Angels’ top draft pick Kaleb Cowart speaks his mind
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Saying he was ‘completely thrilled to become an Angel,’ Kaleb Cowart talked about his decision to sign with the Angels on Monday during a conference call with reporters.
On his reported bonus of $2.3 million, which is about $800,000 more than the amount typically slotted to players who are drafted 18th overall, the third baseman said it was ‘right where I was looking to go.’ Cowart said he might use part of his bonus to purchase a Yukon Denali sport utility vehicle.
Regarding reporting to Tempe, Ariz., to play in the rookie Arizona League, Cowart was so ready to get his professional career started that he had asked the Angels if he could play in Monday’s game.
Cowart also didn’t cower when it came to informing Florida State that he wasn’t coming to play for the Seminoles. He even asked his mother and father to leave the room when he made the call.
‘When he wanted to say something, he said it,’ Angels scouting director Eddie Bane said. ‘He didn’t need someone to say it for him. ... I had never seen that. That’s a pretty grown-up 18-year-old guy.’
Cowart, the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year, hit .654 with 11 home runs, 59 runs batted in, 55 runs and 36 stolen bases as a senior for Cook County High in Adel, Ga. Pitcher Cam Bedrosian and outfielder Chevez Clarke, two other Georgia high school players selected in the first round by the Angels, are already playing for the organization’s rookie team in Arizona.
Cowart said Bedrosian and Clarke had advised him ‘they wouldn’t change anything and go to school if they could. They would be right there playing in the Arizona League.’
Though the Angels signed Cowart with more than half a day to spare before the 9 p.m. PDT deadline, Cowart acknowledged that he was getting nervous. ‘I wanted to get it done,’ he said, ‘but if I didn’t, I always had Florida State to go to.’
-- Ben Bolch