This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
Addison Maruszak, a 22-year-old shortstop out of the University of South Florida, was selected in the 2008 MLB draft by the New York Yankees. Maruszak, taken in the 17th round, was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is 6-2, weighs 190lbs, bats right and throws right.
During his junior season Maruszak hit .362, compiling 72 hits, 52 runs, and 6 homeruns for the Bulls. He was named to the All Big East Team. He was also a candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award. In 2008 Maruszak came in second in the Big East in batting average, hitting .416 and compiling a .496 on base percentage. On April 26, 2008, Addison hit two home runs in the same game (against Villanova) to become the first Bull to ever achieve that feat.
During Spring Training, Addison was able to play with his USF team against the Yankees, in what he claims was his greatest moment in baseball to this date. With his solid bat, along with good defensive abilities as a middle infielder, look for Addison to become a special player in the major leagues someday!
This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
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This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
Luke Anders was chosen as the 500th pick overall in the 16th round of the 2008 MLB draft. Anders, a first basemen out of Texas A&M University, is 6’6 and weighs 225lbs. Luke attended high school at Texas A&M Consolidated school.
During the 2008 season, Luke hit .348, mashing out 13 homeruns and driving in 50 runs. His slugging percentage for the season was .652. During his sophomore season he was selected on the first team all Big Twelve team as a DH, hitting .336 with 11 homeruns, and 46 rbi’s.
Anders looks to be a power hitting first basemen, that has potential to be strictly a designated hitter, if need be. Anders fielding is above average, and his speed is just average, so DH may be a good fit for Luke.
Michael Jones, who was a star receiver on the Arizona State University football team, was drafted as an outfielder by the New York Yankees. Jones, a native of Sugarland Texas, played his high school athletics at Fort Bend Austin High School.
During Michael’s freshman year, he hit .313 for the Sun Devils, playing in only ten games, after a late start due to football. His sophomore season, Jones hit .319, and on April 25 was a homerun shy of the cycle against the University of Hawaii. His junior season, he struggled with the bat, but his defensive presence, along with his quick feet make him a valuable asset in the Yankees farm system.
Jones says Ken Griffey Jr. is the baseball player who looks up to most. Let’s hope Michael gets the opportunity to play in the same game with Griffey Jr. before he retires!
Raymond Kruml, a speedy centerfielder out of the University of South Alabama, was chosen by the Yankees in the 11th round of the 2008 MLB Draft. Ray stands at 6’0 and weighs just 185lbs. He bats left and throws right. Kruml grew up in a Chicago suburb of Wheaton, IL.
Kruml hit .350 for the Jaguars of USA in 2008, and had an on base percentage of .421. He also added 8 homeruns, 21 doubles, and knocked in 46 runs. He has great speed, and looks to be a good lead-off hitter in the future.
His coach at USA had this to say about Richard: “He has outstanding speed, he can steal bases and he reads pitchers well.” Sounds like a good catch for the Yankees in the 11th round!
This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
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This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
John Rye, is a 6’1, 200lbs. Senior out of Florida State University. Rye, who turned 22 in March can play any outfield position, but specializes in right field. Otherwise known as Jack, he played his high school baseball in Irvine, CA, at Woodbridge High School. He bats and throws left.
As a Junior, John was named the team captain at FSU, and started all 62 games for the Seminoles. He also hit 10 homeruns, and drove in 61 runs, which ranked second on his team in both categories. In his senior season (2008), John hit .371, which ranked fourth on his team, starting 61 of 62 games. He hit 7 homeruns, and drove in 52, ranking 6th in both categories for the ‘Noles.
John’s father was a collegiate baseball pitcher at UCLA.
Kyle Higashioka, a catcher from Edison High School in Huntington Beach California was selected by the Yankees as the 30th pick and the 230rd overall pick in the draft.
Kyle stands at 6’1, and weighs 180lbs, and has been a catcher his entire baseball career. His best attribute is of course his defensive prowess behind the plate, but he also seems to have potential to become a power hitting catcher. Some say Kyle reminds them of Victor Martinez. The Yankees would love to get a young catcher like that.
Higashioka, and his agent have told the Yankees they will need to sign him for $500,000 for him to pass up his opportunity to play collegiate ball for the Golden Bears of the University of California.
William Mitchell, a 6’2, 165lbs. righthanded pitcher was selected in the 12th round of the 2008 MLB draft. Mitchell, otherwise named D.J., turned 21 in May, and became the first Clemson Tiger to be drafted by the Yankees since 1990.
During the 2008 season, Mitchell went 6-5 with an ERA of 3.47, in 20 starts. He allowed 97 hits, while walking 40 batters, and striking out 106 in 98 innings. The strikeout total for Mitchell was the most since Kris Benson struck out 204 during the 1996 season.
Mitchell throws in the mid 90’s with great movement. He appears to be very versatile, and was used quite often in the outfield for Clemson. Projections show that Mitchell will be a mid to late inning reliever, with a shot at starting if everything shakes out well for him.
This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
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Brett Marshall was the 6th round pick for the Yankees out of Ross S. Sterling High School in Texas. The young pitcher displayed great velocity, having improved by a few mph from the previous season to the 94-96 range. He still has some inconsistencies with control, but that is something that he will be working on as he plays in the minors. Marshall throws a fastball, plus slider, and a change-up.
Corban Joseph is a shortstop out of Franklin High School in Tennessee. He was named the state’s high school player of the year and was dratted in the 4th round by the Yanks. He had a tremendous senior year with a batting average of .510 and 15 home runs. Both of these stats show that he can hit for both power and average, a great combination for any hitter.
Center fielder, Mykal Stokes, was drafted 1250th overall by the Yankees. He went to Tustin High School in California, where he batted .432 during his senior year. He hit for 14 RBI, had a .476 OBP and racked up 41 hits in the 26 games he played.
This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 draftee informations series.
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Since the MLB draft is so big, there are always tons of players who many fans don’t know about. To help with giving you more info on specific draftees by the Yankees, I am starting a new series where I will take a few of the draft picks in each post and give you a little background on them. So here we go, with the first MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees post:
Jonathan Folino was chosen in the 49th round of the 2008 draft. He played with the UConn Huskies and had an overall record of 4-4 this season, having started seven games and pitched in thirteen total. His four wins, lead his team as did his 39 strikeouts. His ERA was 5.02 in a little over 57 innings pitched.
Mike Lyon was drafted in the 24th round of the 2008 draft. He played for Northeastern University, where he had a batting average of .357, 14 home runs, and 46 RBI in the 2008 season. He broke several school-records this past season including most extra-base hits (36) and total bases (138) in one season. He also now holds many school-career records as well.
This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
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