Sports

DANDY ANDY: Velazquez discusses playoffs, upcoming MLB draft

Every other week this spring season, Andrew Velazquez will take us inside the Fordham Prep baseball team. In his exclusive diary on NYPost.com, the Virginia Tech-bound shortstop will give us an inside look at the Rams’ quest to win a CHSAA Class AA intersectional title and his preparation for the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

So it all comes down to this, a game for first place against our rivals. I wonder who wrote this script? As the season comes to a close, we end up tied for the division with who else but Iona Prep. Everyone on the team is aware of the importance that this game holds in our hopes to bring the city championship back to Fordham Prep. If won, the road throughout the playoffs becomes much easier. This allows us to save up pitching and skip straight into the championship round with no fear of elimination.

I believe in the team and all we’ve done this year. After coming out hot we hit a rough patch, but such is the heartless game of baseball with its ups and downs. Sometimes things just don’t go your way. Now we face the problem of having many days off in between games which makes it tough to come out and play our best. Especially with this upcoming game which keeps getting postponed due to the rain. We can use the excuse of being rusty, or we can come out and play with the same amount of confidence and swagger that we had in the beginning of the year and get some wins. Hopefully the baseball gods give us a break and allow us to play Friday.

As the season comes to a close I try my best to stay focused on the playoffs. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t constantly thinking about the draft and what the outcome will be like in the coming weeks. It’s something I dreamed about happening as a kid and never truly thought it could become a reality until recently in my high school career. I’m truly blessed and grateful to have this opportunity. We’ll see how things go June 4 to 6.

There are many things I am coming to learn about baseball from the scouting and business standpoint. Things like the new rules the in the draft is a big thing to get filled in on. There’s a lot less money in this draft and a huge factor in a team drafting a player, especially out of high school, is that particular player’s “signability.” What are the team’s chances of getting the player to sign for the amount of money they plan on offering him? This can result in many more players going to play collegiate ball and less players signing pro contracts out of high school. Only time can tell.

Another good point I felt I had to make is about how teams view you. Some scouts look for obvious things like size, power, etc. So it’s not hard for a small guy like myself to be a nobody to these kinds of scouts. Therefore, teams will have their own opinion on each player they see. Some will like you, some will dislike you, some will love you. This leads to my biggest point about the draft:

You don’t need thirty teams to like you in order to get drafted, you only need one!

Check back with Andrew Velazquez every other Friday during the season. His next diary will run June 8.