Major League Baseball Draft : Angels May Benefit from Big Talent Pool

The availability of Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson lends a degree of glamour and mystery to today’s annual June baseball draft, but it is the Angels, with five of the first 28 picks, who figure to get rich.

“We’re in a situation without precedent,” scouting director Larry Himes said Sunday.

“Now I have to rub the Buddha and see if we can pick the right ones.”

Most say the Angels can’t miss, citing the depth of the 1986 talent pool.

Said Himes: “There’s not the premier guy at the top, but there’s talent all the way down the line. . . I think it’s the strongest draft since I became scouting director in 1981.”

Dodger counterpart Ben Wade agreed.

“There’s a larger number of good high school kids in this year’s draft than I’ve seen in a long time and that’s not to take anything away from the college field,” he said.

“Everyone should come out of the first round at least with an outstanding prospect.”

As for Bo?

The feeling seems to be that he is using baseball as a wedge to increase his bargaining power with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who recently made him the No. 1 selection in the National Football League draft.

“I’d be very surprised if he didn’t sign with Tampa Bay,” said Himes, citing statements by Tampa Bay owner Hugh Culverhouse that he will not be outbid.

“He’s talking about having Bo make a franchise,” Himes said. “We’re talking about having him play minor league baseball. They’re talking immediate returns and we’re talking the future.

“I have to assume he’ll sign with Tampa Bay if only on the basis of the comparable financial packages.”

The Angels took a 20th-round gamble on Jackson in last year’s June draft, and there were rumors that they offered him a $1-million signing package. Himes hotly disputes this, saying Jackson made a broken-field run through the Angel negotiating attempts, resisting virtually all phone calls and invitations.

The Angels’ negotiating rights expired when Jackson returned for his senior year at Auburn, ultimately enhancing his football credentials by winning the Heisman Trophy and leading Auburn to the Cotton Bowl.

In a baseball season abbreviated by an NCAA ruling that Jackson had violated regulations by traveling to Tampa Bay at the Buccaneers’ expense, he batted .246 with 7 home runs and 29 strike outs in 69 at-bats.

The Angels, with those five early picks, are again in position to take a risk, but Himes said it won’t happen--not in an early round, at least.

“Our interest is as high as it was earlier,” Himes said. “He’s still right at the top talent-wise. He’s still comparable to a Kirk Gibson in potential. I don’t think you’d be taking a risk on his ability, but there would be a definite risk in drafting and signing him.

“I’ve got a chance to put a lot of good players in the system and I can’t take that risk unless we were to get a commitment. There’s enough talent that even drafting 28th we can take a quality player who wants to make a career out of baseball.

“We will not use one of those five picks on him, nor will we take him in a top round, and that takes care of rounds two and three, too.”

There is no indication that any of the 26 clubs will gamble a top pick on Jackson, who recently has been on something of a baseball tour, visiting Anaheim, Toronto and Kansas City.

He was expected to work out with the Royals on Friday, but refused--an indication, perhaps, that he has definitely decided on football and does not want to risk injury. He has said that he will announce his decision within a week after the baseball draft.

Either way, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who draft first today and were once committed to selecting Jackson, are no longer interested, according to club sources.

The Pirates are expected to choose one of four players:

Third baseman Jeff King of the University of Arkansas; left-handed pitcher Greg Swindell of the University of Texas; outfielder Greg McMurtry of Brockton High in Brockton, Mass.; or shortstop Gary Sheffield of Hillsborough High in Tampa, Fla.

If the Pirates believe in pedigree, they will take Sheffield. He is Dwight Gooden’s nephew.

King, Swindell and Sheffield are definitely expected to be among the first five selections.

Others expected to be taken near the top are shortstop Matt Williams of Nevada Las Vegas; right-handed pitcher Kevin Brown of Georgia Tech; catcher Scott Hemond of the University of South Florida; right-handed pitcher Daryl Green of Nacogdoches (Tex.) High; shortstop Patrick Lennon of Whiteville (N.C.) High; and left-handed pitcher Kent Mercker of Dublin (Ohio) High.

Among Californians expected to go in the first round are pitcher Ryan Bowen of Hanford High near Fresno; catcher Derek Parks of Montclair High in Pomona, and pitcher Brad Brink of USC.

There are a number of other Southern California players who could go on Round 1 but should definitely go before Round 3. They include left-handed pitcher Steve Surico of Tustin High; right-handed pitcher Mike Fetters of Pepperdine; right-handed pitcher Tim Layana of Loyola Marymount; catcher John Eccles of Cal State Fullerton; shortstop Anthony Clements of Don Lugo High in Chino; catcher Jeff Gay of Santana High in San Diego, and pitcher Freddie White of Long Beach Jordan.

How did the Angels get five picks?

1--They were entitled to No. 22 as their own.

2--The signings of class A free agents Juan Beniquez by Baltimore and Al Holland by the New York Yankees produced the following compensation:

The Angels received the Orioles’ and Yankees’ first round positions, plus two special phase picks before the second round begins.

Thus, the Angels will get the 16th, 22nd and 25th picks on the first round, then they will also make the 27th and 28th selections between the first and second rounds.

Himes, credited with a superb job in helping restore the Angels’ farm system to a position where it might be within a year or two of providing the varsity with a home-grown player at every position, said the primary need now is for left-handed power hitters at the outfield corners and pitching depth.

Of the available talent, he said, “Even with our 28th pick I think we can find someone we like, someone we want, someone we have more than average feeling about.”

The Dodgers draft 19th in the first round. Wade refused to define the club’s goal but said he expected to emerge with a quality prospect.

This was a draft scheduled to be conducted in secret. No names were to be announced until a week later, and then only alphabetically.

The intention, first initiated with last January’s draft, was to give the clubs an opportunity to reach their draft choices before the agents and college recruiters, who use the draft to verify their own reports on the top prospects.

On Friday, however, Commissioner Peter Ueberroth responded to media pressure by announcing that the first round selections will be revealed immediately through his office and that all other selections will be revealed a week later.

Bo? A spokesman said it was likely that an announcement would be made whenever and wherever he is selected.

THE TOP PROSPECTS

Player Pos. School 1. Jeff King 3B Arkansas 2. Greg Swindell LPH Texas 3. Matt Williams SS UNLV 4. Scott Hemond C South Florida 5. Kevin Brown RHP Georgia Tech 6. Gary Sheffield SS Tampa, Hillsborough HS 7. Daryl Green RHP Nacodoches, Texas HS 8. Patrick Lennon SS Whiteville, N.C. HS 9. Ken Mercker LHP Dublin, Ohio HS 10. Ryan Bowen RHP Hanford, Ca. HS

BEST OF THE REST

11. Greg McMurtry, of, Brockton, Mass, HS; 12. Derek Parks, c, Montclair, HS; 13. Scott Scudder, rhp, Pattonville, Tex., Prairiland HS; 14. Brad Brink, rhp, USC; 15. Tom Howard, of, Ball State; 16. Mike Fetters, rhp, Pepperdine; 17. Derrick May, of, Newark, Del., HS; 18. Phil Clark, c, Crockett, Tex., HS; 19. Roberto Hernandez, rhp, South Carolina-Aiken; 20. Paul Williams, c, Houston, Smiley HS.

21. Cliff Brantley, rhp, Port Richmond, N.Y. HS; 22. Earl Sanders, rhp, Jackson State; 23. Lee Stevens, 1b, Lawrence, Kan., HS; 24. Lee May Jr., of, Cincinnati, Marion HS; 25. Grady Hall, lhp, Northwestern; 26. Kirt Manwaring, c, Coastal Carolina; 27. Kevin Wickander, lhp, Grand Canyon; 28. Erik Hanson, rhp, Wake Forest; 29. Kevin Dean, of, Vallejo, Hogan HS; 30. Luis Alicea, 2b, Florida State.

31. Rich Scheid, lhp, Seton Hall; 32. Mike Moscrey, lhp, Dallas, Jefferson HS; 33. Steve Surico, lhp, Tustin HS; 34. Scott Morse, rhp, Maine; 35. Mike Walker, rhp, Houston; 36. Michael Lehman, c, Caldwell, Idaho, Valliview HS; 37. Jeff Gay, c, San Diego, Santana HS. 38. Anthony Clements, ss, Chino, Don Lugo HS; 39. Chris Graves, of, Brenham, Tex., HS; 40. George Canale, 1b, Virginia Tech.

41. Tim Layana, rhp, Loyola Marymount; 42. Freddie White, rhp, Long Beach, Jordan HS; 43. Brian Johnson, c, Oakland, Skyline HS; 44. Rick Raether, rhp, Miami (Fla.); 45. Rob Richie, of, Nevada-Reno; 46. Scott Ruckman, ss, Madera, Calif., HS; 47. Paul Meyers, of, Nebraska; 48. Roger Pavlick, rhp, Houston, Aldine HS; 49. Jack Armstrong, rhp, Rider College; 50. Joel Forrest lhp, Mesa (Col.) College.

Ratings done by Baseball America