Round 9 Selection: Ryan Berry, RHP, Rice

[markpolis]

A sore shoulder after throwing four consecutive complete games? Proposterous!

Seriously, it doesn't sound like he is an injury risk as much as his arm was just exploited at times at Rice. Jordan should sign him and tell him to go home for the summer, maybe even skip fall leagues. Let him rest up, put him on a pro lifting/throwing regimen and let him build up the shoulder.

I'm seeing Berry as our new Arrietta. He may not throw as hard, but he could be one of our top pitching prospects by the end of next year.

The best thing Berry could do for himself and his future is to get as far away from Rice as possible. How many top notch pitching prospects are going to have their arms destroyed by this coach? If I were a parent there is no way I'd like my kid pitch for Rice. Sure, you get a great education, but if you have any dreams of playing professional baseball they are quickly dashed the way their coach abuses their arms.

[kinsofboo]

New to the board, I have been following Ryan for a while now. I know what the "experts" say about him not signing, but I wanna hear what you guys think. The kid is a ball player, good mound presence and pin point accuracy. He is the only college player that I have seen charge bunts and infield singles to get the lead runner at 3rd, I can't tell you how many times I have seen him do that. I got a feeling if he does sign he may be the biggest steal of the year.

[allstar1579]

New to the board, I have been following Ryan for a while now. I know what the "experts" say about him not signing, but I wanna hear what you guys think. The kid is a ball player, good mound presence and pin point accuracy. He is the only college player that I have seen charge bunts and infield singles to get the lead runner at 3rd, I can't tell you how many times I have seen him do that. I got a feeling if he does sign he may be the biggest steal of the year.

I think the O's know they got a steal and will offer him above slot, the question is where did the O's think he should have gone and where did HE think he should have gone. I don't see them offering 2nd round money, but I could see them giving him 4th round cash, if he really wants to hold out for more, I think it's going to hurt him.

He's already had injuries that got him in this mess, Rice is notorious for messing up young arms, and if he got hurt again next year, he would get labeled "injury prone" and it would really hurt his stock.

I'm hoping they split the difference and get him on board, I'd love to see what he can be with a couple years in the minors.

[hoosiers]

New to the board, I have been following Ryan for a while now. I know what the "experts" say about him not signing, but I wanna hear what you guys think. The kid is a ball player, good mound presence and pin point accuracy. He is the only college player that I have seen charge bunts and infield singles to get the lead runner at 3rd, I can't tell you how many times I have seen him do that. I got a feeling if he does sign he may be the biggest steal of the year.

IMO, signing a healthy Berry would be a key difference between a good and a potentially very strong draft. This guy was looking for supplemental first round $ ($1M neighborhood) a few months ago. Berry knows he is an injury risk now, but there does not seem to be any consensus regarding whether Berry is seeking second ($800k) or fourth ($300k) round $ and that is a big disparity. I would venture that Joe Jordan is aware of Berry's financial demands and would probably get close to those demands if Joe felt that Berry was healthy or likely to recover to full health.