INDIANS Pitcher Sowers team's top pick

Ohioan Scott Lewis, a left-hander, was taken in Round 3.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Jeremy Sowers, a junior left-hander from Vanderbilt, was selected in the first round of Monday's baseball draft by the Cleveland Indians.
The Indians took pitchers in each of the first four rounds and with 13 of their 18 picks on the first day of the 50-round draft that continued today.
They expected to select Sowers, 21, with the No. 6 overall pick and stayed true to scouting reports although more-heralded players were available.
"Jeremy is an advanced, polished pitcher," said John Mirabelli, the Indians' assistant general manager in charge of scouting operations. "He has command, control and a change of speeds. He doesn't have an overpowering fastball, but pitches to both sides of the plate and commands that fastball."
Buckeye chosen
Cleveland also chose junior pitchers with their second and third-round picks -- right-hander Justin Hoyman of Florida and Ohio State lefty Scott Lewis, a native of Washington Court House.
That came after a surprising first round in which Fresno State right-hander Jered Weaver, expected a week ago to be picked No. 1 by San Diego, fell to Anaheim at No. 12. Another top prospect who lasted well past the Indians' pick was Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew, whose brother Tim was Cleveland's first-round pick in 1997. Stephen Drew went to Arizona at No. 15.
Mirabelli didn't say it, but the consensus was that both players turned off teams by saying they would demand multi-million-dollar contracts.
"We have three criteria in rating players," Mirabelli said. "One is their skill level, along with their mental makeup and their signability. All of these factors come in to play."
Mirabelli said he expects Sowers to sign after Vanderbilt completes play in the NCAA tournament.
"I'm as confident as I can be, but there are no guarantees," Mirabelli said. "You go with what a player tells you and give it your best shot."
Sowers is 10-5 with a 2.64 ERA this season, allowing 97 hits and 23 walks while striking out 118. The left-hander allowed one run and four hits over eight innings last Friday in a 7-3 win over George Mason. The Commodores will play Texas in a best-of-3 super regional beginning Friday.
The Indians have until the start of the fall school year to sign the three juniors. Mirabelli said the club had followed all three since they were in high school.
"Hoyman is a proven college pitcher in a top conference who has been durable," Mirabelli said of the 22-year-old taken with the 47th pick overall.
Hoyman went 11-1 with a 2.71 ERA in 18 starts this spring for the Gators, who will play at Miami this weekend in a super regional.
About Lewis
Mirabelli believes the Indians may have gotten a gem with the 77th pick overall in Lewis, whose stock dropped when he had elbow surgery a year ago.
"He's 13 months off Tommy John surgery and pitched this spring," Mirabelli said. "We've been following him since he was in high school and have always liked him."
As a sophomore in 2003, Lewis went 9-1 with a 1.61 ERA to earn All-American and Big Ten Conference pitcher of the year honors. Lewis struck out 127 in 822/3 innings before injuring his elbow.
This spring, Lewis was 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA in 202/3 innings.
The first position player taken by Cleveland was outfielder Michael Batia, 21, of James Madison in the fifth round. Batia batted .373 with 18 homers and 60 RBIs this season for the Dukes, and his .782 slugging percentage ranked third in Division I.
"We had a sneaky suspicion our first day could look like this," Mirabelli said. "The list of premier position players was pretty thin. But on the plus side, we got a lot of good pitching."