Height- 6'4
Weight- 202
Position- RHP
T/B- R/R

2006 Accolades
ACC Pitcher of the Week (March 6)
ACC Pitcher of the Week (April 24)

Link




Complete Bio (PDF)


Link



Link



Bard was on the Royals short list to be the number one pick, and has been mentioned as a possible pick at number 5 with Seattle, and number 10 to San Francisco, so this is a steal. As a junior he had a cereer low ERA (3.47), career high in strikeouts (90 in 85.2 IP to go with just 33 BB), and held opponents to a .225 BA. Over his last seven appearances he was 5-1 with a 1.56 ERA, and picked up a post season win against Winthrop with an 8K performance in the regional title game June 4. His 23 wins rank 7th all time at UNC.

From The Baseball Analysts:

Keith Law of Scouts Inc. from ESPN.com (sub. req'd)

Sox Kicking Up Their Heels Over UNC's Bard

Bard Roughed Up

No Inspiration From Bard? Heels Shuffle Rotation



The Ten Best Prospects At The College World Series

North Carolina --------------------------------------------------Daniel Bard.........
IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
6.0 12 5 5 1 2 26 31 103


Not the best line in the world, but he pitched UNC into the CWS against one of the best college programs in the country (CSF).

2K's for someone that throws that hard is depressing but I have confidence the sox can help him fix that.

For those who want a glimpse, Bard is about to take the hill in the deciding game of the College World Series on ESPN.

So far Bard has been consistently 97-98. His slider hasn't been working though. Does anyone know if he throws any other pitches?

He has a change-up but it's nothing special at this point. Very few pitchers at his stage of development throw three consistent pitches.

This guy could be a beast if he develops well in the system. Right now his only plus pitch is his fastball; that's basically all he's using right now.

His slider is unhittable when it's on, but it isn't developed enough yet to be considered a legitimate pitch. But he is very impressive to say the least. Once he learns how to pitch he could b a star.

Dominating stuff, I was shocked when the ESPN guys noted he hadn't thrown anything but fastballs since the 4th inning (he pitched into the 8th). Dominant heater, easy motion, so if he can tweak his breaking pitch, fine tune his command and develop his change in the minors, he can be a star.

He throws a very easy 96-98mph though. His last few pitches in the 8th he was still hitting 98. What a nice pick......let's get the last two CWS guys (Bard and Cox) signed quickly.

I would love see him develop a change-up. With that smooth motion and keeping the same release point, it would be devastating.

For a first-round pick, I see Bard as a pretty big project.

I certainly see what they liked in him: A good fastball (probably closer to 93-96 than the 98-99 on the juiced up ESPN gun) with a very fluid delivery that looks free and mechanically sound.

A couple of "howevers": He seems to get shockingly few swings and misses for a guy who throws that hard. Some of that surely has to do with college players being able to swing those super-light aluminum bats, but it also suggests his fastball is fairly straight.

His slider is also pretty inconsistent. He seems to have no command of it, and for a guy who throws his fastball in the mid-90s, the slider is not as hard as I'd expect. I don't know how easy it is to improve either of those things.

The overall inconsistency in his results -- he really hasn't been that great the last two seasons, and don't forget he lost his Saturday slot in the UNC rotation during the super-regionals -- also makes me wonder exactly what's going on with him.

And lastly, developing a change-up will not be just a nice luxury -- it's an absolute necessity. His two best pitches are both hard, so he must have some kind of off-speed pitch to succeed as a starter. A good slider is not an off-speed pitch; it's a cut fastball.

So I see a lot of talent and a lot of work to be done. I don't expect him to shoot through the system like you might with some other first-round college pitchers. He may be able to dominate the lower levels of the minors just with his fastball, but he's going to need a lot more than what I've seen as he moves up the ladder.


As far as him signing quickly, I suspect they don't want him throwing much more this year, so I don't think it's a major issue. Obviously, the sooner they can start working with him the better, but I'm guessing the negotiations will drag on a little bit.

Boston Herald

Link

Negotiations with Boston's other first-round pick, North Carolina righthander Daniel Bard, were ongoing. The plan is for Bard to report to short-season Lowell if he signs by early August

Link



The rumor is that Bard is holding out for a major league deal. If that's the case, tell him to have a nice time in college, take the compensation pick, and give his money to Belt, Anderson, and Laporta, then throw the cash we would've used to sign one of those guys at Giardina and call it a day. I'd rather do that then waste bucks on a big league contract for a kid with one plus pitch, one so so pitch, and nothing else. Watching him eat a spot on the 40 man while trying to learn how to pitch in A ball would be a huge waste of money. At this point I wouldn't even be mad if the Sox decided to pass on him, so long as all of those above guys are signed in his place.

It would be pretty ugly if the Sox don't sign Bard. I have a feeling that they get it done but if they don't then they better sign those guys you mention or else its a disaster not signing him.

Bard will eventually cave because he has stated to coaches that he would not be returning to UNC. He will likely sign a 2007 contract but not a ML one.

"The drop-dead date on signing righthanded pitcher Daniel Bard, one of two Red Sox first-round draft picks (No. 28 overall), is fast approaching. School starts at North Carolina tomorrow, and if he attends classes on that day, the Red Sox lose their rights to him." From the Globe.

Get to work Theo. Theo not signing him today will make our draft week. How many people do thye MFY's draft and not sign.

It doesn't matter that he registered for classes. Until he steps into the class, he can sign. Many top picks have registered for classes only to sit out for a week while they finalize a deal. It's a negotiating tactic, nothing more.

Done deal.


Boston Globe

Finally some good news.

Dan Bard seems really, really raw... I thought the whole point of drafting college kids was to get someone polished?

He's a 6-4 200 pound kid, so he's got a major league body, and he can throw 100 when needed... but he doesn't get people to swing and miss, and his secondary pitches need a lot of work.

I mean, he sounds like he has a high ceiling, but even Soxprospects, which is notoriously optimistic says his control needs work, his secondary pitches need a lot of help (he only throws hard pitches, sinker, slider and heat so it would stand to reason he would need to learn a hook or a change) and that his fastball doesn't move.

How do you just teach him how to pitch from square one?

Then again, this may not be as rare as I think it is.

They'll probably treat him like a high school pitcher, most likely starting him in Greenville, unless he gets a ML deal. He has shown flashes a good slider, but apparently he just needs to find his arm angle. Also, just from watching his video, he looks like he has a very good arm angle to learn a splitter. He's a work in progress, but he has the upside.

SOXprospects.com speculates that Bard will start 07 in Greenville along with Masterson and Kris Johnson.

With Egan, mike jones and jason place in the lineup I have to figure this team has an excellent chance for playoffs, even though all of those guys may not be on the team at the end kind of like Bowden and Buckholz this year.

Looking at 2007 projected rosters and it looks like we are getting a lot more competitive at least below pawtucket.

Looks like it was not a Major League contract for Bard, which is excellent news. The initial speculation on his bonus was $1.5 million, which is slightly over slot.


Boston Globe

The pitching staffs, especially the starting rotations, at Wilmington and Greenville look like they're going to be chock full of real prospects. Portland and Pawtucket? Not so much.

From the Sept. 5 Worcester Telegram & Gazette:

Bill Ballou - Red Sox sign hurler Bard; Draft pick is son of ex-Hilltopper



BOSTON— The Red Sox’s latest draft signing, right-handed pitcher Daniel Bard, grew up in North Carolina but has the green of Fenway Park flowing through his veins.

Bard’s dad, Paul Bard, is a Worcester Academy graduate who played varsity baseball, football and hockey for the Hilltoppers before graduating with the class of 1976. He also played American Legion baseball for Vernon Hill.

Yesterday, the Red Sox announced that they have signed Bard, 21, to a pro contract. He will report to Fort Myers, Fla., to participate in the Instructional League on Sept. 18.


Terms of the deal were not announced. Bard was the 28th pick in the first round of June’s draft. Yesterday’s agreement means Boston has signed each of its first 13 picks in this season’s draft.

...


Paul Bard also lived in Newton and grew up as a huge Red Sox fan. He still follows Boston’s fortunes and has just acquired some extra incentive.

“The idea that Daniel might someday pitch in the majors for the Red Sox,” Bard said, “would be like a dream coming true.”

...


He thinks that going to college also helped his career.

“The biggest thing was experience,” Bard said, “maturing, living life out on your own for three years. Physically, I put on 15 to 20 pounds and added some velocity. I think I’m a lot more mature player, a lot more mature pitcher.”

Some info on Bard's repertoire, from the man himself.

Peter Gammons (Insider)

Bard in BA:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...res/262624.html

He seems pretty chill. I didn't know he could hit 100. I thought he got to like 97-98. That's pretty cool.

Interesting interview as usual, Cambridge. I was a little surprised to hear that they've already discussed the possibility of converting him to a reliever. I'd think they'd exhaust his potential as a starter before they even considered that, but I suppose it can't hurt to at least discuss these things.

I'm curious as to what you meant when you wrote "an early arrival to a big league mound seems likely" and "it shouldn't be long before he calls Fenway Park home."

What kind of timeframe are you suggesting, and what is that based on?

Thanks.

Rough start for Bard, who was assigned to Lancaster (pretty big hitter's park) to start the season.

Another poor appearance by Bard, this time against the Phillies affiliate.



Season To Date



Opponents are currently hitting .381 off of him.

Mixed results for Bard this time out, in a road start. He walked five, and gave up four hits, but somehow only allowed one run against Visalia Oaks, the D'Backs affiliate.

Season Numbers



His 2.96 WHIP is going to get him creamed, and with a K:BB ratio of 4:1, it's not wonder he's struggled thus far. He's also given up two home runs, both at home.

It's really worth noting that Lancaster is the worst possible place to be starting your professional pitching career. It's a launching pad there.

Yea, that's why I was sure to throw in the note that his home runs were both given up at home. The problem doesn't seem to be with the long ball, so much as it is his terrible control thus far. Maybe Lancaster has affected his pitch selection, or is causing him to try and nip the corners, but twelve walks in eight innings is a recipe for disaster in any ballpark. He needs to get his K numbers up, especially with his "power fastball" we heard so much about. Still early though, and he's still learning how to pitch rather than just throw heat.

Late Edit- Cleaned up one miserable excuse for a sentence.

Exactly. Last time I checked most of the Lancaster team was hitting over .300. Granted it's early, but it's still an indication of the type of offense you're gonna get out of that league. Now, that's what makes Michael Bowden's success in that league so much more impressive, but that's a story for another thread.....



That's what I noticed when we saw him at the CWS last year. He got away with a power arm, but didn't really need to throw anything other than his 4-seam fastball in order to get outs. It's going to be interesting to watch Bard try to learn that, and a tough league to start that learning process. He's going to struggle, and hopefully the staff in Lancaster can keep him from just going back to the fastball all the time when he does struggle (a la Beckett). It's gonna take a while, but exciting to watch the kid start developing.....

It seems redundant, but another poor outing for Bard.



2007

At what point does the FO consider moving him to Greenville?

I think he should have been there from the beginning, despite being a college pitcher. They could have let him get his feet wet down there, with an eye towards Lancaster by June. As it stands now, he is just over matched in every aspect of the game. The K's aren't there, he's walking the ballpark, opponents are mashing off him. It's just ugly right now. Let's see how he looks in a month though. Maybe he's being told by the staff to lay off th fastballs, so that he has to develop his secondary stuff? I mean, something has to be going on.

BP's Kevin Goldstein (subscription) on Bard's start to his pro career:

I'm not sure that I agree with the bolded statement from Goldstein. There's reason to believe he may be starting at a level too high for him, but I'd have to assume Goldstein misspoke by saying there was any reason for concern. He needs to be in Greenville, that's all.

I agree with you in disputing that there's "real reason to be concerned" at this point, but I disagree about his placement. There's really no reason that a soon-to-be 22-year-old 1st-round pick with major college experience should be in the Sally League. I think he probably faced roughly that level of competition in the ACC. If Bard started in Greenville and pitched well, it would be almost meaningless.

I haven't seen him pitch this year, but going by the boxscores and what's been written about him, it doesn't seem like he's simply overmatched by the California League hitters. When you have 16 walks in 10 innings, there's something going on there besides the level of competition. I think we all knew when Bard was drafted how much of a project he was, and I don't think much has changed.

There's always the confidence issue, and that's a legitimate concern, but I don't think it makes sense to put him somewhere that's not going to be a challenge.

Well, Bard was awful again last night. In addition to 6 BBs in 2.2 IP, he uncorked 3 wild pitches. So, yeah, they're going to have to do something with him fairly soon. I don't like the idea of having him in Greenville, but they can't keep sending out a pitcher that can't get anyone out.

Shame on me for saying this, but can you say "Rick Ankiel"? Let's hope not.