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	Monday, June 5
	The good, the bad and the ugly ESPN.com
	Getting an eager, young baseball talent to sign on the dotted line sounds like an easy task. Not so, says Baseball America editor Allan Simpson. Simpson slipped into the ESPN.com moderated chat room following the June 5 amateur draft and said the signability of many of this year's draftees directly impacted where the prospects landed in the draft. Simpson offered up his opinion on most of the team's picks and revealed which teams he felt had the best and the worst draft this year. An edited transcript from Simpson's chat follows: Hey, why would the Cubs pass up on Matt Harrington and why would they draft three shortstops? Allan Simpson: It appears that they already had a pre-draft deal with Luis Montanez and apparently he has already signed. Harrington went to Colorado and was supposed to go to the Twins. But I think they got cold feet on him and passed, and by that time it was too late for the Cubs to take him. As far as the three shortstops, generally teams will take shortstops with the idea they can always move them to other positions because they are often some of the best athletes in the draft. Adam Held: What do you think of Sean Burnett, the Pirates pick? Did they get a steal at 19? Allan Simpson: Probably. Burnett was a teammate of Bobby Bradley at Wellington Community High School in Florida. Bradley was taken No. 1 by the Pirates last year and is tearing up the minors at Class A this year. Some people view Burnett as another Tom Glavine. Clint: Who is Adam Wainwright (1st round, Braves) and what has he done? Allan Simpson: He is a 6-foot-6 right hander from a private high school in Georgia. He was injured most of last year and made great strides this spring. But with his body and arm action, the best is clearly yet to come. Jim Droba: Please analyze how the Braves did with those early draft picks. Allan Simpson: We thought they would go after some of the high school arms in Georgia and they clearly did that. Obviously the Braves were in great position in this draft because they had five of the first 51 selections. They also took a SS, Aaron Herr, at No. 40 overall. He is the son of former major leaguer Tommy Herr. Redbird: Why did Scott Heard fall so far? Lack of offensive production? Allan Simpson; It points out how volatile this draft really was. There was talk he would go No. 1 overall but there were questions about his bat. But I think it was more about his signability. He never gave the answers that teams wanted to hear. Brock Bjorn: What do you think about the Reds top picks? Was David Espinosa a good choice at 23? Allan Simpson: The Reds were probably one of the most surprising teams in the draft. Everyone else seemed to shy away from agent Scott Boras' clients. Two of the Reds first three picks were Boras' clients -- David Espinsoa and Pepperdine catcher Dane Sardinha. Both players had been projected to go somewhere in the first ten picks. If they can get them signed, they would be great selections. Jeremiah Lewis: Any comments about the Boston Red Sox? Sox GM Dan Duquette seems to like local players, but is he short changing the team by not taking the "best player available?" Allan Simpson: I don't think that is the case. Most of the time that the Red Sox have picked a New England player, the players has generally slotted in that point in the draft. They would like to have gotten Rocco Baldelli with their first pick, but he wasn't available. But they did get RHP Manny Delcarmen (HS pitcher from Massachusetts) with their second pick. Rod Christopherson: What do you think of Adam Johnson, the Minnesota Twins #1 pick? Is he worthy of the second overall selection? Allan Simpson: No, I don't think he is. Most teams had him projected to go in the second third of the first round. But that is a clear indication of what this draft was all about -- signability. Joel W: Other than getting cold feet with Matt Harrington, how did the Twins fare in the draft? Allan Simpson: Actually, I think they fared well if they can sign these players. They took two players who had projected in the top half the first round -- righty pitcher Aaron Heilman and 1B Taggert Bozied. JMan: How are the N.Y.Yankees doing in the draft? Allan Simpson: They probably pulled the biggest surprise in the first round by picking U of Michigan catcher David Parrish, son of former big leaguer Lance Parrish. Most teams had projected Parrish as a fourth- to sixth-round pick. It looks like they went primarily college players with their next group of picks, none of whom had particularly good seasons in college this year. Texranman: What has been the biggest surprise so far? Allan Simpson: I think the fact that a lot of the players going in the first ten picks were not projected to go that high. And a lot of players projected to go up high, fell right out of the first round. MattyCU: How far do you think Clemson outfielder Patrick Boyd fell due to his less than spectacular year? Allan Simpson: He was taken in the fourth round by Pittsburgh. He was projected at the start of the year to be one of the first ten players draft. The big question now will be whether he will sign -- and I don't think he will -- or return to Clemson for his senior year. O's Fan: What are your thoughts on the Orioles' draft so far? Are Tripper Johnson and Beau Hale good picks? Did Xavier Nady fall to the second round because of signability as well? Allan Simpson: The Orioles have done well for themselves. There is a case to be made that Beau Hale was the best college pitcher in the draft. You are right about Nady. He is represented by Scott Boras, and he was the one player in the draft mentioned as wanting a major league contract. Kevin Lau: How did you think the Angels fared in this draft? Allan Simpson: I think it was one of the better ones they have had in some time. They clearly got the pitcher they wanted at No. 10 in Joe Torres and they were very surprised the Chris Bootcheck was there at No. 20. brewfan: Is next year's draft going to be stronger than this year's? Allan Simpson: The early indications are that it will be, especially in the high school class. There are already indications that the high school draft may be one of the strongest in years. Ben Mills: Do you think Adrian Gonzalez will be a top star down the road? Allan Simpson: I think he will be a very good player. There is a question if he will be the best player out of this draft. He is described as a cross between Rafael Palmeiro and Mark Grace. BenMinkus: Who will get the highest signing bonus? Allan Simpson: Matt Harrington. I don't know if it will top the $3.96 million that Josh Hamilton (No. 1 last year) signed for with Tampa Bay, but it will be close. WhiteSoxFan: Will Joe Borchard chose baseball over football and what kind of draft did the White Sox have? Allan Simpson: Borchard is a very sound draft pick. He is committed to playing football at Stanford next year and that is a good bargaining chip with the White Sox. The White Sox' draft was solid. I am surprised that they were able to get Tony Richie in the fifth round. At one point they were looking at him closely as their first round pick. gocubs2000: What will happen with Bobby Hill? Allan Simpson: That is a good question. He is playing in the Atlantic League right now and I don't see any way he is going to get the $1.5 million offer that he was supposed to be demanding. I would say he would be lucky to get even a third of that. John in Tampa: Besides Harrington, who do you think was the steal of the first round? Allan Simpson: I would probably say the Angels' pick of Chris Bootcheck at No. 20 overall. You can really make a case that the really good picks slid to the second round. BenMinkus: Who has had the best draft? Allan Simpson: I would say the Rockies. I think they got a steal with Harrington at No. 7 and got another steal in round two with Jason Young (Stanford RHP), who they were debating on taking with the pick they got Harrington. jaklewein: I liked the fact that the Astros focused on raw talent with the first pick rather than mediocrity. What is your take on the 27th pick and the rest for the Astros? Thanks. Allan Simpson: My early indications are that the Astros had a very high-risk draft, especially taking Robert Stiehl with their first pick. He has pitched no more than 15 innings in his college career. It appears this is a draft that the Astros will not spend a great deal of money because they took a senior with their second round pick and some easier signs with their later picks. andy: Who has the worst draft so far? Allan Simpson: In my mind it would be Houston. It is clear they will spend less money on their picks than any other team. Redbird: I really, really dislike the Cardinals draft. Do you think they made some reaches in the 1st round today? Allan Simpson: That is possible, because they did take two picks that weren't projected in the first round. Their first pick, Shaun Boyd, is one of the better HS hitters in the draft and their second pick, Blake Williams, had some outstanding performances down the stretch -- shutting out Texas and Baylor in some of the last games he pitched. It is a busy day for us, so that is all the time I have for now. I will just close with this: In the 20 years I have been doing this, this is one of the most difficult drafts to get a handle on and most of the teams, I think, would agree. Take care everyone and thanks for all the questions.		ALSO SEE Major League Baseball chat room Stark: Abolish the draft