Cole is the SS for the University of Florida, and he's the son of former big league infielder, Bien Figueroa. Cole is a draft-eligible sophomore, so he still has two years of eligibility left in school. Hopefully we can convince him to start his pro career, as he is a solid left-handed hitting middle infielder who has terrific instincts for the game. He's another player who seemed to raise his game when it counted the most. At the plate he is a handsy hitter who will hit the ball where it's pitched but also has the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Cole hit .350 this year with a .422 obp and a .534 slg to go along with 20 stolen bases.
If I have the time tonight, I will try to provide a brief wrap-up of what was a very exciting day for us. We couldn't be happier about the group of players we selected today, as we managed to get a number of our targeted offensive players.
9 comments:
Outstanding! You have been the man today. I can't thank you enough for all the effort keeping the fans in the loop. You have really made me and I'm sure other feel like we are much more intimate with the team.
Thanks,
Steve
Paul,
Thank you so much for being considerate enough to provide running commentary to your readers. Surprising insight behind closed doors.
That being said, how can the organization justify the apparent denial of up-the-middle athleticism up to this point? Understanding that the draft choices are not immediate need-based, one would think that the club would make an effort to become more athletic through the draft, as doing so through free agency is prohibitively expensive, not to mention philosophically at odds with the mission statement. If investments in athletically gifted players are not made now, then when?
Despite assurances that these are the players that "excite" you, is the front office so obtuse that they don't notice that the brand of baseball being foisted upon the faithful is being lampooned as boring and, at times, unwatchable?
Is there not at least a modicum of doubt that the philosophy being handed down is flawed, or perhaps not being carried out successfully?
I certainly don't mean to crucify the brass, this is just the frustration of a long-suffering Padre fan who basked in a four year sunshower, but sees it slipping away.
Can you/could you discuss the opportunity cost of the picks you made? Obviously you went home with good players, but which players did you have to pass up to take your guys?
Whenever I want someone to answer a question or justify a decision, I call them obtuse too... :)
Mr. DePodesta,
Thanks for taking the time to post, especialy today. It is pretty awesome to have this sort of insight to the draft process and the organization's view of the draftees. Please continue to post.
Thank you,
Nick
(note: I could not tell if this already posted ... if so, please delete rather than double-post)
I think the question-of-the-day is ... any chance Allan Dykstra can play anything besides 1B?
And then the next question is ... do you expect to get him signed and ready to play for Eugene on Opening Day? (note: I was a bit bum'd when I went to Opening Day last year and Kulbacki was not quite ready to play yet)
THANK-YOU, Paul DePodesta, for this blog ... and for all the entries today!
ps. amy ... nothing obtuse about you ... you can hang a star on that one!
Thank for posting on Draft day, Paul DePodesta.
This is a happy day and it's a great thing to see some information from the inside.
Thanks.
My sarcasm-meter couldn't tell if Amy was agreeing with me or taking me to task for mud-slinging. Any commentary was intended to serve the search for truth in our Friar-centric world, and not a personal attack. Just wanna see a guy flag down a shot to the gap every now and then, thats all.
Here are Figueroa's splits:
http://www.collegesplits.com/draft/figueco42-b.html
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