Alibay Barkley, Revisited

Last month, I wrote about Alibay Barkley, an offensive force from Washington Height's George Washington High School. At the time, Barkley was reportedly going to St. Petersburg College, a junior college in Florida, to prepare for next year's MLB Draft. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, however, had a different idea. The team last week selected Barkley in the 50th--and final--round, making him the 1521st overall pick, literally the last player picked in this year's draft. Although Barkley has not yet officially decided about his immediate future, he told the Times' John Branch that he's leaning toward playing in the Angels' farm system. "We've got see what happens," he said, "but I do want to play pro ball."

I was kind of hoping the Yankees would have take a shot at Barkley, but I'm excited a local kid gets a shot at making it to the majors, even if it's with the Angels. 

Slade Heathcott

Yesterday, before the professionals got their collective asses handed to them (again) in Boston, the Yankees drafted Slade Heathcott, a left-handed outfielder from Texarkana, Texas, in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft. By all accounts, Heathcott, who also pitches, is an all-around talented baseball player, a real 5-tool player. MLB.com describes him as "an intense competitor with instincts beyond his years" and a "plus defender who can play all three outfield positions well." The site also says he is "muscular with broad shoulders and a v-cut torso." So there's that, too. 

Although he's verbally committed to play ball at Louisiana State University, odds are that Heathcott will sign with the Yankees, which is a good thing because Heathcott was taken with the compensatory pick the Yankees received after failing to sign their 2008 top selection, Gerrit Cole: if they can't sign Heathcott, they lose the pick. For those scoring at home, that would be two consecutive drafts in which the Yankees pissed away their first-round picks. Never a good thing for the organizational depth chart.  

For more information about Heatchott, check out No Maas, an amazing website that is simply over the moon about this pick--and, for that matter, the Yankees' second pick, T.J. Murphy, a power-hitting catcher. No Maas was way out in front of the Heathcott selection, interviewing the kid back in March. Check it out here. Among the many things I learned about Heathcott is that he grew up a Red Sox fan, holds a healthy sized man-crush on Josh Hamilton, and compares his game favorably to Rusty Greer. Also, his baseball role model is Mickey Mantle, which, I assume, is why he wears No. 7.