Indians draft Texas A&M outfielder at no. 15.
View full sizeOutfielder Tyler Naquin of Texas A&M, the Indians' No. 1 draft pick.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Major League Baseball draft projections had the Indians taking another arm.
But the club spent its first pick, the 15th overall, in Monday's opening round on Texas A&M junior outfielder Tyler Naquin.
"What the Indians got was a bat," said former Indians General Manager John Hart of the MLB Network.
MLB.com draft analyst Jonathan Mayo had ranked Naquin at No. 30.
Baseball America ranked him 25th overall but as the third-best corner outfielder and the best pure hitter in the draft.
What the 6-2, 175-pound left-handed-hitting Naquin can do with the bat is exactly what drew the Indians to him.
"We feel he's got a chance to be an above-average hitter. That's what really attracted us to Tyler," Brad Grant, the Indians director of amateur scouting, said on a conference call with reporters immediately after the pick.
"He's got a wiry, strong, athletic body. He's playing right field right now, but with his tools, his speed, his instincts, his arm, we feel he has the ability to play center field in pro ball."
Naquin, 21, who was drafted in the 33rd round out of high school by Baltimore in 2009, led the Aggies with a .380 batting average this season. He had 18 doubles, six triples and three homers.
His power is a question, which is why some scouts label him a "tweener" -- not quite the heavy bat for a corner outfield spot, but maybe not the speed or range for center.
"He's got more power than some guys give him credit for," Grant said. "He drives the ball and has the ability to turn doubles into triples."
Naquin, who won the Big 12 Conference batting title (.381) and led Division I in hits as a sophomore, scored 56 runs this season, stole 21 bases in 26 attempts and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection.
Naquin, whose dad turned their backyard pasture into a baseball diamond, said he was a little surprised he went as early as he did. He expected to go anywhere from No. 18 on.
Naquin said the low power numbers partly reflect his role at Texas A&M, where his job was to get on base.
"I feel people read about power numbers, how they need to increase, and I have no doubt that they will," he said. "I just need to get bigger and stronger and more experience at the next level."
The Indians will pick 79th overall (in round two), 110th overall (in round three) and 15th in each of the following rounds. The draft resumes today at noon and will go from rounds 2 through 15, with the balance completed Wednesday. There are 40 rounds.
Draft analysts described the strength of this year's field as college pitching and high school power bats, but average overall, at best, and especially thin at college-level position players.
With the No. 1 overall pick, Houston chose Carlos Correa, a coveted 6-4 high school shortstop from Puerto Rico.
Within the American League Central Division, Minnesota took Georgia high school outfielder Byron Buxton at No. 2 overall; Kansas City chose right-hander Kyle Zimmer from the University of San Francisco at No. 5; and the Chicago White Sox picked Texas prep outfielder Courtney Hawkins at No. 13.
The Indians had taken a college player with their first pick in nine straight drafts before choosing high school shortstop Francisco Lindor eighth overall last summer. Lindor, who plays for the Indians' Low Class A Lake County Captains, was the first nonpitcher taken by the Indians since 2008.
The deadline to sign drafted players is July 13 at 5 p.m. The Indians negotiated up to the final minute before signing Lindor for $2.9 million last year.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2012/06/cleveland_indians_draft_xxxxxx.html
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