6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

Baseball America is having trouble keeping up with traffic, but MLB.com seems to be doing okay. The latter has a nifty Flash Draftcaster, in addition to their Draft Central page. This post will be updated throughout the day.

10:59: Dirtbag Troy Tulowitzky is taken seventh overall by the Rockies. Trojan catcher Jeffrey Clement is taken fifth overall by the Mariners; U.S.S. Mariner's reaction is somewhat tepid. CSUF lefty Ricardo Romero goes sixth overall to the Blue Jays.

The Angels take Crescenta Valley HS LHP Trevor Bell with their first pick, 37th overall. The Dodgers' first pick, 40th overall, is U. Tennessee RHP Luke Hochevar.

11:18: The Dodgers take high school shortstop Ivan De Jesus from American Military Academy at 51st overall. The Angels take high school shortstop Robin Mount at 58th overall in the second round. The Padres took Dirtbag LHP (and team ace) Cesar Romero at 42nd overall.

11:26: Best name in the draft so far: juco LHP Donald Veal, by the Cubs, second round, 68th overall. Welcome to the show, meat.

11:29: Angels pick HS SS Patrick Phillips 71st overall. Dodgers pick HS RHP Joshua Wall at 74th overall.

11:34: BA on Dodger pick Hochevar:

In his first draft as Dodgers scouting director, Logan White took Fowler (Colo.) High righthander Luke Hochevar in the 39th round. Los Angeles wasn't able to sign Hochevar away from the University of Tennessee, and at the time White said, "He'll be a first-rounder in three years." Not only did that prediction come true, but White's club made it happen by taking Hochevar 40th overall. Hochevar, considered one of the top two college pitching prospects for most of the year, took a late nosedive in the draft. He didn't finish the season at his best, and when the Rockies gave up yesterday after two days of trying to see if they could avoid a lengthy negotiation with adviser Scott Boras, several other teams decided to pass as well.

Translated: expect a signing on May 30, next year.

12:15: Third Round: Dodgers take CSUF LF Sergio Pedroza, 106th overall. The Angels take HS RHP Sean O'Sullivan from Valhalla HS, 103rd overall.

12:39: BA's Draft Day Blog reports the following on Cubs draftees:

When the Cubs stepped up to the mic to announce Mississippi righthander Mark Holliman as their third-round pick, they also noted they had agreed to terms with first-round pick Mark Pawelek. This is surprising because Pawelek is a Scott Boras client and as we know, Boras is known for encouraging his players to go to college and for long holdouts. Both of these trends were broken here and indicate that a pre-draft deal was struck, also very un-Boras. Pre-draft rumors had Boras indicating that Pawelek would sign for slot money in the first round.

This could have implications for Hochevar's negotiations. Teams are getting wise to Boras's tricks, and the fallout is beginning to hit.

BA on De Jesus (thanks, Jon):

DeJesus joined Upton as a pure shortstop prospect. He has excellent range, a strong arm, soft hands and exceptional instincts inherited from his father Ivan, who played shortstop in the majors for 15 seasons and managed in the Astros system in 2004. DeJesus is a natural righthanded hitter but alternated from one side of the plate to the other in the tournament, regardless of who he was facing. He showed a nice, level, line-drive swing from the right side and the looseness and eye-hand coordination that led observers to believe he could become a similar hitter from the left side."(Organizations) that don't have a Latin program are going to jump on him," an NL scouting director said. "He's one of the better guys out of Puerto Rico in a while."

More on Angels picks: Sean O'Sullivan from BA:

While the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder might tell you his most attractive attribute is his footwork, O’Sullivan’s best tool is his arm. He was touching 90 mph from the mound by the time he was a sophomore and routinely spots his fastball between 92-93 these days. He features a traditional, 12-to-6 overhand curveball that changes planes and has potential to be an out pitch.

Ryan Mount signed a letter of intent with the CSUF Titans, but he doesn't appear on the 2005 roster. HS RHP Trevor Bell made the BA All-America third team -- but as a DH.

12:56, Fourth Round: Angels pick RHP Brian Matusz from St. Mary's (AZ) High, 133rd overall. The Arizona Republic says whether he will sign is dependent on the size of the bonus he receives; what he wants is one million dollars. Is he worth it?

Matusz throws a nasty curveball. His fastball has registered 92 mph on the radar gun. And his change-up is starting to develop.

As a senior, Matusz went 7-1 with 137 strikeouts and a 0.55 ERA for a St. Mary's team that was eliminated by Yuma Cibola in the second round of the Class 5A tournament.

That's a "maybe", but the speed combined with his youth is a very good sign. Arte hasn't been shy about applying the tall dollars if needed, and this kid could be an Angel. However, for him to make that kind of money, he would have to have been drafted in the top two rounds, which didn't happen. He might end up pitching for the University of San Diego.

The Dodgers pick switch-hitting third baseman Joshua Bell from Santaluces (FL) HS, 136th overall. MLB Draft Tracker says

Body similar to Carlos Lee. Strong switch-hitter w/ power to all fields. Quick hands through zone. Throws have on-line carry. Profiles at third or first for future role.

Final update: ... and that's all for today, folks. Further analysis will come later after everyone's had a chance to think about it. This is the fifth round they're on, you know.