Royals sign No. 1 overall pick Hochevar

[Gallen5862]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...v=st&type=lgns
Royals sign No. 1 overall pick Hochevar
August 3, 2006
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Righthander Luke Hochevar never could agree to contract terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was not the case with the Kansas City Royals.
Hochevar, the No. 1 overall pick in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft in June, signed a four-year contract with the Royals on Thursday.

Terms were not disclosed.
Hochevar, 22, is only the fourth No. 1 overall pick in the last 20 years to sign a major league contract, joining Delmon Young with Tampa Bay (2003), Pat Burrell with Philadelphia (1998) and Alex Rodriguez with Seattle (1993).

"We are excited to get Luke signed in a timely fashion," Royals director of scouting Deric Ladnier said. "We see Luke as a top-flight talent and a key part to our future success. We're pleased he'll be able to perform this season and begin working toward reaching the major leagues."

The 6-5 Hochevar was a supplemental pick (40th overall) between the first and second rounds by the Dodgers in June 2005 after starring at Tennessee and winning the Roger Clemens Award, honoring college baseball's best pitcher.

But the Dodgers were unable to sign Hochevar, who spent the last year with the independent Fort Worth Cats of the American Association, where he posted a 1-1 record and a 2.38 ERA in four starts. Hochevar's fastball was clocked between 90-97 miles per hour in his starts for Fort Worth.

On Labor Day weekend, Hochevar switched agents from Scott Boras to Matt Sosnick and was close to reaching a deal with the Dodgers. But he later went back to Boras and decided to re-enter the draft.

Signability was not a factor for the Royals in their decision to select Hochevar instead of three other highly-rated college pitchers - lefthander Andrew Miller of North Carolina and righthanders Tim Lincecum of Washington and Brad Lincoln of Houston.

The Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, Hochevar struck out a school-record 154 batters while posting a 15-3 record and 2.26 ERA in 2005. In three years with the Volunteers, he struck out 287 batters in 280 1/3 innings.

[Gallen5862]

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASAp...3/c1591085.jsp
Royals, No. 1 pick Luke Hochevar agree to terms
08/03/2006 12:26 PM ET
MLB.com

KANSAS CITY -- The Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms on a four-year Major League contract (through 2009) with Luke Hochevar, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2006 June Free Agent Draft, Royals Senior Director-Scouting Deric Ladnier announced today.
Hochevar will sign the contract on Saturday, Aug. 5 and be placed on the Royals 40-man roster. He is only the fourth No. 1 overall pick in the last 20 years to sign a Major League contract, joining Delmon Young (2003), Pat Burrell (1998) and Alex Rodriguez (1993). Hochevar signed his contract quicker than three of the last four No. 1 overall picks. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hochevar (pronounced ho-chay-vur) was a consensus first-team All-America selection (Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, Sports Weekly, NCBWA) at the University of Tennessee in 2005 and was the winner of the Roger Clemens National Pitcher of the Year Award. The SEC Pitcher of the Year was a finalist for the Golden Spikes and Brooks Wallace awards as well last season.

"We are excited to get Luke signed in a timely fashion, which is a tribute to Luke and the Glass family" Ladnier said. "We see Luke as a top-flight talent and a key part to our future success. We're pleased he'll be able to perform this season and begin working toward reaching the Major Leagues."

Hochevar, 22, was a sandwich pick between the first and second round (40th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005 after he was also drafted by the Dodgers out of high school in the 39th round in 2002.

Prior to the draft, Hochevar was pitching for the Independent League Fort Worth Cats, where he posted a 1-1 record and a 2.38 ERA in four starts (22.2 IP, 7 R, 6 ER, 11 BB, 34 SO).

Hochevar was 15-3 with a 2.26 ERA in 19 starts (139.2 IP, 104 H, 46 R, 35 ER, 54 BB, 154 SO) for the Volunteers a year ago, leading the Vols to the 2005 NCAA College World Series. His 15 wins tied the school record for single-season wins, while he established a new school record with 154 strikeouts. He held opponents to a .204 average for the season. He threw three complete games, including a one-hitter at Auburn, the first by a Volunteer since 1996.

Hochevar finished his three-year career with a 25-10 record and a 3.05 ERA in 51 career appearances for Tennessee, including 33 starts and six complete games. His 287 career strikeouts ranked second in Tennessee history. He was also a standout off the field, earning 2004 SEC Academic Honor Roll honors and was named to the 2004 SEC Goodworks Team for his efforts in the community.

Following the 2004 season, Hochevar anchored Team USA's pitching staff, going 1-0 with a 2.73 ERA with 38 strikeouts in a team-high 33 innings, which culminated with a terrific performance against Japan in the Gold Medal Game of the World University Championship. After allowing two runs and three hits in the first inning, he allowed just two more hits in the next six innings, at one point retiring 18 consecutive batters to earn the win.

Following his career with the Vols, he was named the 2006 Male Amateur Athlete of the Year by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and is the first ever No. 1 overall pick from the University of Tennessee.

He was a standout at Fowler High School in Fowler, Colo., where he was coached by his father and was a three-time All-State selection, posting a 1.19 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 47 innings as a senior, while slugging 13 home runs with a .622 average and 38 RBI. He was 7-0 with a 0.88 ERA as a junior, striking out 96 batters in 47.2 innings after going 6-3 with a 2.73 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 43.2 innings as a sophomore. Hochevar was the Division 2A Player of the Year and was an All-Colorado selection in basketball, averaging 22.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.6 blocks per game as a senior. He averaged 22.6 points per game and 11 rebounds per game as a junior.

Hochevar is the sixth player in Royals history drafted out of the University of Tennessee, joining RHP Kevin Tuck (18th round, 1983), INF Joe Randa (11th round, 1991), LHP Paul Fletcher (24th round, 1992), INF Walter Sevilla (34th round, 2003) and RHP Patrick Hicklen (16th round, 2004).

Luke Anthony Hochevar was born Sept. 15, 1983 and is the son of Brian and Carmen Hochevar. His father played professional basketball for the Denver Nuggets in 1979, while his mother played college basketball and volleyball at Southern Colorado. His sister, Brittany, was a two-time All-American at Long Beach State and now plays professional volleyball in Puerto Rico. Luke's younger brother, Dylan, is a junior in high school and has earned honorable mention all-state honors in football, basketball and baseball.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Tom Servo]

I think Dayton Moore's done pretty good so far in terms off stripping and selling off parts of the team, seems like he's got a good plan brewing.

[Gallen5862]

This major league signing and having to put Hochevar on the 40 man roster I feel will be a big mistake. The problem is that his major league service time starts now and his option years will be used up quicker. Does anyone know if he has to be kept on the 40 man roster or be subject to either waivers or the rule V draft? I am thinking he might be.

[BRM]

The Royals did not disclose contract terms, but Hochevar was believed to have received a guaranteed $5.2 million over the length of the contract with incentives that could boost that to about $7 million.

LINK

[REDREAD]

This major league signing and having to put Hochevar on the 40 man roster I feel will be a big mistake. The problem is that his major league service time starts now and his option years will be used up quicker. Does anyone know if he has to be kept on the 40 man roster or be subject to either waivers or the rule V draft? I am thinking he might be.

As I understand it, he has to be on the 40 man roster or be waived.

If he's on the 40 man roster, he's obviously protected in Rule V.

[Gallen5862]

Thanks thats what I was thinking Redread. That if they tried to take him off the 40 man roster before the 40 man roster deadline or for the rule 5 draft deadline he could be claimed. This looks like a bad move for the Royals and Hochevar.

[EX BRAVEDAD]

Dayton Moore what a great individual very proud to know him wish him nothing but the best