The Arizona State baseball team was pilfered like never before during the 2008 MLB draft, with 15 Sun Devils being taken. Lets see where they are now, and how they are performing in their various minor league organizations.
Brett Wallace, 3B: Round 1, Pick 13. St. Louis Cardinals.
Wallace has showed great promise playing for the Class-A Quad Cities River Bandits. Brett is hitting .341 with 4 HR and 15 RBI while splitting time at 3B and DH. The Cardinals have to be pleased with his initial performance. On July 31, Wallace hit cleanup and went 1-4.
Ike Davis, 1B: Round 1, Pick 18. New York Mets.
Davis was assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Class-A affiliate of the Mets. His average is currently .244, and he has 9 RBI to go along with his 123 ABs. He also has 24 strikeouts, indicating that he is having a difficult time thus far. Davis last played on July 28, but was removed after 1 at-bat and has not seen action since.
Petey Paramore, C: Round 3, Pick 90. Oakland Athletics.
Paramore played so well in his short stint in the Rookie league that he was promoted to Class-A Kane County on July 25. His promotion-worthy line playing for the AZL A’s: .364 average with 10 walks, giving him an unsustainable .563 on-base percentage over the course of 22 at-bats. Since joining Kane County, Paramore has cooled off substantially, where his average stands at .176, with 3 RBI and a .417 OBP.
Jason Kipnis, OF: Round 4, Pick 135. San Diego Padres.
According to the July 30 issue of the North County Times, Jason Kipnis has yet to sign with the Padres. They seem to be having problems signing their drafted talent; they haven’t signed their first or third round picks either. San Diego’s Vice President of Scouting and Player Development, Grady Fuson, says that they are “close” to reaching an agreement with the former Sun Devil, who is currently playing for the Cotuit Keetlers of the Cape Cod League.
Kiel Roling, 1B/C: Round 6, Pick 197. Colorado Rockies.
Roling arrived in Casper, Wyoming to play for the Rookie League Ghosts in mid-July after taking a few weeks off after the collegiate season.
From the Jackson Hole Tribune:
"I feel pretty comfortable," Roling said. "It's just more trying to stay relaxed and not trying to do too much. Not like, 'I'm starting my professional career and I want to do so much,' and more like, 'I'm going to have a good at-bat and what happens happens.'
"I just try not to put too much pressure on myself."
Especially because the pressure is on out on the field as well.
Roling has spent almost his entire baseball career as a catcher, but is spending most of his time with the Ghosts at first base.
Hitting .348 with 1 home run and 11 runs batted in, Roling last played on July 30, where he went 0-5 hitting cleanup in the order.
Next time, we’ll find out what is going on with Stephen Sauer, Reyes Dorado, Marcel Champagnie, Dustin Brader, and Jason Jarvis.