Braves Choose Kelly in the First Round

Mike Kelly, a notoriously late sleeper, had just crawled out of bed late Monday morning at his parents’ house in Los Alamitos when he heard the phone ring.

The call was from Atlanta Braves’ scout John Flannery, who told Kelly he was selected second overall by the Braves in Monday’s amateur free-agent draft.

“I was still pretty weary,” Kelly said, “but I woke up in a hurry.”

Kelly, a former standout at Los Alamitos High School and a junior outfielder at Arizona State, was projected as a top-three pick. The Yankees took Brien Taylor, a high school pitcher from Beaufort, N.C., with the first selection.

Also selected in the first round was Tustin High School outfielder Shawn Green, who was taken 16th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Green, who set an Orange County record with 147 career hits, has already committed to Stanford.

“I knew I would go in one of the first two rounds,” Green said. “But I didn’t know if the Blue Jays would gamble on me in the first round.”

Kelly was part of Arizona State’s “million-dollar” outfield that included area standouts Tommy Adams of Capistrano Valley and Jim Austin of Mater Dei.

The Montreal Expos selected Austin in the fourth round.

Adams was drafted in the second round (55th overall) by the Seattle Mariners. Adams was suspended indefinitely from the Arizona State team midway through this season for disciplinary reasons, but he had worked out on his own in hopes of being drafted.

The Braves are confident they can sign Kelly, who reportedly is seeking a multi-year deal worth $1 million, plus a signing bonus up to $750,000.

Chuck LaMar, director of scouting and player development with the Braves, said Kelly “is exactly what we’re looking for” and hopes to sign him in the next few weeks.

Kelly, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound right-hander, has additional bargaining power because he’s only a junior, and can return to Arizona State if he doesn’t like the Braves’ offer.

If Kelly signs in the next two or three weeks, he would be sent to the Braves’ double-A Southern League team in Greenville, S.C., LaMar said.

Kelly could eventually join a Braves’ outfield that includes Dave Justice and Ron Gant. The Braves are one of the youngest teams in the majors, with their starting lineup’s average age at 26.

“I was actually looking for a team that’s going with the young guys,” Kelly said. “That’s important for a guy like me. I think I’ll have an opportunity to go to the big club right away.”

The Mets made Kelly a 24th-round pick out of high school in 1988, but he opted for college because New York didn’t offer enough money.

“That was was a rough year all-around for me,” Kelly said. “I had a sore shoulder and that lowered my value in the draft. There were rumors that I had undergone surgery, which lowered my value even more. It was a completely different situation than now.”

Kelly improved his draft standing during three years at Arizona State. He batted .373 this season with 15 home runs and 56 RBIs. As a sophomore, Kelly was Baseball America’s player of the year, hitting .376 with 21 home runs, 82 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 68 games.

Kelly is the latest in a long list of Arizona State power-hitters that includes Reggie Jackson, Bob Horner, Barry Bonds and Alvin Davis. Kelly is the first college player the Braves have selected with a first-round pick since they took Horner in the first round in 1978.

Arizona State hitting coach Jeff Pentland said Kelly is even better than Jackson and Bonds at this stage. Bonds, drafted in the first round by the Pirates in 1985, was the National League’s MVP last season.

“Barry was a marvelous player, very physically talented,” Pentland said. “But I think Mike is a little faster and has a quicker bat.”

Kelly is a good bet to become the school’s first three-time All-American this season. He hit 46 career homers and drove in 194 runs.

“My three years at Arizona State was the best thing that could have happened to me,” Kelly said. “I’ve grown mentally and physically since I’ve been there.”

Like Kelly, Austin and Adams are polished prospects with college experience.

Austin, who hit .364 with 67 RBIs this season, was surprised he was drafted by the Expos.

“They really hadn’t talked with me very much and I don’t know why they took me,” he said.

Adams said he expects to sign with the Mariners in the next few days. His career has been slowed by several injuries--a torn groin muscle in high school and a pulled hamstring and injured spleen at Arizona State.

Adams said the injuries and disciplinary problems hurt his chances of being a first-round pick.

“I was disappointed with the draft at first because I wanted to go in the first round,” Adams said. “Then it sunk in as the day went on, that the second round was still pretty good, considering I haven’t played in a while.

“I have the ability to be a first-round pick, but teams want to be certain that first-rounders are healthy and they won’t cause any problems.”

“The last two months of my life have been based around today. It’s a big relief to know where I’m going.”

Green, who hit .479 this season for Tustin, said he is undecided whether he will go to Stanford or sign with the Blue Jays.

“I was excited about going to Stanford when I signed there,” said Green, who has a 4.5 grade-point average. “Now I’m excited about the draft.”

Green said he and his parents will meet with the Blue Jays to discuss a contract. One area scout said it will take at least a $500,000 signing bonus to land Green.

Tustin Coach Vince Brown said, “The Blue Jays know Shawn as well as anyone with all the time their scouts spent with him. I think they know what it’s going to take to sign him.”

Other Southern California players selected in the first round include shortstop Dmitri Young of Oxnard Rio Mesa High, fourth, by the St. Louis Cardinals; outfielder Mark Smith of USC, ninth, by Baltimore, and pitcher Tyrone Hill of Yucaipa High, 15th, by Milwaukee.

Young, 17, was expected to be selected in the first round but not as high as fourth. Larry Young, Dmitri’s father, said he was not surprised his son was taken by the Cardinals. St. Louis put Dmitri through at workout at Rio Mesa last month.

“I had a feeling St. Louis would take him, based on that workout,” Larry Young said. “They liked everything he did, and he’s the type of player they seem to like.”

Young, 6-2 and 215, was a four-year starter at Rio Mesa, batted .488 and was among CIF Southern Section leaders in hits with 159, runs scored with 137, doubles with 36, home runs with 29, and RBIs with 127.

Young, who has signed a letter of intent with the University of Miami, is expecting a signing bonus worth more than $300,000. That is the amount former Westlake High catcher Mike Lieberthal received last year when Philadelphia made him the the No. 3 pick.

Smith, a junior, said he expects to leave USC as soon as he agrees on a contract with Baltimore. The former Arcadia High standout said he plans to attend tryouts for the national team next week in Tennessee but will report to the Orioles as soon as they need him.

“I don’t know how much money I can expect, but I assume it will be a fair amount,” said Smith, 21. “Baltimore has shown a lot of interest in me, so I’m not surprised they drafted me. I expected it.”

Last year, first-round picks averaged signing bonuses of $250,000, a 37% increase over 1989.

Smith, 6-2 and 195, led USC in hitting this season with a .333 average. He had 11 home runs and a team-high 54 RBIs. He was a three-year starter.

Being selected by the Brewers was a fitting end to a successful senior season for Yucaipa’s Hill. On Saturday, the left-handed pitcher led his team to its first Southern Section title in a 6-2 victory over Riverside Norte Vista in the 2-A Division championship.

Draft Notes

Other county players drafted include Katella pitcher Chris Reed, taken in the seventh round by the Cincinnati Reds, and Oklahoma’s Marty Neff, a former Magnolia High and Rancho Santiago outfielder, taken in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cal State Northridge pitcher Craig Clayton, a former Loara High player, was drafted in the sixth round by the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners said they plan to use Clayton, who was 14-5 with a 2.25 earned-run average, as an infielder.

Cal State Fullerton signee Dante Powell, an outfielder at Long Beach Millikan High, was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays during a special draft between the first and second rounds for teams that have lost free agents.

Tom Wilson of Fullerton College has signed a free-agent contract with the New York Yankees. Wilson, a two-time all-Orange Empire Conference outfielder and former standout at Troy High, will report to the Yankees’ Class-A team in Oneonta, N.Y.

Times staff writers Eric Shepard and Jeff Riley contributed to this story.