Illinois Draft Picks

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Originally posted by BeenthereIL:
Nate Culp, lhp, from U of Missouri and from Edwardsville a few years ago, in the 5th round.

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Joe Benson was so interested in Major League Baseball's 2006 First-Year Player Draft that he was playing Gameboy and watching "Star Wars" during the draft's early stages Tuesday.
Suddenly, Benson's mother, Barbara, who was following the draft on the Internet, discovered her son had been selected in the second round (64th overall) by the Minnesota Twins.

"When I told him, he put his head in his hands and couldn't believe it," Barbara said. "He's still incredulous."

Along with Benson, Dan O'Brien, a Mount Carmel alumnus and the 2003 Daily Southtown Baseball Player of the Year, was drafted Tuesday. O'Brien, a left-handed pitcher who went 6-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 14 starts as a junior for Western Michigan this spring, was taken in the eighth round (240th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Benson, who batted .489 (45-for-92) with seven home runs, 47 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 49 runs for Joliet Catholic Academy this spring, was stunned by the Twins' move.

"They had called and said they'd love to take me in the third round, but my money figure was high," said Benson, who was planning to continue his baseball career at Purdue before the Twins made him their second-round pick. "They asked me to come off of the figure, and I said no, so I wasn't expecting to be drafted that high.

"I guess you could call it a big curveball. I was going to have friends over to keep my mind off of the draft, but my dad (William) talked me out of it in case there was a letdown. After I got drafted, I didn't even have to pick up the phone because people just started coming over."

Benson expects to negotiate with the Twins later in the week, and he could be playing center field for the Gulf Coast League Twins, a Rookie League team in Fort Myers, Fla., in a couple of weeks.

Benson, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-handed thrower and batter who was named the 2005 Daily Southtown Football Player of the Year last fall after rushing for 2,183 yards and 29 touchdowns, said he loves the idea of going to Fort Myers because he is familiar with the area. During family vacations to Fort Myers, Benson's father, who played basketball at North Carolina State and Iowa State, has taken him to see the Fort Myers Miracle, a Class A affiliate of the Twins.

Like Benson, O'Brien wasn't sure what Tuesday would bring.

"To tell the truth, I had no idea where I would go, but I had talked a lot with the Blue Jays and Tigers," he said. "I was watching the draft on the Internet with my cousins. When my name popped up, we went wild.

"After my sophomore season last year, I realized I had a decent shot to get drafted. I talked to a lot of scouts last summer."

In 87 1/3 innings for Western Michigan this spring, O'Brien struck out 93 while walking 23.

Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry likes O'Brien's odds of making it to "The Show."

"He's going to make it. I know it's difficult, but he's such a winner," Hurry said. "People are taller and throw harder, but try to beat him. He's the best competitor I've ever coached."

O'Brien is the second Mount Carmel product to be drafted in the top 10 rounds in as many years. Last year, right-handed pitcher Cesar Carrillo signed for $1.55 million as the San Diego Padres' first choice (No. 18 overall) after a stellar career at the University of Miami, where he won 24 consecutive decisions. Carrillo is on the roster of the Portland Beavers, the Padres' Triple-A affiliate.