Scout Will Give Pick Fatherly Advice

There wasn’t much suspense to the Angels’ first-round selection in Tuesday’s draft; as expected, they used the 13th overall pick on Casey Kotchman, a slick-fielding, power-hitting first baseman from Seminole High in Florida.

The intrigue could come after the draft. Kotchman, the Gatorade national high school player of the year, is the son of Tom Kotchman, a longtime Angel scout and 18-year minor league manager who also will serve as Casey’s advisor in contract negotiations.

The advisor’s job is to extract the largest possible signing bonus for his client. The Angels--Tom Kotchman’s employer--hope to sign Kotchman for a reasonable amount--between $1.7 million-$1.9 million--without going overboard.

“Hopefully it won’t get awkward,” said Tom Kotchman, who will manage a rookie-league team in Provo, Utah, this summer. “I’m his father, and I want to do what’s best for him, but me and Donny [Rowland, Angel scouting director] go way back.

“It will be unique, but this whole situation has been unique. People say, ‘How do you scout your own kid?’ I don’t. I’ve never written a report on him. All the national cross-checkers looked at him. They never asked for my input. Donny said he’d take the best player on the board. It was his decision.”

Casey Kotchman, who batted .456 with five home runs, 32 runs batted in and 44 runs to lead Seminole to a 31-0 record and the Florida 5-A state championship, conceded there could be a conflict of interest.

“It’s kind of a weird situation,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll both be employed by the Angels.”

That seems imminent. Though Kotchman has a 3.8 grade-point average, he has not signed a college letter of intent. “I want to swing a wood bat this summer,” he said.

It won’t be the first time. Kotchman has spent the last 11 summers with his dad in Boise, Idaho, taking batting and infield practice and joining his father’s teams for long bus rides to away games.

“I think I have a little more of an advantage over other high school kids because I’ve been a part of it for so long,” Kotchman said. “I’ve had a chance to observe players’ work habits and what the everyday grind of the minor leagues is like.”

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Kotchman, who throws and bats left-handed, was one of five players from Seminole High drafted in the first 15 rounds. Though Baseball America rated Kotchman the best pure hitter and power hitter among all high school players in the nation--and the eighth-best prospect in the draft--he may be even more advanced defensively.

“There’s no question he’s ready to play defense in the big leagues--he could go there right now and play,” Tom Kotchman said. “He has a chance to win a Gold Glove.”

After using their sandwich pick--33rd overall--on Jeffrey Mathis, a catcher from Marianna (Fla.) High, the Angels agreed to terms with Mathis on a signing bonus believed to be in the $800,000 range. Mathis will report to the Angels’ rookie-league team in Mesa, Ariz. The Angels chose Dallas McPherson, a third baseman from The Citadel, in the second round, and Steven Shell, a right-handed pitcher from El Reno (Okla.) High, and Jacob Woods, a left-handed pitcher from Bakersfield College, in the third round.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’

PAT RAPP

(1-5, 4.85 ERA)

vs.

ATHLETICS’

TIM HUDSON

(5-3, 3.97 ERA)

Edison Field, 7.

TV--Fox Sports Net.

Radio--KMPC (1540), KMXN (94.3 FM), XPRS (1090).

Update--Catcher Bengie Molina (strained right hamstring) had a good workout Tuesday, and Manager Mike Scioscia said he could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment this weekend or early next week. Jose Molina (fractured left thumb) should also be ready to return next week.

Tickets--(714) 663-9000