“With the 9th selection in the first round of the 2008 first year players draft, the Washington Nationals select Aaron Crow, a right handed pitcher from the University of Missouri…” So said Bud Selig a few moments ago. This makes me look smart, because I previewed him at the last second yesterday.
ESPNs Steve Phillips mentioned that Crow has an outstanding slider and is someone that you may even see developing a better fastball (which is already very good) as he fills out a bit. He also controls the fastball very well.
Keith Law said he was absolutely a starter, and he touched 97 mph in the Cape Cod league. He’s also shown the ability to hold a mid-90s fastball through 7 innings. He also mentioned that he is at least a #2 starter, and has the best chance out of any college starter to be a #1. He said Crow had great command in college, which was reiterated by ESPN’s Karl Ravech who mentioned his high K/BB ratio.
A summary of Baseball America’s take on him can be found in yesterday’s posting. Overall, everyone seems very high on him and thinks he’s already very good, with room to improve. I am happy with this pick, although I would have liked to see them get someone like Skipworth or Alonso, those guys are gone now anyway. As a college player, he should move quickly in the organization, and will hopefull help fill out a great group of young pitchers the Nats should have on their staff by 2010.