Karsten Whitson Schadenfreude
Back in 2010, the Padres had the 9th overall pick in the draft. They chose a hard throwing right handed pitcher out of a Florida high school named Karsten Whitson. Then GM Jed Hoyer was excited about the pick and believed the team had a deal in place to sign the kid and get him into the Padres system. Then the signing deadline came around and various rumors flew around about the deal falling apart, Whitson's asking price changing, the dad getting involved, the Padres being cheap, etc. In the end, the youngster didn't sign and went to go play baseball at the University of Florida.
Whitson has pitched well as a Gator. He has been good enough to still be considered a first round talent. At one point it was thought he could become a #1 overall pick. However, the way the CBA works, college players must either complete their Junior season or be 21 years of age to enter the draft again. So, Whitson had to pitch well for a few years to make his money. Going into this season, his Junior year, his status was still high and was seen as a possible 1st round pick. In other words, it already looked like he was going to go much later than the 9th overall pick the Padres used on him and would likely be getting less of a signing bonus than what the Padres offered a few years ago. However, news came out today that a shoulder injury will sideline him for the entire 2013 collegiate season.
That leaves us Padres fans with some nice schadenfreude. Whitson will sit out this season and either enter the draft as damaged goods (unlikely), enter next year after returning from injury (more likely) or redshirt this year in order to play 2 more seasons and enter the 2015 draft. In any case, Whitson could have already had around $2 million of Padres money, but played hardball in contract negotiations. He either may never see that kind of money or delayed seeing anything close to it for a significant period of time.
Before BBF or Foulweather get on me for reveling in this too much, I don't want anyone to think that I'm saying the Padres handled the pick correctly. That's not the correct way to view it. The good or bad results don't always equate to good or bad process. Instead I would say that as a fan we can smugly think that the Padres dodged a bullet or we can smirk at Whitson and say, "Look what happens when you mess with the Padres." Something like that. Normal schadenfreude stuff. Or you could just go on about your day. Counting the days left until opening day. As for me, I've always hated him.
mg2:
