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PORCELLO - STEAL OF THE CENTURY???

Posted by bigD | June 10, 2007 .

symbol.JPG“IS THIS THE BEST ORGANIZATION IN BASEBALL? YOU CAN MAKE A COMPELLING CASE THAT IT IS.” Dayn Perry of Fox Sports made that statement following the 2007 MLB draft when he was asked to comment on the Tiger’s latest draft choice and yet another young pitching gem – Seton Hall Prep Pitcher, Rick Porcello. If that isn’t the best compliment that can be given to the Detroit Tigers at this stage, I’d like to see a better one. So many sportswriters and analysts simply cannot believe Detroit landed the best young pitching talent in the entire draft but to make such a selection at the 27th spot truly is baffling. How could this tremendous talent slip so far down? It was said that Porcello would want big bucks to sign with a pro organization coming right out of High School like he did. He’s already signed a letter of intent with North Carolina should he not sign with the Tigers, however, based on both Detroit’s reaction and Porcello’s, it’s unlikely this kid is going anywhere but Detroit. Even still, Porcello’s large money demands caused many teams to pass on him, but Detroit’s GM, Dave Dombrowski wouldn’t. The Tigers were willing to take the chance that they will in fact be able to sign Porcello before the August 15th deadline and bring him into the organization with open arms. Owner, Mike Illitch wants a winner here for a long time and once again he’s proven it by preparing to open his wallet a little bit wider. Word is, the New York Yankees (who drafted at #30) wanted Porcello badly and were upset that Detroit took him at #27. Well too late Yanks! WE HAVE HIM! If everything they say about this kid really is true though, who can blame New York?

porcello2.jpgThe 6 foot 5, 195 pound, Right-handed Porcello is said to have dynamite stuff. Obviously how good it really is will start to be tested at higher levels soon so we can only go with what we hear but thus far, who could argue with what they say about his ability? Porcello is out of Chester, New Jersey and has been compared to Justin Verlander. When you consider Verlander’s age as well as Porcello’s, at this stage in his career, I am not sure there is a better compliment out there for this kid. They say Porcello has 4 quality pitches with a fastball that hits the mid 90’s with great life, control and action. Porcello totally dominated at Seton Hall Prep, leading them to New Jersey’s Parochial-A, non-public division State Championship. Obviously this is no ordinary high schooler. As a sophomore at the Prep school, he went 4-1 with an UNREAL 1.03 ERA, giving up 8 walks and 18 hits with 50 strikeouts in just 34 innings. That’s not all though. As a SS/3B he hit .393 when he wasn’t on the hill. He was also given the MOST VALUABLE PITCHER award at Perfect Game’s Northeast tournament, led his travel team, Farrah’s Builders to a tournament title in Long Island and to top it all off, was named MVP of the CABA World Series in Euclid, Ohio. He also has a 3.94 GPA. I think it’s obvious how special this kid truly is and there’s no doubt about it the Tigers have a definite future star and possible ace in the making in Porcello.

porcello1.jpgTiger fans, no longer do we have to suffer through season after season of mediocre pitching and mediocre baseball in Detroit. Thanks to Mike Illitch and Dave Dombrowski (to name a few), Detroit will be competitive on the baseball field for quite sometime. With young arms like Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya, Eugelio de la Cruz, Andrew Miller and now Rick Porcello, the future looks brighter then bright. Welcome to the Tigers, Rick! Playoff berths will be the norm and the World Series will again be on our doorstep.

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1 Comment so far
  1. James P. June 13, 2007 7:18 pm

    I agree…great pic the tigers made