MLB Draft 2006, Royals Take Hochevar with Top Pick

The MLB draft might not grab the headlines like the NFL and NBA. After all there are 50 rounds over two days and teams don't even have to use all their picks, but this is still the chance for Major League Baseball clubs to build their teams of tomorrow. Last year's MLB Draft saw the Arizona Diamondbacks claim shortstop Justin Upton out of high school, but this year's draft would take a different direction.

The No. 1 overall pick for the MLB Draft was a do-over. The Kansas City Royals were on the clock first and they selected Luke Hochevar from Fort Worth, Ind. Hochevar was back in the draft after the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to reach a deal with him. He played his college ball for the University of Tennessee and was taken 40th last year by the Dodgers. He, and his agent Scott Boras never signed with the Dodgers and Luke Hochevar has being playing his ball for the independent Fort Worth Cats. He is currently 1-1 with the Cats with a 2.38 ERA. Hochevar's fastball hits in the mid to upper 90s and he has a killer curve. This is the first time the Royals have ever had the first pick.

The Colorado Rockies decided to go taller than the 6-foot-5 Hochevar. They picked 6-foot-7 Greg Reynolds, another right-hand pitcher, out of Stanford. Reynolds reputation grew from two great summers in the Cape Cod League. As MLB.com reports, Greg Reynolds "7-5 with a 3.35 ERA in 17 starts this season for the [Stanford] Cardinals, who will play at Oregon State in a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional starting Saturday. In his career, Reynolds is 13-9 with a 4.16 ERA in 50 appearances, including 27 starts."

The Rockies and Royals were both supposedly eyeing left-handed pitcher Andrew Miller, but he fell into the Detriot Tigers' lap with the sixth pick. As Sports Illustrated reports, for the fourth overall pick, "Pittsburgh selected Houston right-hander/first baseman Brad Lincoln, one of the country's top two-way players," also passing on Miller. Coming in the fifth spot, and headed to the Seattle Mariners, was the California right-hander Brandon Morrow.

The most amusing name of the draft was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays third selection. Evan (don't call me Eva) Longoria is a 3B for Long Beach State. He was the Co-Big West player of the year hitting .353 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs.

The top 10 was filled with pitchers as usual. Only three were position players. Longoria at 3B and then Drew Stubbs, an outfielder, went eighth to the Cincinnati Reds. Another 3B, Bill Rowell, went to the Baltimore Orioles with the ninth pick. It's a drastic departure from last year's draft, however, when only 4 of the top 15 draft picks were pitchers.

For those die-hard Chicago Cubs fans, hoping to follow in ending their World Series drought just like the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox, they had the 15th pick in the draft and selected outfielder Tyler Colvin from Clemson. Colvin led the team with a .359 BA and had 12 home runs and 65 RBI. He will be leading a Clemson club that has a chance at capturing the NCAA Baseball Championship.

Unless you are a Major League scout, or the parent of a college player, these names are probably unknown. That isn't going to stop organizations from pining away with hopes that Longoria could become the next David Wright, or Hochevar the next Mark Prior (without the injuries).

[Additional Sources: MLB.com, Sports Illustrated]