White Sox draft top lefthanded pitcher from Florida Gulf Coast

[Da Coach]

The White Sox drafted 6'6" lefthanded pitcher Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast. Some experts rated Sale the best lefthanded pitching prospect in this year's draft. He posted an 11-0 record, 2.01 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 103 innings, while walking just 14. Sale leads all Division I pitchers in strikeouts, ranks fifth in wins and 10th in ERA and was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year.

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news...=.jsp&c_id=cws

Sale was also just named National Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball.
http://www.fgcuathletics.com/baseball/news/124/3383/

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs....ID=20106040363

Last year's winner of this award, Stephen Strasburg, is already in the major leagues with Washington Nationals.

[Da Coach]

In contrast to the White Sox, who drafted a pitcher who was expected to go higher than the White Sox 13th overall draft position, the Cubs used their 1st round draft pick (#16 overall) on a Division II pitcher who was rated by Baseball America as just the 191st best pitcher available.
The Cubs drafted Hayden Simpson, a right-handed pitcher from Southern Arkansas University. He's 6-feet and 175 pounds, was 35-2 for the Division II school, including 13-1 with a 1.81 ERA in 15 starts this season. He struck out 131 in 99 1/3 innings.
Simpson was expected to be drafted several rounds lower than the first round, and MLB did not even have a draft report available for him as they did for every other player drafted last night.

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/06/cubs-select-surprise-pitcher-simpson-in-first-round.html

The Cardinals picked third baseman Zack Cox from University of Arkansas with their 1st round pick (25th overall). Cox is hitting .427 with nine homers, 48 runs batted in and 11 stolen bases for Arkansas, who is still alive in the College World Series.

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/commishs-hot-stove/commishs-hot-stove/cardinal-beat-updates/2010/06/cardinals-draft-arkansas-3b-cox/

The Cardinals also had 2 supplemental picks after the first round finished. The selected Seth Blair, a right-handed pitcher for Arizona State with the 46th overall choice, and Texas high school pitcher Tyrel Jenkins with the 50th-overall choice .
Blair, a native of Rock Falls, Ill, is the top starter on the Sun Devils, and is 12-0 this season with a 3.06 ERA. In 16 starts, he has allowed 96 hits and 22 walks while striking out 98 batters in 97 innings.
Jenkins, the third player drafted by the Cardinals, is from the small east Texas town of Henderson. He is 6-foot-4, 180 pounds and was described by Luhnow as ???an athlete.???
Jenkins also was the quarterback of his school's football team and signed a scholarship offer to play football at Baylor. He also ran on the school??™s track team.

[Da Coach]

The #1 overall pick was a 17-year old power hitting catcher named Bryce Harper, who was taken by the Washington Nationals. He has tremendous talent, and has been projected as a high pick for several years.
He skipped his final 2 years of high school by taking the GED, then enrolled in a junior college at age 16, despite the fact he would have gotten scholarship offers from every top Division I college.
Harper hit .443 with 31 homers and 98 RBIs at College of Southern Nevada junior college. He took the shortcuts because it was the fastest way he could get drafted. High schoolers are not draftable until they finish high school and their class graduates. College players are not eligible for the MLB draft until after their junior year. But junior college players are draft eligible after their first year at the juco level.
Super agent Scott Boras represents the Harper family, and has advised them for the last couple years to take this route.

http://deadspin.com/5291269/the-chosen-one-chooses-junior-college

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iMDqc639aa9BDmuvqEYjah_QSr_AD9G702IO0