2011 MLB DraftFollow along as the picks roll in with analysis including special insight on Louisiana players (high school and college level):

8:44 - Players of note that were drafted between rounds 18-30 on Tuesday:

18th 

COL - Ben Alsup, LSU, RHP - Senior righty opened season as Friday starter, moved to Sunday, then shifted to the pen.  Gritty, dependable pitcher.

19th

SF - Cody Hall, Southern U., RHP - Jag closer hits 94-95 on gun and was the second Hall to be taken out of SUBR.  Teammate Frazier Hall, no relation, went in the 17th to the Angels.

MINN - Tyler Koelling, USM, OF - Solid baseball player from Southern Miss that prepped at Archbishop Rummel.

21st

PITT - Alex Fuselier, ULL, OF - Is the first Ragin Cajun to be selected in 2011.  Has decent speed and is a reliable defender.

LAA - Shane Riedie, Tampa U., RHP - Former LSU Tiger was the 2008 New Orleans metro pitcher of the year.  Projectable to scouts at 6'5, despite just 16 appearances in 2011.

22nd

PITT - Mike Jefferson, La Tech, LHP - Had a solid season for the Bulldogs and some baseball people felt he could go earlier.  6'3 lefty can get better in pro ball.

TOR - Aaron Nola, Catholic High, RHP - Best prep pitcher in the state, will be hard pressed to turn pro.  The Jays must come with an above slot offer to snag the younger Nola.

25th

KC - Matt Threlkeld, La Tech, 3B - Looks like a major league 3B with his 6'3 frame.  Could move to a corner OF spot as well.

DET - Mitch Moorman, Wichita State, RHP - Former LSU Tiger did not pitch for the Shockers this year.  6'6 righty transferred out of LSU after a 3-0 season.

27th

BOST - Alex Massey, Catholic High, RHP - Second Catholic product taken in the draft.  Tulane signee will be a tough one to sign for Boston.

NYY - Chaz Hebert, Breaux Bridge, LHP - The state's top southpaw hurler, he is a ULL signee.  Has one pitch, a low 90s fastball, so he has a ton of room and time to improve.

TB - Luke Irvine, NW State, RHP - Demon righty was 6-7 with an ERA under 4.  Strikes out a bunch of guys, but does pitch to contact a little too much as well at times.

29th

STL - Chris Matulis, Central Florida, LHP - Once a mainstay on the LSU staff, he transferred to UCF and sat out this season.  6'6 lefty will liekly return to the Knights.

Tune in tomorrow to sportsnola.com to catch rounds 31 through 50 on the live blog.

 

4:33 - Try this on for size. LSU won't have to wait to see if one signee will make it to campus. As of now, Carson Baranik, a top prospect out of Bossier City who has long beencommited to play with LSU, tweeted this:

carsonsbaranik "Well this made the decision very easy #lsubound"

Looks like he's a lock for Mainieri's squad now.

4:29 - LSU senior RHP Ben Alsup is pick #558 in Round 18 to the Rockies.

4:00 - 2 time SWAC player of the year Frazier Hall out of Southern, drafted in the 16th rd by the Angels.  Hall hit .260+ w/ 4 dingers in limited at-bats last summer in the wood bat N'woods League.  He is a 1st baseman.

3:48 - Okay, at 477, 479, and 480 in the draft, a player w/ the first name of TYLER was taken.  I said awhile back today that it was the leading first name so far of players drafted.  It just keeps growing.  I can't make this up.

3:46 - and yet another Tyler taken in the draft. 

3:44 - another Tyler taken in the MLB Draft.  Wow, and 34 more rounds to go.

3:41 - Jays take Cody Glenn, a Westbury Christian HS Lefty pitcher, in the 15th round.  Glenn is an LSU signee.  He is a 6'3 LHP out of the Houston area and now Mainieri has to sweat him signing a pro deal, too.

3:35 - Another son of a former major leaguer is drafted.  Garrett Buechele of Oklahoma, a 3B, taken in the 14th round,  Buechele is the son of Steve, a big league 3B for Texas and Pittsburgh.  Garrett hit .380+ w/ some power for the Sooners this yr.

3:33 - Another pitcher for Vandy is drafted.  Wow.  And a few players drafted out of high school were Vandy commits.  A few more await being called and are Vandy commits.

3:32 - Still no Nola sightings.  At this point, it is safe to say that both will be LSU Tigers and occupy 2 of the 35 slots on the roster. 

3:30 - Matty Ott, former Holy Cross pitcher and currently an LSU Tiger, drafted by the Red Sox in round 13.  Justin Boudreaux, SS for SE Louisiana, taken in round 14 by the Dodgers.  Boudreaux will sign, Ott is 50-50.

3:13 0 sorry, what I meant to say is that they will draft through round 30 today.  Not far off though, 2 through 30 today. 

3:12 - we are now in round 12.  moving fast now.   and there are 30 rounds today. 

3:08 - Wonder if Cub fans will breakout the "Shawn-O-Meter" for Junior?  Dad is a coach w/ the SF Giants these days and has a World Series ring from last yr.

3:00 - And in the 11th round, the Minnesota Twins select LSU RHP Tyler Jones.  Jones was 4-0 on the season w/ an inflated ERA and struggled on and off the field.  He did conclude his LSU career w/ a 15 strikeout performance vs UNO in the last week of the season.  Jones flashes a 93-94 mph fastball.  He will NOT return to the Tigers as his place on the 2012 squad was def in limbo.

2:54 - Shawon, Jr. is a CF out of high school in California.  He hit around .300 his senior year from the left side and runs a blazing 3.7 from contact to first. 

2:53 - And a legacy continues.  In the 11th round, the Cubs select Shawon Dunston, Jr.  The old man was a good SS at Wrigley for years and part of a double play combo w/ Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.

2:40 - a brief break as round 10 comes to a close.

2:35 - Another Kent State pitcher taken.  That's THREE from a MAC school in Ohio in the first 10 rds.  Gotta be a first for Nick Saban's alma mater. 

2:33 - Okay, this is around where you would expect Austin Nola of LSU to be selected, possibly Boudreaux of SLU.  If aaron Nola, Catholic High pitcher, was getting selected, it would have happened by now.  Especially with the $1 million request.  Unless the Yankees take him. 

2:26 - Wonder if the 1st name "Tyler" has been drafted the most in this yr's draft?

2:24 - KC picked Aaron Brooks in the 9th round.  NOT that Aaron Brooks.  This one is from Cal St-San Bernardino.

2:18 - Taylor Dugas, Alabama CF, taken in the 8th round.  Dugas played prep ball at Teurlings Catholic and was a summer ball teammate of Mikie Mahtook growing up.  Grant Dozar, utility player for LSU, was also on that team.

2:15 - Johnny Ruettiger picked by the O's at 245 in Rd 8.  "Rudy"'s nephew.  Johnny is an OF for Ariz State.

2:10 - Another player with some good bloodlines was drafted as well out of Monsignor Pace in Florida - Ivan Rodriguez.  Know his dad?

2:05 - Gretzky is a 1B that is a San Diego State signee.  The Cubs took him much higher than most scouts thought. 

2:03 - Trevor Gretzky was taken in round 6 by the Cubs.  Gretzky graduated from oaks Christian, same high school as NFL QB Jimmy Clausen.  Oh, did I mention he is the son of the greatest hockey player of all-time?  Good thing he looks more like his mom, actress/model Janet Jones.

2:02 - Cave was the co-player of the year in the Eastern Region in 2011, as he had an ERA under 2 and hit .594 with an on base % of over .700.

2:00 - At pick 209, in round 6, Virginia high school LHP/OF Jake Cave was taken by the Yankees.  May not mean much, but Cave is one of the top three signees of Mainieri's signing class.  LSU needs a LH bat in the lineup and Cave can also pitch it pretty well, too. 

1:57 - At pick 204, the Rangers selected Derek Fisher, no not THAT Derek Fisher.  THIS one is a prepster from Pennsylvania that has a solid LH swing.

1:56 - things are speeding up, MLB took a hint from me.  Almost to pick 200 now.  Not a cheetah's pace, but better than that turtle that was lagging along.

1:53 - At pick 183 of the draft, the O's take Nick Delmonico, a high schooler, who is the son of former U of Tennessee head coach, Rod Delmonico.  The elder Delmonico was a longtime head man  for the Vols on the diamond. 

1:45 - the MLB needs to take a hint from the NFL and put 2 min in between their selections. 

1:34 - On pick 179 in round 5 as the MLB Draft a...m...b...l....e.....s along. 

1:11 - The next players from in state that should go off the board could be Justin Boudreaux of SLU, Matty Ott of LSU, Jeremy Schaffer of Tulane or Lee Orr of McNeese.  High schoolers Aaron Nola, Taylor Nunez, or Austin Robicheaux could be picked soon, too.  And don't rule out someone taking a flyer on Franklinton QB/OF Terrance Magee. 

1:08 - Cal St Fullerton had 3 players drafted in round 3 and two were named Ramirez.  One was Noe Ramirez, the Friday starter for the Titans.

1:06 - So far, outside of LSU signees being selected, only 2 Louisiana players have been snatched.  Mahtook and Jace Peterson of McNeese.  Peterson was a high school QB for Hamilton Christian, a 1A school in Lake Charles.  He helped the team make the 1A playoffs in their 1st season of varsity play.  He even played some DB for McNeese.  He will probably move from SS to 2B or even LF. 

 1:05 - FOUR players named Kyle were taken in round 4 of the MLB Draft.  Wonder if that is a record?

1:03 - Some wondered how Kent State is doing so well in the Regionals against solid programs.  2 pitchers taken in the 1st 141 picks, that's a reason why.

12:59 - At pick 99, Jack Armstrong of Vandy went to the Astros.  Armstrong's dad, of the same name, pitched back in the 80s for the Cincinnati Reds.  "Little" Armstrong is a 6'7 RHP and is 1 of 4 Commodore pitchers that have been drafted in the 1st 117 picks.  WOW!

12:58 - At pick 96 in the 3rd round, TCU's Matt Purke went to Washington.  Purke was the hero for the Frogs last summer as they advanced to the CWS.  Purke was thought to be a top 10, or even top 5 pick this year.  But his production slipped some, as did his velocity and some scouts feel he is either injured or was overworked.

 12:56 - 2 picks of note - Dante Bichette went at 51 to the Yankees and Dwight Smith went to Toronto 2 picks later at 53.  Both are sons of former major league players by the same name.  Dante is a 3B, while Dwight is an OF.  The elder Bichette was a power hitting OF for Colorado most of his career, while WGN viewers may remember the elder Smith roaming OF for the Cubs at Wrigley.

12:53 - Story and Eierman probably won't see campus in Baton Rouge.  Story is a legit SS prospect that went in the sandwich round yest.  Eierman today at pick 119.

12:29 - Rays selected Johnny Eierman, a Missouri high school shortstop, at 119th overall. He joins previously-picked Trevor Story as another shortstop signee for LSU who will likely not see campus.

BUT...Eierman is the 13th Tampa Bay draft pick already (including Mikie Mahtook). Where will the Rays find the money to sign everyone? Will Eierman get low-balled and end up a Tiger? We'll see....

12:19 - Corey Williams, a left hander from VANDERBILT, goes off the board at 117 by the Twins. How did Vandy lose any games this year?

12:05 - And B.A. Vollmuth of USM is off the board (105 to LAA). A program that Tulane is now chasing in CUSA has taken a couple of hits early today. With the next pick, Aaron Westlake becomes vet another Vandy player drafted early! The 6'4" left-handed first baseman is a power hitter and four-year player on the college level.

12:02 - USM signee Conner Barron (Sumrall, MS) picked 102 by the Marlins. Scouts compare the middle infielder favorably to Louisiana product Reid Brignac of the Rays.

12:01 - Jack Armstrong becomes the 3rd Vandy pitcher to go in the top 100 (99th overall to the Astros). Is it any wonder why the 'Dores are a college baseball power these days?

11:51 a.m. - In the 3rd round now...a second Arkansas pledge went off the board in Round 2 (Dillon Howard).

The Blue Jays also get a supposed top 20 talent by picking Daniel Norris with the 74th pick.

11:20 a.m. - Josh Bell (OF - Dallas Jesuit) was the first pick of the second round by the Pirates. Perhaps the best high school bat in the draft, Bell was an LSU commitment who switched to in-state Texas. Tiger fans will be sad to know that this guy may have been a first rounder but slipped since he appears headed to college (in Austin and not Baton Rouge).

10 a.m. - Tune in here for rounds 2-30; it all starts here at 11 a.m. central time. Here's a primer for the rest of the draft from a Louisiana perspective.