Monday, April 27, 2009

Webb's draft status ... falling again?

Daniel Webb has had his moments at Northwest Florida State Community College, where he landed after turning down a late-summer offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks, but it's unclear where he figures to go in Major League Baseball's amateur draft in June.

Webb is 3-3 with a 5.06 ERA for Northwest Florida State (formerly known as Okaloosa-Walton) this spring and has allowed more hits (64) than innings pitched (58 2/3) and has had spotty control, with 33 walks and 46 strikeouts.

He's also playing first base occasionally and is struggling with the bat, hitting just .214 in 42 at-bats with two home runs and six RBI.

On the mound, reports are that Webb still has mid-90s velocity on his fastball, but remains inconsistent with his command. Baseball America magazine recently noted one scout's assessment that "he tends to rush through his delivery when he doesn't feel he has his best stuff."

There's a growing sentiment that Webb might not ever recoup the money he turned down last summer. Tampa Bay offered him $500,000 to sign as a seventh-round pick during the draft, but Webb's family opted to turn down the offer. Arizona eventually selected him in the 12th round and made him an offer reportedly in the $200,000-300,000 range, but was turned down at the end of the summer.

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