The Talent Pool May Have Just Gotten Deeper

Wade Townsend may have relinquished his chance to sign with the Baltimore Orioles after deciding to attend classes at Rice. He is no longer eligible to play college baseball and understands that as he signed on with an agent, but he just wanted to work on his degree while he was waiting. Can you really blame the guy? The Orioles and Townsend who are waiting to see how the MLB rules in the case, but I think they will ultimately rule in favor of Townsend and the Orioles. I mean can they really send the message that finishing school can hurt you? If they choose not allow Townsend and the Orioles to negotiate, The Mets high draft pick next year could yield a pretty solid talent.

At this point Stephen Drew looks like he is headed back into the 2005 draft pool and Wade Townsend may be too. 2005 could shape up to a pretty deep class of athletes.

The remaining unsigned first rounders from 2004 are Justin Verlander, Philip Humber, Jeff Neimann, Wade Townsend, Jared Weaver, and Stephen Drew.