Dodgers Pick Chris Withrow in the First Round of the Draft

Logan White has been a magician. He is one of the great soothsayers of the amateur Baseball draft. Hopefully he has done it again with the Dodgers first selection in this summers amateur Baseball draft. High school right-hander Chris Withrow is now in the Dodgers sights.

Withrow went 8-1 with a 1.32 ERA, 90 strikeouts and eight walks his senior year. He was ranked as the 44th-best player available by Baseball America.

"The year we took Chad Billingsley [in 2003], some people said we were reaching," said Logan White, vice president of scouting. "I'm excited. We got a tall, rangy, athletic kid with outstanding mechanics and his arm action is as good as I've seen. He's a player with a very high ceiling, a frontline starter that we just need to develop the right way."

Withrow is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, and White compared him to a young John Smoltz in delivery and body type. Withrow's father, Mike, pitched in the White Sox Minor League system.

He's like John Smoltz. I like the sound of that.

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UPDATE: See a complete listing of all Dodger draft picks here: