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Marshall Catcher 1 of 3 Finalists for Johnny Bench Award

Y.A.G Si Ye Nots

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Mar 7, 2010
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The Johnny Bench Award is given to the nation's best catcher. Marshall's Reynaldo Pastrana is one of three finalists for the award which is very, very impressive.

The other two finalists are the catcher from Georgia Tech who was just picked second overall in the draft and just signed a guaranteed $7.5 million deal and the catcher from Eastern Kentucky who was just selected in the sixteenth round. Marshall's Pastrana, strangely, wasn't drafted.

Anybody have any info on this? He improved his average from .221 to .355 and led the team in average, home runs, RBIs, and hits. Defensively, he threw out about 46% of runners which is very high. In comparison, the other two finalists only threw out 36% and 30%. Defensively, he appears as good or better than the other two. Offensively, his numbers are very similar to both. Both he and the GA Tech catcher strike out at an extremely high ratio (once every four at bats).

Odd that Pastrana plays in a conference ranked in between the other two catchers, has very similar numbers on offense, better numbers defensively, yet isn't drafted while the other two were high picks.
 
Perhaps the Sports Info Director possible didn’t give enough hype/media attention to the young man. Also hard for most to watch Marshall baseball because - wait for it, no facility. Just saying could be contributing factors as to why he was not drafted.
 
Pastrana not getting drafted is bad, but it isn't as bad as Jason Brooks' getting passed up in 2001.

Brooks, in just two years at Marshall, set the school home run record. He broke the single-season RBI record for the MAC. He was one of four D1 selections for the home run derby at the College World Series in which he was the only participant to hit an opposite field home run. He was a second team All-American.

He was a five-tool guy. 6'5, farmboy strong (never lifted), and a good glove at first base. He hit for average at .370+, had at least 23 HRs his senior season, was clocked at 92 MPH throwing off of the mound, and was fast, especially for a first baseman.

He went 2-3 against the #1 overall draft pick. In his only at bat against another first round pitcher, he hit a bomb to center field in the ninth inning to tie the game.

He shouldn't have just been drafted, he should have been a top 5 round selection. Unfortunately, after spring break, he didn't attend a single class. So when grades were issued two weeks before the season finished, he wasn't eligible to play anymore. That perturbed the head coach just a little, who presumably to everyone, passed some comments on to scouts.
 
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Pastrana is pretty good. Arguably the best catcher Marshall has every had, both with the bat and behind the plate. I don't have any info on why he wasn't drafted this year. Perhaps he got info from the scouts regarding his possible draft position and made the decision then to come back to Marshall for another year.

Remember, in the MLB draft now, the signing bonus amounts are pretty much set with little to no negotiating room. For a lot of guys drafted from say the 10th round and beyond, it's not worth leaving school as a junior since you've lost a lot of your bargaining power.
 
Doesn't everybody get drafted eventually? I don't mean just baseball players, I mean everybody, as in the general population.

I'm pretty sure my four year old son was taken by the Brewers in the 37th round. I think the Blue Jays just drafted me while I was posting this. Now the Marlins are on the clock and oh my god they just took a pillar of salt that they think used to be a utility infielder! That's gonna be a sleeper stunner if it pans out, and if it doesn't, they can always use him to cure meat. Man that A-Rod is a genius.
 
Pastrana is pretty good. Arguably the best catcher Marshall has every had, both with the bat and behind the plate. I don't have any info on why he wasn't drafted this year. Perhaps he got info from the scouts regarding his possible draft position and made the decision then to come back to Marshall for another year.

Remember, in the MLB draft now, the signing bonus amounts are pretty much set with little to no negotiating room. For a lot of guys drafted from say the 10th round and beyond, it's not worth leaving school as a junior since you've lost a lot of your bargaining power.

Hope his decision to come back to MU is pretty definite. Had not heard anything about Pastrana's plans for next season. A quality, veteran catcher certainly gives the Herd coaching staff something to build around, especially if they have some new, inexperienced pitchers.

Has anything been released recently from the Athletic Dept.
as to any baseball signees during the spring signing period?
 
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