*** Diamonds In the Rough - Brant Colamarino ***

The My Sportsbook

by Bob Spross, Minor League Baseball Staff Writer

Philadelphia, PA - The 2002 Oakland A's draft will go down in history as one of the most debatable draft classes in recent memory.

In "Moneyball," author Michael Lewis illustrated Oakland's new and unique philosophy of evaluating talent. With exorbitant signing bonuses being paid to high school prospects, the A's went after affordable college players who could throw strikes and get on-base. "Moneyball" focused mainly on Oakland's seven first round draft picks with the one exception being University of Pittsburgh first baseman Brant Colamarino.

The A's took Colamarino in the seventh round with the 218th pick overall. At the time, Oakland Assistant GM Paul DePodesta stated, "No one in baseball will agree, but Colamarino might be the best hitter in the country."

Colamarino began his professional career at Vancouver in the Northwest League hitting .259 with six home runs and 41 RBI in 67 games. The Pittsburgh, PA native started quickly as he was hitting .303 on July 28th before seeing his average drop after a difficult August when he hit just .219.

The left-hander began the 2003 campaign at Single-A Kane County in the Midwest League. After a slow start, Colamarino turned it around in July and August. He exploded for 11 home runs and 27 RBI in 104 at-bats in July. In August, Colamarino hit .325 and raised his average 20 points before the end of the season. He finished the season hitting .259 with 19 home runs and 80 RBI.

The Oakland prospect earned another promotion in 2004 beginning the season at Single-A Modesto in the California League. Through his first 60 games, Colamarino ranked in the top five in batting average (.355), homers (11), RBI (41) and on-base percentage (.450). He was one of the main reasons Modesto (44-26) had the best record in the League during the first half of the season.

Colamarino isn't just a talent at the plate. In 2003, the first baseman committed just 11 errors in 133 games and flaunted a .991 fielding percentage.

Some scouts believed the problem with Colamarino early on was his weight. What Beane and DePodesta realized was that it was because he was overweight and didn't look like a ballplayer that scouts were ignoring how good a hitter Colamarino actually was. The evidence and statistics that Beane was putting so much importance into clearly made this point. Not only did issues with his weight make Colamarino less desirable for other teams they also made him affordable for the A's.

In 2004, Colamarino came to spring training 20 pounds lighter and in the best shape of his life. His goal was to start the season with Double-A Midland in the Texas League. After hitting .378 in the month of May at Modesto, the A's promoted him to Midland on May 30th. The Central Catholic High School graduate continued to produce and hit .355 through his first seven games at Double-A.

Overall, Colamarino has been slow to adjust to the Texas League hitting just .224/2/15 in 16 games with the Midland RockHounds.

On a steady progression through the Minor Leagues, Colamarino made two significant strides this season with his promotion to Double-A Midland. First, he advanced one step closer to fulfilling his life-long dream of playing pro ball, while also proving that DePodesta's bold statement in "Moneyball" could very well ring true.