2008 Draft Prospect Blog

Regional

2008-06-02T21:13:51Z

Regionals began this weekend and it was a very competitive one at that. We started off against Stony Brook on Friday night and they played us extremely tough and never gave up, but we were able to pull that game out, 9-7. On Saturday, we played Oklahoma, who had beaten a very strong Vanderbilt team on Friday. We won, 15-3, behind Mike Leake and his customary eight strong innings...not to mention the offense banged out 15 hits.

On Sunday, we faced Oklahoma for the second time and cruised to a 12-0 victory and clinched a super regional berth. Josh Satow took the hill in the decisive game and threw 7.1 three-hit scoreless innings and still had plenty left in the tank. It was also nice to get Ike Davis back on the mound where we have missed him for the last month or more because of a rib injury. He threw a hitless and scoreless ninth Sunday.

This weekend was a lot of fun. Playoff baseball is always exciting because every game is so intense and against such good competition.

Super-regionals are next week and we will play the winner of Fresno State and University of San Diego's game tonight. Fresno State has come on very strong as a four seed and USD has a great starting rotation anchored by my buddy Brian Matusz. He has been lights out all season and they are rolling, so it will be fun to see how that plays out tonight so we can start preparing for the weekend.

Also coming up is the draft, which is just three days away. I can't believe it is already here and that my final college season is almost over. I'm excited because obviously playing professional baseball is a dream I have had since I was little, but I don't think that it has fully hit me yet. I think that it won't really hit until I hear my name and realize that one of the moments I've been waiting for my whole life has come and gone in a flash and that I am about to start my pro career (after the postseason). It's crazy to think that in 72 hours I'll know what team I will be playing for after ASU.

I'm still taking the wait and see approach as far as who is talking to me and where they think I will go. I don't want to buy into any certain pick or range talk until it happens and I am hearing my name called or receiving a phone call from the team.

I'll check in with you guys again next week, and I want to wish all my friends and teammates good luck on Thursday with the draft.

Also a shout out to the women's softball team and their quest to bring home a national championship tonight! Good luck!

Clinching

2008-05-28T00:34:28Z

This past weekend we played our rival Arizona with the Pac 10 championship on the line in Tucson. We won Friday night, clinching our second straight outright Pac 10 championship. After clinching, we lost both Saturday and Sunday games while resting regular starters to get ready for the playoffs. Winning the Pac-10 is not an easy task and we had to battle even harder this season with so much talent in the conference. It's something that we are extremely proud of, but like we said at the beginning of the season, winning the Pac is the first step of four goals we had. We wanted to win the Pac-10, win a regional, win a super regional and then win the national championship. So this is a big step in the right direction and has guaranteed us hosting throughout the playoffs.

Yesterday, the selection show was on ESPN at 9:30 a.m. in Arizona and we found out what teams would be in our regional. We received the national number three seed, which was a huge honor, and we host Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Stony Brook in our regional. We played Vanderbilt earlier this season in the opening tournament so we have seen them a little. Also, three of their players played with me on Team USA this summer and they are all very talented and really good guys. I'm excited to start playoff baseball and even more excited to be playing at the friendly confines of Packard stadium.

I can't wait for all the other teams to come to Tempe and play in some really exciting baseball games. I love playoffs and I can't wait to get going. And even better is that we have an opportunity to play at home against three very talented teams in some heated and intense games. This is what baseball is all about.

Not only are regionals about to get under way but also the draft is coming up quickly. The draft is on Thursday June 5th, which is just nine days away. It's an exciting time to see your name talked about in the draft discussions. There are many different projections out there that try to guess where you might get drafted, but one thing that everyone seems to say (and I believe) is that you really never know until someone actually calls your name. So I'm taking that approach to the draft - I'm excited because ever since I can remember, I have wanted to play baseball professionally, but I have a commitment to my team to stay focused on this season and that's what I'm going to do until we win a National Championship.

I think that a lot of times people want to worry too much about what teams are saying and where they see you. But I feel that teams have already formed an opinion over what I've done over the last three seasons, so I am going to keep playing the game the way I've always played it -- with respect and intensity -- and hopefully when the draft comes along, one team will appreciate what I bring to the table.

I have to run to a team meeting, but next time I'll let you know how the regionals went and how the draft looks like it's playing out. Thanks for stopping by.

Stretch Run

2008-05-20T18:30:31Z

The Pac 10 is winding down and we are currently up three games on Stanford, who played our instate rival Arizona this weekend and lost two out of three. Just this past weekend we faced the University of Washington in a home Pac 10 series. They came in with a good record and good pitching numbers across the board. We came out ready to play and ready to finish this stretch run strong. We were boosted by the return of Ike Davis, who had been rehabbing a rib injury. His return to our lineup brings back another big time weapon and presence. We took all three games from visiting Washington and put ourselves in place to control our own destiny for the Pac 10 championship.

This season has been flying by and I cannot believe we are coming in to the last Pac-10 series of my junior year. I remember back to my first series at Washington State during my freshman year and how anxious I was. Now, I can't believe that we have just one weekend left and it's winding down and we are one week from completing my third year in the Pac, let alone my college career. I've been trying not to think about the draft and just focus on winning every game day in and day out. Sometimes it can be hard though as p eople are always asking how you are feeling and what are you going to do once you are drafted. To be honest, I'd like to go out, win a national championship and finish what I started three years ago...then I can focus on everything else.

On Friday, we save the best for last, with a final regular season trip to Tucson to take on ourrival, Arizona. Those games are always played with a lot of passion and intensity and I cannot wait for that series.

Thanks for checking in, I'll let you know how the trip to Tucson goes, the NCAA selection show and more next time.

On the road... again

2008-05-12T18:49:43Z

This has been a busy last week and a half for us, but school is finally over.

It started with our bus ride to UCLA. We played a hard-fought series with them and left winning two out of three and taking a one-game lead in the Pac 10 home with us. And that's were it got a little crazy.

We bused back to Tempe and got in around 1:30 a.m. Then half the team had to get on another bus heading to the airport by 6:45 a.m in order to fly to Wichita, Kansas. The other half of the guys had to stay behind to take final exams. Then, in the morning, the team had to drive two hours to Manhattan to play Kansas State, while the other half of the team drove straight from the airport and arrived at the field about an hour and a half before the game. We dropped that game 7-6, though Jason Franzblau started and threw very well for us.

But wait, that's not all. We then bused back to Wichita and stayed the night, playing Wichita State in the cold and rain the next night, winning 6-1. In that game, freshman Matt Newman started his first collegiate game and went 6 2/3 IP and only gave up one run. That was the highlight of my trip: seeing a freshman step up like that.

We flew home the next day and got ready for LMU (Loyola Marymount) Saturday-Monday. So far we have taken the first two from LMU with the final game tonight in Tempe. Then we finish the season with six conference games, three at home against Washington and then the final series of the regular season down I-10 at the University of Arizona.

Thank you for all your comments so far and good wishes. I look forward to hearing from you guys and I'll be back soon.

Greetings from ASU

2008-05-05T21:11:16Z

My name is Brett Wallace and I'm excited to get the chance to share my experiences with everyone - from my three years at Arizona State, to the final few weeks of my college career and leading up to the draft.

Just to give you a little background on how I got here, I was drafted as a senior out of Justin-Siena High School in Sonoma, Calif., by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 42nd round. Before the draft I was pretty set that I was going to school. I had wanted to play at ASU ever since I can remember and even had an Arizona State flag hanging in my room since I was about five years old.

I knew that coming from a small school in a small town, I would need to go to college and prove myself. So, heading into the draft I was prepared for that, but getting picked up by the Blue Jays was a definitely a cool feeling.

Looking back at my college experience and comparing myself to the player I was out of high school is incredible. My game has matured and evolved immensely. My coaches and teammates at ASU have taught me so much and have really played a huge role in my development. I think that the biggest thing that I have learned in college came during my freshmen year when I got off to a slow start and wasn't playing very often. I learned how to be a student of the game and prepare to capitalize on my next opportunity. I decided that there's a chance I may not be in the lineup, but it wasn't because I wasn't prepared or ready. I wanted to make it as hard as possible for my coaches to keep me out of there.

My three years here at ASU have flown by and my teammates talk about it all the time, when we were the new little freshmen just trying to keep up with the crazy schedule and now we are the guys trying to help stabilize this team and offer help and support to the new guys.

As the season moves on, things don't get any easier. We drove up to play UCLA this past weekend in a heated conference series. Monday, we drive back to Tempe and fly to the Midwest for a couple of mid-week games at Kansas State on Tuesday and at Wichita State on Wednesday. Thursday we fly back to Tempe and host LMU in a non-conference weekend series, so there's little time to rest this time of year.

With that in mind, I'm signing off. Until next time, goodbye from Tempe.