Bums luck out again - draft Tellefson
June 15, 2001
Vero Beach, FL (special to the Indian River County Journal) - The remaining
ghosts of the Vero Beach Bums' controversial Jeff King trade seem to have
vanished with this week's amateur draft.
With the final pick acquired as a result of that trade, Deadwood's
first-round pick that became a #2-overall pick when the former World Series
champion took a nosedive in 2000, the Bums selected catcher Steve
Tellefson. Tellefson is a 20-year-old left-hander who seems ready to join
the big league club right away -- or at least the Bums think so, having
already demoted former starting catcher Jim Collins to AAA.
The only reason Tellefson was available at #2 was that the Carolina Kings,
in an unthinkable move, chose not to participate in this year's draft.
"We figured we'd get Tellefson or [pitcher John] Botz at #2, both of whom
we'd have been happy with, but they were both there," said Bums owner Jason
Gohlke. "I can hardly believe Carolina passed up the chance to improve
their team, but it happened."
Tellefson was exactly what the Bums have been looking for, ever since being
denied a catcher in last season's free agent draft. "Things just worked
out for the best for us," said Gohlke. Indeed, scouts from around the PVBL
have uniformly declared that the sky is the limit for this talented young
catcher.
Tellefson went 0-for-3 in his PVBL debut yesterday against Shawnee. He was
more than capable behind the plate, with no passed balls or errors, and led
Kelvim Escobar to a 6-1 victory against the Snipers. Tellefson also ably
handled screwballers Angel Miranda and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez.
Enrique Wilson, the rookie 2nd baseman, helped the Bums' cause with 2 solo
home runs.
With the Bums' own pick at #10, they were able to draft 23-year-old
starting pitcher Octavio Dotel. Of the huge crop of talented starting
pitchers available, Dotel stood out as the most ready for big-league
action, with a measure of control not found in most of the other pitchers
out there. "We're very happy with Dotel," said Bums pitching coach Pete
Vukovich. "We're going to take a look at him in AAA for a while, and if we
need him, we'll bring him up."
Dotel may be able to fill the hole in the rotation left by the
season-ending -- and possibly career-threatening -- arm injury suffered by
#2 starter Ismael Valdes. "It's an inflammation of the bicep tendon," said
team doctor Drew Pinsky. "It looks pretty serious -- even though I don't
have a lot of experience with injuries of this type." Valdes has been
referred to Dr. Frank Jobe for further testing and almost certain surgery.
With their other picks, the Bums picked up pitchers Bill Foxx and Pat
Darwin and 19-year-old shortstop prospect Lance Burbrink. "Those guys are
a few years away, but they should all become quality players," said Gohlke.
This huge crop of talent became available when the PVBL commissioner's
office rescinded a ban on scouting and record-keeping on prospective
players, which had proved problematic for PVBL teams over the last year.
The Bums are 35-33 so far this season, thanks largely to the hitting
prowess of Jim Thome, Dante Bichette, and Mike Kinkade, all hitting well
over .300. Bichette and Kinkade are finally living up to expectations in
Vero Beach, after having been acquired in trades, and Thome was a known
quantity when he signed with the Bums in the off-season -- a career .320
hitter near the top of many career offensive categories in the young league.
