Drafted in the 6th round (187th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008 (signed for $150,000).
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Shortstop Tony Delmonico transferred in from Tennessee, along with his father Rod, who used to be the coach of the Vols and is now an assistant on Mike Martin's staff. Delmonico is athletic but has limited range and questionable hands and will likely end up at second or third base at the pro level. He can hit for average and occasional power as well.
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The 2008 draft was the first time teams had a chance to select Delmonico, who enrolled at Tennessee as a freshman a semester early, graduating high school in December. That gave him a chance to play for his father Rod, who was the head coach of the Volunteers for 18 years, but he was fired after Tony's sophomore season. Father and son both headed to Florida State, Rod as a volunteer assistant coach and Tony as a shortstop--even though Tony had lost the shortstop job at Tennessee. Scouts long have sought to try Delmonico, an intelligent and scrappy player, at catcher for years. After signing him for $150,000 as a sixth-round pick, the Dodgers gave him a chance to stay in the infield at Ogden, but after 10 errors in 30 games at second base, Delmonico began the conversion to catching in instructional league and impressed the Dodgers with how well he handled it. He has the arm for the position and showed good hands, an ability to call a game and leadership skills in his first weeks behind the plate. But he has to work on his footwork, pitch-blocking skills, setup and exchange on throwing out runners. His offensive approach is sound--aggressive but with strike-zone judgment--as he uses the gaps and shows raw pull power. Delmonico's future and timetable all hinge on his ability to grasp his new position. He'll have to make defensive progress to earn a spot in low Class A this season.
Minor League Top Prospects
The son of former Tennessee head coach Rod Delmonico, Tony Delmonico showed an aggressive approach, swung the bat well and used the whole field in his pro debut. Though he hit 11 homers while playing his home games in the Pioneer League's coziest ballpark (Ogden's Lindquist Field), he doesn't project to have huge power. Defense has been a challenge for Delmonico, whose range and hands are both limited. A shortstop in college, he moved to second base with the Raptors but still looked rough there. He might end up moving to third base or an outfield corner, and his bat doesn't profile well at those positions. The buzz around the league was that Delmonico might move behind the plate, which wouldn't be something new for a Dodgers organization that has converted Russell Martin and Carlos Santana, among others, to catcher. It's a switch that others have considered in the past, considering Delmonico's arm strength and athleticism.
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