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.