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.