ESPN: NCAA cracks down on baseball advisers

New player questionnaire could hinder MLB draft prospects

By Jerry Crasnick ESPN.com

The NCAA walks a fine line with baseball players selected in the annual June draft. Players are free to seek guidance, but the NCAA distinguishes between "agents" and "advisers" and makes it clear that athletes who fail to recognize the difference put their eligibility at risk.

The line is hazy, and teams and agents routinely wink at practices that fall beyond the letter of the law. But as the money increases and the draft becomes a prime financial battleground, the signs are pointing toward an attempted crackdown by the NCAA.

The NCAA Eligibility Center recently distributed a questionnaire to college baseball players that suggests tighter oversight of advisers in the draft. Many agents questioned where the initiative will lead, only seven months after an Ohio judge upheld former Oklahoma State pitcher Andy Oliver's right to representation in the draft.

"The court ruling said a player is allowed to have representation like anyone else in America," said Scott Boras, baseball's most prominent agent and an active presence as an adviser in the draft. "Why should an 18-year-old kid not have the benefit of counsel when dealing with a professional franchise? It makes no sense."

ESPN.com obtained a copy of the form, which includes 16 questions for coaches to distribute to recent recruits and current college players who were selected in the June draft but didn't sign professional contracts. Among them:

1. Provide the name and contact information (e-mail address and phone number) of your adviser.

2. Is your adviser an attorney?

3. Did your adviser have any direct communications with any MLB clubs on your behalf?

4. Did your adviser discuss your signability with any clubs?


Stephen Webb, the NCAA's associate director of amateurism certification, declined comment on the letter. He referred ESPN.com to the organization's media relations department, which sent a two-paragraph response via e-mail.

The NCAA said the questionnaire is part of an effort to ensure "a consistent determination of prospective student-athletes' eligibility status," and is "solely motivated to gather information to be used during the certification process."

"It is important that the Eligibility Center gather all necessary information in order to make an accurate determination," the NCAA said. "As such, it has previously sent similar requests for information to prospective student-athletes in other sports, including golf and soccer."

Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's vice president of labor relations and human resources, said the letter is strictly an NCAA initiative.

"Our position is, we draft a kid, he tells us who he wants to deal with, and that's who we deal with," Manfred said.

Nevertheless, the letter includes a waiver for players to sign that would allow the NCAA to forward information to MLB clubs. Sources said that provision has generated concern within the Players Association, which oversees the certification of agents and negotiates draft rules in collective bargaining.

Michael Weiner, the union's general counsel, declined to comment.

The NCAA has occasionally punished players who sought assistance in the draft. In 2002, Vanderbilt pitcher Jeremy Sowers sat out six games after it was discovered that his representatives talked to Cincinnati Reds officials who had drafted him out of high school.

Oliver was declared ineligible for the 2008 NCAA regional tournament after it was discovered that advisers Bob and Tim Baratta had sat in on negotiations with the Minnesota Twins in 2006. After Oliver switched to Boras in March 2008, the Baratta brothers reportedly turned in Oliver to the NCAA and submitted a $113,775 bill for services rendered.

Oliver filed a lawsuit and was reinstated at Oklahoma State when Tygh M. Tone, an Eric County (Ohio) common pleas judge, ruled that NCAA regulations limiting the role of attorneys in counseling student-athletes are impossible to enforce and allow for the exploitation of players.

Oliver re-entered the draft in June, with Boras as his adviser, and signed with the Detroit Tigers for a $1.495 million bonus as a second-round pick. Following the judge's ruling in Oliver's favor during the bench trial, Oliver is seeking damages in the jury trial, which is scheduled to begin in October.

Rick Johnson, Oliver's attorney, said the latest NCAA memo is a direct violation of Tone's ruling in Oliver's behalf.

"It illegally and unethically seeks attorney-client privileged information, and it misstates the NCAA's bylaws and what is required of student-athletes, who are not required to disclose this level of information, sign releases, etc., without any probable cause or due process," Johnson said in an e-mail to ESPN.com.

Johnson added that the NCAA Eligibility Center is "a wholly-owned, for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit NCAA," which has no authority to communicate with student-athletes.

"Student-athletes, who are young, generally unsophisticated and unable to hire legal counsel, are being intimidated to give up all sorts of rights that no sane person would agree to do," Johnson said.

Although the adviser-agent distinction appears rooted in semantics, the NCAA defines an agent as someone who tries to market a player's skills to an MLB club or communicate directly with a team on a player's behalf. That's prohibited under the rules. An adviser, in contrast, stays in the background while the player and his family negotiate directly with teams.

Boras, a lawyer, said he adheres to NCAA regulations by charging a fee to players whom he advises in the draft.

"We are compliant with the NCAA rules by mandate," Boras said. "We have to go to families and charge them for information that we would otherwise not charge for. And we have to go through the bailiwick of having the parents deal with the teams through our counsel, which is crazy."

Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, whose program has sent pitcher David Price and several other high picks to professional ball in recent years, considers the NCAA's latest efforts a positive step in distinguishing between qualified advisers and inexperienced, rogue agents who stalk high school and college players in the quest for a commission.

"The kids need advisement when they get to that level," Corbin said. "A lot of agents and advisers are very good at what they do, and it makes sense that people in the business who have been around can help the parents and the child try to sort through this process. Otherwise, parents and kids could get abused.

"I think this stems from the 'cling-on' guys who see the high school kids as a quick buck. You have groups of people who are chasing kids through parking lots to get their services. It's run awry to the point where there probably has to be some legislation to keep it from getting out of control."

Rising payouts in the draft have prompted commissioner Bud Selig to call for a hard slotting system for bonuses, with no exceptions. This year, Major League Baseball recommended that teams reduce draft bonuses by 10 percent, but Baseball America reported that the total payout for the first five rounds stayed even between 2008 and 2009.

Pitcher Stephen Strasburg, selected first overall by the Washington Nationals, set draft records with a $7.5 million bonus and a $15.1 million guaranteed payout while using Boras as his adviser.

One agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the NCAA's attempts to limit or crack down on advisers could put draft picks at a distinct disadvantage in negotiations.

"Are you going to have Joe Bob the refrigerator repairman negotiating with the New York Yankees?" the agent said. "A team has experts, and these kids and their families are playing in a field that they have no idea about."

Wimmers #9 2010 College Draft Prospect

Baseball America gives their top 25 HS and College prospects for the 2010 draft. After being named the top right-handed pitching prospect in the Cape by BA its not surprise to see the All-American enter the 2010 season as one of the college baseball's best.

COLLEGE TOP 25 DRAFT PROSPECTS
1. Bryce Harper, c CC of Southern Nevada
2. Anthony Ranaudo, rhp Louisiana State
3. Deck McGuire, rhp Georgia Tech
4. LeVon Washington, of Chipola (Fla.) JC
5. Chris Sale, lhp Florida Gulf Coast
6. Christian Colon, ss Cal State Fullerton
7. James Paxton, lhp Kentucky^
8. Zack Cox, 3b Arkansas*
9. Alex Wimmers, rhp Ohio State
10. Rick Hague, ss Rice
11. Drew Pomeranz, lhp Mississippi
12. Jedd Gyorko, 3b/2b West Virginia
13. Bryan Morgado, lhp Tennessee
14. Chad Bettis, rhp Texas Tech
15. Bryce Brentz, of Middle Tennessee State
16. Brandon Workman rhp, Texas
17. Sam Dyson, rhp South Carolina
18. Jesse Hahn, rhp Virginia Tech
19. Brett Eibner, of/rhp Arkansas
20. Todd Cunningham, of Jacksonville State
21. Kyle Blair, rhp San Diego
22. Jarrett Parker, of Virginia
23. Justin Grimm, rhp Georgia
24. Gary Brown, of Cal State Fullerton
25. Rob Brantly, c UC Riverside*

Of note on the HS side:
5. Stetson Allie, rhp/3b St. Edward HS, Lakewood, Ohio

HS & College list

Hurley and Hale 2009 Draft Update

Another draft, another year of Buckeyes being selected. Two Buckeyes were selected in the 2009 MLB Amateur draft making it the 8th consecutive season at least two Buckeyes were selected by MLB teams. Senior All-American closer Jake Hale was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 27th round, and Junior outfielder Zach Hurley was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 45th round.

Hale having exhausted his eligibility signed quickly and is in the Diamondbacks system.

Hale was sent to Arizona's short-season A league team, the Yakima Bears in the Northwest League. Willie or Jake whichever you choose, has appeared in six games, all in relief, throwing 7.2 innings and posting a 10.57 ERA off of nine earned runs in that time.

Opponents are batting .414 off the tall righty collecting 12 hits, two home runs, have drawn five walks, while striking out seven times. Not all of the numbers suggest Hale is struggling, after six games Hale's ground-out to air-out ratio is 2.75 which is very encouraging, especially for a reliever.


More than likely to not follow suit and join Hale in the professional ranks is Hurley. Hurley remains unsigned and all signs appear that Zach will be returning in 2010 for his senior season as the Buckeyes defend their Big Ten Championship. The Buckeye Nine wll be catching up with Hurley in the next few weeks to discuss the chance to be drafed, what goes into making a decision, and ultimately his final decision and his future.

Marlins Reel in Hurley in MLB Draft

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State junior left fielder Zach Hurley, from Springboro, Ohio, was drafted in the 45th round of Major League Baseball’s amateur draft today (Thursday) by the Florida Marlins.

“I was sitting at home working on my computer and all of a sudden my phone started blowing up with all kinds of text messages and calls,” Hurley said by phone. “Then my Mom and Dad started yelling from upstairs that I had just been drafted.”

Hurley is coming off a fine junior season, one in which he set records and came close to breaking others. Hitting leadoff for the Big Ten champion Buckeyes all season, Hurley hit .346 with a team-high 89 hits – second among Big Ten Conference players this season and fourth all-time for a single season at Ohio State – along with 58 runs scored (T4th in the Big Ten) and 53 RBI (T10th in the Big Ten). He also led the team with 14 stolen bases, and along the way he broke the school record for single season at-bats with 257 and he tied for second in triples with a Big Ten-leading six.

Hurley is a senior academically and is three quarters shy of graduating with his degree in family resource management/consumer science. He was named this season to the Academic All-Big Ten Conference team for the second time and he was an OSU Scholar-Athlete for the third time.

Now he gets to add “MLB Draft Pick” to his resume of accomplishments.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Hurley explained. “I haven’t spoken to anyone with the Marlins yet but right now all I know is it is a tremendous honor to be drafted. Not a lot of people get to say that they were drafted in their lifetime. It’s exciting.”

Hurley is the second Buckeye taken in the MLB Draft this year. Wednesday the Arizona Diamondbacks selected senior closer Jake Hale in the 27th round.

The two draft picks represent the eighth consecutive year that Ohio State has had at least two of its players selected in the MLB Draft.

OSU Athletics Release

Jake Hale drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks

With the 816th pick in the 2009 MLB First Player Draft the Arizona Diamondbacks select All-American, Stopper of the Year Finalist Jake Hale.

Surprise Draft for Buckeyes

The Major League Baseball first-year player draft was held Thursday and Friday and it was full of surprises for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Two of the surprises were good. Another was not.

J.B. Shuck was the only Buckeye to go on day one. I'm not sure anyone expected the Buckeyes' most versatile athlete to go in the sixth round, but the Houston Astros picked him up with their final pick of day one.

Dan DeLucia, came back from Tommy John surgery in 10 months to make an opening day start. His work ethic received notice by the Detroit Tigers who picked DeLucia up in the 35th round.

One Buckeye who wasn't taken in any of the Draft's 50 rounds was Jake Hale. Previously drafted twice, the OSU junior was overlooked this year and now must take a serious look at his baseball future.

Also overlooked was first baseman Justin Miller, though the fact he wasn't drafted was not as big of a surprise as Hale.

I would like to thank everyone for following the draft here. The comments reflect most of the Big Ten picks. Special thanks to RockyBuckeye and BaseballBucks33.

DeLucia Picked in 35th Round

Ohio State left-handed pitcher Dan DeLucia is picked up by the Detroit Tigers in the 35th round as the 1,063rd overall pick.

“I am ecstatic,” DeLucia said in the Ohio State news release. “This has been a dream of mine for years to get drafted and have an opportunity to play professional baseball and I am just so grateful that the Tigers are giving me that opportunity.”

Not many athletes have a better work ethic than DeLucia, who underwent Tommy John Surgery in April 2007 and returned to make his third opening-day start as a Buckeye. In 11 starts he compiled a 3-3 record and had a 4.70 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched. Not bad for the only three-time captain in 125 years of Ohio State baseball.

It is absolutely great to see him rewarded like this. The Tigers got a great pitcher and even better person.

Let fellow readers of The Buckeye Nine know what you think of this selection and feel free to leave J.B. a note here.

Shuck to Astros in Sixth

Jack "J.B." Shuck was selected in the sixth round by the Houston Astros. He was the 182nd overall pick.

"It was a thrill to see my name pop up on the computer," Shuck said in an interview with The Buckeye Nine. "I have worked so hard to get to this point and now it has finally happened. I really can't explain how exciting it is to get an opportunity to go play at the next level. Thanks to
everyone for all of their support over the years."

As a senior, Shuck batted .356 (62-for-174) in 48 games/starts. He had five doubles, three triples and stole 22 bases. He made 11 starts on the mound and was 5-2 with a 4.29 ERA. Opponents batted .216 against him, the lowest against a Buckeye pitcher in 2008. He led the team with 76 strikeouts.

I am ecstatic about this pick as a huge fan of the Astros. Congrats J.B.!

Let fellow readers of The Buckeye Nine know what you think of this selection and feel free to leave J.B. a note here.

Here is the Ohio State news release that was posted on its Web site Friday afternoon.

I wanted to share a note about Shuck from the Astros' MLB.com site: "Shuck has the chance to be an above-average defender, and overachiever who the club thinks could have a long career in the big leagues."