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/draftday/y2004/tracker_team_ari_1.html

 

[Yuma]

Listening to San Diego radio yesterday, they said the DBacks drafted Drew because he is one of the few guys in the draft that could be playing in the Majors soon. Most of the rest of the draft was filled with prospects. The scout on the show thought we might see Drew in the last half of the season be called up for a look see.

 

[AZZenny]

OK, that would mean we learned nada-zip-nothing from the Travis Lee experience.

The one knock on Drew is his motivation/attitude - he's not leader material, and he plays as hard as he feels like. Sound familiar? We gave Travis Lee, a can't miss top prospect with the sweetest swing blah blah, a dumptruck of money (hey, wasn't Scott Boras driving that truck?) and we raced him to the bigs, and he never learned to take coaching, never learned to struggle and never learned self-discipline. (See, also, J.D. Drew.) I wouldn't be surprised if he skipped Rookie Ball and went to high-A this summer, but I hope that's as accelerated as it gets.

Getting Drew at #15 is like finding a Porsche under your Xmas tree - very cool, but can you afford to maintain it?

 

[schillingfan]

i think he is related to j.d. drew who also held out on the phillies when he was drafted. after deciding that he wouldn't play for the phillies he joined the cardinals and showed promise but was often on the DL. i hope this same thing doesn't happen with this drew.

He is J.D. Drew's brother and yes Scott Boras played J.D. in the independent league for a year because the Phillies wouldn't pay $10 million to sign him. We offered like $9 mil or so.

You can book that Boras will ask top money and I would be shocked if the D-Backs did not give it to him. Boras does not back down on this issues - ever - and the D-Backs have to know that.

Surprising because they have mostly been kissy-kissy with Bud Selig lately and Selig wants slot money for draftees.

 

[Cland]

He's definitely going to demand top 5 money and the Dbacks better give it to him or it's going to be a wasted pick. I think they will. They must have known before the draft how much he was going to demand so that leads me to believe that they will give it to him or while else would they have drafted him?

Lets hope our only worry about him is how fast he can adjust to wood bats.

 

[NJYAJ09]

Drew was a killer pick, I wouldnt be surprised if he's our starting shortstop around 2006-2007.

 

[NickelBack]

Drew Enrolled At Fla State

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/0826drew-On.html

 

[NJYAJ09]

****.

 

[AZZenny]

Baseball America - a thick stew

I am pleased to say that new ownership does continue the DBack's policy of pissing off mlb. After reading Bill Veeck's autobiography, one can only be proud to be part of a long tradition of needling, ignoring, and getting swatted at by the good ol boys.

And other than the fact that we blew a first round pick on Drew, I remain un-enamored. Shoulda-coulda taken Pedroia.

 

[NJYAJ09]

well, i read somewhere that while Drew is enrolled right now, his first class is next tuesday. We can still sign him between now and next tuesday, but its unlikely.

 

[AZZenny]

Most recent word is Boras - btw NOT Drew's agent, merely a "family advisor" (what a load... ) had a couple of long, late-evening conversations with the DBacks and they're still working on it.

There's no question that if Drew doesn't sign, he will not have quite the same bargaining power next year, and teams will have even more reason to steer clear of Boras' clients. Love it if he painted himself in a corner.

 

[NickelBack]

Heard on the radio this afternoon that the D'backs are going through the motions on this one. Due to financial reasons, the team may prefer that he goes back to school and then they would get a "sandwhich" pick (between round one and two) next year as compensation.

 

[boondockdrunk]

Heard on the radio this afternoon that the D'backs are going through the motions on this one. Due to financial reasons, the team may prefer that he goes back to school and then they would get a "sandwhich" pick (between round one and two) next year as compensation.

I also heard that we can get a "sandwich" pick between the second and the third round. I would prefer that over having that POS Drew.

 

[nathan]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/columnists/askba.html

Jim Callis:
"Some draft news: The Cubs signed Georgia Tech second baseman Eric Patterson, their eighth-round pick and Corey's little brother, for $300,000. And we should have an updated story tomorrow morning on negotiations between the Diamondbacks and their first-round pick, Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew. Be sure to check that out.
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I believe all six of the remaining first-rounders will sign. Drew (No. 15 overall) will probably be the next to sign, perhaps before his first scheduled class at Florida State on Tuesday and almost certainly before CEO-elect Jeff Moorad (a bitter rival of Drew's adviser, Scott Boras) officially joins the Diamondbacks on Wednesday."

 

[AZZenny]

Rather we save the bucks and potentially get three picks from the first 40-some draftees next year.

 

[NickelBack]

Rather we save the bucks and potentially get three picks from the first 40-some draftees next year.

So why'd we draft him in the first place? Seriously, I don't think this team in any psoition to err on number one picks.