6 players picked from CCSN, UNLV

Adam Candee

Tuesday, June 8, 2004 | 8:59 a.m.

LOCAL DRAFT PICKS

Local players selected Monday in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft, rounds 1 through 18. The draft continues today through round 50:

Excitement is rolling in your new Escalade gleaming from all the chrome that a six-figure signing bonus can buy. Patience is being an 18-year-old kid and somehow turning down the cash to wait for the right spot and an even better check.

A year of the latter allowed Jordan Parraz and Sean Kazmar to end up playing the positions they love for the prices they wanted. The Community College of Southern Nevada standouts were the first two local players selected on a relatively quiet opening day for the area in the Major League Baseball amateur draft, which continues today.

Both Parraz, a third-round pick by the Houston Astros, and Kazmar, a fifth-round choice of the San Diego Padres, played a risky waiting game and won.

Parraz turned down $185,000 last June and $257,000 last week to sign with Philadelphia, which drafted him in the sixth round in 2003, to take a crack at a higher draft slot and a chance to play outfield instead of pitch. The Phillies loved Parraz's 95-mph fastball, but after leading the Scenic West Conference in hitting at .398 as a freshman, he wanted to develop as a position player.

"I just have a lot more passion to play every day," Parraz, a Green Valley High graduate, said.

This year, Parraz feels certain about turning pro. His signing bonus could be about double what he turned down at this time last year.

"I'll take the average," Parraz said of the average signing range of $300,000 to $400,000 for his draft position. "I'm not trying to ask too much."

Oakland drafted Kazmar in the 37th round last year, but the budget-conscious A's gave him a low offer and would not guarantee him a chance to remain at shortstop. Kazmar, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound grinder from Las Vegas High, held firm to his position and his desire for a six-figure bonus, turning down Oakland to return to the Coyotes for a second season.

The choice paid off for Kazmar, who hit .330 with 21 steals and a team-high 42 runs as a sophomore. The young man whom CCSN coach Tim Chambers calls "the best baseball player I've even seen on a field" signed with San Diego late Monday for $217,000 (including money to finish college) and a chance to play shortstop.

Parraz and Kazmar were the lone CCSN representatives to be drafted, while four UNLV players went between the 10th and 18th rounds. Left-handed pitcher Ben Scheinbaum, a Green Valley graduate, surprised as the first Rebel drafted. The New York Yankees took Scheinbaum in the 10th round after he led UNLV in appearances (26), earned run average (4.87) and saves (3).

Mountain West Conference player of the year Eric Nielsen, a Silverado High graduate, expected to lead the UNLV pack, but was second off the board to Toronto in the 12th round. A junior outfielder, Nielsen plans to negotiate with the Blue Jays before deciding whether to return to school.

Toronto is talking about a preliminary offer comparable to 10th-round money, right around $50,000. In any deal, Nielsen wants the Blue Jays to pay for him to complete his degree.

"If they're fair to me, I'll be fair to them," Nielsen said.

UNLV left-hander and Cimarron-Memorial graduate Jake Vose went to Padres in the 13th round. Rebels outfielder Brent Johnson, a Durango graduate, was a 14th-round pick of the Seattle Mariners. That is a huge jump for Johnson, a 44th-round selection of the Blue Jays in 2003.

No local high school players were selected. In all, the six first-day picks lag last year's total of 10, in part because of a weak crop of local high school seniors.

Centennial catcher Bryce Massanari, a UNLV signee considered the top player in that group, expected to hear his name within the first 10 rounds Monday. The chances of Massanari playing college ball look better after he was not chosen through 18 rounds.

A pair of southpaw pitchers from Northern Nevada, Reed High's Jake McGee (Tampa Bay) and Reno High's Jeff Schoenbachler (Minnesota), went in the fifth round.

A number of local prep and CCSN players are likely to be chosen today in rounds 19 through 50.