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.