Jose Fernandez, RHP

[Todd]

I am fairly certian that was one of the first things said about Cooper after he was drafted, it was kind of a "wtf" pick.

[emkayseven]

I do not hate it. I'm coming around on it

[Bobbob1313]

I'm 100% certain you said you read a scouting report that said Chad James would be a LOOGY and immediately said "But don't ask me to produce that," so maybe nobody takes you seriously.

[Todd]

I believe I read that no one was sure where James potential lies, as coming out of high school he had decent stuff but crappy control. I probably didnt produce it as I couldnt find it again(as evidenced by the Blake Lively nudes, I suck at using search engines).

I was also a tad biased as I wanted them to draft Shelby Miller(who is in AA already, btw).

[Fishfan79]

if the kid does make it and becomes a good pitcher he could be the face of the franchise for a long time with his history and story. He could be a key marketing piece as well with the move into downtown miami.

just a two cents to throw in there, but that said who knows we wont see for 3-4 years at least

[Ramp]

Plus he came in on a kid and sawed off a kids bat.

A metal bat.

this is very much for me

[Todd]

It is most impressive.

Has high school switched to the composite bats that colleges are using?

[Mainge]

Next year.

[Todd]

Such an odd sound.

[LocoMarlinFan]

Florida Marlins draft high school Cuban defector Jose Fernandez with first-round pick

MIAMI GARDENS — Jim Fleming, the Marlins' vice president of player development and scouting, needed little convincing that Tampa high school product Jose Fernandez would be worthy of the team's first pick, No. 14 overall, in Monday's first-year player draft.

It wasn't just the bullpen session that Fleming saw the right-hander throw this year at Alonso High, but it was a childhood that may one day provide a Hollywood script.

Fernandez grew up in Santa Clara, Cuba, before escaping from the country, landing on U.S. soil in April of 2008 to join his father, who came to Tampa in 2005. It was his family's fourth attempt to flee, one being thwarted when Fernandez's mother fell overboard and Fernandez dove into the water to save her.

Fernandez, now 18, spent 15 days a Cuban jail when he was 14 years old.

"This guy has faced a lot worse things than anything he's going to face going through our system," Fleming said. "You got to feel the way he's dealt with that he's going to deal with the day-to-day ups and downs of professional baseball very well."

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Fernandez is the fifth consecutive high school player taken by the Marlins with their first pick and the second pitcher tabbed No. 1 by the club since 2006.

The Marlins selected a pitcher with their first pick from 2003-06, including five in the first round of the 2005 draft.

"The indication was there were more pitchers probably going to be available and we thought that was what we were going to get," Fleming said.

Pitchers were selected with the first four picks for the first time in the history of the draft, including 6-4, 225-pound Gerrit Cole, a right-hander from UCLA, who was taken first overall by the Pirates.

Cole's fastball has been clocked as high as 102 mph and he consistently throws in the high 90s. But he was just 6-6 with a 3.31 ERA this season.

Fernandez, the second Florida high school product drafted first by the Marlins behind Palm Beach Gardens' Chris Volstad in 2005, was 30-3 with 314 strike outs in three years at Alonso, including 13-1 with a 1.35 ERA and 134 strikeouts this past season.

One of those wins was against Park Vista in the Class 6A state semifinals, a game in which Fernandez also hit a game-winning, two-run homer in the 7-5 victory.

Fernandez's fastball has been clocked from 92 to 97 mph, according to Fleming. He throws a breaking ball that has the velocity of a slider (78 to 84 mph) but the shape of a curve. He also has a developing changeup.

"This guy can pitch with his velocity which separated him out and made him a higher pick for us," Fleming said. "He pitches with no fear, very aggressive and you see a confident air to him that we really like."

Fleming says that Fernandez has a "baby face but he's a big man." The Marlins are impressed with his work ethic; something they say is paramount when drafting bigger, heavier players.

"Any big man like that has to say on top of his body," Fleming said. "We really feel he will do that."

The first round, including compensatory picks, was held Monday. The Marlins will continue stocking a farm system, which is ranked 29th by Baseball America, with rounds 2-30 today.

The draft ends Wednesday with rounds 31-50.

Noteworthy: Cory Spangenberg, an infielder at Indian River State College, was selected 10th overall by the Chicago Cubs. Florida State left-hander Sean Gilmartin went 28th overall to the Atlanta Braves.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/...type=ynews_rss
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Marlins stick with pitching, draft high schooler
Club likes character of Fernandez, who endured much in Cuba
By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com | 06/06/11 10:24 PM ET

MIAMI -- Riding buses in the Minor Leagues will be nothing compared to the hardships Jose Fernandez has already endured in pursuit of his dream.

The 18-year-old senior from Braulio Alonso High School in Tampa has already endured time in prison for attempting to flee from his native Cuba. In his quest to reach the United States, he once jumped off a boat into the Atlantic Ocean to save a woman who turned out to be his mother.

After his freshman season in Cuba, he spent a year in jail for attempting to defect.

Once he made it into the United States, Fernandez settled into Tampa, where he was a standout pitcher the past three years at Alonso High.

On Monday night, Fernandez realized his dream when he was selected by the Marlins with the 14th overall pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

"If you know anything about his background and the adversity he's gone through, he's got a good work ethic," said Jim Fleming, the Marlins' vice president of player development and scouting. "He wants to be good."

All that Fernandez has already gone through certainly helped answer the Marlins' questions about his character.

"You weigh it a lot," Fleming said of a player's ability to handle life struggles. "For a high school kid, there is a lot of adversity in the Minor Leagues. There are things they have to go through that the normal kid hasn't had to go through. He's faced a lot worse things than anything he's going to face going through our system.

"You have to feel, with the way he's dealt with [his past], it will help with how he deals with the every day ups and downs of baseball."

Building around pitching is the model with which the Marlins are most comfortable. The organization stayed with that formula on Monday night.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Fernandez has a commitment to the University of South Florida, if he doesn't reach agreement with the Marlins by the Aug. 15 signing deadline.

Going with Fernandez also continues the organizational trend to go with a high school player in the first round.

"I came from Cuba, nearly lost my life in the water to live my dream," Fernandez said in a recent interview with Bay News 9.

A power pitcher, Fernandez's fastball has been clocked as high as 97-98 mph, although he mostly pitches in the 93-95 mph range.

Fernandez has high hopes and expectations.

"I want to be better than anyone in MLB baseball," he told Bay News 9. "I want to be the best pitcher ever.

"That's why I look at TV, and I try to pick up things. I try to put it in my mechanics, with my split, my two-seam, my curveball. I see guys out there pitching and having fun; I love that."

Fernandez is the first pitcher the Marlins have taken in the first round since lefty Chad James in 2009. And he is the first Florida-bred prep pitcher the organization has picked in Round 1 since Chris Volstad in 2005.

Fernandez is the lone pick the Marlins had on Monday.

Live coverage of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft resumes at noon ET Tuesday on MLB.com, where fans will receive exclusive coverage of Day 2 and 3, featuring a live pick-by-pick stream, expert commentary and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of every Draft-eligible player. You can also keep up to date at Draft Central and by following @MLBDraft on Twitter. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.

The Marlins clearly seek pitching, but they take a stance of drafting the best player available.

"He's a big strong kid with his pitches in place," Fleming said. "His fastball is anywhere from 92-97, and he has what we think is a plus breaking ball.

"He throws strikes. He's got a really good feel to pitch. A lot of times in high school with kids with this kind of stuff, that takes time to develop. He's an absolute strike-thrower."

As a senior, Fernandez was 13-1 with a 2.35 ERA and two no-hitters. His team won the Florida Class 6A state championship during his sophomore and senior seasons.

This year, he struck out 134.

"We really did our homework here," Fleming said. "Did we think he was going to be here? We weren't sure. We thought there was a chance, because a couple of high school pitchers went at the top. We felt there was a chance, but because of how good he is, we never knew."

The Marlins thoroughly watched Fernandez, who grew accustomed to seeing 40-50 scouts every time he pitched.

"You got used to it," Fernandez told Bay News 9.

Since 2006, every top pick except James in 2009 had been a position player.

A year ago, the Marlins went with Christian Yelich, a left-handed-hitting outfielder who is impressing at low Class A Greensboro.

The last college player the Marlins selected in the first round was Brett Sinkbeil in 2006, the same year Chris Coghlan was a compensatory pick out of Ole Miss.

The Marlins have a comfort level drafting and developing prep players.

"There was a taboo about high school pitching back when I first started scouting," Fleming said. "But if you look at everybody's rotation in the big leagues, almost everybody has a couple who were high school pitchers. It's changed. High school pitchers are having much more success.

"Another thing is we feel we do a good job developing guys. A college guy is going to have a lot more innings and wear and tear. Not that it matters, but we feel very comfortable developing players. We feel like that's a strength of ours. To get a high school player, get him in our system, that is something that we like to do."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...s_fla&c_id=fla

[fauowls44]

Mike Stanton.

This is all stupid. There's good examples and bad in every type of pick at every round.

I agree. This is dumb. Look at any team's list of players drafted over the past 5 to 10 years and you can make the same list of players that never panned out. The bottom line is that the Marlins entire starting OF was drafted by these evaluators. 2/5 of the starting rotation were our own draft picks (3 if you want to include Hand). Our backup catcher was a Marlins draft pick. Not sure how other teams rosters compare, but seems like they do OK finding guys that eventually develop into Big League talent.

[Party]

By comparison, only two Astros first rounders have made the ML club since 2002.

[emkayseven]

John Sickels:

The Marlins stayed in their home state by selecting this power arm from the Tampa area. A Cuban defector, Fernandez has a strong major league body at 6-3, 220 pounds, though he'll have to watch his weight as he gets older. He's already physically mature, already throws a 95 MPH sinker, and mixes in a solid curveball and slider. He even has a decent changeup. His feel for pitching is very solid for a young power pitcher, though he's a tad older than some of the other high school pitchers.

Scouts project Fernandez as a durable inning-eater who will dominate at times, or perhaps a power closer. He is driven to succeed and has a mound presence beyond his years. This is a good pick for the Marlins, having a local connection without sacrificing upside. He fits well into their system and could advance more rapidly than most prep arms.

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/6/6/221...jose-fernandez

[MiamiHomer]

He gon want to work his way up quickly to the bigs just for the sole reason to get back to Miami and get some cuban bread and black beans rice.

[Emperor]

The Marlins do bad in rounds 3-5 (Hickman, Harvey, ect)

Our luck has to change and hopefully its this year.
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if the kid does make it and becomes a good pitcher he could be the face of the franchise for a long time with his history and story. He could be a key marketing piece as well with the move into downtown miami.

just a two cents to throw in there, but that said who knows we wont see for 3-4 years at least

That I think is why they may have taken him. And its worth the risk, since he was projected to go in the 1st round. But this could be a marketing genius type of move.

I'm liking this pick a lot.