TIGERS SELECT RICK PORCELLO: Righthanded Pitcher is Detroit’s Top Pick in First-Year Player Draft

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today selected righthanded pitcher Rick Porcello from Seton Hall Prep High in West Orange, NJ with their first pick (27th overall) in the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
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Porcello has compiled an 8-0 record and 0.50 ERA as a senior at Seton Hall Prep High in 2007. He has fanned 96 batters in 56 innings pitched, while issuing only 11 walks. Porcello fired a 77-pitch perfect game on May 12 against Newark Academy.
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“The Tigers organization is pleased to select Rick Porcello today,” Tigers Vice President, Amateur Scouting David Chadd said. “We look forward to adding a pitcher of Porcello’s caliber and potential to our system.”
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The 6-5, 195-pound righthander is rated by Baseball America as possessing the second-best fastball and secondary pitch among all draft-eligible high school prospects this year, while he is rated as the third-closest high school prospect to reaching the major leagues.
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A 2006 Aflac All-American, Porcello was named the 2006-07 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year on May 31.