With the final pick of the 45th round, the Yanks took the awesomest pitcher in the history of the universe: Pat Venditte, from Creighton. I am not worthy to speak of his awesomeness, nor are you worthy of watching this (don’t worry, I won’t tell):

The Yanks took RHP Drew Storen out of Brownsburg High (In.) with the final pick of the 34th round.

Scouting Report: Low-90′s fastball, nifty slider and a very good changeup for a high school kid. At only 6′-1″, 170 lbs, he could still add some serious velocity to his fastball. Scout’s are scared off by his delivery, which has enough twisting to make Tim Lincecum blush. His got good control and a nice understanding of changing speeds.

My Take: I like the pick, and subsequently, I felt like blogging it. BA rated him as the second best prospect in the state of Indiana behind first rounder Jarrod Parker, and had him near the end of their Top 200 Draft Prospects list (subscription required). In what seems to be a running theme for Yankees’ draftees this year, he’s got a strong college commitment (Stanford) and will be a tough sign.

The 36th round is just about to end as of this writing, and so far every team is still picking except Toronto, who dropped out after the 30th round.

Technical difficulties on Draft Day 2 years in a row. Someone upstairs doesn’t like me.

Anywho, Patrick has a rundown of today’s Yankee picks, here’s some of my quick thoughts:

• Damon Sublett (7th round) is a better pitcher than second baseman. He’s got one of the best curves in the whole draft class.
• Carmen Angelini (10th) is an absolutely fantastic pick … if they can sign him away from Rice.
• Be sure to ask Joe what school Dave Williams (15th round) attended…
• Ryan Zink (17th) is another very nick pick. He was projected to be a 2nd or 3rd rounder in last year’s draft, but he blew out his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery in mid-season. He returned to UofI-C for his senior year and had a decent year, but he was still in the process of finding his mechanics after surgery.
• Chris Carpenter (18th) is a big time steal. He’s had medical troubles (TJ and a separate elbow surgery to clean out scar tissue) and his control bites (31-30 K/BB ratio this year in some-40-odd innings), but a guy who throws 98 mph gas in the 18th round? There’s no argument against it.
• Taylor Holiday (19th) isn’t the most talented guy in the world, but he’s awesome. Like running into a wall to make a catch awesome. Fun guy to watch.
• Greg Peavey (24th) was an exciting pick. He’s going to be a VERY tough sign and would probably be better off with 3 years of college ball under his belt, but if the Yanks can sign him, man would that be sweet.
• Brandon Laird (27th) is a masher in the truest sense of the word: .392-.446-.672 with 24 doubles, 11 homers, 24 walks and only 13 strikeouts in 52 games for the Chargers.

So if the Yanks sign the quartet of Andrew Brackman-Brad Suttle-Chris Carpenter-Greg Peavey, they could be looking at spending $15M right there. Throw in Angelini and it could be $16M. On 5 players! I know they’re the Yanks, but that is a ridiculous amount. My bet is they end up with 3 of the 5 (Brackman, Suttle, Carpenter).

The big names left out their are Nick Tepesch and Evan Danieli; top 2-3 round talents out of high school with exorbitant bonus demands that will more than likely end up in college. The Sawx just popped Yasmani Grandal (another guy in the same situation),

However, as you can tell, we’re running slow. Our host is working on it. Hopefully we’re running at full speed later this afternoon.

Mike’ll have some more draft analysis later on.

Oh, and we won! But Mussina is a whiny bitch.

They’re done drafting for today, they’ll pick up the other 45 rounds tomorrow at 11:30am EST. Here’s what I’m thinking:

• Brackman was a great, great pick. He was a top 2 talent earlier in the year, and has more upside than just about anyone in this draft class.
• I like the Romine pick, especially since he doesn’t seem to have any glaring weaknesses. I love guys with baseball bloodlines.
• The Pope, Suttle and Adam O. picks kinda baffle me. Maybe they’re trying to save money for big name picks tomorrow, maybe they know something we don’t. Suttle has a chance though, he could make a name for himself with some improvements.
• I’m a bit shocked the Sawx took Will Middlebrooks as a pitcher as opposed to an infielder. He didn’t just slip through the cracks, there’s some underlying reason as to why he was still available in the 5th round.
• I hear alot of pining for Jack McGeary, Greg Peavey and Evan Danieli, the 3 best available players left on the board. All 3 of those guys are as close to unsignable as humanly possible (committed to Stanford, Oregon State and Notre Dame, respectively), so don’t be shocked if no one takes them tomorrow. Plus I heard McGeary was sitting at 82-84 in his last outing, and gave up a bomb to dead center to some New England HS scrub.

I’ve seen better days, but trust me, they could have done worse. WAY worse.

Update: This is a guy the Yanks need to go after tomorrow, no doubt about it. I also found out that Brad Suttle is a Tyle I diabetic, for what it’s worth.Â

With the final pick of the 5th round, the Yanks selected Adam Olbrychowski, RHP, Pepperdine

I dunno squat about the kid, except that he was Pepperdine’s swingman this year. Here’s his numbers:

68.1 IP, 60 H, 27 R, 22 ER, 20 BB, 41 K

I have zero intention of learning how to spell that last name; from now on he’s Adam O.

The Yanks took Brad Suttle, 3B, Texas with the final pick of round numbero four.

Scouting Report: A decent contact hitter with below average power and speed. He’s okay defensively at the hot corner. He was miserable in the Cape Cod League last summer, which is where the best of the best college guys go to strut their stuff.

My Take: Eh, he was ranked kinda high on draft boards despite the uninspiring scouting report. Color me unimpressed.

Outlook: He’s a draft eligible sophomore, so he’s got some major leverage during negotiations. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if they didn’t sign him.

Update: They shoulda taken RHP Jake Arrieta out of TCU instead. The O’s just took him with the 5th pick of the 5th round.

With the final pick of the 3rd round, the Yanks picked Ryan Pope, RHP, Savannah College of Art & Design

I asked Keith Law about him and got this response: “good grief, i didn’t even know SCAD had a team”

This is all I’ve been able to dig up on the kid:

After today’s complete game two-hitter against conference rival Northwood, here’s his info for the year so far:

9 starts
9 complete games
4 shutouts
ERA 1.25
65.0 IP
74 K’s
6 walks
Opponents hitting a robust .149 off him

He’s got a no-hitter, two one-hitters, a three-hitter and now a two-hitter

Go here and scroll all the way to the bottom to see his scouting video.

With the last pick of the 2nd round, the Yanks popped Austin Romine, C, El Toro High (Ca.)

Scouting Report: Huge power potential and he doesn’t struggle to make contact. He’s got an accurate, cannon arm behind the plate. Not much of a runner, but he’s improving defensively. He’s a strong competitor and grew up around the game – his pops Kevin was a big leaguer, and his brother Andrew is also draft eligible this year out of Arizona State.

My Take: Sweet. Let’s just hope he signs and doesn’t head off to college like his brother.Â

Outlook: He’s headed for the GCL Yanks once he signs. Frankie Cervelli‘s had a great year, but Romine’s a better prospect behind the dish.