Farm Fresh Royals 2009 -- the draft through rd 10

All 50 rounds are in the books. We looked at the Royals' first two picks yesterday, here's a total breakdown of their haul....

49 picks.....24 pitchers (11th rounder Ryan Wood is listed at P but Royals state they're gonna use him at short)....15 righties, 9 lefty pitchers....5 catchers....5 corner IFs....9 middle IFs....and 6 OFs. 24 (including Crow) from 4-year colleges, including 17 pitchers and 7 position players. 21 from high schools, including 7 pitchers and 14 position players. And 4 from JuCos, including 3 pitchers.

I said in my RotF 6/10 post the Royals waited until round 15 to pick a shortstop, it was actually round 11 and East Carolina's Ryan Wood was listed as a righty pitcher, as noted above. I still think they coulda gone that way earlier, but I will correct myself there. Here's more on the picks, starting with the rest of the first 10 rounds:

Rd 4) pick #122, lefty Chris Dwyer, Clemson U freshman, 6-3, 210, turned 21 in April

* Dwyer is a unique case, as he's the first college freshman ever drafted since the rules changed back in the '90s. He was eligible because he is 21. Dwyer was projected much higher (BA had him at #55 overall) but signability concerns left him open in round 4 and the Royals apparently are willing to pay the price. The linked story in the Salem (Mass.) News states several teams called on day 1 to check on Dwyer's demands and none took the bait. The Royals reportedly called and were more willing to go "over slot" for Dwyer. The Royals had supposedly been watching him since he was a freshman in high school. Dwyer wasn't lock down in his year at Clemson but did throw a complete game versus Miami this season and struck out 13 in a regional win over Oklahoma State. He was 5-6 with a 4.92 ERA, a batting average against of .236 and 33 BB/95 Ks but 11 HRA in 86 IP this season. He has a low-90s fastball, curve and change. Hey, you've gotta like that he turned down the Yankees a year ago when they drafted him in the 36th round. If he signs, I figure he may start in Burlington (A), maybe Idaho Falls. I'd peg Crow for A-ball if he signs and Myers for AZL ball, should have noted that in my first draft post.

Rd 5) pick #152, righty Harold "Louis" Coleman, LSU senior, 6-3, 190, turned 23 in April.

* I may be the most excited about this pick, other than Myers. Coleman is the 2009 SEC Pitcher of the Year and was the first LSU pitcher drafted. If you haven't seen 'em play, LSU is good. They just drilled Rice in the super regional and are in Omaha right now for the CWS, which will delay Coleman's signing, but he is a senior so should sign. He is 13-2 this season with a 2.76 ERA and 19 BB/124 Ks (wow) in 114 IP and batters are hitting only .217 off him. He's been drafted twice before -- by Atlanta in '05 and Washington in '08 -- but this is his highest pick. He pitched both in the rotation and the pen for the Bayou Bengals and this year has appeared in 21 games with 14 starts. He pitched 2 complete games with 1 shutout. He did give up 16 HR but, as with Dwyer, they are using aluminum bats and not all the parks favor pitchers. I'd like to see him at least in A-ball if he signs. He has a low-90s fastball and slider and, as shown, throws pretty much sidearm. It sounds like he's moved his release point around a little bit while at LSU, though.

Rd 6) pick #182, righty Mathiew "Cole" White, U of New Mexico junior, 6-3, 205, turned 21 in January

* White, who was the closer for the Lobos, sounds like he's gonna sign. He throws 95, so he's got some heat. Hope he can control where it's going. He was 3-2 with a 2.33 ERA, BAA of .144, 4 SV, 2 HRA, 28 BB/45 K in 27 games/34 2/3 IP for the Lobos in 2009. It'll be said somewhere that White was nominated for a Grammy for a song he wrote, which is on his UNM bio page and would be a cool, odd fact. Were it True. Keith Law says "false." I'd bet he's in short season ball when he signs. Throws a fastball and slider. He only played one year at UNM after transferring in from juco.

Rd 7) pick #212, lefty George "Buddy" Baumann, Missouri State junior, 5-10, 180, turns 22 in December.

* Baumann won the Cape Cod League all-star game last year and underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery before recovering to garner the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year award with an 11-1 record, 3.23 ERA, .220 BAA and 32 BB/101 Ks in 86 IP. He throws a borderline 90 mph fastball, throws from a three-quarters arm slot and also has a curve and change in the repertoire. Sounds like he's gonna sign, but the Royals said they may use him out of the pen. I guess they'll give him a chance to start first, tho. Makes sense. He did grow up a ChiSox fan, though. I'd bet he and White are both at IF or Appy League Burlington.

Rd 8) pick #242, righty Gardner "Dusty" Odenbach, UConn senior, 6-3, 220, turns 22 in September.

* Odenbach pitched out of the pen for the Huskies and he'll sign. Not even he thought he'd go in round 8. He was 2-3 with a 3.34 ERA, 17 BB/48 K, and .200 BAA in 35 IP this year at UConn. That was quite a bit better than his prior years there. I assume he'll hit Burlington (R) or IF.

Rd 9) pick #272, C Ben Theriot, Texas State junior, 6-1, 190, bats left, throws right, turns 22 in December.

* Theriot, no relation to Ryan of the Cubs, comes from the same school as 1B David Wood, who's with the Burlington Bees right now. He hit .335 with 6 HR and 36 RBI this season for the Bobcats. His OBP was in the .380s, so it wasn't overwhelming. He also caught 19 of 25 would-be base stealers. I assume the Royals will sign him. This story doesn't indicate his intentions, but hints he may sign. He sounds like rookie ball bait for Burlington or IF.

Rd 10) pick #302, 1B/LHP Geoffrey Baldwin, Colorado HS senior, 6-4, 195, bats and throws left, turns 19 in November.

* Baldwin hit .595 with 11 HR and 38 RBI this season for his Grand Junction high school team, but it is Colorado. He's a Nebraska signee. He's not a lock to sign as the Royals will have to go after him, according to a quote in this story. He's fine with going to NU. He did compliment the KC organization and said he wanted to go to the Royals. I guess there is room for improvement from rd 10, but that's still pretty impressive. He'll hit the AZL if he signs, I'd bet.

More on the rest of the field tomorrow (hopefully)....