2010 Indians 20th Round Pick: RHP Burch Smith

In the 20th round of the 2010 Draft, the Indians have selected RHP Burch Smith out of Howard College (TX).

Height: 6'4" Weight: 195 DOB: 04/12/1990 Bats: Right Throws: Right

Note: This is a redraft as he was selected by the Indians in the 49th round last year. He is committed to play at the University of Oklahoma.

Ranks:
Baseball America: 80
PGCrosschecker: 122

Jeff Ellis: In a traditional Indians move they drafted Burch Smith, and the reason this is tradition is we drafted him before with 49th selection. He is currently supposed to attend Oklahoma in the fall, after spending the last 2 years at a junior college. This is not your typical 20th round selection though as Smith is a huge talent this late. He could have been selected as high as the third round and I don’t think most draft fans would have complained. Smith has a fastball that is getting faster and sits in the 92-93 range, and on top of that he has two average pitches in his curve and changeup. The fastball is what makes teams wonder about Smith. He is large at 6’5” and his fastball has kept getting faster, so much so, that some people think it could end up sitting at 95-96 once he adds more muscle to his frame. Smith is a very interesting pitcher and a player who could end up being a first rounder next year. You hate to throw around names, but this pick could be a lot like Lincecum where we drafted him late, failed to sign him, and then the next year he went into the top ten. This one would hurt more though as it would make it two times where we had drafted Smith and failed to lock him up. It won’t be easy or cheap, but I sure hope this time Smith becomes an Indian. Smith is easily our most talented pick since Washington or Pomeranz.

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