Round 16 | Adrian Sampson | RHP | Bellevue CC (WA) | NOT SIGNED

[tjfla]

Discuss
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Three other NWAACC players are also ranked in the poll. Right-handed pitchers Adrian Sampson of Bellevue and Cody Hebner of Green River are ranked 45th and 92nd, respectively, and Lane outfielder Tym Pearson is ranked 99th.

Baseball Northwest has also projected Ames and Sampson to be drafted in the first five rounds of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft in June. Ex-LCC pitcher Cody Fassold, now a senior at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, is projected to be a 20th round draft selection.

[The_Godfather]

Discuss

Don't tell me what to do.

[LocoMarlinFan]

27. BELLEVUE / Washington (32-20 in 2010)

Washington State-bound RHP Kyle Swannack (6-5, 2.47) and Hawaii-bound RHP Jake Collier (2-3, 3.78) will be stabilizing forces in the Bulldogs rotation, but neither has the upside of freshman RHP Adrian Sampson, who would have been one of Washington’s top prep drafts a year ago had he not missed the 2010 season with Tommy John surgery. His fastball is back up to 91 and he may be a better prospect than older brother Julian, a 12th-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007. Liberty-bound C Tyler Cox (.362, 34 SB) and South Alabama-bound SS Cory Urquhart (.267, 41 RBIs) are dependable players in the field.

http://www.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck..org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5197

[Todd]

I thought that name sounded familiar.

[Bobbob1313]

I thought that name sounded familiar.

Because you know he sucks because he's not in high school.

[Bucklin12]

Geez.

[Todd]

Nope. Just remember hearing the name. And never have I once said "all college players suck", I would just like to see the team take a few prep players here and there. I dont think it does the system any good to go 20 straight college players.

[Bobbob1313]

It makes almost zero difference.

[tjfla]

Nope. Just remember hearing the name. And never have I once said "all college players suck", I would just like to see the team take a few prep players here and there. I dont think it does the system any good to go 20 straight college players.

Gotta agree with Todd on this 1,at least take a chance and draft the guy. I would rather draft a HS player and have him tell us that he wants more cash THAN have a 5th Yr Senior get picked and sign for 50k then get released in ST when he is already 24

[emkayseven]

Bellevue College pitcher Adrian Sampson was recently ranked 45th out of the top 100 junior college prospects in the country according to Per fect Game. Sampson, a freshman right-handed pitcher from Skyline HS is one of several talented arms on this year's bulldog squad that was ranked the #1 team in the NWAACC, and third on the west coast. Other NWAACC players named to the top 100 include RHP Jeff Ames of Lower Columbia (10th), RHP Cody Hebner of Green River (92nd) and OF Tym Pearson of Lane CC (99th).

http://bellevuecollege.edu/athletics...s/Sampson.html
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Former Skyline Spartan Adrian Sampson was selected Tuesday in the 16th round of the Major League Baseball Draft as the 493rd overall pick by the Florida Marlins.

"I was just waiting all day with my dad and a couple of friends watching MLB.com," Sampson said. "It felt good, it was a huge weight coming off my shoulders."

Sampson, who graduated from Skyline in 2010, spent this past spring helping Bellevue College win the 2011 Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges championship. The right-hander pitched 45 3/4 innings, sporting a 4-2 record with 53 strikeouts and a 2.36 ERA.

He missed his entire senior season with Skyline in 2010 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2009. He got back on the mound, however, that summer where he pitched for the Lakeside Senior Legion baseball team.

"I'm back to full strength now," said Sampson, noting he threw 140 pitches in a recent game.

Sampson wasn't sure as of Tuesday afternoon if he would sign with the Marlins, or play another season for Bellevue College. He said he has some scouts and advisers to speak with later this week.

Adrian becomes the second member of his family to be selected in the MLB Draft. Older brother Julian, also a right-handed pitcher, was selected out of high school in the 12th round of the 2007 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He is currently competing for an independent team in the Boston area.

"I saw my brother do it and I just wanted to be like him and follow in his footsteps," Adrian said. "I feel lucky and blessed to be where I'm at right now."

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_kin...aquah+Reporter)
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The name Adrian Sampson conjures the image of a strongman of Biblical proportions. Sampson, Bellevue's right-handed ace, turned in a Herculean effort against LCC by checking it on three hits, walking one and whiffing an eye-popping 15 in a complete-game masterpiece as the top-ranked Bulldogs won 3-0 in the quarterfinals.

"We were manhandled by a guy who will probably get drafted," Smith said. "He (Sampson) threw breaking balls for strikes, and we bit on most of them. He didn't walk enough of our guys or hit us with any pitches for our offense to be effective."

Sampson, a freshman from Skyline High in Sammamish, threw 88 of his 132 pitches for strikes, while lowering his season earned run average from 2.36 to 1.98. In 55 innings, Sampson has struck out 68 batters and walked 16.

"I felt better as the game progressed," Sampson said. "My fastball had life, my two-seamer was good and I wanted to keep it inside and saw off the hitters. The curve ball was fantastic and I had total control as a two-strike pitch."

Sampson gave a lot of credit to Bellevue head coach Mark Yoshino, who doubles as the Bulldogs' pitching coach.

"Coach helped me prepare for this game," he said. "He's been a great pitching coach and has helped me a lot. I wouldn't be here without him."

http://tdn.com/sports/college/lowerc...cc4c03286.html

[LocoMarlinFan]

Marlins have to be pleased thus far with the way Adrian Sampson has pitched http://westcoast.bbstats.pointstreak...layerid=143212 now lets all hope they sign him!!!!

[LocoMarlinFan]

Game still in progress but got to imagine he is done after 118 pitches, his line.....

9IP, 1H, 2BB, 9Ks (Actually didn't allow first hit until one out remaining in the 9th)

http://westcoast.bbstats.pointstreak...l?gameid=24087

[LocoMarlinFan]

WCL BASEBALL: Sampson leads Bells to 11-0 win at Klamath
Sports Desk
Adrian Sampson gave up no runs over six innings and the Bellingham Bells defeated host Klamath 11-0 in West Coast League action on Sunday, July 26.
The win improved the Bells to 6-13.
Sampson struck out eight and gave up two hits for the win. Ben Grubb went 3 for 5 with a run to lead the Bells.

Also having strong games at the plate were Jeff Gelalich (2 for 3, two runs, RBI), Eric Lane (2 for 3, three runs), Kai Hatch (2 for 4, double, run, four RBI) and J.R. Bunda (2 for 5, 2B, run.

Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011...#ixzz1QYHVB7en

Looking like the #1 overall prospect right now in the West Coast Summer Ball League and like a man who is going to get a lot of $$$$$ in the near future.

Stats to this point:

31.1 ip, 15 h, 9 bb, 33 k's, 0.29 ERA (Yet to allow an extra base hit)

A summerball insider posted the following on twitter after one of his recent outing:

Bham_Insider Bellingham Insider
Marlins scout is at the Bellingham Bells game. Watched Adrian Sampson pitch a 1 hitter through 9.

http://twitter.com/#!/Bham_Insider

[LocoMarlinFan]

Adrian Sampson composes a mound miracle
June 28, 2011
By Bob Taylor
Skyline grad overcomes Tommy John surgery, gets drafted by Florida Marlins

Adrian Sampson pitches one of his games for Bellevue College this spring on the way to a 6-2 record and a 1.87 earned-run average. By Rich Dworkis/BC Athletics

The excruciating pain in his elbow was matched by the agonizing ache in his heart. Adrian Sampson thought his baseball career might be over two years ago.He actually thought he might have pitched the last inning of what once appeared to be storybook career.

But the former Skyline High School standout underwent successful Tommy John surgery in 2009 and his career has entered a new promising chapter.
Sampson began his comeback story this spring as a starting pitcher for Bellevue College. The freshman right-hander compiled a 6-2 record, a 1.87 earned run average with 82 strikeouts in 62 innings. Opponents hit just .176 against him.

Sampson’s pitching helped Bellevue win the NWAACC championship. His year also included getting selected by the Florida Marlins in the 16th round of the Amateur Baseball Draft.

“This year has been a lot of fun,” he said.
This summer, Sampson is pitching for the Bellingham Bells of the Northwest Collegiate League. Entering this week, he had a 1-1 record. The victory came in the season opener when he blanked Kelowna, British Columbia.
Sampson gives much of the credit for his fantastic season to Bellevue College coach Mark Yoshino.

“I had a lot of help from coach Yoshino. It got me back into a good rehab schedule, lifting weights and had me throw bullpens to build up my arm strength. I have to give him all the credit,” Sampson said.
Yoshino points out that Sampson’s internal drive had much to do with the season. The Bulldogs coach noted Sampson had a strong work ethic and an open mind to coaching tips.

Until last year, Yoshino didn’t think he had a chance of recruiting Sampson.
“He was completely off my radar,” said Yoshino, who knew when Sampson was a junior at Skyline that he had made a commitment to Oregon State.
Yoshino had seen Sampson pitch in summer baseball before and was familiar with his success at Skyline. Sampson was a standout during his sophomore and junior years at Skyline, earning all-KingCo Conference first-team honors both seasons. Oregon State, California and other Pacific-10 Conference programs had Sampson on their radar.

Surgery is needed
The fact Sampson pitched well during his junior year was partially due to willpower. Although his arm often hurt, he fought on.
“The pain just would not go away,” said Sampson, whose high-school career ended after pitching against Bothell in the KingCo Tournament.
Sampson took two weeks off, hoping the rest would help his arm in preparation for the summer American Legion season.
“I didn’t throw a baseball or anything during that time,” he said.
When he started a game for Lakeside Recovery’s Senior American Legion, his arm throbbed.

“It was the worst pain I ever felt,” he said.
Sampson went to a doctor and had an MRI. Because school was still in session, he went back to class that day.

“By the end of the day, my dad called. He told me the results. My ulnar ligament was torn,” Sampson said. “I knew I had to get Tommy John surgery right away.”

For while, he just sat stunned.
“I couldn’t believe it at all. What would happen to my future? I knew I would not be playing my senior year. It was one of my worst days,” he said. “I was struck by this horrible news.”

But Sampson realized he needed the surgery if there was any chance of attaining his goal of playing professional baseball.

He had been dreaming about playing pro ball from the time he began playing baseball at age 5. He went through all the usual channels of youth baseball. He grew up idolizing his older brother Julian, who also starred at Skyline before getting drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007.

Julian played four years in the Phillies’ organization. He currently pitches for the Brockton Rox, a member of the Can-Am Independent League.
For the younger Adrian to join Julian in the pros, he would have to go through the Tommy John surgery.

The Tommy John procedure is named after the former Major League pitcher. The procedure is also known as the ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. The ligament on the medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body. It takes a full year to recover from the surgery.

However, the success rate is quite high. Almost 90 percent of all players who undergo the surgery return and experience some success. John, for example, played 14 more years after the procedure and won 164 games. Tim Hudson, C.J. Wilson, A.J. Burnett and Chris Carpenter are current Major Leaguers who have had Tommy John surgery and have been successful.

On July 29 2009, Sampson had his surgery. He woke up with a huge sling and his arm was in a cast. A week later, he began physical therapy.
“The process went through a rollercoaster of emotions,” he said. “One day, my arm would be pain free, and I would feel like I am on the way back. Another day, sometimes I would wake and my arm would be super sore. I started to wonder if I might be in the group of guys who had Tommy John surgery who didn’t come back.”

But Sampson continued to work.
“I had no intentions of not coming back to play baseball. I am a baseball player. I had just hit a little speed bump,” he said. “I wanted to get through this. I wanted to still play baseball. That had been my goal the whole time.”

Heading to Bellevue
Because of the surgery and recovery time, Sampson was unable to pitch his senior year at Skyline. That presented a problem because most of the colleges that had recruited him lost interest.

“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for college,” he said.
But Skyline coach Chris Tamminen called Yoshino to see if he was interested in giving Sampson a chance.

“It was definitely a shock. When I met him and his father I left with a good impression,” Yoshino said about Sampson.

Sampson had heard from Skyline graduates Michael Lee and Kyle Decater about the Bellevue program. Both had been successful at Bellevue before moving on to the college and professional ranks.

“I knew Bellevue was one of the best junior college programs in the country,” Sampson said.

Sampson and Bellevue became a perfect marriage.
Yoshino said he was impressed with Sampson’s attitude right from the start.
“He really wanted the team to do well,” Yoshino said. “When high-profile players go to a two-year college, some of them have prima donna attitudes with their own personal network of coaches and assistants, and aren’t loyal to the two-year college program they are part of. Adrian was the opposite, he came in just like everyone else, was a team player and made a strong commitment to the program.”

Throughout the season, Sampson got stronger and stronger. In the NWAACC Tournament, he blanked Lower Columbia, 3-0, on three hits. He struck out 15 and walked just one batter.

“It was one of the biggest games I have had in my career,” he said. “Everything seemed to click on that day. It was just real great.”

The performance led to Sampson being selected to the all-tournament team.
Yoshino said he thought a game that Sampson lost was his best performance of the season.

“At the end of the regular season, Adrian pitched a complete game against Skagit Valley. It was the first game when he was ahead in the count for the majority of the game. He did not labor with any full counts on hitters,” Yoshino said. “He probably wasn’t happy that he lost, but I knew at the time that Adrian was on his way.”

Tamminen said he was elated with Sampson’s success this season.
“He is a competitor, man,” Tamminen said. “He is the type of kid you definitely pull for.”

Drafted by the Marlins
Professional baseball scouts began following Sampson this season, too. When the Marlins selected Sampson it did not come as a complete surprise to him.
“I felt I would get drafted, but I had no idea what round or by what team,” he said.

Sampson has until Aug. 15 to sign with the Marlins.
“I would love to start my professional career as soon as possible. I’m excited about the Marlins, but I also enjoyed my season at Bellevue. I have a lot of good options,” he said.

Yoshino had a hunch the Marlins might draft Sampson.
“Ironically, the day we made a significant pitching mechanic change in the bullpen was the day the Florida Marlins national scout was in to see him,” Yoshino said. “I thought to myself that it was kind of risky working on a new technique when someone with authority was there to essentially decide if Adrian was worth it or not as a draft pick. Sure enough, the Marlins drafted him.”

Sampson said he believes his career has entered a new chapter. In fact, he believes there are many chapters ahead.
“This year has gone by so fast. It’s been a fun ride,” he said. “I feel I have 14 to 20 years left in baseball. I will probably never stay away from baseball.”

http://www.issaquahpress.com/2011/06...mound-miracle/