CalvinBall wrote:@jrfingerCSN: Phillies pick Shane Watson: "If a kid my age got offered $1.2 million to go play baseball, I think he’d pass up college for sure. "

@jrfingerCSN: more Watson on if he'll sign with Phillies: "I mean, you tell me, would you take $1.2 million or go study in school?"

@jrfingerCSN: Draftee Shane Watson on what his best pitch is: "Strike one."

@jrfingerCSN: Phils top draft pick Shane Watson: "My curveball is like my Visa express card, I can use it whenever I want."

CalvinBall wrote:@jrfingerCSN: Phillies pick Shane Watson: "If a kid my age got offered $1.2 million to go play baseball, I think he’d pass up college for sure. "

@jrfingerCSN: more Watson on if he'll sign with Phillies: "I mean, you tell me, would you take $1.2 million or go study in school?"

@jrfingerCSN: Draftee Shane Watson on what his best pitch is: "Strike one."

@jrfingerCSN: Phils top draft pick Shane Watson: "My curveball is like my Visa express card, I can use it whenever I want."

CalvinBall wrote:Mitch Gueller!! Brody Colvin watch out!

CalvinBall wrote:@jrfingerCSN: Phillies pick Shane Watson: "If a kid my age got offered $1.2 million to go play baseball, I think he’d pass up college for sure. "

@jrfingerCSN: more Watson on if he'll sign with Phillies: "I mean, you tell me, would you take $1.2 million or go study in school?"

@jrfingerCSN: Draftee Shane Watson on what his best pitch is: "Strike one."

@jrfingerCSN: Phils top draft pick Shane Watson: "My curveball is like my Visa express card, I can use it whenever I want."

jerseyhoya wrote:Love Bake retweeting Phillies 'fans' who think the MLB draft works like the NFL or NBA draft

CFP wrote:Holy #$!&@ this kid is c0cky. i like

Gueller said it’s too early to decide whether to go pro or stick with his commitment to Washington State, where he signed a letter of intent last November.

“I love the guys at Wazzu,” he said.

Philadelphia was one of many teams that scouted Gueller, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, at games this spring. He posted a 6-0 record on the mound with a 0.80 ERA and recorded 70 strikeouts in 432/3 innings pitched, leading the Bearcats to the Class 2A Evergreen Conference title and a regional berth in the state tournament.

His fastball is consistently clocked in the low-90-mph range and has touched 95 mph. He also has power at the plate, with five home runs and a .323 batting average this season.

Gueller said Philadelphia scouted him as a pitcher, and former Phillies and Mariners general manager Pat Gillick attended three of Gueller’s games this spring.

Gueller said the Philadelphia organization has had “big-time success”, winning the National League East title the past five seasons and appearing in the World Series in 2008 and ’09. The Phillies won the 2008 World Series.

“They’re a good organization with good player development,” Gueller said. “I’m excited to be a part of the Phillies and to be drafted by them.”

Gueller also earned first-team all-Evergreen Conference status as a quarterback in football and as a forward in basketball.

“It was pretty crazy,” Watson said afterward. When the announcement was made, the three dozen people gathered at Watson’s grandmother’s house in Bellflower went nuts. “There were air horns and everything,” he said. Meanwhile, Watson, who has been telling his mom he’d be a Major Leaguer since he was seven years old, was the only one not moving. “I didn’t know what to do, really. My mom was just crying, my dad was crying. He didn’t say a word, he just hugged me—that’s when the emotion set in.”

The Phillies had sent people to Watson’s house a few times this year, and he knew they were interested, but said that nothing could have prepared him for hearing his name called. “This has been my dream, and I have a chance to do it right now.”

Of course, there was one thing about school on Monday that was a little bit different. Watson says his friends kept reminding him that he’d be a millionaire in a few hours—and indeed, where he was slotted, and given that he was the Phillies’ first pick of the draft, it should be a relatively well-paying first job to take out of high school.

Like most kids his age, Watson said he’s thought about what he’d do with a suddenly flush bank account. “I’m going to pay for my grandma’s house cleaning and yard work,” he said. “That’s the first plan.” Future plans, while nebulous, may or may not include an Audi TTS that the senior has had his eye on.

Of course, Watson is also going to have to quickly leave behind the life he’s had in Southern California, flying to Florida in a few weeks for a two month rookie ball stint, then taking a break before flying out again for a month in the instructional league, and then hoping to catch a good Minor League assignment.

All of that is in the future, however. One of the strangest parts of the MLB draft is that it happens while Moore League athletes are still in school. Asked what he’d be doing on Tuesday, Watson laughed, realizing, “Oh man. It really still hasn’t set in—I have two finals tomorrow.”

“There were air horns and everything,” he said.

Gelb wrote:Shane Watson actually said this: "My curveball is like my Visa express card, I can use it whenever I want."