O'Sullivan Stays Busy

by Alan Matthews
February 1, 2005

2005 EARLY DRAFT PREVIEW Monday 2005 Early Draft Preview Prospect Pulse Tuesday Top 100 High School Prospects High School Best Tools Sean O'Sullivan Wednesday First Round Projection Thursday Top 100 College Players College Best Tools Jason Neighborgall Allan Simpson Chat Friday Top Storylines

Like most of the top prep baseball players in the country, Sean O’Sullivan stays pretty busy.

He hasn’t had much time to relish the final months of high school. Instead he’s been concentrating on preparing for the most important season of his young career.

But when he does find spare time, O’Sullivan doesn’t share the typical tastes of many of his peers. Instead of escaping to the realm of PlayStation 2 — he doesn’t play video games — O’Sullivan prefers to perfect his other favorite pastime: dancing.

"I love to dance," he said as he hustled to practice after school. "Whatever (the music) . . . wherever. I just love to dance."

You see, versatility is O’Sullivan’s thing. In a draft class heavily weighted with two-way standouts, the senior righthander from Valhalla High in suburban San Diego has the moves to play professionally on the mound or at the plate. O’Sullivan’s package of legitimate pitching and hitting tools is among the most intriguing in the class, and he enters the season ranked as the nation’s No. 3 prep prospect.

Scouts are not certain about his best future position, but they do agree that he’ll likely be drafted in the early rounds in June. As an everyday player, O’Sullivan profiles as a third baseman or right fielder, positions that call for a bat capable of fitting in the heart of a batting order. He has good raw power with a swing that creates natural loft. He generated a California-best 16 homers as a junior in 2004, when he was one of two underclassmen selected to Baseball America’s second-team All-America squad.

While the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder might tell you his most attractive attribute is his footwork, O’Sullivan’s best tool is his arm. He was touching 90 mph from the mound by the time he was a sophomore and routinely spots his fastball between 92-93 these days. He features a traditional, 12-to-6 overhand curveball that changes planes and has potential to be an out pitch.

"O’Sullivan is nice as a hitter, but I feel certain about his ability as a pitcher," an American League scouting director said.

"I value him more as a pitcher," a National League scouting director added. "I want to take a good arm like that and take full advantage of it. He has the makings of a good breaking ball and is competitive on the mound. He (goes) right after hitters."

O’Sullivan’s determined, if not brassbound, demeanor is a characteristic found in every big league pitcher and he says the ability to dictate the outcome of games on his own is one of the most appealing aspects of baseball.

"I love playing everyday, I like hitting and being in the lineup," he says. "But there’s nothing like being on the mound. I’m in control of the game."

P.Y.T. Sean O’Sullivan’s youth career is one baseball insiders have followed closely. At the age of 12, he was featured by Baseball America as the top player in his age group in our annual Baseball for the Ages package in 2000. The praise he garnered that year sounds similar to what scouts say about him today: "He’s the most polished player we’ve ever had in our program," said O’Sullivan’s summer league coach at the time, Lyle Gabriel, who coached numerous national championship teams and has several players in the big leagues, including Troy Glaus.

O’Sullivan’s career numbers—.472-22-104 in 271 at-bats, 25-6, 1.87 with 219 strikeouts and 27 walks in three seasons—in one of the country’s most competitive high school regions are illustrative of his advanced ability at a young age.

He’s been gaining notice for quite a while. In 2000, as a member of the powerful San Diego Stars youth program, he was named the nation’s top 12-year-old in BA’s annual Baseball for the Ages rankings, and he has been a top candidate in his age group every year since. As a 14-year-old high school freshman, O’Sullivan quickly became Valhalla’s No.1 pitcher, and he led the team to the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs for the first time in 12 years.

Alternating between the mound, third base and right field as a sophomore and junior, O’Sullivan helped his high school capture its first two conference titles ever. He was named the county’s player of the year in 2004, beating out the No. 1 overall draft pick, Mission Bay High shortstop Matt Bush, for the award.

Though the meringue isn’t O’Sullivan’s dance of choice—mid-1980s Michael Jackson tunes really get him going, "Billie Jean, that kind of stuff," he says - his baseball resume includes impressive performances on international stages. He’s spent his past two summers shining for USA Baseball in amateur international tournaments. In 2003, O’Sullivan was the winning pitcher in the youth national team’s gold-medal win against Taiwan in front of 14,000 fans in the International Baseball Federation World Youth Championship.

He quickly recalls that outing as the most intense setting of his career. "Pitching in their country against the home team with (thousands) of people going crazy, that was (pressure)," he said.

"But if you can’t handle the pressure, you aren’t going to go anywhere."

Last summer he was plagued by tendinitis in his knee but showed resolve with a solid outing against Korea in the bronze-medal game.

"He wanted the ball, wanted to be a bulldog, wanted to compete on the mound," said Team USA’s Ray Darwin, general manager for both national teams O’Sullivan played for.

"I think he had positive effects from pitching in front of that crowd. It’s clear that it’s something that he wants to do. On the mound, he wants to meet those challenges."

Prior to departing for Asia last summer, O’Sullivan made a stop in Aberdeen, Md., where he was one of 40 high school juniors to participate in the AFLAC All-America Classic.

National showcases and all-star events often offer scouts insight about which position a two-way player such as O’Sullivan best fits. He didn’t make the decision any easier for scouts, however. Just a couple of hours after sending a handful of towering blasts over the wall—into a stiff breeze—at Ripken Stadium in the home run derby, O’Sullivan spun one of the most dominant innings of the game, which his West team won. He struck out the side in the eighth inning on 12 pitches, including an impressive three-pitch punchout of Miami’s Gulliver Prep corner infielder Chris Dominguez.

While the verdict isn’t sealed on how O’Sullivan will make his living in pro ball, his long amateur career, combined with his mature body and polished toolset remove some of the guesswork when evaluating his potential.

"He’s mature physically and mentally; his present stuff is more ready than most (2005 draft-eligible high school) pitchers," an AL scouting director said. "He’s more ready. There’s not as much projecting to do with him."

"In scouting we call it track record," an NL scouting director said. "You always feel a lot more comfortable with your selections if you have a history and track record on a player. And in this case, when you’ve seen a player compete at high levels it makes you feel a lot better about rolling in and (scouting) a high school kid and pulling the trigger."

O’Sullivan signed with San Diego State to play for the baseball player he most admires, Tony Gwynn, but he makes it clear he doesn’t plan to carry any ambiguous song and dance routines into negotiations with major league teams.

"It’s been my dream to play professional baseball since I was five years old," he says. "If coming out this year is the best option, then that’s my best option."