Here is a review of the first round of the amateur draft. Please keep in mind that my advanced scouting budget is 18 mil. Also this is just for fun and should not be looked at as an attack on anyone for their choices. Please discuss!
1. Montgomery - Mitchell Spencer - Hasn't signed but he will. The only question is if he will raise his demands. He is a very solid #1 pick. Great hitter, speed. The only question is if he is truly a SS. The Crimson Tide can get away with him playing there due to his bat, but he will only be average at best as a SS. I bet every time there is a new cycle, mikesons eagerly looks to see if Spencer signed.
2. Los Angeles - Jake Randolph - Very nice pitching prospect. Scouts can't really find anything wrong with him as he is solid to very good across the board. The only question be raised is his mediocre health rating which is kind of scary in a #2 pick.
3. Salem - Bill Morton - I should just copy and paste what I wrote for Randolph. Morton is a fantastic prospect. The Beavers are hoping they can get away with the ~40 rated glove in right field. Also, his health probably scares jarazix every once in awhile.
4. Seattle - Larry Miller - Miller is a guy that probably should have gone a bit later in the first round. He is definitely first round material, but I'm not sure those splits make for a top 4 pick.
5. Arizona - Buddy Buckley - Beast of a hitter, but that glove probably makes him more of a corner OFer or 1B. Higher splits would have been nice as well, but he should do very well.
6. Syracuse - Frank Jenkins - Probably the steal of the draft so far. I'm sure the Orange were ecstatic that Jenkins dropped to him. He projects to be an absolute terror of a hitter and paired with former #1 pick Michael Seay they will make a dynamic duo in the middle of the lineup.
7. Philadelphia - Miller Kotsay - Wow, another fantastic pick. this draft is shaping up to be loaded. Another great hitter, that may possibly be playing out of position as a second basemen right now.
8. Buffalo - Cyrus Connelly - A bit of a reach as a topp eight pick due to such a lack of power. He should end up being a decent leadoff hitter, but the Bulls were probably hoping to get something more out of this pick.
9. Austin - Terry Clayton - Overall rating is inflated due to that stamina. Clayton will probably be a middle of the rotation type player due to his splits.
10. Jacksonville - Jeff Donovan - Pretty much the exact same player as Clayton. Projects to middle of the rotation. Better players were chosen later in the first round.
11. Columbus - Joshua Hall - Hall dropped due to not being able to hit lefties very well, but he should do well enough for the Buckeyes. This is another hitter that has some speed as well. there have been a few so far.
12. Detroit - Artie Hinch - The big question on Hinch is whether or not he can hit those split projections since he is already 22. If he does, then he is a steal, but worst case he'll be a nice starter for the Wolverines.
13. Texas - Matthew Davis - Well Davis signed ten days ago but is still unassigned. "Put me in coach, I wannnna play, today." Not sure where he fits in. His defense isn't good enough to play regular SS and his bat doesn't look strong enough for a corner OF or IF slot. Question Mark pick.
14. Cincinnati - Shane O'Brien - Hasn't signed and doesn't look like he will. Always risky to select a guy like this in the first round.
15. Memphis - Nate Forster - Another example of a stamina rating boosting the overall number much higher than it should be. Probably won't be more than a back of the rotation type do to average control and splits.
16. Kansas City - Clay Hausmann - Fantastic selection and a guy the Heels were hoping would somehow drop to them. Those are some fantastic splits, not to mention the stellar control and a few nice pitches. Always nice to see such a great health rating as well. Steal of the draft other than Syracuse's choice.
17. Iowa City - Haywood Young - Another great selection and a lot like Hausmann who was chosen right before. The Hawkeyes must be happy to have gotten Young here.
18. Charleston - Patrick Lamb - Lockdown closer of the future? Looks like Lamb could throw 150 innings in relief. if his control was a little bit higher this would be even better.
19. Louisville - Al Flores - Can't go wrong with a solid starting pitching selection as we get into the latter half of the first round. Solid selection for the Cardinals.
20. Atlanta - Micah Whitehall - See #14 Shane O'Brien
21. New York - Hector Guerrero - Standard if not spectacular selection. Guerrero should be a nice everyday piece in the ML lineup eventually. Not sure he is a 2B though considering that glove rating.
22. Charlotte - Travis Hermansen - I should let someone else analyze this pick. For the most part the Heels are ecstatic that Hermansen fell to them. They love the splits, however the health rating is a little scary. At this point in the draft, i think its okay to take chances on that for players you really like.
23. Fargo - Phil Nomura - Will be interesting to see how he does with those batting ratings. Probably would make more sense as a CFer as it seems to be easier to find better hitting 2B who can still field. Not so much in CF.
24. Chicago - Bernard Burkhart - Bernard absolutely loves facing lefties. Should be a solid everyday 3B. Very nice fielding ratings for a 3B as well.
25. Pittsburgh - Nick Robinson - Does Nick Robinson ever throw balls? He projects to a perfect 100 in control for some scouts. better splits would have been nice, but then he probably would have been picked higher.
26. Honolulu - Shawn Beaulac - The Warriors are hoping his stellar control and a couple great pitches can overcome that average righty split. He should end up being a nice middle to back of the rotation starter. Can't be too upset with that as teams start picking this late.
27. New Orleans - Carl Rossy - Pitcher #4 that has an overall number much higher because of stamina. That control rating is scary as some owners feel that MLers should have control 60+ at a minimum.
28. Portland - Cecil Bradford - Nice third baseman who probably will enver be anything spectacular, but could do some damage in the ML eventually.
29. Chicago - Billy Ray Yates - Getting to the point in the draft where all players have warts. Yates are his lefty split and only one above average pitch. Back of the rotation or Long Reliever type guy.
30. Las Vegas - Burt Adams - Adams will probably have to be moved due to his sub par fielding ratings, but also, most teams like a little more pop in their corner infielders. Might end up being a utility guy.
31. Oakland - Bo Clark - Very solid selection this late as Clark has a bright future as a short reliever. Great value at #31.
32. Florida - Scot Hunt - Solid value at #32 although that sub 50 health rating is tough to swallow. Slick fielding SS with a little bit of a bat is a nice find as the first round draws to a close.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Season 2 - Amateur Draft - First Round Review
Apologies again for the lack of discussion on the blog this season, its been pretty crazy. Anyways here is a review of the first round of the amateur draft. Please keep in mind that I only could budget 14 mil in advanced scouting so my projections won't be great. Also this is just for fun and should not be looked at as an attack on anyone for their choices. Please discuss!
1. Salem Beavers - Vic Escobar - If Escobar reaches projections than he'll be a solid #2 starter. his lefty split will probably hold him back from true ace numbers. There were a couple other pitchers selected that some teams had higher on their draft boards than Escobar, but the Beavers are happy with their choice and he'll defintiely help int he rebuilding process.
2. Seattle Huskies - Erik Haynes - Absolute beast of a hitter. Probably not a SS at the major league level because of poor range for the position. Even his other numbers are slightly below average. Projects to be a dynamite player at most other positions however.
3. LA Bruins - Jose Javier - Really nice selection. obviously his control needs to improve but it definitely projects to. As long as the control improves he will be a dynamic pitcher on the ML level. In a perfect world Javier would have a fourth pitch, but he should do fine without one.
4. Arizona Sun Devils - Nick Wilson - another top of the rotation pitcher is selected at #4. Wilson should be a very good #2 pitcher eventually.
5. Texas Mustangs - Ned French - French should eventually hit for very high average and get a tone of stolen bases. he will be a fixture at the top of the lineup for years to come once he makes the bigs.
6. Chicago Blue Demons - Pat Gibbons - The choice of Gibbons shows how deep this draft was in top end pitchers. In a lot of seasons Gibbons would be a top 2 or 3 choice and here he was able to be scooped up at number 6. The Blue Demons must be ecstatic with this guy in the pipeline.
7. Columbus Buckeyes - Clinton Carr - I should just cut and paste what I wrote for Gibbons. I actually like carr more than a couple of the pitchers mentioned above. Fantastic split\control projections to go along with 4 pitches, none of which should be a hindrance. Great pick,
8. Tampa Bay Hurricanes - Garrett Parris - Scouts say this would be the first questionable selection of the draft. Parris' defensive projections aren't good enough for the ML level and his hitting projections are decent, but nothing that jumps out and says "we NEED to pick this guy in the top ten!"
9. Jackson Rebels - Micah Mitchell - Some scouts would call this the second questionable selection of the draft. First Basemen in this game seem to be a dime a dozen, so some GM's shy away from taking them with top choices unless they should the potential of last years #1. Mitchell should be a decent hitter at the ML level eventually but thats about it. Can't shake the feeling that the Reb's were hoping for something more here.
10. Memphis Tigers - Marshall Antonelli - this would be a really solid selection if Antonelli was a little bit better of a defensive player. He still should be a nice player, but not sure he can carry his weight in the middle of the infield.
11. Louisville Cardinals - Clay Lavarnway - Nice selection here for Louisville. Lavarnay should hit a ton of homers eventually and he even has some speed. Not sure if second base is definitely in his future but we'll see how he progresses.
12. Charleston Cougars - Dan James - Can't link him because he hasn't signed and doesn't look like he will. GM's were shocked when the announcement was made that James was chosen because he had been very up front with people that he loved college and wanted to stick his college career out. Charleston's roll of the dice unfortunately failed.
13. Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels - Candy Ryan - Perfect name for Vegas. he can probably be seen at the Rhino during the offseason. Should be a dynamic closer eventually. Some GM's shy away from taking relievers in the first round because of the limited innings, but he has some great projections and can see why he might be hard to pass up.
14. Philadelphia Owls - Rico Martinez - Really nice value selection here by the Owls. Definitely could have gone much higher and ownership must be ecstatic that he dropped. High durability would be nice, but not a deal breaker with his other ratings.
15. Wichita Jayhawks - Manuel Guillen - Kind of a head scratcher. Defensive ratings definitely don't compute to a SS. Maybe not even an infielder. His hitting ratings don't really get GM's excited as an OFer. We'll see what happens, but might have been a mistake.
16. Kansas City Wildcats - Marquis Nolan - Should be a solid hitter. His eye is terrific and the Wildcats are hoping eventually means a .450\.500 OBP.
17. Cincinatti Bearcats - Julio Lira - Lira dropped a bit in the draft due to his average projection with his righty split. Still should be a nice middle of the rotation pitcher eventually.
18. Buffalo Bulls - Jamie Cameron - Defensive Whiz and thats about it. It is nice that he has a great batting eye as well. Some GM's have no issue sacrificing offense for superb defense at SS and looks like the Bulls are one of them.
19. Oakland Golden Bears - Torey Vizquel - Really impressed with this selection and probably the best value selection so far in the draft. Not sure how this guy got past a lot of teams radars, but getting a true CF with power and speed this late in the first round is very impressive.
20. New York Red Storm - Ajax Brown - Should be a very solid pitcher eventually and definitely worth the #20 choice in the draft. Solid ratings across the board, nice selection.
21. Honolulu Warriors - Thomas Martin - Another defensive whiz, but with more pop in the bat than Cameron. Nice selection. If he had gone higher it might have been questionable, but this seems about right.
22. Chicago Illini - Fernando Rondon - GM's are not a huge fan of this choice. This very average splits scared off a lot of people. He should be ready sooner rather than later, but will probably be best looked at as an "innings eater."
23. Detroit Wolverines - Mitch Carter - Scary pick because of his health ratings. Carter is known to hurt himself even if he is in a circular, padded room with nothing else in there. If somehow he escapes the injury bug, he'll be a nice catcher.
24. Austin Longhorns - Lorenzo Fernandez - His lefty split scared off a lot of people. We'll see if his nice righty split makes up for it. Probably will be another "innings eater" back of the rotation type pitcher.
25. Portland Ducks - Peter Stankiewicz - One of the more advanced players in the draft, Peter should be ready to contribute within the next couple of seasons, but will probably just be a decent player because of his average splits.
26. Charlotte Tar Heels - Jerry Seabol - The Heels were happy with the choice. We would rather have had a pitcher, but to us Seabol projects as an above average defensive right fielder with some really nice pop in his bat.
27. Fargo Bison - Sam Kashmir - Nice selection late in the first round. Should eventually be a great closer.
28. Memphis Tigers (from Nashville) - Dan Russell - Really ncie bat, but not sure he will succeed defensively at second base.
29. Pittsburgh Panthers - Jimmie Alicea - Beggers can't be choosers and when you can find probable ML starters at the end of the first round than you have succeeded and Alicea fits that bill.
30. Detroit Wolverines (from New Orleans) - Paul Bowman - Probably won't be more of a long reliever due to his stamina. Would have been nice if his splits were a bit higher.
31. Iowa City Hawkeyes - J.P. Calvo - With development, he could be a very nice back of the rotation pitcher. His splits aren't great but he has solid control and 4 above average pitches. Definitely could succeed.
32. Florida Gators - Jesus Rosa - Really nice selection with the last choice in the first round. the Gators must be happy Rosa dropped to them. really nice bat.
1. Salem Beavers - Vic Escobar - If Escobar reaches projections than he'll be a solid #2 starter. his lefty split will probably hold him back from true ace numbers. There were a couple other pitchers selected that some teams had higher on their draft boards than Escobar, but the Beavers are happy with their choice and he'll defintiely help int he rebuilding process.
2. Seattle Huskies - Erik Haynes - Absolute beast of a hitter. Probably not a SS at the major league level because of poor range for the position. Even his other numbers are slightly below average. Projects to be a dynamite player at most other positions however.
3. LA Bruins - Jose Javier - Really nice selection. obviously his control needs to improve but it definitely projects to. As long as the control improves he will be a dynamic pitcher on the ML level. In a perfect world Javier would have a fourth pitch, but he should do fine without one.
4. Arizona Sun Devils - Nick Wilson - another top of the rotation pitcher is selected at #4. Wilson should be a very good #2 pitcher eventually.
5. Texas Mustangs - Ned French - French should eventually hit for very high average and get a tone of stolen bases. he will be a fixture at the top of the lineup for years to come once he makes the bigs.
6. Chicago Blue Demons - Pat Gibbons - The choice of Gibbons shows how deep this draft was in top end pitchers. In a lot of seasons Gibbons would be a top 2 or 3 choice and here he was able to be scooped up at number 6. The Blue Demons must be ecstatic with this guy in the pipeline.
7. Columbus Buckeyes - Clinton Carr - I should just cut and paste what I wrote for Gibbons. I actually like carr more than a couple of the pitchers mentioned above. Fantastic split\control projections to go along with 4 pitches, none of which should be a hindrance. Great pick,
8. Tampa Bay Hurricanes - Garrett Parris - Scouts say this would be the first questionable selection of the draft. Parris' defensive projections aren't good enough for the ML level and his hitting projections are decent, but nothing that jumps out and says "we NEED to pick this guy in the top ten!"
9. Jackson Rebels - Micah Mitchell - Some scouts would call this the second questionable selection of the draft. First Basemen in this game seem to be a dime a dozen, so some GM's shy away from taking them with top choices unless they should the potential of last years #1. Mitchell should be a decent hitter at the ML level eventually but thats about it. Can't shake the feeling that the Reb's were hoping for something more here.
10. Memphis Tigers - Marshall Antonelli - this would be a really solid selection if Antonelli was a little bit better of a defensive player. He still should be a nice player, but not sure he can carry his weight in the middle of the infield.
11. Louisville Cardinals - Clay Lavarnway - Nice selection here for Louisville. Lavarnay should hit a ton of homers eventually and he even has some speed. Not sure if second base is definitely in his future but we'll see how he progresses.
12. Charleston Cougars - Dan James - Can't link him because he hasn't signed and doesn't look like he will. GM's were shocked when the announcement was made that James was chosen because he had been very up front with people that he loved college and wanted to stick his college career out. Charleston's roll of the dice unfortunately failed.
13. Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels - Candy Ryan - Perfect name for Vegas. he can probably be seen at the Rhino during the offseason. Should be a dynamic closer eventually. Some GM's shy away from taking relievers in the first round because of the limited innings, but he has some great projections and can see why he might be hard to pass up.
14. Philadelphia Owls - Rico Martinez - Really nice value selection here by the Owls. Definitely could have gone much higher and ownership must be ecstatic that he dropped. High durability would be nice, but not a deal breaker with his other ratings.
15. Wichita Jayhawks - Manuel Guillen - Kind of a head scratcher. Defensive ratings definitely don't compute to a SS. Maybe not even an infielder. His hitting ratings don't really get GM's excited as an OFer. We'll see what happens, but might have been a mistake.
16. Kansas City Wildcats - Marquis Nolan - Should be a solid hitter. His eye is terrific and the Wildcats are hoping eventually means a .450\.500 OBP.
17. Cincinatti Bearcats - Julio Lira - Lira dropped a bit in the draft due to his average projection with his righty split. Still should be a nice middle of the rotation pitcher eventually.
18. Buffalo Bulls - Jamie Cameron - Defensive Whiz and thats about it. It is nice that he has a great batting eye as well. Some GM's have no issue sacrificing offense for superb defense at SS and looks like the Bulls are one of them.
19. Oakland Golden Bears - Torey Vizquel - Really impressed with this selection and probably the best value selection so far in the draft. Not sure how this guy got past a lot of teams radars, but getting a true CF with power and speed this late in the first round is very impressive.
20. New York Red Storm - Ajax Brown - Should be a very solid pitcher eventually and definitely worth the #20 choice in the draft. Solid ratings across the board, nice selection.
21. Honolulu Warriors - Thomas Martin - Another defensive whiz, but with more pop in the bat than Cameron. Nice selection. If he had gone higher it might have been questionable, but this seems about right.
22. Chicago Illini - Fernando Rondon - GM's are not a huge fan of this choice. This very average splits scared off a lot of people. He should be ready sooner rather than later, but will probably be best looked at as an "innings eater."
23. Detroit Wolverines - Mitch Carter - Scary pick because of his health ratings. Carter is known to hurt himself even if he is in a circular, padded room with nothing else in there. If somehow he escapes the injury bug, he'll be a nice catcher.
24. Austin Longhorns - Lorenzo Fernandez - His lefty split scared off a lot of people. We'll see if his nice righty split makes up for it. Probably will be another "innings eater" back of the rotation type pitcher.
25. Portland Ducks - Peter Stankiewicz - One of the more advanced players in the draft, Peter should be ready to contribute within the next couple of seasons, but will probably just be a decent player because of his average splits.
26. Charlotte Tar Heels - Jerry Seabol - The Heels were happy with the choice. We would rather have had a pitcher, but to us Seabol projects as an above average defensive right fielder with some really nice pop in his bat.
27. Fargo Bison - Sam Kashmir - Nice selection late in the first round. Should eventually be a great closer.
28. Memphis Tigers (from Nashville) - Dan Russell - Really ncie bat, but not sure he will succeed defensively at second base.
29. Pittsburgh Panthers - Jimmie Alicea - Beggers can't be choosers and when you can find probable ML starters at the end of the first round than you have succeeded and Alicea fits that bill.
30. Detroit Wolverines (from New Orleans) - Paul Bowman - Probably won't be more of a long reliever due to his stamina. Would have been nice if his splits were a bit higher.
31. Iowa City Hawkeyes - J.P. Calvo - With development, he could be a very nice back of the rotation pitcher. His splits aren't great but he has solid control and 4 above average pitches. Definitely could succeed.
32. Florida Gators - Jesus Rosa - Really nice selection with the last choice in the first round. the Gators must be happy Rosa dropped to them. really nice bat.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Portland Ducks Season Recap
Portland Ducks - Season I Review
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
With 90 wins, the first season of the Ducks was good.
They are playing in a strong division with Pittsburgh, Fargo and Syracuse.
On the pitcher side, the Ducks have three good starting pitcher in Gene "Cy Young" Wise, the veteran Hong-Gu Kim and one of the rookie of year contender, Terry Simmons.
Some other pitcher like Steve Bevil, Randy Mullin and Luis Rivera have shown that they can do the job.
The official closer of the Ducks, Malachi Benson, has done the job by saving 18 games on 25 opportunities.
The Ducks shown an average power at bat. Ernest Lowe was the power hitter of the Ducks, with 52 HR and 118 RBI. Also, Pedro Cruz and Mark Stewart have proven that they can hit the ball.
Even with two injuries in the season, Vance "Road Runner" Coppolecchia has shown his speed and running abilities, with 112 SB. Cliff Burns and Ivan Nunez respectivly stolen 40 and 30 bases, which is not bad.
In the minor leagues, the results were good. Some young players have played very well, and are still developping theirs abilities. In the amateur draft, the Ducks put their hands on some nice player, but nothing more.
On the international market, Felipe Gandarilla was a great pick. In 23 starts, Gandarilla got 9 wins with and 2.81.
The Ducks also got some great player by trades. For exemple, Gene "Cy Young" Wise were acquire at the same time of Steve Bevil and Lawrence Hill. In this trade, they gave David Cordero and Domingo Servet who are great prospects.
Some other great players come from other teams, like Grant Dixon, Mark Stewart, Al Cortes, Charile Spencer and Randy Mullin.
So, the table are sets for the next season. The Ducks's owner knows what he need to do to improve his team, and maybe have a chance to go to World Series.
sirius07
Portland Ducks
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
With 90 wins, the first season of the Ducks was good.
They are playing in a strong division with Pittsburgh, Fargo and Syracuse.
On the pitcher side, the Ducks have three good starting pitcher in Gene "Cy Young" Wise, the veteran Hong-Gu Kim and one of the rookie of year contender, Terry Simmons.
Some other pitcher like Steve Bevil, Randy Mullin and Luis Rivera have shown that they can do the job.
The official closer of the Ducks, Malachi Benson, has done the job by saving 18 games on 25 opportunities.
The Ducks shown an average power at bat. Ernest Lowe was the power hitter of the Ducks, with 52 HR and 118 RBI. Also, Pedro Cruz and Mark Stewart have proven that they can hit the ball.
Even with two injuries in the season, Vance "Road Runner" Coppolecchia has shown his speed and running abilities, with 112 SB. Cliff Burns and Ivan Nunez respectivly stolen 40 and 30 bases, which is not bad.
In the minor leagues, the results were good. Some young players have played very well, and are still developping theirs abilities. In the amateur draft, the Ducks put their hands on some nice player, but nothing more.
On the international market, Felipe Gandarilla was a great pick. In 23 starts, Gandarilla got 9 wins with and 2.81.
The Ducks also got some great player by trades. For exemple, Gene "Cy Young" Wise were acquire at the same time of Steve Bevil and Lawrence Hill. In this trade, they gave David Cordero and Domingo Servet who are great prospects.
Some other great players come from other teams, like Grant Dixon, Mark Stewart, Al Cortes, Charile Spencer and Randy Mullin.
So, the table are sets for the next season. The Ducks's owner knows what he need to do to improve his team, and maybe have a chance to go to World Series.
sirius07
Portland Ducks
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Columbus Buckeyes Season Recap
Weena's recap of his Buckeye's season.
Here is something I put together on the Buckeyes. I think it pretty much covers the season. Feel free to edit or reject it entirely if it is not what you are looking for. I had fun with it anyway.
The Columbus Buckeyes - a season of chumps, lumps, bumps
I was initially very excited about the Columbus Buckeyes franchise. I thought the ML team might run away with the Big Ten division and possibly go all the way to the World Series. The trophies were just waiting to be engraved with my name. Then the 3 other division coaches signed up. Oh well, I knew they were coming. I figured a little competition is good for the soul anyway. Once the league filled and we got to reserve our spots and wait for the rollover. My anticipation was still very high at that point. Why couldn’t someone at WIS just throw the switch, turn the dial, press the button so our world could begin. The waiting was driving me crazy. I wondered how many Cy Young and MVP candidates I would have. I was wearing the lettering off of the F5 button checking to see if the world had rolled over.
Then there it was on the list of active franchises. I clicked. I looked. I died. What was this crap I was seeing. This wasn’t a championship team. It looked more like a roster of over the hill potbellied softball rejects. My vision blurred. I became lightheaded. My stomach was bubbling up volcano lava. I was sweating profusely. I couldn’t catch my breath. Slowly the nausea passed and all that remained was a sick headache. My dreams of a championship were dashed. Heck, my dreams of a winning season were dashed.
Well, I was locked into this thing so I decided to see what I could salvage of it. I quickly thought that maybe there were some gems hidden in the minors that I could bring up. I scanned the rosters but there was not much to help me there. I saw some potentially good players for future seasons but no immediate help. The reality of the situation was that this franchise stunk from top to bottom. There was one sliver of silver lining though. I found that I was listed as #3 in the amateur draft. There would be hope for the future after all.
I trimmed off as much dead weight as I could from the ML roster including a pitcher with a Control of 5 and the 40 year olds. Once trading began I made a few moves to both strengthen my rotation and build for the future. I had to trade away CF Charles Swindell, my only legitimate player. I got 3 solid players in return and Chuckie would have been a primo big mouth bass swimming in a lake of dead carp anyway. I eventually picked up a couple of SPs that allowed me to demote a couple of high priced slugs to AAA.
The season progressed about as well as expected. Our hitting was pathetic and the hodge podge bullpen cost me a bunch of wins. Then the emails from the medical staff started coming in. A good day was a day that someone didn’t get injured. At one point during the season I had 7 ML players on the 60 day DL including 6 pitchers. My minor league teams took similar hits. It seemed like every other day I was playing dominoes with the pitching. Move a guy up from Rookie League to Low A, move a Low A guy to High A, move a guy from High A to AA. Etc. I ended up with several players playing much higher levels than they should have. Hopefully, the experience at the higher level won’t cause them to miss their potentials.
The Buckeyes finished the season at 69-93. Surprisingly, 6 teams finished with worse records. I guess we weren’t the worst of the worse. The success of our amateur draft is documented elsewhere in this blog and hopefully I can trade one or two of the picks to continue to improve this team. I did sign a nice International starting pitcher who has ML potential. Unfortunately, he will not be able to help the big league club for several more seasons. Our goal for next season is .500. I don’t know if we will make it or not but I do know that it will never be worse than this season. Go Buckeyes.
Weena
Here is something I put together on the Buckeyes. I think it pretty much covers the season. Feel free to edit or reject it entirely if it is not what you are looking for. I had fun with it anyway.
The Columbus Buckeyes - a season of chumps, lumps, bumps
I was initially very excited about the Columbus Buckeyes franchise. I thought the ML team might run away with the Big Ten division and possibly go all the way to the World Series. The trophies were just waiting to be engraved with my name. Then the 3 other division coaches signed up. Oh well, I knew they were coming. I figured a little competition is good for the soul anyway. Once the league filled and we got to reserve our spots and wait for the rollover. My anticipation was still very high at that point. Why couldn’t someone at WIS just throw the switch, turn the dial, press the button so our world could begin. The waiting was driving me crazy. I wondered how many Cy Young and MVP candidates I would have. I was wearing the lettering off of the F5 button checking to see if the world had rolled over.
Then there it was on the list of active franchises. I clicked. I looked. I died. What was this crap I was seeing. This wasn’t a championship team. It looked more like a roster of over the hill potbellied softball rejects. My vision blurred. I became lightheaded. My stomach was bubbling up volcano lava. I was sweating profusely. I couldn’t catch my breath. Slowly the nausea passed and all that remained was a sick headache. My dreams of a championship were dashed. Heck, my dreams of a winning season were dashed.
Well, I was locked into this thing so I decided to see what I could salvage of it. I quickly thought that maybe there were some gems hidden in the minors that I could bring up. I scanned the rosters but there was not much to help me there. I saw some potentially good players for future seasons but no immediate help. The reality of the situation was that this franchise stunk from top to bottom. There was one sliver of silver lining though. I found that I was listed as #3 in the amateur draft. There would be hope for the future after all.
I trimmed off as much dead weight as I could from the ML roster including a pitcher with a Control of 5 and the 40 year olds. Once trading began I made a few moves to both strengthen my rotation and build for the future. I had to trade away CF Charles Swindell, my only legitimate player. I got 3 solid players in return and Chuckie would have been a primo big mouth bass swimming in a lake of dead carp anyway. I eventually picked up a couple of SPs that allowed me to demote a couple of high priced slugs to AAA.
The season progressed about as well as expected. Our hitting was pathetic and the hodge podge bullpen cost me a bunch of wins. Then the emails from the medical staff started coming in. A good day was a day that someone didn’t get injured. At one point during the season I had 7 ML players on the 60 day DL including 6 pitchers. My minor league teams took similar hits. It seemed like every other day I was playing dominoes with the pitching. Move a guy up from Rookie League to Low A, move a Low A guy to High A, move a guy from High A to AA. Etc. I ended up with several players playing much higher levels than they should have. Hopefully, the experience at the higher level won’t cause them to miss their potentials.
The Buckeyes finished the season at 69-93. Surprisingly, 6 teams finished with worse records. I guess we weren’t the worst of the worse. The success of our amateur draft is documented elsewhere in this blog and hopefully I can trade one or two of the picks to continue to improve this team. I did sign a nice International starting pitcher who has ML potential. Unfortunately, he will not be able to help the big league club for several more seasons. Our goal for next season is .500. I don’t know if we will make it or not but I do know that it will never be worse than this season. Go Buckeyes.
Weena
Monday, June 9, 2008
Amateur Draft Review - AL West
Los Angeles Bruins
1-14 - Dick Bailey - Will be an absolute steal at 14 IF his control reaches near his projections. His stamina obviously incrases is OVR, but lots of people were surprised he fell this far. Will be a top f the rotation pitcher if he reaches projections.
1-38 - Joaquin Almanzar - Definitely not a SS at the ML level, but still a slid pick. Has the bat to produce well as a 3B or corner outfielder.
2-49 - Marcus Perez - Decent pick. Again, has a good bat, but his batting eye is below par. Some owners don't care about BE and others do. Will be fun to see how he does.
2-62 - Daryl Smith - With those splits is almost certainly a career minor leaguer. Could have gotten much more value here.
3-94 - Anthony Hines - Didn't scout and hasn't signed
4-126 - Junior Palmeiro - Career minor leaguer
5-158 - Vinny Glover - Not a bad selection at all for a fifth rounder. The Bruins rolling the dice to see if his excellent power can overcome those splits.
Impact: Mild\Moderate - If the Bruins had added one more solid guy, this definitely would have been a Moderate Impact class. Bailey is a steal at 14 and the next two picks are solid if not spectacular.
Oakland Cardinal
1-7 - Luis Santana - Nice selection and should be a really good #2 starter in the league for many years.
1-28 - Al Gomez - Not a huge fan of this pick strictly because of that righty split which probably means he won't be very effective. Definitely a reach.
1-36 - Karim Ramirez - On the other hand, I really like this pick. Will be very interesting to see if his control and splits can overcome two average at best pitches. Probably will need to be pared with a high PC catcher.
3-87 - Brian Pagnozzi - Hasn't signed and doesn't look like Oakland is going to give him the money he wants. Probably a good idea, as he doesn't look like he would be worth the investment.
4-119 - Scot Moore - Hasn't signed and I didn't scout.
5-151 - Met Smart - Hasn't signed and even if he does will probably only be a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild - With two first round picks and a comp pick I think the Cardinal could have gotten a little more out of the second of those picks. Also, akland has pretty much ignored the rest of their draft.
Salem Beavers
1-18 - Stu Ford - Definitely a nice pick, but definitely not a SS. Could be a standout 3B though and will have a very nice bat.
1-39 - Buster Gordon - Gordon seems to be a bit of a reach here because his control and splits aren't great.
2-56 - Bob Marshall - Very good value selection here. Would have thought the same thing if Salem chose Marshall with their comp pick. Should be a nice catcher if the Beavers can live with average PC.
2-66 - Martin Davis - Another great value selection as Davis definitely has the bat to not only make it to the bigs, but do well.
3-98 - Craig Stechschulte - Third great value selection in a row. Not sure how many innings they can get out of him due to that stamina\durability combo, but when he pitches he should be really solid.
4-130 - Stu Farnsworth - Great fourth round selection. Whenever you can get possibly ML contributors here you are having a good draft. Should hit some homeruns in the bigs one day.
5-162 - Juan Gomez - Career minor leaguer
Impact: Moderate\High - Salem had one of the best drafts in NCAA this season. If his second pick was a little better than this would be a full High Impact draft (although I can definitely be proved wrong)
Seattle Huskies
1-6 - Tracy Nen - Should be a great player eventually. Seattle already has some bad luck as Nen tore his groin muscle even with a great health rating.
1-35 - Benny Taveras - Will be interesting to see if Taveras can overcome that awful lefty split. It seems like with this high a pick, Seattle might have wanted to go in a different direction as this is a definite roll of the dice.
2-54 - Harry Moya - Solid choice here. Probably won't pitch a ton of innings, but when he is in there he should do a great job.
2-58 - Damian Matsuzaka - Didn't scout and hasn't signed.
3-86 - Jay West - Might have been able to get better value here. Suspect control and splits might hurt him too much to be anything but the 12\13th pitcher in the bigs if that.
4-118 - Tommie Stone - At best is a long reliever\mop up because of those splits. Probably a career minor leaguer.
5-150 - Rudy Callaway - Didn't Scout and hasn't signed
Impact: Mild\Moderate - Other than Nen with the first pick, this draft has questions. However Nen is good enough to be a perennial all star and thats enough to push the impact up.
1-14 - Dick Bailey - Will be an absolute steal at 14 IF his control reaches near his projections. His stamina obviously incrases is OVR, but lots of people were surprised he fell this far. Will be a top f the rotation pitcher if he reaches projections.
1-38 - Joaquin Almanzar - Definitely not a SS at the ML level, but still a slid pick. Has the bat to produce well as a 3B or corner outfielder.
2-49 - Marcus Perez - Decent pick. Again, has a good bat, but his batting eye is below par. Some owners don't care about BE and others do. Will be fun to see how he does.
2-62 - Daryl Smith - With those splits is almost certainly a career minor leaguer. Could have gotten much more value here.
3-94 - Anthony Hines - Didn't scout and hasn't signed
4-126 - Junior Palmeiro - Career minor leaguer
5-158 - Vinny Glover - Not a bad selection at all for a fifth rounder. The Bruins rolling the dice to see if his excellent power can overcome those splits.
Impact: Mild\Moderate - If the Bruins had added one more solid guy, this definitely would have been a Moderate Impact class. Bailey is a steal at 14 and the next two picks are solid if not spectacular.
Oakland Cardinal
1-7 - Luis Santana - Nice selection and should be a really good #2 starter in the league for many years.
1-28 - Al Gomez - Not a huge fan of this pick strictly because of that righty split which probably means he won't be very effective. Definitely a reach.
1-36 - Karim Ramirez - On the other hand, I really like this pick. Will be very interesting to see if his control and splits can overcome two average at best pitches. Probably will need to be pared with a high PC catcher.
3-87 - Brian Pagnozzi - Hasn't signed and doesn't look like Oakland is going to give him the money he wants. Probably a good idea, as he doesn't look like he would be worth the investment.
4-119 - Scot Moore - Hasn't signed and I didn't scout.
5-151 - Met Smart - Hasn't signed and even if he does will probably only be a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild - With two first round picks and a comp pick I think the Cardinal could have gotten a little more out of the second of those picks. Also, akland has pretty much ignored the rest of their draft.
Salem Beavers
1-18 - Stu Ford - Definitely a nice pick, but definitely not a SS. Could be a standout 3B though and will have a very nice bat.
1-39 - Buster Gordon - Gordon seems to be a bit of a reach here because his control and splits aren't great.
2-56 - Bob Marshall - Very good value selection here. Would have thought the same thing if Salem chose Marshall with their comp pick. Should be a nice catcher if the Beavers can live with average PC.
2-66 - Martin Davis - Another great value selection as Davis definitely has the bat to not only make it to the bigs, but do well.
3-98 - Craig Stechschulte - Third great value selection in a row. Not sure how many innings they can get out of him due to that stamina\durability combo, but when he pitches he should be really solid.
4-130 - Stu Farnsworth - Great fourth round selection. Whenever you can get possibly ML contributors here you are having a good draft. Should hit some homeruns in the bigs one day.
5-162 - Juan Gomez - Career minor leaguer
Impact: Moderate\High - Salem had one of the best drafts in NCAA this season. If his second pick was a little better than this would be a full High Impact draft (although I can definitely be proved wrong)
Seattle Huskies
1-6 - Tracy Nen - Should be a great player eventually. Seattle already has some bad luck as Nen tore his groin muscle even with a great health rating.
1-35 - Benny Taveras - Will be interesting to see if Taveras can overcome that awful lefty split. It seems like with this high a pick, Seattle might have wanted to go in a different direction as this is a definite roll of the dice.
2-54 - Harry Moya - Solid choice here. Probably won't pitch a ton of innings, but when he is in there he should do a great job.
2-58 - Damian Matsuzaka - Didn't scout and hasn't signed.
3-86 - Jay West - Might have been able to get better value here. Suspect control and splits might hurt him too much to be anything but the 12\13th pitcher in the bigs if that.
4-118 - Tommie Stone - At best is a long reliever\mop up because of those splits. Probably a career minor leaguer.
5-150 - Rudy Callaway - Didn't Scout and hasn't signed
Impact: Mild\Moderate - Other than Nen with the first pick, this draft has questions. However Nen is good enough to be a perennial all star and thats enough to push the impact up.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Amateur Draft Review - AL South
Florida Gators
1-12 - Chance Austin - Very nice first round selection. Austin projects to be a top of the rotation pitcher. Maybe not a true #1 ace, but a very good #2.
1-45 - Pat Howington - Howington is an interesting compensation pick. Great splits and some nice pitches should make him be a very good setup A\closer. Even though he does project to high forties in stamina, his durability will mitigate that.
3-92 - Davy Jackson - Defensive specialist at shortstop that has a belw average bat. The glove is definitely ML material.
4-124 - Turner Torrealba - Poor righty split probably dooms him to career minor league status.
5-156 - Chris Blake - Scouts don't think Blake has the bat to make it to the majors. He makes above average contact, but his splits are really poor.
Impact: Moderate - First two picks are very strong especially the first rounder. Will be interesting to see what happens to Jackson. He has a great glove, but will be a very poor hitter at the ML level.
Jackson Rebels
1-15 - Stuart Hughes Looking forward to seeing how Hughes progresses. He has a really nice lefty split but not a great righty split. Also, 4 out of his 5 pitches project to below average to average. He does have fantastic control. He will definitely contribute on the ML level, but part of me feels he could have gotten more at 15.
2-63 - Wilt Curtis - Could be a decent role player, but probably not much more in the bigs.
3-95 - Alexander Herrera - At best, will be a long reliever\ mop up guy in the bigs and maybe just a great AAA pitcher.
4-127 - Bobby Sheffield - Probably can be a decent defensive replacement in the bigs. Not a bad selection at all for the 4th round.
5-159 - Phillip Ritchie - With those splits he'll be a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild. Decent draft, but no one sticks out as a great player and part of me still feels that taking Hughes at 15 was a bit of a reach.
Nashville Commodores
1-13 - Juan Delgado - If Delgado's glove rating was about 10 points higher than I would really like this selection, but as it stands now, I'm not sure he can be an everyday ML SS without making a lot of errors. Very nice bat, but his batting eye will hurt a bit.
2-61 - Guillermo James - James is a speedster and makes good contact when he actually hits the ball, but he swings at an awful lot of pitches outside the zone which hurt him. Might have been able to find better value here.
3-93 - Nate Fitzgerald - Really nice value for the third round. Definitely has the bat to be a player in the bigs. He might need to be moved to a corner outfield position as his glove probably won't cut it at third.
4-125 - PJ Harper - Would have been a great selection for the fourth round, but he still hasn't signed. Great power and batting eye.
5-157 - Ed Baez - Probably a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild. Not in live with the first two picks for where they were selected although I'm looking forward to seeing what Nashville does with Delgado position wise. Nice value in the 3rd round and it would be great for them if the 4th rounder signs.
New Orleans Privateers
1-30 - Juan Torres - Really nice value at the end of the round. Definitely a better pick than several others that went higher. Should be a nice bat in the bigs although he might have to mve to a corner outfield position.
2-78 - Philip Valdes - Another great value selection here. He'll have to get his durability up, but definitely projects to a big league bat.
3-110 - Hugh Moss - Interesting selection here. Great splits and pitches. Probably fell in the draft due to poor stamina and slightly above average control.
4-142 - Nolan Loewer - Probably a career minor league, but maybe a 25th guy on the roster type player. Also, he is one of the ugliest guys in NCAA world.
5-174 - Dan Graham - Probably a career minor leaguer
Impact: Moderate - Two definite ML starters in the first two rounds push this draft barely into the moderate impact category. It will be interesting to see how many innings\year the Privateers can get out of Moss.
1-12 - Chance Austin - Very nice first round selection. Austin projects to be a top of the rotation pitcher. Maybe not a true #1 ace, but a very good #2.
1-45 - Pat Howington - Howington is an interesting compensation pick. Great splits and some nice pitches should make him be a very good setup A\closer. Even though he does project to high forties in stamina, his durability will mitigate that.
3-92 - Davy Jackson - Defensive specialist at shortstop that has a belw average bat. The glove is definitely ML material.
4-124 - Turner Torrealba - Poor righty split probably dooms him to career minor league status.
5-156 - Chris Blake - Scouts don't think Blake has the bat to make it to the majors. He makes above average contact, but his splits are really poor.
Impact: Moderate - First two picks are very strong especially the first rounder. Will be interesting to see what happens to Jackson. He has a great glove, but will be a very poor hitter at the ML level.
Jackson Rebels
1-15 - Stuart Hughes Looking forward to seeing how Hughes progresses. He has a really nice lefty split but not a great righty split. Also, 4 out of his 5 pitches project to below average to average. He does have fantastic control. He will definitely contribute on the ML level, but part of me feels he could have gotten more at 15.
2-63 - Wilt Curtis - Could be a decent role player, but probably not much more in the bigs.
3-95 - Alexander Herrera - At best, will be a long reliever\ mop up guy in the bigs and maybe just a great AAA pitcher.
4-127 - Bobby Sheffield - Probably can be a decent defensive replacement in the bigs. Not a bad selection at all for the 4th round.
5-159 - Phillip Ritchie - With those splits he'll be a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild. Decent draft, but no one sticks out as a great player and part of me still feels that taking Hughes at 15 was a bit of a reach.
Nashville Commodores
1-13 - Juan Delgado - If Delgado's glove rating was about 10 points higher than I would really like this selection, but as it stands now, I'm not sure he can be an everyday ML SS without making a lot of errors. Very nice bat, but his batting eye will hurt a bit.
2-61 - Guillermo James - James is a speedster and makes good contact when he actually hits the ball, but he swings at an awful lot of pitches outside the zone which hurt him. Might have been able to find better value here.
3-93 - Nate Fitzgerald - Really nice value for the third round. Definitely has the bat to be a player in the bigs. He might need to be moved to a corner outfield position as his glove probably won't cut it at third.
4-125 - PJ Harper - Would have been a great selection for the fourth round, but he still hasn't signed. Great power and batting eye.
5-157 - Ed Baez - Probably a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild. Not in live with the first two picks for where they were selected although I'm looking forward to seeing what Nashville does with Delgado position wise. Nice value in the 3rd round and it would be great for them if the 4th rounder signs.
New Orleans Privateers
1-30 - Juan Torres - Really nice value at the end of the round. Definitely a better pick than several others that went higher. Should be a nice bat in the bigs although he might have to mve to a corner outfield position.
2-78 - Philip Valdes - Another great value selection here. He'll have to get his durability up, but definitely projects to a big league bat.
3-110 - Hugh Moss - Interesting selection here. Great splits and pitches. Probably fell in the draft due to poor stamina and slightly above average control.
4-142 - Nolan Loewer - Probably a career minor league, but maybe a 25th guy on the roster type player. Also, he is one of the ugliest guys in NCAA world.
5-174 - Dan Graham - Probably a career minor leaguer
Impact: Moderate - Two definite ML starters in the first two rounds push this draft barely into the moderate impact category. It will be interesting to see how many innings\year the Privateers can get out of Moss.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Amateur Draft Review - AL East
Chicago
1-10 - Napoleon Shannon - Really solid closer prospect here. With the projected durability and stamina, he could get close to 100 innings which would be great.
1-19 - Hamlet Jones - Has some decent projections, especially splits and pitches, but his durability is pretty low for a starter and he has at best average control which seems to be hurt at ML level.
1-37 - Al Guardado - Solid pitching prospect, but it looks like he won't sign which would be a waste of a pretty high pick.
3-90 - Jumbo Martinez - Didn't scout and hasn't signed
4-122 - Bill Fox - Wants to sign, but hasn't received an offer yet. Will be a career minor leaguer either way.
5-154 - Phil Barry - Didn't scout
Impact: Mild. Nice first selection, but as I have mentioned before, its always a toss up taking a reliever in the first round, especially with a pick as high as number 10. Jones is a decent prospect, but the control scares me. Doesn't look like there are any other ML prospects from the rest of the draft.
Charleston
1-27 - Ted Rivera - Wow, fantastic pick so late in the first round. Should be a really good ML SS, possibly an All Star if everything breaks right.
1-41 - Otis Ritz - Solid hitter to choose with the 41st pick. Again, nothing wrong choosing a potential ML starter with the 41st pick. Its a better pick then some first rounders.
1-48 - Yorvit Martinez - Sounding like a broken record, this is the third nice selection in a row. Another potential starter. The Cougars certainly made great work of their sandwich picks.
2-55 - Brandon Stewart - Possibly a back of the rotation\long reliever, but the lefty split is a little scary.
2-75 - Luis Bonilla - Hasn't signed and didn't scout.
3-107 - Kordell Benoit - Would be a fantasic value selection, but it doesn't look like he will sign.
4-139 - Orval Vining - Probably a great AAA player, but probably won't advance past that due to a below average bat.
5-171 - Keith Kirk - Wants to sign, but hasn't. Probably would be a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Moderate. It seems like there are several teams that picks 25 and later that had very nice selections. Not sure if that is because of the luck of the draw or poor drafting ahead. Probably a mixture of both. Three really solid picks to open the draft. If Benoit signs this will definitely be a "high" impact draft.
New York
1-4 - Ronnie Hamill - Can't go wrong with this selection. Hamill should be a perennial all star if not a future hall of famer with those projections.
1-43 - Pinky Hall - If Hall's PC rating was a bit high, I would be tempted to call this the steal of the draft. It will be interesting to see if the Red Storm roll the dice with him as a Catcher or keep him as a DH.
2-52 - Lou York - Solid second round selection. His low stamina will limit his innings, but he should be a force when he is on the mound in the late innings.
3-84 - Louis Forest - Decent value for a third rounder. Has a great bat, although his average splits will temper those other hitting ratings a bit. Will definitely be a DH\1B with those defensive stats.
4-116 - Russell Mancuso - Could possibly be a Setup B type in the future. Nice selection this late in the draft.
5-148 - Rodrigo Vallarta - Hasn't signed yet. Would probably hit a ton of homeruns in the minors if he did though and thats about it.
Impact: High - I have to go with a high impact here due to the possible Hall of Famer chosen first and then the three very solid picks thereafter. Very nice draft for the Red Storm.
Philadelphia
1-8 - Matty Bohanon - Great hitter. A couple things scare me though that would prevent some from choosing Bohanon so high. He is a SS, but some of his defensive ratings project t below average for a ML SS. Also, he has at best an average eye and will probably be a very free swinger. Hopefully he'll be able to make good contact anyways.
1-44 - Bo Parker - Solid reliever prospect. With those splits and above average first pitch is definitely a closer or setup A prospect.
5-152 - Dick Ross - Nothing jumps out about Ross, but he doesn't have any huge flaws and could one day be a bench player in the bigs. Nothing wrong with getting a guy like that in the fitfh.
Impact: Mild - Would be Moderate with a couple more picks, but the Owls forfeited those with some free agent signings. Will be interesting to see how Bohanon does once he reaches the bigs.
1-10 - Napoleon Shannon - Really solid closer prospect here. With the projected durability and stamina, he could get close to 100 innings which would be great.
1-19 - Hamlet Jones - Has some decent projections, especially splits and pitches, but his durability is pretty low for a starter and he has at best average control which seems to be hurt at ML level.
1-37 - Al Guardado - Solid pitching prospect, but it looks like he won't sign which would be a waste of a pretty high pick.
3-90 - Jumbo Martinez - Didn't scout and hasn't signed
4-122 - Bill Fox - Wants to sign, but hasn't received an offer yet. Will be a career minor leaguer either way.
5-154 - Phil Barry - Didn't scout
Impact: Mild. Nice first selection, but as I have mentioned before, its always a toss up taking a reliever in the first round, especially with a pick as high as number 10. Jones is a decent prospect, but the control scares me. Doesn't look like there are any other ML prospects from the rest of the draft.
Charleston
1-27 - Ted Rivera - Wow, fantastic pick so late in the first round. Should be a really good ML SS, possibly an All Star if everything breaks right.
1-41 - Otis Ritz - Solid hitter to choose with the 41st pick. Again, nothing wrong choosing a potential ML starter with the 41st pick. Its a better pick then some first rounders.
1-48 - Yorvit Martinez - Sounding like a broken record, this is the third nice selection in a row. Another potential starter. The Cougars certainly made great work of their sandwich picks.
2-55 - Brandon Stewart - Possibly a back of the rotation\long reliever, but the lefty split is a little scary.
2-75 - Luis Bonilla - Hasn't signed and didn't scout.
3-107 - Kordell Benoit - Would be a fantasic value selection, but it doesn't look like he will sign.
4-139 - Orval Vining - Probably a great AAA player, but probably won't advance past that due to a below average bat.
5-171 - Keith Kirk - Wants to sign, but hasn't. Probably would be a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Moderate. It seems like there are several teams that picks 25 and later that had very nice selections. Not sure if that is because of the luck of the draw or poor drafting ahead. Probably a mixture of both. Three really solid picks to open the draft. If Benoit signs this will definitely be a "high" impact draft.
New York
1-4 - Ronnie Hamill - Can't go wrong with this selection. Hamill should be a perennial all star if not a future hall of famer with those projections.
1-43 - Pinky Hall - If Hall's PC rating was a bit high, I would be tempted to call this the steal of the draft. It will be interesting to see if the Red Storm roll the dice with him as a Catcher or keep him as a DH.
2-52 - Lou York - Solid second round selection. His low stamina will limit his innings, but he should be a force when he is on the mound in the late innings.
3-84 - Louis Forest - Decent value for a third rounder. Has a great bat, although his average splits will temper those other hitting ratings a bit. Will definitely be a DH\1B with those defensive stats.
4-116 - Russell Mancuso - Could possibly be a Setup B type in the future. Nice selection this late in the draft.
5-148 - Rodrigo Vallarta - Hasn't signed yet. Would probably hit a ton of homeruns in the minors if he did though and thats about it.
Impact: High - I have to go with a high impact here due to the possible Hall of Famer chosen first and then the three very solid picks thereafter. Very nice draft for the Red Storm.
Philadelphia
1-8 - Matty Bohanon - Great hitter. A couple things scare me though that would prevent some from choosing Bohanon so high. He is a SS, but some of his defensive ratings project t below average for a ML SS. Also, he has at best an average eye and will probably be a very free swinger. Hopefully he'll be able to make good contact anyways.
1-44 - Bo Parker - Solid reliever prospect. With those splits and above average first pitch is definitely a closer or setup A prospect.
5-152 - Dick Ross - Nothing jumps out about Ross, but he doesn't have any huge flaws and could one day be a bench player in the bigs. Nothing wrong with getting a guy like that in the fitfh.
Impact: Mild - Would be Moderate with a couple more picks, but the Owls forfeited those with some free agent signings. Will be interesting to see how Bohanon does once he reaches the bigs.
Amateur Draft Review - AL North
Fargo
1-29 - Walter Koch - Looks like another example of an overall rating being higher than it should due to stamina. Mid 40's righty split probably dooms him to long reliever if that. The pitchers that went 31 and 32 are much better prospects. (of course mikejuggalo might not have seen them) Probably would not have chosen Koch if this was a live draft.
2-77 - Gordon Johnson - Again, the righty split probably makes Johnson a career minor leaguer.
3-109 - Orlando Nunez - Splits probably make this guy a career minor league. However, since this is the third guy in a row chosen by Fargo with below average splits, maybe there is a method to the madness.
4-141 - Reid Gardner - Ditto
5-173 - Johnny Karl Ditto and add in average control.
Impact: Mild. I should just rewrite what I wrote about the third rounder. Personally I have never had success with below average splits, but I know some people don't mind and mikejuggalo is a fantastic owner so I'm thinking he knows what he is doing.
Pittsburgh
1-24 - Graham Post Solid closer prospect although it would be better if his righty split was a tad higher. However, he projects to perfect control and two very good pitches with awesome velocity. Another plus is that really high urability which will counteract the low stamina a bit.
2-72 - Jayson Langford - Langford is still playing SS in rookie league, but scouts are pretty much in agreement he'll need to be moved to 3B or a corner outfield position. Should hit a ton of homeruns with that power.
3-104 - Mule Stewart - Another nominee for the name hall of fame. Mule fell in the draft due to, at best, average control. Pitt will be hoping his above average splits\pitches will overcome the poor control.
4-136 - Bobby Ray DeRosa - Probably a career minor leaguer with that control.
5-168 - Benji Ferguson - Ditto above
Impact: Mild. The first two choices are solid if not spectacular. The last three pitchers all have control issues with only my man Mule having a shot at overcoming the bad control.
Portland
1-26 - Julian Ramirez - Ramirez projects at best to the back of the rotation type pitcher. His splits are only average and his control only slightly better than that.
1-40 - Alan Thompson - Another selection in the AL North where control is not giving as heavy a weight as others. Excellent pitches and solid splits will have to overcome the below par control.
2-60 - Mike Ray - I think the AL North teams all copies off each other. Ray is another pitcher for the below average split experiment.
2-74 - Rey McGlinchy See Mike Ray above
3-106 - Terry Morgan - Definitely a career minor leaguer. And he is kind of scary looking.
4-138 - Wiki Moreno - If he signs he will probably be a career minor leaguer.
5-170 - Trenidad Rivera - Actually is a nice selection for a fifth rounder. Could see some time in the bigs as a backup catcher possibly.
Impact: Mild. Portland had a lot of choices and I'm not sure they took advantage of them. Its not easy with the limits on scouting we can spend, but there were other choices in the same rounds that were better value. If Portland can somehow get these pitchers with below average splits and\or control to work than this will be a solid draft.
Syracuse
1-22 - Ed Boyd - It will be interesting to watch Boyd's development. He is overvalued due to his high stamina. n one hand he has a very nice lefty split, but it goes with a poor righty split. He throws really hard and has a couple above average pitches. Several pitchers went after him that are better prospects.
2-70 - Joel Harris - I think this is the 10th pitcher or so in the AL north that is very similar. The Cuse hopes great control and velocity balances out the mid 40's splits.
3-102 - Gabe Brow - See Joel Harris above
4-134 - Cookie Diaz - Solid pick fr a 4th rounder and might be a better prospect than the guys chosen in the second and third round because of higher splits although that low durability couples with the mid sixties stamina probably means he is a long\middle reliever.
5-166 - Yorrick Breen - Didn't scout and hasn't signed
Impact: Mild. This is the fourth of the four AL North teams and they all went heavy on pitching. On top of that a lot of the pitchers are similar. Like it was mentioned above, it will be interesting to see how the first round pick develops; that righty split scares me.
1-29 - Walter Koch - Looks like another example of an overall rating being higher than it should due to stamina. Mid 40's righty split probably dooms him to long reliever if that. The pitchers that went 31 and 32 are much better prospects. (of course mikejuggalo might not have seen them) Probably would not have chosen Koch if this was a live draft.
2-77 - Gordon Johnson - Again, the righty split probably makes Johnson a career minor leaguer.
3-109 - Orlando Nunez - Splits probably make this guy a career minor league. However, since this is the third guy in a row chosen by Fargo with below average splits, maybe there is a method to the madness.
4-141 - Reid Gardner - Ditto
5-173 - Johnny Karl Ditto and add in average control.
Impact: Mild. I should just rewrite what I wrote about the third rounder. Personally I have never had success with below average splits, but I know some people don't mind and mikejuggalo is a fantastic owner so I'm thinking he knows what he is doing.
Pittsburgh
1-24 - Graham Post Solid closer prospect although it would be better if his righty split was a tad higher. However, he projects to perfect control and two very good pitches with awesome velocity. Another plus is that really high urability which will counteract the low stamina a bit.
2-72 - Jayson Langford - Langford is still playing SS in rookie league, but scouts are pretty much in agreement he'll need to be moved to 3B or a corner outfield position. Should hit a ton of homeruns with that power.
3-104 - Mule Stewart - Another nominee for the name hall of fame. Mule fell in the draft due to, at best, average control. Pitt will be hoping his above average splits\pitches will overcome the poor control.
4-136 - Bobby Ray DeRosa - Probably a career minor leaguer with that control.
5-168 - Benji Ferguson - Ditto above
Impact: Mild. The first two choices are solid if not spectacular. The last three pitchers all have control issues with only my man Mule having a shot at overcoming the bad control.
Portland
1-26 - Julian Ramirez - Ramirez projects at best to the back of the rotation type pitcher. His splits are only average and his control only slightly better than that.
1-40 - Alan Thompson - Another selection in the AL North where control is not giving as heavy a weight as others. Excellent pitches and solid splits will have to overcome the below par control.
2-60 - Mike Ray - I think the AL North teams all copies off each other. Ray is another pitcher for the below average split experiment.
2-74 - Rey McGlinchy See Mike Ray above
3-106 - Terry Morgan - Definitely a career minor leaguer. And he is kind of scary looking.
4-138 - Wiki Moreno - If he signs he will probably be a career minor leaguer.
5-170 - Trenidad Rivera - Actually is a nice selection for a fifth rounder. Could see some time in the bigs as a backup catcher possibly.
Impact: Mild. Portland had a lot of choices and I'm not sure they took advantage of them. Its not easy with the limits on scouting we can spend, but there were other choices in the same rounds that were better value. If Portland can somehow get these pitchers with below average splits and\or control to work than this will be a solid draft.
Syracuse
1-22 - Ed Boyd - It will be interesting to watch Boyd's development. He is overvalued due to his high stamina. n one hand he has a very nice lefty split, but it goes with a poor righty split. He throws really hard and has a couple above average pitches. Several pitchers went after him that are better prospects.
2-70 - Joel Harris - I think this is the 10th pitcher or so in the AL north that is very similar. The Cuse hopes great control and velocity balances out the mid 40's splits.
3-102 - Gabe Brow - See Joel Harris above
4-134 - Cookie Diaz - Solid pick fr a 4th rounder and might be a better prospect than the guys chosen in the second and third round because of higher splits although that low durability couples with the mid sixties stamina probably means he is a long\middle reliever.
5-166 - Yorrick Breen - Didn't scout and hasn't signed
Impact: Mild. This is the fourth of the four AL North teams and they all went heavy on pitching. On top of that a lot of the pitchers are similar. Like it was mentioned above, it will be interesting to see how the first round pick develops; that righty split scares me.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Amateur Draft Review - NL West
Arizona
1-11 - Ebenezer Woodson - Yikes, this is scary. Eleventh pick and the guy drafted isn't sure if he wants to play ML baseball. Not a good situation. Even if he signs (and if he does it will be for a ton of cash), his control will always be a hindrance. His excellent splits and pitches just might be able to overcome it.
UPDATE: Arizona found out some good news that Woodson decided to sign a professional contract. Scouts are looking forward to seeing if his grea tsplits and pitches can overcome that control.
2-59 - Charley Shaw - Scouts are pretty much split down the middle on Shaw. Some feel he can be a nice piece to the puzzle and others feel he is probably just a utility guy since he doesn't do anything really well.
3-91 - Bart Anderson - Doesn't look like he is going to sign.
4-123 - Junior Duran - Could hit some homers if he makes the bigs, but thats probably it.
5-155 - William Hogan - Career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild - Its never good when a first rounder isn't going to sign, but hopefully the Sun Devils will be able to convince Woodson. UPDATE: Woodson ended up signing which probably ended with a huge sigh of relief from the Sun Devils owner.
Honolulu
1-9 - Daniel Mullens Its tough to go wrong in the top ten and the Warriors definitely didn't by selecting this very solid pitching prospect who should be able to #2\#3 starter. Even better is he is coming out college so he should be ready sooner rather than later.
2-57 - Craig Webster - Solid selection and a guy that can probably be a back of the rotation\long reliever type pitcher. If his righty split was a bit higher, he would be a great prospect for a second round choice.
3-89 - Dicky Hatcher - Fantastic choice for a third rounder. The best one I have come across yet. He has a long way to g t reach his projections, but if the Warriors are patient, he should be a beast.
4-121 - Adam Jordan - Nice selection for a fourth rounder although some scouts feel his glove isn't good enough to be a CFer at the big league level. Should turn out to be a nice utility player.
5-153 - Walter Henderson - If he makes it to the bigs it will be as a defensive specialist.
Impact: Moderate - Very solid draft for the Warriors. The theme continues of whenever you can get two starting pitching prospects out of a draft you can't really go wrong. Jordan and Henderson aren't throwaway choices either.
Update: might have to move this to Moderate\High. Hatcher is an absolute beast of a hitter which jsut makes the Warriors draft that much better.
Las Vegas
1-2 - Graham Wilson - Absolute monster of a hitter that should terrorize West pitching when he hits the bigs. His splits projections are fantastic. The downside is that it will take several seasons to get there.
2-50 - Ralph Kohlmeier - Solid choice at #50. Another example of probably someone Vegas would not have chosen if this was a live draft since he plays the same position as Wilson. Unfortunately he has also already been hit with a really bad injury which shows why its a gamble to choose guys with low health.
3-82 - Tony Paniagua - Decent value selecting a defensive SS here. Unfortunately he has also already been hit by the injury bug. Vegas sure isn't afraid of those lower health rated guys.
4-114 - J.R. Clay - Vegas goes with another defensive SS, but slots Clay in at Low A so he is not doubling up with Paniuga. Smart.
5-146 - Eric Osbourne - Very solid selection for a fifth round choice. Could possibly be a Setup B type if everything works out.
Impact - Moderate - 5 picks and 5 guys that you can project to the bigs including a guy that should be a perennial all star eventually.
Kansas City
1-5 - Michael Sutton - Holy crap, this guys projected splits are ridiculous. If Sutton hits his projections than the 9th inning should locked down when he hits the majors. If you had to take a contrary opinion, some would argue that you shouldn't use a top 5\10 pick on a guy who can only give you 60-75 innings a year. However, I can see how you could be convinced by those projections.
1-34 - Chris Richardson - Interesting, the Wildcats go with another reliever who is just slightly less impressive than Sutton. With these two guys locking down the end of games the 'Cats will be tough to beat in the future.
2-53 - Zephyr Figueroa - Didn't scout and hasn't signed (great name though)
3-81 - Cleatus Spencer - Nice hitter and I like how he is from NC and is named Cleatus....way to stereotype WIS! Better batting eye would have helped.
3-85 - Moises Valentin - Could be a long reliever\spot starter in the bigs one day. Nothing wrong with rolling the dice on a guy like that with the 85th pick.
4-117 - Vernon Niekro - If he makes the bigs it will be as 4th or 5th outfielder...at least scouts don't feel like it should be for anything more than that.
5-149 - Rheal Maurer - Didn't scout and hasn't signed.
Impact - Moderate\High - If those two relievers reach their projections and become dominant then this is a fantastic draft for the Wildcats. However, the bullpen is still one of the harder things to predict success with and there are still instances of guys with great ratings that don't perform. Thats the only thing that keeps me from going High impact. Spencer and Valentin are nice picks in the third round.
1-11 - Ebenezer Woodson - Yikes, this is scary. Eleventh pick and the guy drafted isn't sure if he wants to play ML baseball. Not a good situation. Even if he signs (and if he does it will be for a ton of cash), his control will always be a hindrance. His excellent splits and pitches just might be able to overcome it.
UPDATE: Arizona found out some good news that Woodson decided to sign a professional contract. Scouts are looking forward to seeing if his grea tsplits and pitches can overcome that control.
2-59 - Charley Shaw - Scouts are pretty much split down the middle on Shaw. Some feel he can be a nice piece to the puzzle and others feel he is probably just a utility guy since he doesn't do anything really well.
3-91 - Bart Anderson - Doesn't look like he is going to sign.
4-123 - Junior Duran - Could hit some homers if he makes the bigs, but thats probably it.
5-155 - William Hogan - Career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild - Its never good when a first rounder isn't going to sign, but hopefully the Sun Devils will be able to convince Woodson. UPDATE: Woodson ended up signing which probably ended with a huge sigh of relief from the Sun Devils owner.
Honolulu
1-9 - Daniel Mullens Its tough to go wrong in the top ten and the Warriors definitely didn't by selecting this very solid pitching prospect who should be able to #2\#3 starter. Even better is he is coming out college so he should be ready sooner rather than later.
2-57 - Craig Webster - Solid selection and a guy that can probably be a back of the rotation\long reliever type pitcher. If his righty split was a bit higher, he would be a great prospect for a second round choice.
3-89 - Dicky Hatcher - Fantastic choice for a third rounder. The best one I have come across yet. He has a long way to g t reach his projections, but if the Warriors are patient, he should be a beast.
4-121 - Adam Jordan - Nice selection for a fourth rounder although some scouts feel his glove isn't good enough to be a CFer at the big league level. Should turn out to be a nice utility player.
5-153 - Walter Henderson - If he makes it to the bigs it will be as a defensive specialist.
Impact: Moderate - Very solid draft for the Warriors. The theme continues of whenever you can get two starting pitching prospects out of a draft you can't really go wrong. Jordan and Henderson aren't throwaway choices either.
Update: might have to move this to Moderate\High. Hatcher is an absolute beast of a hitter which jsut makes the Warriors draft that much better.
Las Vegas
1-2 - Graham Wilson - Absolute monster of a hitter that should terrorize West pitching when he hits the bigs. His splits projections are fantastic. The downside is that it will take several seasons to get there.
2-50 - Ralph Kohlmeier - Solid choice at #50. Another example of probably someone Vegas would not have chosen if this was a live draft since he plays the same position as Wilson. Unfortunately he has also already been hit with a really bad injury which shows why its a gamble to choose guys with low health.
3-82 - Tony Paniagua - Decent value selecting a defensive SS here. Unfortunately he has also already been hit by the injury bug. Vegas sure isn't afraid of those lower health rated guys.
4-114 - J.R. Clay - Vegas goes with another defensive SS, but slots Clay in at Low A so he is not doubling up with Paniuga. Smart.
5-146 - Eric Osbourne - Very solid selection for a fifth round choice. Could possibly be a Setup B type if everything works out.
Impact - Moderate - 5 picks and 5 guys that you can project to the bigs including a guy that should be a perennial all star eventually.
Kansas City
1-5 - Michael Sutton - Holy crap, this guys projected splits are ridiculous. If Sutton hits his projections than the 9th inning should locked down when he hits the majors. If you had to take a contrary opinion, some would argue that you shouldn't use a top 5\10 pick on a guy who can only give you 60-75 innings a year. However, I can see how you could be convinced by those projections.
1-34 - Chris Richardson - Interesting, the Wildcats go with another reliever who is just slightly less impressive than Sutton. With these two guys locking down the end of games the 'Cats will be tough to beat in the future.
2-53 - Zephyr Figueroa - Didn't scout and hasn't signed (great name though)
3-81 - Cleatus Spencer - Nice hitter and I like how he is from NC and is named Cleatus....way to stereotype WIS! Better batting eye would have helped.
3-85 - Moises Valentin - Could be a long reliever\spot starter in the bigs one day. Nothing wrong with rolling the dice on a guy like that with the 85th pick.
4-117 - Vernon Niekro - If he makes the bigs it will be as 4th or 5th outfielder...at least scouts don't feel like it should be for anything more than that.
5-149 - Rheal Maurer - Didn't scout and hasn't signed.
Impact - Moderate\High - If those two relievers reach their projections and become dominant then this is a fantastic draft for the Wildcats. However, the bullpen is still one of the harder things to predict success with and there are still instances of guys with great ratings that don't perform. Thats the only thing that keeps me from going High impact. Spencer and Valentin are nice picks in the third round.
Amateur Draft Review - NL South
Austin
1-23 - Jose Rodriguez - Rodriguez looks like he'll be a decent reliever in the future. He has fantastic control, however his splits project to just slightly above average. Also, its always dicey taking a reliever in the first round since it seems to be one of the harder positions to predict success in from season to season.
2-71 - Hawk Tyner - Not sure how much Tyner will be able to contribute as his defensive skills aren't good enough to overcome his lack of hitting prowess. He might be able to find some time as a bench player who pinch runs and pinch hits against righties.
3-103 - Jim Acosta - Another guy who will probably top out best as a bench player and definitely is not a ML SS.
4-135 - Al Renteria - Nice value selection here as Renteria looks to be a better player than Acosta and possibly Tyner and was picked later. His glovoe rating is a little low for a SS, but he shows some nice pop for the position.
5-167 - Bingo Adkinson - Nice value here as well as he could possibly pitch in the bigs as a setup B type although his righty split is a tad low.
Impact: Mild. Picking in the bottom half of the first round is never easy, especially with the restrictions for a first season league as to how much we can invest. That being said, there isn't a player that pops out that you can point at and say will definitely be an impact big leaguer.
Memphis
1-47 - Melvin Brock - Defensive SS that should be able to hit righties decently. Defensive SS's definitely have value but not sure its in the top 50 picks.
2-67 - Napoleon Anderson - Anderson will probably be able to make the bigs as a utility player, spot starter.
3-99 - Darrell Frank - Another choice where the owner might not mind the below average splits b\c the control an pitches are very solid.
4-131 - Jimmie Jimenez - Career minor leaguer
5-163 - Andrue Everett - Hasn't signed yet, but if he does he will be a very nice value selection for a fifth rounder. He is not someone you'd choose with one of your first couple picks, but considering its the 163rd selections, pretty solid hitter for the fifth round.
Impact: Mild. I think if this was a live draft that Memphis would have chosen someone else with their first selection. That couples with not having a first rounder makes this a mild impact draft for the Tigers.
Texas
1-20 - Bernie Hornsby - Hornsby has a very high overall rating to last to the 20th, but that stems from his ridiculous stamina rating. He has great control and slightly above average splits and a couple decent pitches. However, the pitchers chosen at 25th, 31st, and 32nd all could be better.
2-68 - Johnny Gagne - Although Gagne has very good splits and pitches, there is next to no chance he'll be any good on the ML level due to his not being able to hit water falling out of a boat control.
3-100 - Erv Garcia - Probably could be a very good defensive CFer as well as 2B.
4-132 - Antonio Huang - Career minor leaguer due to low splits.
5-164 - Kevin Walsh - Looks to be a better pitcher than Huang who was chosen a round earlier, but is probably still a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild. Hornsby could be a a decent back of the rotation pitcher, but thats probably all the Mustangs will see out of this draft.
Wichita
1-21 - Mark Matthews - Didn't scout and hasn't signed
2-69 - Sean Durocher - Would be a solid CF prospect due to defensive skills and adequate offensive skills, but unfortunately it doesn't look like he is going to sign. Always risky choosing a guy like this with a high pick.
3-101 - Jerome Simmons - He'll probably end up signing after he increases his demands a smidge and will probably be a decent utility player in the bigs.
4-133 - Tony Colbert - Might be a decent 25th player on the roster as well. Would be better if his batting eye wasn't so bad.
5-165 - Jon Martin - Now this is a fantastic pick. Awesome hitter and average defensively for a catcher. I can't believe he lasted this long. The only reason I can think is b\c of his stamina which will mean he can only play in about 2\3 of the season at 100%. For some reason he hasn't been signed.
Impact: Mild. Martin is a really inspiring selection, but for some reason he hasn't been signed yet even though he is looking to sign for slot money. I can't see the first rounder, but since its in the 20's I don't think it would change the overall impact of the draft enough to warrant an increase.
1-23 - Jose Rodriguez - Rodriguez looks like he'll be a decent reliever in the future. He has fantastic control, however his splits project to just slightly above average. Also, its always dicey taking a reliever in the first round since it seems to be one of the harder positions to predict success in from season to season.
2-71 - Hawk Tyner - Not sure how much Tyner will be able to contribute as his defensive skills aren't good enough to overcome his lack of hitting prowess. He might be able to find some time as a bench player who pinch runs and pinch hits against righties.
3-103 - Jim Acosta - Another guy who will probably top out best as a bench player and definitely is not a ML SS.
4-135 - Al Renteria - Nice value selection here as Renteria looks to be a better player than Acosta and possibly Tyner and was picked later. His glovoe rating is a little low for a SS, but he shows some nice pop for the position.
5-167 - Bingo Adkinson - Nice value here as well as he could possibly pitch in the bigs as a setup B type although his righty split is a tad low.
Impact: Mild. Picking in the bottom half of the first round is never easy, especially with the restrictions for a first season league as to how much we can invest. That being said, there isn't a player that pops out that you can point at and say will definitely be an impact big leaguer.
Memphis
1-47 - Melvin Brock - Defensive SS that should be able to hit righties decently. Defensive SS's definitely have value but not sure its in the top 50 picks.
2-67 - Napoleon Anderson - Anderson will probably be able to make the bigs as a utility player, spot starter.
3-99 - Darrell Frank - Another choice where the owner might not mind the below average splits b\c the control an pitches are very solid.
4-131 - Jimmie Jimenez - Career minor leaguer
5-163 - Andrue Everett - Hasn't signed yet, but if he does he will be a very nice value selection for a fifth rounder. He is not someone you'd choose with one of your first couple picks, but considering its the 163rd selections, pretty solid hitter for the fifth round.
Impact: Mild. I think if this was a live draft that Memphis would have chosen someone else with their first selection. That couples with not having a first rounder makes this a mild impact draft for the Tigers.
Texas
1-20 - Bernie Hornsby - Hornsby has a very high overall rating to last to the 20th, but that stems from his ridiculous stamina rating. He has great control and slightly above average splits and a couple decent pitches. However, the pitchers chosen at 25th, 31st, and 32nd all could be better.
2-68 - Johnny Gagne - Although Gagne has very good splits and pitches, there is next to no chance he'll be any good on the ML level due to his not being able to hit water falling out of a boat control.
3-100 - Erv Garcia - Probably could be a very good defensive CFer as well as 2B.
4-132 - Antonio Huang - Career minor leaguer due to low splits.
5-164 - Kevin Walsh - Looks to be a better pitcher than Huang who was chosen a round earlier, but is probably still a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild. Hornsby could be a a decent back of the rotation pitcher, but thats probably all the Mustangs will see out of this draft.
Wichita
1-21 - Mark Matthews - Didn't scout and hasn't signed
2-69 - Sean Durocher - Would be a solid CF prospect due to defensive skills and adequate offensive skills, but unfortunately it doesn't look like he is going to sign. Always risky choosing a guy like this with a high pick.
3-101 - Jerome Simmons - He'll probably end up signing after he increases his demands a smidge and will probably be a decent utility player in the bigs.
4-133 - Tony Colbert - Might be a decent 25th player on the roster as well. Would be better if his batting eye wasn't so bad.
5-165 - Jon Martin - Now this is a fantastic pick. Awesome hitter and average defensively for a catcher. I can't believe he lasted this long. The only reason I can think is b\c of his stamina which will mean he can only play in about 2\3 of the season at 100%. For some reason he hasn't been signed.
Impact: Mild. Martin is a really inspiring selection, but for some reason he hasn't been signed yet even though he is looking to sign for slot money. I can't see the first rounder, but since its in the 20's I don't think it would change the overall impact of the draft enough to warrant an increase.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Amateur Draft Review - NL East
Atlanta
1-1 - Michael Seay - I didn't scout him and he hasn't signed although by all accounts he is an unbelievable hitting prospect. I'm assuming he was the type that will end up just asking for more money and will eventually sign and not someone who "probably wont sign."
4-113 - Doug Kerr - Might eventually make the bigs as a power hitter, although he has a looong way to go. Might be more of a corner outfielder defensively as well.
5-145 - Angel Drew - Great name, but looks like a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Moderate. The Yellow Jackets get this grade totally based on how awesome I have heard Seay looks. They gave up their second and third rounders to sign players and although I can understand that since we are limited to the amount of money we can spend on HS and College Scouting, unfortunately for Atlanta it hasn't translated to on field success yet.
Buffalo
1-17 - Trenidad Rios - With projected power to 100, Rios should hit a lot of homeruns even though his splits are slightly below average. Also, some scouts feel he might be more of a corner outfielder defensively than a 3B.
1-46 - Alex Day - Day should hit a ton of homeruns as well, especially against lefties. He is also bolstered by a great batting eye. Solid choice as a compensation pick.
2-65 - Ernest Truby - Looks like Truby's overall is inflated by his high stamina. He shows decent control and some solid pitches, however some scouts feel his below average splits will hurt him in the long run. However, some ownres don't mind the below average splits and have success using them.
3-97 - Rich Barber - Doesn't look like Barber is going to sign.
4-129 - Norberto Moreno - Could see some time in the bigs as a defensive specialist backup catcher.
5 - 161 - Shooter Strokes - Didn't scout and hasn't signed.
Impact: Mild - I'm kind of torn on this draft. Part of me wants to push the impact to moderate because Rios and Day could hit a ton of homeruns for this team one day. However, their splits scare me except for Day against lefties. I could very well be proven wrong though.
Charlotte
1-16 - Vince Clemens - It will take a long time for Clemens to reach the bigs, but once he gets there he should be one of the better hitting catchers as long as you can live with average pitch calling (and I can)
2-64 - Sammy Guillen - Nice second round selection that projection to be a good middle f the rotation type pitcher unless his average health bites him and he needs to reach his projected control to fulfill his potential.
3-96 - Matty Johnson - An example of a pick that would not have occurred if this had been a live draft because Johnson isn't really needed with the selection of Clemens in the first round. That being said he is another good hitting catcher that is average defensively.
4-128 - Michael Webster - Power hitting first baseman and thats about it. Since he can't hit righties the most he'll probably provide is some power off the bench against lefties.
5-160 - Timo Brinkley - Best case scenario is he becomes a decent long reliever to eat some innings.
Impact: Mild\Moderate - Clemens and Guillen are both solid selections and barring health issues will be nice major leaguers. The other three guys are toss ups and Johnson definitely wasn't needed in the third round.
Louisville
1-25 - Troy Simmons - Fantastic selection considering he was the 25 selection of the draft. Great control, good splits, and some really solid pitches will make him a very nice middle of the rotation starter. Mid sixties stamina will limit him to a 5\6inning starter.
2-73 - Jose Ramirez - Another really good selection and surprising he lasted all the way to the 73rd pick. He probably dropped due to his mid fifties stamina, but he will be a very good reliever, possible spot starter.
3-105 - Ricardo Infante - Infante's splits will probably limit him to a career minor leaguer, but again, some owners don't mind below average splits. Still, there have been other third rounders chosen that show more value.
4-137 - Ugueth Sanchez - The Cardinals are banking on the awesome power to overcome average splits and a poor eye. Not a bad selection for the fourth round at all.
5-169 - Mike Rogers - Probably a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild\Moderate - First two selections are really solid. Anther example of a team coming away with two ML pitching prospects in their first two picks. Last three picks all have flaws, but most teams choosing in the 3rd-5th round choose the same types. An interesting thing to note is that the 3-5 round picks all signed several days ago, however are still sitting unassigned.
1-1 - Michael Seay - I didn't scout him and he hasn't signed although by all accounts he is an unbelievable hitting prospect. I'm assuming he was the type that will end up just asking for more money and will eventually sign and not someone who "probably wont sign."
4-113 - Doug Kerr - Might eventually make the bigs as a power hitter, although he has a looong way to go. Might be more of a corner outfielder defensively as well.
5-145 - Angel Drew - Great name, but looks like a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Moderate. The Yellow Jackets get this grade totally based on how awesome I have heard Seay looks. They gave up their second and third rounders to sign players and although I can understand that since we are limited to the amount of money we can spend on HS and College Scouting, unfortunately for Atlanta it hasn't translated to on field success yet.
Buffalo
1-17 - Trenidad Rios - With projected power to 100, Rios should hit a lot of homeruns even though his splits are slightly below average. Also, some scouts feel he might be more of a corner outfielder defensively than a 3B.
1-46 - Alex Day - Day should hit a ton of homeruns as well, especially against lefties. He is also bolstered by a great batting eye. Solid choice as a compensation pick.
2-65 - Ernest Truby - Looks like Truby's overall is inflated by his high stamina. He shows decent control and some solid pitches, however some scouts feel his below average splits will hurt him in the long run. However, some ownres don't mind the below average splits and have success using them.
3-97 - Rich Barber - Doesn't look like Barber is going to sign.
4-129 - Norberto Moreno - Could see some time in the bigs as a defensive specialist backup catcher.
5 - 161 - Shooter Strokes - Didn't scout and hasn't signed.
Impact: Mild - I'm kind of torn on this draft. Part of me wants to push the impact to moderate because Rios and Day could hit a ton of homeruns for this team one day. However, their splits scare me except for Day against lefties. I could very well be proven wrong though.
Charlotte
1-16 - Vince Clemens - It will take a long time for Clemens to reach the bigs, but once he gets there he should be one of the better hitting catchers as long as you can live with average pitch calling (and I can)
2-64 - Sammy Guillen - Nice second round selection that projection to be a good middle f the rotation type pitcher unless his average health bites him and he needs to reach his projected control to fulfill his potential.
3-96 - Matty Johnson - An example of a pick that would not have occurred if this had been a live draft because Johnson isn't really needed with the selection of Clemens in the first round. That being said he is another good hitting catcher that is average defensively.
4-128 - Michael Webster - Power hitting first baseman and thats about it. Since he can't hit righties the most he'll probably provide is some power off the bench against lefties.
5-160 - Timo Brinkley - Best case scenario is he becomes a decent long reliever to eat some innings.
Impact: Mild\Moderate - Clemens and Guillen are both solid selections and barring health issues will be nice major leaguers. The other three guys are toss ups and Johnson definitely wasn't needed in the third round.
Louisville
1-25 - Troy Simmons - Fantastic selection considering he was the 25 selection of the draft. Great control, good splits, and some really solid pitches will make him a very nice middle of the rotation starter. Mid sixties stamina will limit him to a 5\6inning starter.
2-73 - Jose Ramirez - Another really good selection and surprising he lasted all the way to the 73rd pick. He probably dropped due to his mid fifties stamina, but he will be a very good reliever, possible spot starter.
3-105 - Ricardo Infante - Infante's splits will probably limit him to a career minor leaguer, but again, some owners don't mind below average splits. Still, there have been other third rounders chosen that show more value.
4-137 - Ugueth Sanchez - The Cardinals are banking on the awesome power to overcome average splits and a poor eye. Not a bad selection for the fourth round at all.
5-169 - Mike Rogers - Probably a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild\Moderate - First two selections are really solid. Anther example of a team coming away with two ML pitching prospects in their first two picks. Last three picks all have flaws, but most teams choosing in the 3rd-5th round choose the same types. An interesting thing to note is that the 3-5 round picks all signed several days ago, however are still sitting unassigned.
Amateur Draft Review - NL North
Keep in mind that my advanced scouting is 14 million and I could see something quite different from what you see.
Chicago Illini
1-31 - Joe Reynolds - Reynolds is a very, very nice pick considering he was chosen 31st and would have been solid value much higher. He projects to be a very good middle of the rotation starter, although with stamina projected into the mid 60's, he probably won't be able to get past the 5th or 6th inning.
2-79 - Ben Simpson Wow, another very nice pick for a second rounder as his projections are better than some pitchers taken in the first round. Above average control and splits should be able to balance out some of his bad pitches.
3-111 - Ross Shaw - Shaw is the third solid selection for the Illini as he is a nice value pick for a third rounder. Should show some pp in his bat and at the least could be a solid 4th outfielder.
4-143 - Josias Vallarta - Defensive Specialist that culd make the bigs as a backup catcher.
5-175 - Larry Koch Koch's splits are probably too low to ever be more than a minor league closer.
Impact: High. Whenever you can get two projected starters out of the draft, its a good day. Whats even better for the Illini is they accomplished it while picking second to last in both rounds. Great job meteu.
Columbus
1-3 - Michael Maddux - Maddux projects to eventually be an awesome hitter and is a nice selection at 3. The argument to using a top 5 pick on a guy like Maddux is that 1B\LF is the easiest position to fill in HBD and some people shy away from choosing a 1B\LF type so high. However, its hard to ignore those hitting projections.
1-33 - Blade Wright - First of all, what a great name. Were his parents drunk when he was born? High risk\High reward choice here. Scouts feel that Wright fell a bit in the draft due to his average control. Columbus must feel that high awesome splits\velocity\GB ratio\pitches will overcome that. Not a bad gamble.
2-52 - Henry Konerko - Very good hitter that probably shouldn't have lasted this long. However, was this really a need pick since Columbus used the third on Maddox? Maybe an example of a choice that would not have occurred if we had a live draft.
3-83 - Aaron Little - The third very good hitter to be selected by the Buckeyes. It will be interesting to see if Weena will roll the dice and overlook Little's poor PC ratings due to his bat. If not, scouts are not sure where he will play since Maddux and Konerko are in front of him.
4-115 - Willis Root - Nice selection for a fourth rounder. Probably can eventually see some time as a utility player.
4-120 - Justin Iannone - See above. Especially with that very nice batting eye.
5-147 - Curt O'Shea - Could be a decent, middle\long reliever.
Impact: Moderate\High - Its a solid draft when you get 7 players in the first 5 rounds who look like they can contribute to various degrees on the ML level. The only reason its not a "High" rating is due to the 3 players out of the first 4 that are all very similar ballplayers.
Detroit
1-32 - Jaret Ramsey - Fantastic selection considering he was the last choice in the first round. Whats even better is he was drafted out of college and doesn't look too far away from his projections and should be able to contribute quickly if he raises his right split and his first couple pitches.
1-42 - Roy White - I didn't scout and he hasn't signed
2-80 - Luis Rosario - Rosario probably won't play defense well enough to be a CFer on the ML level and probably won't hit well enough to use him at another position in the bigs.
3-88 - Del Seanez - Russ is a solid selection for a third rounder. Should make a decent catcher in the bigs combining a decent bat and above average defensive skills.
3-112 - Myron Russ - If Russ reaches his projections he could be a pretty solid defensive CFer and thats probably about it. He will steal a lot of bases, but not sure he'll get on enough for it to matter too much.
4-144 - Danny Lemon - I didn't scout and he hasn't signed
5-176 - Emil Pulido - Defensive SS who might not have the glove to go along with arm.
Impact: Mild. Solid choice at the end of the first round in Ramsey. The rest of the choices all have significant flaws here or there. Depending on how good White projects to be, this impact grade could be pushed a bit higher.
Iowa City
2-76 - Lonny Offerman - Defensive Specialist who can probably play CF as well and who may show a little skill with the bat due to his splits and batting eye.
3-108 - Junior Kohlmeier - Very good contact hitter and above average defensively for a LFer. Also has excellent speed.
4-140 - Sidney Scheffer - Not a bad selection at all for a fourth rounder. Slid 3B with some pop, although his poor batting eye will hurt him.
5-172 - Damion Mays - Mays below average splits probably will make him nothing but a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild - Its always tough not having a first round selection, but I doubt you'd hear cnsmuck complaining about it with the way his team is playing right now. A couple decent selections that may eventually make their way to the big league roster, but probably no one that will make a huge impact.
Chicago Illini
1-31 - Joe Reynolds - Reynolds is a very, very nice pick considering he was chosen 31st and would have been solid value much higher. He projects to be a very good middle of the rotation starter, although with stamina projected into the mid 60's, he probably won't be able to get past the 5th or 6th inning.
2-79 - Ben Simpson Wow, another very nice pick for a second rounder as his projections are better than some pitchers taken in the first round. Above average control and splits should be able to balance out some of his bad pitches.
3-111 - Ross Shaw - Shaw is the third solid selection for the Illini as he is a nice value pick for a third rounder. Should show some pp in his bat and at the least could be a solid 4th outfielder.
4-143 - Josias Vallarta - Defensive Specialist that culd make the bigs as a backup catcher.
5-175 - Larry Koch Koch's splits are probably too low to ever be more than a minor league closer.
Impact: High. Whenever you can get two projected starters out of the draft, its a good day. Whats even better for the Illini is they accomplished it while picking second to last in both rounds. Great job meteu.
Columbus
1-3 - Michael Maddux - Maddux projects to eventually be an awesome hitter and is a nice selection at 3. The argument to using a top 5 pick on a guy like Maddux is that 1B\LF is the easiest position to fill in HBD and some people shy away from choosing a 1B\LF type so high. However, its hard to ignore those hitting projections.
1-33 - Blade Wright - First of all, what a great name. Were his parents drunk when he was born? High risk\High reward choice here. Scouts feel that Wright fell a bit in the draft due to his average control. Columbus must feel that high awesome splits\velocity\GB ratio\pitches will overcome that. Not a bad gamble.
2-52 - Henry Konerko - Very good hitter that probably shouldn't have lasted this long. However, was this really a need pick since Columbus used the third on Maddox? Maybe an example of a choice that would not have occurred if we had a live draft.
3-83 - Aaron Little - The third very good hitter to be selected by the Buckeyes. It will be interesting to see if Weena will roll the dice and overlook Little's poor PC ratings due to his bat. If not, scouts are not sure where he will play since Maddux and Konerko are in front of him.
4-115 - Willis Root - Nice selection for a fourth rounder. Probably can eventually see some time as a utility player.
4-120 - Justin Iannone - See above. Especially with that very nice batting eye.
5-147 - Curt O'Shea - Could be a decent, middle\long reliever.
Impact: Moderate\High - Its a solid draft when you get 7 players in the first 5 rounds who look like they can contribute to various degrees on the ML level. The only reason its not a "High" rating is due to the 3 players out of the first 4 that are all very similar ballplayers.
Detroit
1-32 - Jaret Ramsey - Fantastic selection considering he was the last choice in the first round. Whats even better is he was drafted out of college and doesn't look too far away from his projections and should be able to contribute quickly if he raises his right split and his first couple pitches.
1-42 - Roy White - I didn't scout and he hasn't signed
2-80 - Luis Rosario - Rosario probably won't play defense well enough to be a CFer on the ML level and probably won't hit well enough to use him at another position in the bigs.
3-88 - Del Seanez - Russ is a solid selection for a third rounder. Should make a decent catcher in the bigs combining a decent bat and above average defensive skills.
3-112 - Myron Russ - If Russ reaches his projections he could be a pretty solid defensive CFer and thats probably about it. He will steal a lot of bases, but not sure he'll get on enough for it to matter too much.
4-144 - Danny Lemon - I didn't scout and he hasn't signed
5-176 - Emil Pulido - Defensive SS who might not have the glove to go along with arm.
Impact: Mild. Solid choice at the end of the first round in Ramsey. The rest of the choices all have significant flaws here or there. Depending on how good White projects to be, this impact grade could be pushed a bit higher.
Iowa City
2-76 - Lonny Offerman - Defensive Specialist who can probably play CF as well and who may show a little skill with the bat due to his splits and batting eye.
3-108 - Junior Kohlmeier - Very good contact hitter and above average defensively for a LFer. Also has excellent speed.
4-140 - Sidney Scheffer - Not a bad selection at all for a fourth rounder. Slid 3B with some pop, although his poor batting eye will hurt him.
5-172 - Damion Mays - Mays below average splits probably will make him nothing but a career minor leaguer.
Impact: Mild - Its always tough not having a first round selection, but I doubt you'd hear cnsmuck complaining about it with the way his team is playing right now. A couple decent selections that may eventually make their way to the big league roster, but probably no one that will make a huge impact.
Monday, May 5, 2008
AL East Preview (courtesy of arte)
Charleston Cougars
The Cougars got a real bargain when they signed ace Jared Strickland to a contract extension ($33.2 mil over 4 years) but he is the only bright spot in a rotation that’s at best 2 deep. The bullpen will get a lot of work this year unless the Cougars make a deal to bring in another starter or 2. Youngster A J Christman looks ready to step into the rotation. Look for him to get a shot at starting soon.
The Cougars look like the plan is to play long ball this year. Eric Thomas, Hong-Chih Okajima, and Skeeter Peterson will all hit at least 30 HR’s. The question is will there be guys on base when the ball leaves the ballpark? But no lead is safe with this murders row but the Cougars need to find ways to put guys on ahead of the boppers.
Unless the Cougars fill the holes in their rotation, it will be a long year for this team.
Chicago Blue Demons
Lead by pitching phenom Hawk Wagner and RF D’Angelo Prieto, the Demons look to challenge for the division title this year. The lineup looks strong from top to bottom and should have no trouble putting up runs. And their starting 5 (oddly, 4 of their 5 starters are southpaws) should have their share of quality starts.
One question mark with the Demons is their bullpen. Randy Peterson is the best of a weak group and closer Vic Redmond should saves plenty of games…if the bullpen can get the game to him with a lead.
New York Red Storm
The Red Storm spent a lot of money on free agent pitcher Davey Diaz ($43.4 mil over 4 years) and are counting on him to lead the team to the post season in their first year.
This team will have little trouble scoring, lead by 1B Bubbles Haynes and 3B Adam Halter. Look for SS Warren Baker to have a break-out year on offense. The 26 year old rising star is just reaching his prime and will be a run producer in the middle of the Storm’s line-up for many years to come.
The Storm’s top 3 starting pitchers are as good as any top 3 in the league but the 4th and 5th starters spots may be troublesome. Strong bullpen work from the likes of Wes Crane and Francisco Delgado will be needed to keep the Storm in games where the 4th and 5th starters leave early but with their offense, they are never out of a game.
Look for the Storm to challege Chicago for the Division title.
Philadelphia Owls
If pitching is the key to winning in baseball, the Owls will do fine this year. Their rotation is solid. No real standouts. Just 5 solid starters that will get the game into the 6th or 7th on most days. The bullpen also looks solid. The only question mark is closer Zachrey O’Halloran. Many Tums will be eaten by the Owls coaching staff when the call is made for O’Halloran.
The Owls will probably not score as many runs are their division rivals, but with their pitching, they may not need to. Lead by DH Jimmy Mordecai, the offense will score runs in bunches with a nice mix of high OBP guys and boppers. Batting veteran star Steven Mecir 9th will jumpstart the offense the second time through the lineup.
SS Max Whitaker is a little lite in the glove for a SS and as a result will see a lot of errors this year.
If their pitching holds out, the Owls should see .500 and have an outside chance at a wildcard if either Chicago or New York stumble.
The Cougars got a real bargain when they signed ace Jared Strickland to a contract extension ($33.2 mil over 4 years) but he is the only bright spot in a rotation that’s at best 2 deep. The bullpen will get a lot of work this year unless the Cougars make a deal to bring in another starter or 2. Youngster A J Christman looks ready to step into the rotation. Look for him to get a shot at starting soon.
The Cougars look like the plan is to play long ball this year. Eric Thomas, Hong-Chih Okajima, and Skeeter Peterson will all hit at least 30 HR’s. The question is will there be guys on base when the ball leaves the ballpark? But no lead is safe with this murders row but the Cougars need to find ways to put guys on ahead of the boppers.
Unless the Cougars fill the holes in their rotation, it will be a long year for this team.
Chicago Blue Demons
Lead by pitching phenom Hawk Wagner and RF D’Angelo Prieto, the Demons look to challenge for the division title this year. The lineup looks strong from top to bottom and should have no trouble putting up runs. And their starting 5 (oddly, 4 of their 5 starters are southpaws) should have their share of quality starts.
One question mark with the Demons is their bullpen. Randy Peterson is the best of a weak group and closer Vic Redmond should saves plenty of games…if the bullpen can get the game to him with a lead.
New York Red Storm
The Red Storm spent a lot of money on free agent pitcher Davey Diaz ($43.4 mil over 4 years) and are counting on him to lead the team to the post season in their first year.
This team will have little trouble scoring, lead by 1B Bubbles Haynes and 3B Adam Halter. Look for SS Warren Baker to have a break-out year on offense. The 26 year old rising star is just reaching his prime and will be a run producer in the middle of the Storm’s line-up for many years to come.
The Storm’s top 3 starting pitchers are as good as any top 3 in the league but the 4th and 5th starters spots may be troublesome. Strong bullpen work from the likes of Wes Crane and Francisco Delgado will be needed to keep the Storm in games where the 4th and 5th starters leave early but with their offense, they are never out of a game.
Look for the Storm to challege Chicago for the Division title.
Philadelphia Owls
If pitching is the key to winning in baseball, the Owls will do fine this year. Their rotation is solid. No real standouts. Just 5 solid starters that will get the game into the 6th or 7th on most days. The bullpen also looks solid. The only question mark is closer Zachrey O’Halloran. Many Tums will be eaten by the Owls coaching staff when the call is made for O’Halloran.
The Owls will probably not score as many runs are their division rivals, but with their pitching, they may not need to. Lead by DH Jimmy Mordecai, the offense will score runs in bunches with a nice mix of high OBP guys and boppers. Batting veteran star Steven Mecir 9th will jumpstart the offense the second time through the lineup.
SS Max Whitaker is a little lite in the glove for a SS and as a result will see a lot of errors this year.
If their pitching holds out, the Owls should see .500 and have an outside chance at a wildcard if either Chicago or New York stumble.
Friday, May 2, 2008
AL West Preview (Courtesy of jarazix)
AL West
Expected Divisional rankings:
1. Oakland Cardinals
2. Salem Beavers
3. Seattle Huskies
4. Los Angeles Bruins
Oakland Cardinals - Jung Lee ( 24yr old 2B, 87/90ovr ) , Candy Thomas ( 22yr old CF, 81/90 ovr) and leadoff hitter Aaron Downing ( 24yr old LF, 82/87ovr ) should anchor this teams potent and young lineup for years to come. Other strong players include Max Pineda ( 29yr old 84/84 ), Rafael Nieves ( 24yr old 80/83 ), Hamish Reynolds ( 22yr old 77/86 ), Torey Bonds ( 29yr old 80/80 ) Starting pitching is strong, but the bullpen has holes that will need addressing. If this team can somehow acquire some relief pitching ( its system is thin in this area ) it should not only win this divison this year but for the next several.
Salem Beavers - Salem is an old team with most starters at or around 30 years of age. It however should compete if its pitching holds up, which is a big question mark. The lineup is anchored by Chad Shelby ( 29yr old, 82/82ovr RF ) and Darin Mercedes ( 33yr old, 76/763B ). Not much is coming through the pipeline for this team and it could fall on hard times quickly.
Seattle Huskies - Seattle is a hard team to judge. At the ML level there is currently only one starter. My guess is the owner is resting its starters in spring training. The team has a fairly youthful lineup, though it lacks much star power. The best player in the line up is Edwards Edwards ( 33yr old 76/76 3B). The bullpen has several quality arms, which the team may need due to its starter situation. Closer Nicky Drew ( 25yr old 70/74 LH ) is in the mold of a great closer, but throws some odd stuff including the knuckleball
Los Angeles Bruins - This team is old and lacks talent at the ML level as far as position players go. Its top rated position player at the ML level is Darrell Martin ( 32yr old 71/71 ovr DH ). The team has decent pitching, as far as pitching goes there is a good mix of young and old players. The most notable is starter Pascual Carrasco ( 24yrs old 75/81 RH ). On the positive side this team has a lot of nice talent that should come up in a few years. That in addition to what is likely a few high draft choices should help this team have a bright future, but not for a few years.
Expected Divisional rankings:
1. Oakland Cardinals
2. Salem Beavers
3. Seattle Huskies
4. Los Angeles Bruins
Oakland Cardinals - Jung Lee ( 24yr old 2B, 87/90ovr ) , Candy Thomas ( 22yr old CF, 81/90 ovr) and leadoff hitter Aaron Downing ( 24yr old LF, 82/87ovr ) should anchor this teams potent and young lineup for years to come. Other strong players include Max Pineda ( 29yr old 84/84 ), Rafael Nieves ( 24yr old 80/83 ), Hamish Reynolds ( 22yr old 77/86 ), Torey Bonds ( 29yr old 80/80 ) Starting pitching is strong, but the bullpen has holes that will need addressing. If this team can somehow acquire some relief pitching ( its system is thin in this area ) it should not only win this divison this year but for the next several.
Salem Beavers - Salem is an old team with most starters at or around 30 years of age. It however should compete if its pitching holds up, which is a big question mark. The lineup is anchored by Chad Shelby ( 29yr old, 82/82ovr RF ) and Darin Mercedes ( 33yr old, 76/763B ). Not much is coming through the pipeline for this team and it could fall on hard times quickly.
Seattle Huskies - Seattle is a hard team to judge. At the ML level there is currently only one starter. My guess is the owner is resting its starters in spring training. The team has a fairly youthful lineup, though it lacks much star power. The best player in the line up is Edwards Edwards ( 33yr old 76/76 3B). The bullpen has several quality arms, which the team may need due to its starter situation. Closer Nicky Drew ( 25yr old 70/74 LH ) is in the mold of a great closer, but throws some odd stuff including the knuckleball
Los Angeles Bruins - This team is old and lacks talent at the ML level as far as position players go. Its top rated position player at the ML level is Darrell Martin ( 32yr old 71/71 ovr DH ). The team has decent pitching, as far as pitching goes there is a good mix of young and old players. The most notable is starter Pascual Carrasco ( 24yrs old 75/81 RH ). On the positive side this team has a lot of nice talent that should come up in a few years. That in addition to what is likely a few high draft choices should help this team have a bright future, but not for a few years.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
NL North Preview (courtesy of cnsmuck)
NL North is composed of the: (Big Ten Division)
Chicago Illini
Columbus Buckeyes
Detroit Wolverines
Iowa City Hawkeyes
Starting Pitching Division Rank
1. Iowa City
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Columbus
Iowa City - Projected Rotation: Lopez, Hardy, Carlyle, Loux, Karnuth. Despite having no real standout Cy Young type Ace, the Hawkeyes have 5 very good pitchers. All of them have great splits, and excellent control, but pitch ratings are only average. Durability also looks to be in check, Health does remain as a concern as there is little depth that can come up from the minors. The Hawkeyes have adequate starters in the minors to call up if a big leaguer goes down, but they will see a significant drop off in production should that happen.
Detroit - Projected Rotation: (The Wolverines Major League roster is currently incomplete, and some of these players I am projecting on the ML roster could stay in the minors.) Cooper, Osborne, Young, Sosa, Thompson. The Wolverines have a solid staff, with above average splits, and a couple of pitchers with great pitch ratings. Control could become an issue for a couple of starters and health is a major concern for the staff. However, there are a couple of starters in the minors that could be called up in the event of an injury and the Wolverines wouldn’t see too much of a drop off.
Chicago - Projected Rotation: Cyr, Wilkins, Damon, Espinosa, Lira. Chicago has more options for their starting five than any other team in the division, but the quality of those starters doesn’t equal up to the quality of IC and DET. Several of the starters have below average splits, and may struggle against the more powerful lineups in the NL. While a few starters may have durability issues, it shouldn’t have too much of an impact because the Illini have so many pitchers that can be plugged into the rotation. Control and pitch ratings are the strength of the staff, but it remains to be seen if that can overcome some of the low splits.
Columbus - Projected Rotation: Nelson, Welandia, Walton, Feliz, Hernandez. Concerns seem to be the highlight for the Buckeyes starting five. They have no one to anchor the staff, and should they suffer an injury, there is very little ML ready talent available to be called up. Health is only a mild concern, and Durability should be ok, but with the below average splits of all five starters this staff will struggle mightily. Control shouldn’t be a major factor as 4 of the 5 are adequate in this department, but at the same time 4 of the 5 have average to below average pitch ratings.
Relief Pitching Division Rank
1. Detroit
2. Iowa City
3. Columbus
4. Chicago
Detroit - LR: Martin, Rothschild, Navarro. SU: Black, Paul, Mallory. CL: Cabrera. The backend of the bullpen is a strength for the Wolverines, but poor control from their middle relief could cause major issues. If Cabrera can stay away from the walks he will shut down most teams in the 9th with extremely high pitch ratings. Durability and average at best pitch ratings could also pose problems for their long relief staff. The strength of the bullpen lies in the strength of their set up men and their closer so if their starters can go deep in games the Wolverines will see success.
Iowa City - LR: Sears, Lewis, Banks. SU: Small, Reynolds, O’Connor, Moraga. CL: Townsend. The strength of this staff lies in their splits, but other concerns keep them out of the top spot. The biggest concern for this group is their durability, if the starters struggle for consecutive days this staff could get depleted in a hurry and as we all know 0(0) pitchers are not conducive to winning. The strength of this staff will rely solely on the ability of the starters to pitch deep into games, and to do it consistently. The good news is their starters are capable of doing just that. The 8th and 9th innings should be locked down for this staff as Small and Townsend are excellent, however the health of both could become a problem, the Hawkeyes will need to have big seasons from Reynolds and Banks if their starters struggle too often.
Columbus - LR: Cota, Deshields. SU: Mercedes, Fernandez, Cela, Kendall, Berry, Ward. CL: Priest. The bullpen for the Buckeyes may not jump out as overwhelming, but they should be fairly consistent. No standouts, and they will struggle at times, but they will also get the job done at times as well. Durability for this group is great, but the lack of quality long relief could pose a huge problem, particularly when you consider their poor starting pitching. Good new is there is help in the minors from Douglass and Kennedy.
Chicago - LR: Crosby, Harang, Morandini. SU: Hayes, Miller, McClellan. CL: Bickerton. The strength of the Illini staff should be their ability to eat up the innings and not suffer too much in the stamina department. The relievers have good control, and much like the Buckeyes, they should be consistent. The Illini can’t count on them to completely shut down teams, but they should be serviceable in holding leads. Like the starters on this team the Illini are hoping that strong pitch ratings will overcome average to below average splits.
Overall Pitching Staff Rank
1. Iowa City
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Columbus
Position Players- Offensive Lineup Rank
1. Iowa City
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Columbus
Iowa City - Projected Starters: C-Gonzales, 1B-Payton, 2B-Sweeney/Lombard, 3B-Allen, SS- Alvarado, LF- Dunham, CF- Lombard/Sweeney, RF- Bailey. It will be interesting to see how this team performs this season, it should also give everyone a good indication as to what is more important High CON/PWR ratings or High L/R splits. This team is average at best when it comes to their CON/PWR ratings, but their splits are incredible. A key concern could be getting enough base runners for their monster power hitters. Everyone in their starting lineup has a POW rating over 50, and 4 of them are above a 79, but their CON ratings are nothing special. The Hawkeyes could set a record for the most solo home runs in a season. Their L/R splits are incredible as most of their starters are above 60 on both. The starting 8 should also fair well in the walk department as most of them are pretty picky when it comes to waiting for a good pitch to hit. This line-up should put up a bunch of runs. As for the minors, there are a few ML ready players that could step up if the injury bug bites, Rivera, Nunez, Guerrero, and Levis, all have similar ratings as those that are ahead of them.
Detroit - Projected Starters: C-Charles/Key, 1B-Bates, 2B-Hansen, 3B-Stark, SS- Hurst, LF- Benton, CF- Black, RF- Owens. The starting lineup has several stud hitters but they do have a couple of holes and that’s what puts them slightly behind the Hawkeyes. Black should be a stud at lead off, and several players will be able to supply consistent power, but no one will challenge for the HR lead. The Wolverines are weak at the plate with their catchers, but help is on the way with stud prospect Moran just waiting to be called up. This team should perform well vs. rightist, but lefties could give them some serious problems. Another point of concern is the lack of depth should one of their starters go down to injury, and their lack of patience at the plate will spoil some run scoring opportunities.
Chicago - Projected Starters: C-Schneider, 1B-Cox, 2B-Owens, 3B-Scott, SS-Mientkiewicz, LF-Suzuki, CF-McDill, RF-Tomiln. Great balance here with several table setters in Owens, McDill, and Tomlin, as well as the mashers to bring them home in Schnieder, Scott, Mientkiewicz, and Suzuki. However the splits are a little less than average, and the Illini could see some consistencies issues because of that. This team will struggle to make solid contact vs. lefties, but they have solid depth and will not see too much of a drop off in offensive production if they have a couple of injuries. Stud prospects Melendez and Duran should see an early season call up at 1B and C respectively if the team has early season offensive woes.
Columbus - Projected Starters: C- Martin, 1B- Figueroa, 2B-Gray, 3B-Yang, SS-Corino, LF-Kinney, CF-Castro, RF-Christiansen. Too many holes in this line-up to scare the top pitching staffs, only two players with significant power, and both of them will be pitched around delicately in pressure spots. Splits are poor and so the consistency will be lacking. Immediate relief from the farm system is not available, so it is looking like a rather long season in Columbus.
Defensive Rank
1. Detroit- Very solid defensively up the middle, could be a problem with very limited range over at 1st base. Excellent defensively from the catchers.
2. Chicago- Also very solid up the middle, but 3 of the four corners will be of concern. Average defensively behind the plate.
3. Columbus- Average up the middle as well as on the corners, little in the way of standouts defensively, but very adequate. Step above Iowa because of their talent behind the plate.
4. Iowa- No major liabilities on defense with the possible exception being CF, but no real defensive studs either. Defense behind the plate could become a major problem along with average or worse pitch calling, but man can they hit.
Overall Projection
1. Iowa City- Possible Wild Card if they do not win the division.
2. Detroit- Could give Iowa quite a run if their pitching holds up, should be in wild card race.
3. Chicago- Middle of the pack in the NL.
4. Columbus- Looking for a high year 2 draft pick.
Chicago Illini
Columbus Buckeyes
Detroit Wolverines
Iowa City Hawkeyes
Starting Pitching Division Rank
1. Iowa City
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Columbus
Iowa City - Projected Rotation: Lopez, Hardy, Carlyle, Loux, Karnuth. Despite having no real standout Cy Young type Ace, the Hawkeyes have 5 very good pitchers. All of them have great splits, and excellent control, but pitch ratings are only average. Durability also looks to be in check, Health does remain as a concern as there is little depth that can come up from the minors. The Hawkeyes have adequate starters in the minors to call up if a big leaguer goes down, but they will see a significant drop off in production should that happen.
Detroit - Projected Rotation: (The Wolverines Major League roster is currently incomplete, and some of these players I am projecting on the ML roster could stay in the minors.) Cooper, Osborne, Young, Sosa, Thompson. The Wolverines have a solid staff, with above average splits, and a couple of pitchers with great pitch ratings. Control could become an issue for a couple of starters and health is a major concern for the staff. However, there are a couple of starters in the minors that could be called up in the event of an injury and the Wolverines wouldn’t see too much of a drop off.
Chicago - Projected Rotation: Cyr, Wilkins, Damon, Espinosa, Lira. Chicago has more options for their starting five than any other team in the division, but the quality of those starters doesn’t equal up to the quality of IC and DET. Several of the starters have below average splits, and may struggle against the more powerful lineups in the NL. While a few starters may have durability issues, it shouldn’t have too much of an impact because the Illini have so many pitchers that can be plugged into the rotation. Control and pitch ratings are the strength of the staff, but it remains to be seen if that can overcome some of the low splits.
Columbus - Projected Rotation: Nelson, Welandia, Walton, Feliz, Hernandez. Concerns seem to be the highlight for the Buckeyes starting five. They have no one to anchor the staff, and should they suffer an injury, there is very little ML ready talent available to be called up. Health is only a mild concern, and Durability should be ok, but with the below average splits of all five starters this staff will struggle mightily. Control shouldn’t be a major factor as 4 of the 5 are adequate in this department, but at the same time 4 of the 5 have average to below average pitch ratings.
Relief Pitching Division Rank
1. Detroit
2. Iowa City
3. Columbus
4. Chicago
Detroit - LR: Martin, Rothschild, Navarro. SU: Black, Paul, Mallory. CL: Cabrera. The backend of the bullpen is a strength for the Wolverines, but poor control from their middle relief could cause major issues. If Cabrera can stay away from the walks he will shut down most teams in the 9th with extremely high pitch ratings. Durability and average at best pitch ratings could also pose problems for their long relief staff. The strength of the bullpen lies in the strength of their set up men and their closer so if their starters can go deep in games the Wolverines will see success.
Iowa City - LR: Sears, Lewis, Banks. SU: Small, Reynolds, O’Connor, Moraga. CL: Townsend. The strength of this staff lies in their splits, but other concerns keep them out of the top spot. The biggest concern for this group is their durability, if the starters struggle for consecutive days this staff could get depleted in a hurry and as we all know 0(0) pitchers are not conducive to winning. The strength of this staff will rely solely on the ability of the starters to pitch deep into games, and to do it consistently. The good news is their starters are capable of doing just that. The 8th and 9th innings should be locked down for this staff as Small and Townsend are excellent, however the health of both could become a problem, the Hawkeyes will need to have big seasons from Reynolds and Banks if their starters struggle too often.
Columbus - LR: Cota, Deshields. SU: Mercedes, Fernandez, Cela, Kendall, Berry, Ward. CL: Priest. The bullpen for the Buckeyes may not jump out as overwhelming, but they should be fairly consistent. No standouts, and they will struggle at times, but they will also get the job done at times as well. Durability for this group is great, but the lack of quality long relief could pose a huge problem, particularly when you consider their poor starting pitching. Good new is there is help in the minors from Douglass and Kennedy.
Chicago - LR: Crosby, Harang, Morandini. SU: Hayes, Miller, McClellan. CL: Bickerton. The strength of the Illini staff should be their ability to eat up the innings and not suffer too much in the stamina department. The relievers have good control, and much like the Buckeyes, they should be consistent. The Illini can’t count on them to completely shut down teams, but they should be serviceable in holding leads. Like the starters on this team the Illini are hoping that strong pitch ratings will overcome average to below average splits.
Overall Pitching Staff Rank
1. Iowa City
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Columbus
Position Players- Offensive Lineup Rank
1. Iowa City
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Columbus
Iowa City - Projected Starters: C-Gonzales, 1B-Payton, 2B-Sweeney/Lombard, 3B-Allen, SS- Alvarado, LF- Dunham, CF- Lombard/Sweeney, RF- Bailey. It will be interesting to see how this team performs this season, it should also give everyone a good indication as to what is more important High CON/PWR ratings or High L/R splits. This team is average at best when it comes to their CON/PWR ratings, but their splits are incredible. A key concern could be getting enough base runners for their monster power hitters. Everyone in their starting lineup has a POW rating over 50, and 4 of them are above a 79, but their CON ratings are nothing special. The Hawkeyes could set a record for the most solo home runs in a season. Their L/R splits are incredible as most of their starters are above 60 on both. The starting 8 should also fair well in the walk department as most of them are pretty picky when it comes to waiting for a good pitch to hit. This line-up should put up a bunch of runs. As for the minors, there are a few ML ready players that could step up if the injury bug bites, Rivera, Nunez, Guerrero, and Levis, all have similar ratings as those that are ahead of them.
Detroit - Projected Starters: C-Charles/Key, 1B-Bates, 2B-Hansen, 3B-Stark, SS- Hurst, LF- Benton, CF- Black, RF- Owens. The starting lineup has several stud hitters but they do have a couple of holes and that’s what puts them slightly behind the Hawkeyes. Black should be a stud at lead off, and several players will be able to supply consistent power, but no one will challenge for the HR lead. The Wolverines are weak at the plate with their catchers, but help is on the way with stud prospect Moran just waiting to be called up. This team should perform well vs. rightist, but lefties could give them some serious problems. Another point of concern is the lack of depth should one of their starters go down to injury, and their lack of patience at the plate will spoil some run scoring opportunities.
Chicago - Projected Starters: C-Schneider, 1B-Cox, 2B-Owens, 3B-Scott, SS-Mientkiewicz, LF-Suzuki, CF-McDill, RF-Tomiln. Great balance here with several table setters in Owens, McDill, and Tomlin, as well as the mashers to bring them home in Schnieder, Scott, Mientkiewicz, and Suzuki. However the splits are a little less than average, and the Illini could see some consistencies issues because of that. This team will struggle to make solid contact vs. lefties, but they have solid depth and will not see too much of a drop off in offensive production if they have a couple of injuries. Stud prospects Melendez and Duran should see an early season call up at 1B and C respectively if the team has early season offensive woes.
Columbus - Projected Starters: C- Martin, 1B- Figueroa, 2B-Gray, 3B-Yang, SS-Corino, LF-Kinney, CF-Castro, RF-Christiansen. Too many holes in this line-up to scare the top pitching staffs, only two players with significant power, and both of them will be pitched around delicately in pressure spots. Splits are poor and so the consistency will be lacking. Immediate relief from the farm system is not available, so it is looking like a rather long season in Columbus.
Defensive Rank
1. Detroit- Very solid defensively up the middle, could be a problem with very limited range over at 1st base. Excellent defensively from the catchers.
2. Chicago- Also very solid up the middle, but 3 of the four corners will be of concern. Average defensively behind the plate.
3. Columbus- Average up the middle as well as on the corners, little in the way of standouts defensively, but very adequate. Step above Iowa because of their talent behind the plate.
4. Iowa- No major liabilities on defense with the possible exception being CF, but no real defensive studs either. Defense behind the plate could become a major problem along with average or worse pitch calling, but man can they hit.
Overall Projection
1. Iowa City- Possible Wild Card if they do not win the division.
2. Detroit- Could give Iowa quite a run if their pitching holds up, should be in wild card race.
3. Chicago- Middle of the pack in the NL.
4. Columbus- Looking for a high year 2 draft pick.
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