Rockies gladly take Friedrich in first round

Left-hander falls as teams put emphasis on college hitters

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, June 5, 2008

David Perry / Special To The Rocky

Rockies top pick Christian Friedrich was expected to go as high as 12th but fell to Colorado with the No. 25 selection.

Left-handed pitcher Christian Friedrich got the attention of major league scouts last summer in the Cape Cod League pitching for the Falmouth Commodores.

His efforts were underscored in the playoff elimination when, in the fifth inning of a scoreless game, the Orleans Cardinals had runners on first and third with nobody out and Friedrich struck out Buster Posey, Jason Castro and Gordon Beckham.

"I loved the challenge of playing on the Cape," Friedrich said. "The exposure helped a lot and the better the competition, the better I play."

Friedrich is about to take a step up in competition.

The junior at Western Kentucky was the Rockies' first-round selection Thursday in the annual draft, the 25th player taken overall.

Among the selections ahead of him? Posey, a catcher from Florida State who went fifth to San Francisco; Beckham, a shortstop from Georgia who went eighth overall to the White Sox; and Castro, a catcher from Stanford who went 10th to Houston.

The Rockies caught a break, if the predraft projections mean anything. Friedrich was expected to have gone as high as 12th, but with an early emphasis from teams on college hitters, he fell to the Rockies, the second left- handed pitcher and the seventh pitcher selected overall.

"I'm not disappointed at all," Friedrich said. "I think this is a great fit. I had some talks with A's (who drafted 12th) and Minnesota (who drafted 14th) and thought maybe 14th, but there are a lot of great players in the draft. This is fine."

Friedrich, after all, has a tie to the Rockies. When he gets out of whack, he said, he will look at tapes of Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis, who is represented by the same agency that will advise Friedrich. Mark Rodgers, who is familiar with the Rockies from negotiations for Mike Hampton, will be the main adviser for Friedrich.

Friedrich was one of six college players the Rockies selected in the six rounds of the draft that were conducted Thursday. The final 44 rounds will be today.

In addition to Friedrich, the Rockies selected outfielder Charles Blackmon of Georgia Tech in the second round; closer Aaron Weatherford of Mississippi State in the third round; right-handed starter Ethan Hollingsworth of Western Michigan in the fourth round; third baseman Chris Dominguez of Louisville in the fifth round; and catcher Kiel Roling of Arizona State - he's a graduate of Grand Junction Central High School - in the sixth round.

Friedrich and Weatherford figure to move quickly through the minor leagues. The four others are interesting projects with high ceilings.

Blackmon was a pitcher until this season, when he moved to the outfield and, as the leadoff hitter, led Georgia Tech with a .396 average and 25 stolen bases.

Roling had to share catching chores both years at Arizona State and will benefit from getting more concentrated time behind the plate.

Friedrich was a late bloomer. The native of Evanston, Ill., was undrafted out of Loyola High School and wasn't recruited by the bigger schools in the Chicago area. But he did get an offer from Eastern Kentucky and took advantage of it.

Having split his time between baseball and soccer, he focused on baseball full time in college, where he developed a fastball that will sit about 90 mph and is complemented by a curveball with sharp downward movement.

"I matured physically," he said. "When I came to college, I weighed 185 pounds. I've been up to 225 pounds. It helped my stamina and I also had a great pitching coach in John Corbin.

"He taught me a slider and helped make my mechanics more efficient so I would maintain energy and velocity."

Friedrich led the Ohio Valley Conference with a 1.43 ERA, averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings and allowed batters a .144 average. He went 10-0 for a team that was 25-26-1.

"I think it is a fact that when he took the mound, his team felt it was going to win that day," Rockies scouting director Bill Schmidt said.

"He showed in the Cape Cod League he is very competitive and he has a good feel for pitching. He has been exposed to a high level of competition in the last year and responded."

Friedrich said he began to realize he had special abilities after his freshman year, when he was invited to try out for Team USA, and the feeling was reinforced in the Cape Cod League.

"I didn't make (Team USA), but I thought I had to be a pretty good player to be put in with the group (at the tryouts)," he said.

Rockies' draft picks

Rd. (pick) Player Pos.

1 (25) Christian Friedrich LHP 6-3, 210, Eastern Ky.

Comment: Fastball sits at 89-91 mph, hitting 94. Key pitch is over-the-top curveball. Periodic blister problems.

2 (72) Charles Blackmon OF 6-3, 201, Georgia Tech

Comment: Converted from pitcher this year; five-tool potential; led team with .396 average, 25 stolen bases.

3 (103) Aaron Weatherford RHP 6-0, 187, Mississippi St.

Comment: Closer who struck out 62 and allowed 20 baserunners in 31 2/3 innings.

4 (137) Ethan Hollingsworth RHP 6-2, 200, Western Mich.

Comment: What you see is what you get; four-pitch mix with fastball that sits at 89-92 mph. Good command.

5 (167) Chris Dominguez 3B 6-5, 235, Louisville

Comment: Big East Player of the Year has big-time power and a plus arm; will swing and miss.

6 (197) Kiel Roling C 6-3, 225, Arizona State

Comment: Hit .350 with 23 home runs and 113 RBI in two years at Arizona State; graduate of Grand Junction Central High School.

First-round picks

First round of the baseball draft (* high school player):

Team Player

1. Rays SS Tim Beckham*

2. Pirates 3B Pedro Alvarez

3. Royals 1B Eric Hosmer*

4. Orioles LHP Brian Matusz

5. Giants C Buster Posey

6. Marlins C Kyle Skipworth*

7. Reds 1B Yonder Alonso

8. White Sox SS Gordon Beckham

9. Nationals RHP Aaron Crow

10. Astros C Jason Castro

11. Rangers 1B Justin Smoak

12. Athletics 2B Jemile Weeks

13. Cardinals 3B-1B Brett Wallace

14. Twins OF-RHP Aaron Hicks*

15. Dodgers RHP-3B Ethan Martin*

16. Brewers C Brett Lawrie*

17. Blue Jays 1B David Cooper

18. Mets-a 1B-OF Ike Davis

19. Cubs RHP Andrew Cashner

20. Mariners RHP Joshua Fields

21. Tigers RHP Ryan Perry

22. Mets SS Reese Havens

23. Padres 1B Allan Dykstra

24. Phillies OF-SS Anthony Hewitt*

25. Rockies LHP Christian Friedrich

26. D-backs LHP Daniel Schlereth

27. Twins-b RHP Carlos Gutierrez

28. Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole*

29. Indians SS Lonnie Chisenhall

30. Red Sox RHP-SS Casey Kelly*

a-From Braves (Tom Glavine) b-From Angels (Torii Hunter)

How Tracy Ringolsby fared in his mock draft:

Correct on first pick for 28th consecutive year, 12 of 30 players going to the correct team, 25 of 30 players projected for first round went in that round.

• June 5, 2008

  10:53 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  flybys writes:

  Nobody has to tell the Rockies they need more pitching, at least at draft time so the organization went with left Christian Friedrich, a Colonel from Eastern Kentucky with dominant numbers who will have to win with smarts, control and command. His plus fastball and developing changeup will be baseline advantages but an excellent curve will likely prove ineffective consistently at Coors Field.

  Charles Blackmon might prove to be one of the better second round picks the Rockies have ever made. He wasn't a major guess, he was an excellent hitter who showed speed on the bases and a strong arm. If he can develop power, he could make it all the way to Denver.

  Next season, the franchise can pick from a bigger menu as the Rockies will most likely pick in the top 3 or top 5 in the draft so pay attention to the projected elite players for 2009.