Nationals select Newton's McGeary
Jack McGeary of Newton is considered a blue-chip pitching prospect who could develop into a big league hurler. But the Roxbury Latin lefthander, who was projected to be a late-first- or early-second-round selection in the major league baseball draft, which started Thursday and concluded yesterday, wasn't selected until the sixth pick of the sixth round (No. 190 overall) by the Washington Nationals.
The likely reason McGeary's stock dropped was his probable commitment to Stanford. If a major league team believes there is a low chance to sign a player, which appears to have been the case with McGeary, it tends to move on to the next candidate.
McGeary was ranked No. 27 overall by Baseball America, 18th among pitchers and ninth among high schoolers, but he also may have been affected because he made just seven starts during the short Independent School League schedule this spring. He finished 5-1 with a 0.88 earned run average and 80 strikeouts in 40 innings.
Had McGeary been selected where he was projected, he would have faced a dilemma -- experience college at Stanford or take the significant bonus money of a pro contract and start his career immediately. Because he was taken so late, that quandary no longer exists. Instead, he will likely focus on college, and cannot be drafted again for three years.
NANCY L. MARRAPESE-BURRELL 