With his first pick as the Baltimore Scouting Director, Gary Rajsich selected Kevin Gausman. I’ll be on the phone live for his conference call with the media and will do my best to share his comments on this page.
Rajsich on Gausman:
“We’re very pleased to have drafted Kevin in the first round today.”
Rajsich on what he liked about Gausman:
“He’s a strike thrower with a power arm. He’s pitched in one of the best conferences in the country on Friday nights and has performed at a high level. That was very appealing to us.”
Rajsich on how the new draft rules will affect when Gausman pitches:
“Well I think once we get him into the system we’ll see. We’ll see how many innings he’s thrown, how he feels, and check on his condition. We’ll make the decision at that time.”
Gausman on what the day was like for him:
“Really this day has been a roller coaster. I didn’t really sleep very much last night. I didn’t really know what to think. With the draft, sometimes you know who will take you and sometimes you don’t. In my case I didn’t really know … I was kind of shocked … I’m very honored … All I keep hearing about is the crabs.”
Gausman on if he’s expecting to pitch in the minors this season:
“I think Gary summed it up. He said it kind of depends on how I feel and how many innings I throw. I could end up throwing maybe another 25, 30 innings. It just depends on that and how I feel. I’ve been going at it for almost two years straight. We’ll sit down and figure that out in the later months.”
Rajsich on scouting reports on Gausman and his breaking pitches:
“We’ve seen Kevin’s breaking ball as good. Although they have been inconsistent, some of our guys have seen them above average.”
Gausman on his breaking pitches:
“Like Gary said, I definitely have it in there. I really just started throwing a true curveball this season. I haven’t had much time to develop it. A real good pitch for me as of late has been my slider. That’s a real good pitch for me to have in my arsenal. Some days I feel real good with it … I’m going to be a fastball changeup guy my entire career and I think the biggest difference will be which breaking pitch I decide to throw.”
Gausman on how important it is to get deal done:
“I feel very confident that they feel strongly about me … We’ll get a deal done and I feel real confident about it.”
