Seastrunk Thrilled To Be An Indian

Going back to college for your senior season is a risky proposition for a Major League Baseball draft pick.  Not only do you lose almost any signing leverage you have, but you also risk injury as well as a drop in performance which could affect your draft standing the next year.

But for catcher Diego Seastrunk, while he went back to school to hopefully improve his draft stock, he also did so in order to have another chance to be drafted by the Cleveland Indians.

Seastrunk, 22, hit .288 with 7 HR, 45 RBI and an .857 OPS in 61 games in his junior season at Rice in 2009.  He and Indians area scout Les Pajari had fostered a good relationship, and on the day of the 2009 Draft the Indians had called him around the end of the 30^th round to inform him that they were going to select him in the next round.  Minutes late the Giants selected him near the top of the 31^st round, a few picks in front of the Indians.

“[Last year] I had talked to the Indians before [I was picked], and the Giants kind of jumped ahead of them,” said Seastrunk in a recent interview for the IPI.  “So that’s why I went back [to school] so I could get a chance to talk to the Indians again.”

Rarely will you see a player go back to school just so he can get a chance to go to a specific team, but since he was taken in the 31^st round Seastrunk felt there was certainly room for growth where he could improve his draft stock and potentially be selected by the Indians again at the same time.  It ended up working out as he returned for his senior season at Rice this past season and in 51 games hit .369 with 9 HR, 52 RBI, and a 1.098 OPS, which made him a 14^th round selection this year by the Indians.

“I talked to [Indians’ area scout] Les Pajari multiple times,” said Seastrunk.  “The way he handled the whole process he made me feel like the Indians really wanted me, and that meant a lot to me.  Just the way he handled the situation and he was straight forward the whole time.  I didn’t feel like he was beating around the bush or trying to blow smoke at me as he was honest.  I hold honestly as a high priority, so just the way he handled it was impressive to me so I was glad to get another shot to sign with the Indians.”

Seastrunk signed quickly with the Indians, and once the dust settled from all the craziness of the first week or so, he has finally started to settle in as a professional baseball player.

“They have made it easy for me around here as they have a good staff here [in Mahoning Valley],” said Seastrunk.  “So it has been pretty easy for me.  Once I got settled in it was a lot easier just to focus on baseball once I got through those first few days with the physical and the back and forth.  It’s been pretty exciting.”

Coming out of the draft, Seastrunk’s bat was viewed as his best asset where as a switch-hitter he shows some power from both sides of the plate.  He is small and compact at 5’9” 210 pounds, and has a good eye at the plate and has shown an ability to draw walks and get on base.

Currently, Seastrunk is off to a very slow start with the bat at short season Single-A Mahoning Valley where in 27 games he is hitting just .160 with 2 HR, 7 RBI, and a .565 OPS.  Still, it is very early in his professional campaign as he has only had 81 at bats, and even with the poor numbers he has shown a good approach at the plate with 14 walks and 18 strikeouts.

Seastrunk can often be over-aggressive at the plate, which leads to him getting himself out at times.  It is something he is trying to work on, to be more patient in order to help tone down that over-aggressiveness.

“In the past I have been very aggressive,” said Seastrunk.  “I don’t strike out that much as I am a contact guy, so I can get myself out a lot.  So I am working on my patience and being selective.  Travis [Fryman] said most of it is pitch selection, so I am still trying to get a good zone and trying to work on my strengths in the zone hitting.  You think you can hit everything, but you can’t.  Especially with the wood bat, you don’t have that tin can anymore so you are not getting as many “oops” hits so you have to focus on squaring the ball up.”

Adjusting to the wood bat is something a lot of college players are making right now since many have never used wood before, or if they did their exposure was limited.  Seastrunk had some experience with wood bats coming into professional ball.

“Yeah, I have played up in the Cape [Cod League] a couple of summers,” said Seastrunk.  “[Hitting with wood bats] is a lot different as the sweet spot is a lot smaller, but I feel like I have good hand-eye coordination which I think is going to help me a lot at this level.  It is going to take some work coming in before and staying after games.  I don’t have anything else to do but worry about showing up to the field and working on perfecting my craft.”

The area that needs the most work for Seastrunk is his defense.  As a converted catcher and this being only his second year catching, he still has a lot to learn with picking up all the nuances at the position.

“I definitely [need to improve] my defense and just working with the staff and trying to make it better as essentially that is my job,” said Seastrunk.  “My focus is on receiving well, working on calling games, working in tight spots and just trying to make the pitchers better.  In the end that’s all I have as if the staff is going bad that is a bad reflection on me, so if I can make the staff better that is me doing my job.  I am just focusing on getting behind the plate and doing my job back there.  I really want my defense to get better at this level and I have to keep learning and evolving as a catcher.”

And as far as Seastrunk’s hitting goes?

“The hitting will come,” said Seastrunk.  “It is a bonus as I am at a defensive premium position.”

For breaking news and other information follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @tlastoria.  His new book the 2010 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is also available for purchase on Amazon.com or his site.

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Draft Notebook: Indians Living Up To Draft Promise

Day 2 of the draft has come and gone.  The Indians made 29 picks yesterday and really seem to have taken an aggressive approach to the draft this year, something that John Mirabelli promised in my conversation with him last week.  This of course is very refreshing, and I will talk about that in more detail below.  As a reminder, capsules for all 30 picks to date are at IndiansProspectInsider.com.

Director’s Cuts

Indians Director of Amateur Scouting Brad Grant met with the media yesterday evening to talk about the Day 2 picks, and here is what he said:

On LeVon Washington: “He is an athletic high upside centerfielder, and is a left-handed bat with an advanced approach to hit.  He has very good natural bat speed and a very disciplined approach.  He is a 7 runner on the 2-8 scale, which is a well above average runner.  He is 4.0 to 4.1 down to first base which is well above major league players.  He was a second baseman in high school and transitioned to center field this year in junior college, and we see him as a center fielder.  With his speed and ability to cover gaps, and the ability to track down balls and go back and come in very well on balls he has a chance to be an above average centerfielder in the future.  He also has power too, so [while] he has the leadoff discipline, hitting and running, he also has some ability to pull the ball out of the ballpark and drive the ball into the gaps.  He is a good advanced junior college hitter.  There is a lot of upside to LeVon; that’s what is exciting about him.  He is a very good athlete with two things you can’t teach: above average bat speed and the ability to run.  He had a slight tear to his throwing shoulder which caused him to have to DH sometimes in high school.  This year the shoulder did not have any issues at all, though during the course of the season he did have some hamstring issues which caused him to miss games, but as far as the shoulder goes he has been fine.  We are fine [with the makeup] and I have talked with LeVon in the winter and we have known him since high school.  He is a good kid, and we are very comfortable with him.”

On Tony Wolters:  “He is another very good athlete and another above average runner.  He has the ability to play shortstop, has very good hands, actions, and instincts for the game.  He is a baseball player and a baseball “rat”.  He has a solid average arm and we envision him being a shortstop of the future with offensive and defensive capabilities.”

On Alex Lavisky: “We are happy to have the opportunity to draft him as he is a local kid that we have seen since his junior year in high school.  We saw him last summer play in all the showcases, and he is a right-handed hitting catcher with a power bat and obviously the ability to catch.  He caught Stetson Allie all year this year and had no problems catching him.  He has a plus arm and is a solid catch and throw guy that can stay behind the plate with power.  He has very good makeup and he is a very good kid.  He is a leader on the field and has an excellent mature presence off the field at the same time.”

On Kyle Blair and Cole Cook:  We have known Kyle since high school and he has always been a premium starter.  He had three very successful years at San Diego and comes with a four pitch mix and is a very big durable starter.  He has an average fastball, plus slider, and plus changeup.  He is a strike thrower who has had success everywhere he has gone.  Cole Cook is another big right-hander with a sinker, slider and split who is a strike thrower.  So we were able to add some big arms behind Drew Pomeranz.

Random Notes

• The MLB Draft is tough to follow for most since for a high percentage of fans no one has ever seen any of these guys play, and once players get drafted most spend two to five years to the minor leagues if they even make it to the big leagues.  A high percentage don't even get out of A-ball.  That all said, for those who are just a casual follower of the draft for this reason and were wondering just in fact how we are doing in the draft this year, I have to say the Indians approach this year has been extremely refreshing.  They have targeted high quality talent without any apparent consideration of signability.  It turns out Mirabelli was right from that conversation I had with him last week in that they have in fact been very aggressive in the draft.  It definitely is nice to see them taking a lot of high upside high school, junior college, or draft eligible sophomores this year, something not done in recent years.
   
• What the Indians have done has not gone unnoticed by other teams as one club official from a rival AL club whom I spoke to last night has been impressed with their draft so far.  "They [have been] extremely aggressive and it will be an accomplishment to sign them all. I will just say they did a fantastic job. They took a different approach this year than most years in the past. They are definitely a club that is trying to get better! You should be very positive about their effort."
   
• The Indians approach so far this draft has been to take the best available player and add several athletes into the system.  They not only wanted to add some good, quality arms, but they really wanted to target some premium athletes with good hitting and running skills at several premium positions, and so far have done that.  This is something they have not done in recent years, and assuming they are able to sign some of these guys their system below Double-A should get a big boost this year and next.
   
• One interesting thing to note is the Indians are in lockdown mode with regard to talking about contract details with any players.  At the beginning of his press conference yesterday, Grant made it clear that they will not be discussing with anyone contract details on any player until they have been signed.  A lot of this may have to do with the fact they have so many tough signs and don't want anything to take away from any advantage they may have in the process.  This makes sense in that if they are trying to sign several high profile guys they don't want anything leaking saying what one guy is getting which could in turn hinder the progress of other signings.  He also did not specifically address the LeVon Washington signing rumor, but as it was refuted by John Mirabelli earlier in the day yesterday, Grant acknowledged that at this point no one is signed.
   
• I've seen a lot of people not like the LeVon Washington pick in the 2nd round, mostly because of his supposed makeup issues and lack of passion to play the game. But considering over the years the Indians have been big on character and makeup, I believe they have done their due dilligence on him, and based on Grant's comments above it is not considered a concern. I happen to like the pick a lot. He adds something this system has lacked for awhile, and that is an athletic player who can run and hit with some pop, but who also carries with him some swagger and cockiness which is good for a change. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Brandon Phillips. Not necessarily because of the alleged makeup issues, but his stance at the plate, his size, his cockiness, and tools.

• Unlike the past two years when they converted Lonnie Chisenhall from shortstop to third base and Jason Kipnis to second base, there are no plans at the moment to convert any of the drafted guys to another position.

• Of the first 30 picks in the draft, a whopping ten are out of high school.  In total they have selected 17 pitchers (14 right-handed pitchers) and 13 position players (4 infielders, 7 outfielders, and 2 catchers).
   
• Over the past 24 hours I have talked to about two dozen scouts and representatives from about half the Major League franchises, and most clubs are in lockdown mode and not talking about their players they selected or even about players other teams have selected.  However, a few have offered up some of their thoughts on some of the picks the Indians have made so far.  I have pooled together all the comments below on the players from these scouts and executives, some brief and some more detailed.
   
• The Indians selected right-handed pitcher Kyle Blair out of the University of San Diego in the 4^th round, and according to one AL scout, “I think he's a nice value pick where you got him.  I saw his one-hit, 15 K game vs. Portland.  He showed a feel to pitch and changed speeds.  His curve ball was better than the slider for me, and he located the pitch to both sides of the plate and was his out pitch.  The slider didn't impress me.  He’s a big durable kid who needs to stay on top of his body conditioning.  His control and command were solid for me.”
   
• Right-handed pitcher Michael Goodnight was selected in the 13^th round out of the University of Houston.  According to an NL scout, "Goodnight is a physical guy with arm strength. His slider is much better than the curveball currently. His best outing was at the Minute Maid Classic against Texas, but he never duplicated that. At times he lacks the touch and feel for pitching."
   
• Catcher Diego Seastrunk was taken in the 14^th round out of Rice.  According to an AL scout, “Seastrunk was in the second year of being converted to catcher and still has a way to go to be solid defensively. However, he's made progress from last year. He's definitely more of a bat right now, and a pretty good one (with some power) from both sides of the plate."
   
• Left-handed pitcher Ben Holmes was selected in the 15^th round out of Clackamas High School (OR).  According to an AL scout, “He is a left-handed pitcher signed at Oregon State with a Mark Buehrle build who works quick and throws strikes.”
   
• Right-handed pitcher Tony Dischler was taken in the 23^rd round out of LSU.  One team executive said, "Tony is out of LSU-Eunice. He is a big, strong physical guy with a fastball around 90-96 MPH.  He needs a better feel for his slider and changeup.  Based off of what I was told they would have to over pay for where they took him. My guess is that he's not signable, but if they can't sign one of their top picks, they can use that money and make a run at him.”
   
• The final day of the draft with rounds 31-50 kicks off today at noon.  Unlike yesterday, things will be more streamlined today with the draft coverage since a lot will not be known about the guys taken today until more research is done later.  Plus, a high majority of these final day picks won't even be signed.  With that in mind, the picks will be listed in groups of five and limited if any information will be provided in the capsules for the time being.

• By the way, thanks to my wing man Jeff Ellis yesterday for the hard work in what was a near 8-hour marathon of draft coverage.  Also, special thanks to Andrew Zajac, Jim Pete, and Charlie Adams for their contributions.

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2010 Indians 14th Round Pick: C Diego Seastrunk

In the 14th round of the 2010 Draft, the Indians select catcher Diego Seastrunk out of Rice University.

Height: 5'8" Weight: 190 DOB: 01/11/1988 Bats: Switch Throws: Right

Signing Update (June 13): Seastrunk has officially signed with the Indians.  He will likely report to Mahoning Valley.

AL Scout's Take: “Seastrunk was in the second year of being converted to catcher and still has a way to go to be solid defensively. However, he's made progress from last year. He's definitely more of a bat right now, and a pretty good one (with some power) from both sides of the plate."

Jeff Ellis: Diego Seastrunk was well thought of coming out of high school, but his play in college was uneven and that’s why he is a senior being selected in this draft. Last year he was a 31st round selection of the San Francisco Giants. This was only his second year behind the plate, but he once threw 95 MPH as a pitcher so he has a good arm behind the plate. Seastrunk is another smart player who knows how to play the game and make the most of his abilities. He has a good eye for the zone and is a switch hitter with good line drive pop. His walk totals have increased significantly in college and he always got on base. He lacks home run pop, and his best outcome might be a Lou Marson type of catcher. Still an interesting catcher to watch as he is still learning how to play the position.

Video:

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