Harrington Scales the Rockies

In a dollar-driven draft, Matt Harrington believes it was better to be No. 7 than No. 1.

The Palmdale High pitcher is elated he lasted until the Colorado Rockies took him with the seventh pick in the amateur baseball draft Monday.

Picking ahead of the Rockies were six teams in a penny-pinching mode, unwilling to pay Harrington the signing bonus he seeks, believed to be more than $3 million.

The Florida Marlins agreed to terms before the draft with top pick Adrian Gonzalez, a first baseman from Chula Vista Eastlake High who will get a reported $3 million.

The Minnesota Twins picked second, but negotiations on a predraft deal with Harrington fell apart over the weekend and they turned to Cal State Fullerton pitcher Adam Johnson, who will accept a reported $2.5 million.

Teams picking third through sixth are also from small markets. The Rockies, Harrington said, could make him the highest-paid player in the draft.

“We feel the Rockies will negotiate better and maybe quicker than any of the teams picking ahead of them,” Harrington said.

The prospect of eventually pitching at hitter-friendly Coors Field doesn’t bother Harrington.

“You have to make good pitches anywhere to get guys out,” he said. “It will just make me a better pitcher.”

Harrington is one of 14 players from the region selected in the first 20 rounds. The draft will be completed today.

Joe Borchard, a Stanford outfielder from Camarillo High, also went in the first round, taken by the Chicago White Sox with the 12th pick.

Borchard wants to sign, then return to Stanford and play quarterback this fall. He is slated to start after three years as a back-up.

“There is a lot of negotiating revolving around that,” Borchard said. “I’d like to play one more year of football. That might be a little unrealistic. We’ll see.”

Of more immediate concern is the College World Series. Stanford opens against Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday.

“This will be an experience like no other,” said Borchard, who was drafted in the 20th round after high school. “Look at the way things have gone. I can’t complain about a thing.”

Pepperdine catcher Dane Sardinha and Loyola Marymount pitcher Mike Schultz, who attended Cleveland High, were second-round picks. Schultz, a 6-foot-7 right-hander, was elated after being taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“Arizona is a new and good organization,” he said. “I want to get out and play. I pitched better as the season went on and I’m ready to go.”

Sardinha, projected by many to go in the first round, might have been a victim of belt-tightening. His agent is Scott Boras, notorious for having clients hold out for top dollar.

Two high school pitchers from the region were taken in the sixth round. Matt Parris of Highland went to the Detroit Tigers and Matthew Merricks of Oxnard went to the Atlanta Braves.

Although both have scholarships--Parris to UC Santa Barbara and Merricks to Northridge--they are leaning toward signing.

“The sixth round was our bottom line and that’s where Matt went, so I think he will sign,” said Mike Parris, Matt’s father.

Merricks’ father, Charles, was doubly pleased. In addition to Matthew being the 190th pick overall, his son Charles, a UCLA junior, was taken by the Rockies in the 17th round.

Charles Merricks, the Bruins’ center fielder, was drafted as a left-handed pitcher after throwing more than 90 mph at workouts last week.

“He’s always thrown hard, so he’s not surprised they want him as a pitcher,” Charles Merricks Sr. said. “We are happy for Matthew and Charles. I just want them to be happy.”

Jesse Kozlowski, a hard-throwing right-hander from Westlake High, was the first pick of the ninth round, going to the Marlins. Like Parris and Merricks, Kozlowski is considered signable.

Three college players from the region were taken in the 10th and 11th rounds, beginning with right-handed pitcher Tom Canale of Cal Lutheran, who went to the Cleveland Indians in the 10th.

Fred Sanchez, a shortstop who was a 30th-round pick out of Burbank High in 1996, was not drafted after two seasons at Glendale College or after playing at Dallas Baptist, an NAIA school, last year.

But he showed improvement while leading Oklahoma City University to a No. 2 NAIA ranking this season and was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the 11th round.

“They showed a lot of interest and brought out a cross-checker to see me work out,” Sanchez said. “I’m signing right away.”

John Wilson, a catcher at Kentucky, was an 11th-round pick by the New York Mets. Wilson, a graduate of L.A. Baptist High, attended Northridge as a freshman but transferred after baseball was temporarily dropped in 1997.

The only Northridge player drafted was Adrian Mendoza, a senior first baseman who went to the Dodgers in the 16th round. Mendoza is the last link to a talented group of Matadors who became professional players, including Adam Kennedy of the Angels, Robert Fick of the Tigers, power hitters Eric Gillespie and Jose Miranda, and pitchers Robert Crabtree, Erasmo Ramirez, Benny Flores and Nathan Rice.

Jason Kubel became the second Highland player drafted when Minnesota took him in the 12th round. The Twins called him before their 10th-round pick and asked if he would sign rather than attend Long Beach State.

The answer was affirmative but the Twins waited until the 12th round to take him. He still wants to sign.

“I’m ready to go,” said Kubel, an outfielder who impressed scouts with a strong Area Code Games performance. “I want to go out and play ball.”

Two pitchers considered question marks were drafted lower than expected. Jamie Shields, a right-hander from Hart High, was taken by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 16th round and left-hander Doug Slaten of Pierce College was picked by the Diamondbacks in the 17th round.

Shields had back problems most of the season, but he threw 93 mph at two workouts last week and medical reports show his health to be fine.

“I guess teams are afraid my back problems will reoccur, but that’s not going to happen,” Shields said. “I’m fine.”

Shields said the Devil Rays indicated they would offer more than the going rate for a 16th-rounder. Other options include honoring his commitment to Louisiana State, the nation’s top program in the 1990s, or attending a junior college and remaining draft eligible next year.

“I won’t go to a JC,” Shields said. “We have to sit down and talk about it.”

Slaten turned down a $250,000 offer last week to sign with the Baltimore Orioles, who drafted him last year and held his rights until Monday. Slaten has a scholarship to UCLA.

Harrington, too, could go to college, having made a commitment to Arizona State in the fall. Don’t count on it.

“I want to get on my way as soon as possible,” he said. “I think the Rockies will pay me what I’m worth.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

In the Draft

Area players selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft. The round is followed by overall selection in parenthesis.

NAME: Matt Harrington

SCHOOL: Palmdale HS

POS.: RHP

ROUND: 1st (7)

TEAM: Colorado Rockies

*

NAME: Joe Borchard

SCHOOL: Stanford-Camarillo HS

POS.: OF

ROUND: 1st (12)

TEAM: Chicago White Sox

*

NAME: Dane Sardinha

SCHOOL: Pepperdine

POS.: C

ROUND: 2nd (46)

TEAM: Cincinnati Reds

*

NAME: Mike Schultz

SCHOOL: Loyola Marymount-Cleveland HS

POS.: RHP

ROUND: 2nd (69)

TEAM: Arizona Diamondbacks

*

NAME: Matt Parris

SCHOOL: Highland HS

POS.: RHP

ROUND: 6th (168)

TEAM: Detroit Tigers

*

NAME: Matthew Merricks

SCHOOL: Oxnard HS

POS.: LHP

ROUND: 6th (190)

TEAM: Atlanta Braves

*

NAME: Jesse Kozlowski

SCHOOL: Westlake HS

POS.: RHP

ROUND: 9th (251)

TEAM: Florida Marlins

*

NAME: Tom Canale

SCHOOL: Cal Lutheran

POS.: RHP

ROUND: 10th (306)

TEAM: Cleveland Indians

*

NAME: Fred Sanchez

SCHOOL: Oklahoma City Univ.--Burbank HS

POS.: SS

ROUND: 11th (332)

TEAM: Boston Red Sox

*

NAME: John Wilson

SCHOOL: Kentucky--CSUN--L.A. Baptist HS

POS.: C

ROUND: 11th (335)

TEAM: New York Mets

*

NAME: Jason Kubel

SchOOL: Highland HS

POS.: OF

ROUND: 12th (342)

TEAM: Minnesota Twins

*

NAME: Jamie Shields

SCHOOL: Hart HS

POS.: RHP

ROUND: 16th (466)

TEAM: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

*

NAME: Adrian Mendoza

SCHOOL: CSUN--Royal HS

POS.: 1B

ROUND: 16th (477)

TEAM: Dodgers

*

NAME: Charles Merricks

SCHOOL: UCLA--Channel Islands HS

POS.: LHP

ROUND: 17th (497)

TEAM: Rockies

*

NAME: Doug Slaten

SchOOL: Pierce College

Pos.: LHP

ROUND: 17th (519)

TEAM: Diamondbacks