3/18/18 - BASEBALL ...... North Carolina sweeps Pitt .....

[JackthePantherFan]

The notion that a college baseball team can't properly prepare for the draft is laughable. There are teams that lose far more and far better players to the draft than Pitt does every single year, and yet somehow they manage to figure it out. All you need to know to understand why Pitt seems to get "screwed" by the draft more than teams that lose far more and far better players than Pitt was the case of Charles Leblanc. Half way through that great sophomore season that he had I said right here on this board that one problem from his great season is that he was almost certainly eligible for that summer's MLB draft, and that he was almost certainly going to be a high draft pick, which would mean that he was probably going to turn pro at the end of the season. And yet how many times in the year after that did Jordano use as one of his excuses for why Pitt was having a bad season that they lost Leblanc when no one thought that they would? A dozen? More? The fact that he, as the manager of a major conference baseball team, had no idea, absolutely no idea at all, which of his players was draft eligible and which of his players weren't is inexcusable. You can't give him a pass on not being ready for guys getting drafted when he doesn't seem to know who is eligible to be drafted and who isn't, and you can't give him a pass for failing to anticipate something that happens in literally most seasons that he's been a manager. The way Pitt seems so chronically unprepared for something that happens every year isn't an excuse, it's incompetence.

Not to mention.. It's not like Leblanc went in the 21st round, or somewhere where you could expect him to maybe come back--he was a 4th rounder... The kid LEAD THE ACC in hitting during a draft eligible year and we were "shocked," he got drafted.

My biggest gripe is the excuse making and acting like it takes an absolute miracle to win 30 games at Pitt...

 

[diamondback888]

ok joe....do you think that prior to the season LeBlanc would have the season he had? Do you not think that Jordano and his staff have signablity talks with players to get a feel for their thoughts on the draft? Maybe just maybe, LeBlanc had a career year and was drafted a lot higher than anyone anticipated AND he was a draft eligible sophomore bc he was Canadian - i think. At that point, Pitt loses him and there is no way they can find a comparable replacement. I believe, and again I could be completely wrong, but you seem to be assuming that the talent level that Pitt has is comparable to the "blue bloods". I would assume that there are players willing to walk-on at those schools that Pitt has to offer significant % to sign. Maybe it is time for new blood but Pitt's roster is thin. The lineup is the same every game - weekend and mid-week. That is very tough on any team if you cant give guys a break. Roster limit.Lack of non-countable aid. Lack of ability to over-recruit. and being a northern school in a southern based conference is a tough combination. We will see what happens during the next few weeks. I still say he does a lot with what he has. I just think Joe, you are minimizing some of these signifcant challenges that NO OTHER TEAM in the ACC has to deal with. Enjoy the dialogue!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Technically LeBlanc wasn't draft eligible as a sophomore because he was from Canada, it was because he spent a year in prep school after high school. A US kid who did the same thing also would have been draft eligible as a sophomore because the MLB rule isn't actually to draft juniors, which is what most people say, it's to draft guys who are three years out of high school. It's basically the same rule that made Larry Fitzgerald eligible for the NFL Draft after his sophomore year at Pitt.

 

[Nish67]

Let me counter that Joe. A very successful high school coach explained the draft rules to me and this is how he guides his players through the process. You are correct that football rules are 3 years after high school graduation. Baseball is different.

 

[Nish67]

Sorry I cut myself off. You are draft-eligible as a high school senior. If you don't sign, the next time you can get drafted is your junior year. Sounds almost the same, right? However, if you go to a 2 year junior college guess what your first year is? Right, it's your junior year. So JC players can get drafted both years and if they still don't sign and transfer to a 4 year school, they become a junior once again. That means someone following this path can get drafted 5 years in a row. So this coach would place draft-worthy players at a JC to maximize their opportunities.
I've explained this to countless people over the years and no one has countered it.
Has nothing to do with LeBlanc though.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Sorry I cut myself off. You are draft-eligible as a high school senior. If you don't sign, the next time you can get drafted is your junior year. Sounds almost the same, right? However, if you go to a 2 year junior college guess what your first year is? Right, it's your junior year. So JC players can get drafted both years and if they still don't sign and transfer to a 4 year school, they become a junior once again. That means someone following this path can get drafted 5 years in a row. So this coach would place draft-worthy players at a JC to maximize their opportunities.
I've explained this to countless people over the years and no one has countered it.

Theoretically a player could get drafted six years in a row, although I don't even know if five has ever happened let alone six. Someone who is good enough to get drafted that many times doesn't stay in college that long.

You could get drafted as a senior in high school, not sign and go to a juco. You could then get drafted after both seasons at the juco and not sign again. Then you go to a four year college, where you would be eligible to be selected after your first (junior) season there. If you don't sign you could go back again the next year. But, for instance, if you were to get hurt and redshirt in one of those college seasons you would be eligible to be picked after each of the five years you spent in college, the two at the juco and the three at the four year school. So six times, theoretically.

LeBlanc was eligible to be selected after his sophomore year at Pitt because he spent a post-graduate year at a prep school in between high school and college. MLB considers the post-graduate year to be the same as being in college.

There are several different paths that kids can take and the rules are different depending on which path a player chooses, but it really isn't all that hard to figure out. And any time there is a question basically all a player or a school would have to do is ask MLB if someone was going to be eligible or not, and MLB will tell them. Because they have to make the exact same determinations for their teams, so teams don't draft guys who aren't eligible to be drafted.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Doing a quick Google search, it looks like the only player to get drafted five times was Matt Harrington, and he did it without ever going to college at all.

Harrington was drafted 7th overall by the Rockies in 2000 but turned down $4 million and a guarantee to be called up to the majors by the end of the 2002 season.
He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Padres in 2001 but turned down $1.2 million.
He was drafted in the 13th round by the Devil Rays in 2002 and was offered deals between $5,000 and $200,000 and turned them all down.
He was drafted in the 24th round by the Reds in 2003 and all they offered him was pretty much a chance to pitch. He turned them down.
And he was drafted in the 36th round by the Yankees in 2004 but tore his rotator cuff so the Yankees never offered him a contract.

He pitched in the Independent Leagues for most of those years and did sign a minor league deal with the Cubs in the off season before the 2007 season, but he was cut before the end of spring training, so it doesn't look like he ever pitched even one game for an affiliated team.

Talk about getting some bad advice!

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Jordano never had a full set off scholarships in the Big East and while there, had arguably the worst set off facilities in all of Division 1. He had Pitt fairly competitive in the Big East despite major shortcomings in program support.

Now he has a full set of scholarships and a serviceable facility, although it is still the worst in the conference...a conference that is way better than the Big East. So whether he can get Pitt to be competitive in the ACC is a much different task than doing it in the Big East, he deserved a shot at it. How much patience Pitt should have is a different question, but Pitt has been essentially building from scratch since they joined the ACC.

I understand there is limited space/budget but they built that complex brand new and the baseball stadium/facilities are very mediocre.

Just seems like maybe they could've invested a little more to make it nicer and make out in the long run.

Mediocre is being nice. Its bare bones, maybe the worst P5 baseball stadium.......but its light years better than Trees Field which may have been the worst WPIAL field if it was one.

They upgraded from a Rec. field to a mid-major field.

 

[JackthePantherFan]

ok joe....do you think that prior to the season LeBlanc would have the season he had? Do you not think that Jordano and his staff have signablity talks with players to get a feel for their thoughts on the draft? Maybe just maybe, LeBlanc had a career year and was drafted a lot higher than anyone anticipated AND he was a draft eligible sophomore bc he was Canadian - i think. At that point, Pitt loses him and there is no way they can find a comparable replacement. I believe, and again I could be completely wrong, but you seem to be assuming that the talent level that Pitt has is comparable to the "blue bloods". I would assume that there are players willing to walk-on at those schools that Pitt has to offer significant % to sign. Maybe it is time for new blood but Pitt's roster is thin. The lineup is the same every game - weekend and mid-week. That is very tough on any team if you cant give guys a break. Roster limit.Lack of non-countable aid. Lack of ability to over-recruit. and being a northern school in a southern based conference is a tough combination. We will see what happens during the next few weeks. I still say he does a lot with what he has. I just think Joe, you are minimizing some of these signifcant challenges that NO OTHER TEAM in the ACC has to deal with. Enjoy the dialogue!

Ok.. This response seems odd. @diamondback888 what is your affiliation with the team--there has to be one? I am not one to make accusations, but some of your comments state facts that even a huge fan/someone with baseball knowledge would not know.

1. You sent me a direct message (I will share for visibility) clearly trying to see how/who provided me info. You did the same to @Joe the Panther Fan when asking who he played for:
"You have some strong opinions about the baseball program, are you familiar with the coaches or players? Just wondering about some of your posts....have to have some inside info.."

2. How would you know if they were having signability talks--did you have a son go through the program?

3. It is one thing for common fans to know that the program wasn't fully funded, but when you start using words like "non-countable aid," that is something an outsider wouldn't know.

4. All of your posts are directly in response to anything critical of Jordano, or baseball and the account was made very recently..

I am not discrediting your knowledge at all, in fact, I am saying it's almost too strong and very closely aligns with the knowledge of someone who is inside the program..just saying..