Just as had been the case heading into the beginning of the season for the ASU baseball team, the Sun Devils had two players with high expectations entering the 2004 MLB amateur draft.
Juniors Jeff Larish and Dustin Pedroia were rated 46th and 53rd, respectively, in the country in Baseball America's final prospect rating heading into the 2004 MLB draft. Yet only Pedroia, a Baseball America second team All-American, was selected at a position commensurate with his high rating.
Drafted with the 65th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox, Pedroia's status was only solidified by yet another outstanding season in which he hit .393 with 24 doubles, 78 runs scored and an astounding .502 on-base percentage.
Larish, who was selected with the 380th pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers after a disappointing season in which he hit .308 with 7 home runs and 49 RBI, was not even the third ASU player selected in the draft. Junior college teammates, junior Josh Asanovich and Jason Urquidez were chosen in the 11th round with the 315th and 318th picks, respectively, and were in fact the next two Sun Devils chosen. All four were picked on Tuesday.
Asanovich, chosen by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the second time in three years, said he is unsure of what he will do next year. With a verbal commitment to play in the Cape Cod League, Asanovich said he is "50-50" whether or not to come back for another year with ASU or sign with the Devil Rays.
"It's pretty cool to have a club think that highly of you to draft you twice," Asanovich said.
Asanovich said he is still in negotiations and that he will have to wait until picks ahead of him in the draft sign contracts in order to get an idea of what he could make if he signs with Tampa Bay. In 2001, Asanovich had been selected by Tampa Bay in the 26th round.
Partly responsible for Larish's plunge -- he was selected in the 13th round -- was his contract demands. Larish is represented by notoriously tough negotiating agent Scott Boras, and his demands included a signing bonus upward of $1 million, due in part to a spectacular 2003 season in which he hit .372 with 18 home runs and 95 RBI.
Larish was one of a few players, advised by Boras, whose draft position fell due to high demands. Others include Long Beach State pitcher Jered Weaver and Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew.
Yet, neither of those players dropped as much as Larish. Larish, who was not made available for comment to The State Press, told the East Valley Tribune that he is considering returning to ASU for his senior season.
Junior pitcher Ladd Hall and senior pitcher Jeff Mousser were both selected in the second day of the draft on Wednesday in the 27th and 35th rounds, respectively. Mousser was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, while Hall was picked by the Montreal Expos.
Although Hall did not appear in a game for the Sun Devils, he was chosen for the third time in his career. Mousser was selected for the first time.
Senior utility player Nick Walsh signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees last week following the draft. Walsh has started five different positions in his career and was named All-Pac-10 honorable mention this season after hitting .329.
Reach the reporter at matthew.schubert@asu.edu.
