Season 4 - Amateur Draft - First Round Review

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. Jack Nicholas - Quite simply one of the best prospects I've ever seen come across in a draft. The Bearcats had mentioned early on they were targeting a pitcher, but they could not pass up this once in a lifetime talent. He should be a perennial all star and mvp candidate if developed correctly.

2. Michael Shumpert - Shumpert would have gone #1 in nearly any other draft. A legitimate top of the rotation starter. The Mustangs are pleased to grab him at #2.

3. Harry Guillen - He still hasn't signed and I bet his demands are going to be very high. The Bulls definitely have the money to sign him so hopefully he comes around soon and decided on the pro's instead of college baseball. He should be a great pitcher for a long time.

4. Flip Carter - Power, speed, and fielding. What more could you ask for out of a Center Fielder? Notoriously one of the tougher positions to find a good mixture of glove and bat, The Owls are happy that Carter will be roaming CF for years to come.

5. Les Butler - Pro's and Con's with Butler. You have to like his two plus pitches and great control. However, a mediocre righty split makes this a questionable top 5 selection. Could the Bronco's have done a little better here?

6. Eswalin Sierra - Really nice pitcher. Will be an absolute workhorse with projected 99 stamina and 33 durability...250 innings isn't out of the question. That's not to overshadow the nice splits and pitches. Nice pick and a guy some scouts believe is better than Butler who went a spot ahead of him.

7. Andrea Davis - Some good ratings here, but what scares some scouts is Davis only has 3 pitches and one of which is mediocre. Looking forward to see if Davis can overcome this to live up to such a high choice.

8. Cy Saturria - The Trojans must have been ectatic that probably the best "pure" hitter fell to them at #8. Cy should hit for high average, tons of homeruns, and not to mention steal some bases. He should be a 30-30 guy....could he approach 40-40?

9. Miguel Concepcion - The Buckeyes couldn't pass up this enticing CFer prospect. Rarely do you see a amateur draft that has one Cfer of this talent and we now have seen two. Hopefully his health won't become an issue.

10. Gene Schneider - Another great pitching prospect to add to the stable for Salem. The Beavers are reported to be happy to have grabbed Schnieder, but they were hoping one of the top position players would fall to them. Once they were off the board, they drafted by talent and not need. They grabbed a good on in Schnieder. Maybe in future seasons they can parlay him into a top positional prospect?

11. Andrea Nelson - A poor man's Cy Saturria. He should be a very good hitter for a long time. A nice, safe pick at #11.

12. Scooter Thomas - A risky, risky pick as Scooter let all the teams know he wants to play quarterback for Florida State. They rolled the dice anyways to see if a lot of greenbacks could sway him. Stay tuned...

13. Bingo Speier - Solid selection here. If he stays at 2B, that glove could make him a gold glover easily. He also could be moved to CF if needed although he doesn't have a ton of range. Always nice to have a good bat at either of those positions.

14. David Moreno - Moreno should be a lights out closer when he develops. With that durability rating he should be able to pitch in a ton of games as well. 50 saves isn't out of the question if he is limited to the 9th inning only.

15. Rafael Ordonez - Ordonez will be interesting to watch develop. He has all the tools to be a successful big leaguer, he just needs to work on his control. If he starts walking too many guys, its going to be hard to keep that WHIP from rising over 1.50.

16. Joaquin Colon - A good bat at SS with a nice glove is a great combination. This is a great slot for Colon to go and easily could have gone a bit higher in the teens. This draft is jsut really really deep and the Sun Devils benefit from it.

17. Daryn Easley - Very quesitonable selection. Most scouts don't believe his splits or pitches are good enough to make a big mark in the majors. he looks slated to be a back of the rotation\long reliever\mop up guy. Maybe the tiger scouts see something different?

18. Clyde Jodie - Jodie should be a solid, middle of the rotation pitcher. A very respectable grab as we reach the late teens.

19. James Hernandez - Another solid selection. Good glove, decent bat, will play many years in the bigs if he develops. Nothing too crazy here.

20. Tyson Seaver - Scouts believe the only reason Seaver fell this far is he tends to get hurt a lot. This has already played itself out once as he currently has a strained oblique. He is arguably more talented than other 2B that have been taken before him, but will injuries derail his career before it gets started?

21. Kurt Rolls - If he develops fully defensively, he can be a decent ML SS. But if he doesn't he'll probably have to be moved. Hopefully he can stick at SS because then you'll have a decent bat at SS. That will diminish if he has to be moved to 3B or somewhere else.

22. Moises Guerrero - A bit of a risky selection here because some scouts just aren't sold his control will develop enough to be reliable. It will be interesting to see if his other ratings can overcome the lack of control.

23. Allie Plesac - He still hasn't signed yet. If he does, he'll be a great selection this late in the draft. He easily could have gone in the teens. he could be a gold glove 3B with a lot of pop in his bat. (The Heels were hoping he'd fall to them)

24. Clayton Brunette - Good control and 3 good pitches. Can they overcome average splits? Should be good enough to be counted on as a back of the rotation pitcher.

25. Brian Yang - Yang would have gone much higher if he had a bit more stamina. Those splits are unbelievable though and he has two great pitches. Not sure how many innings you'll be able to get out of him though.

26. Merv Witt - Should be a decent closer if he develops correctly. As mentioned above, the Heels were hoping a couple other guys would fall to them.

27. Dewey King - Not too much to get excited about here. king has an average bat and defensive skills. He got hurt a ton in college so we'll see if he can keep his body together.

28. Darren Capra - At this point in the draft, any pick is going to have warts, but Capra has a big one. Sub 50 projected control. Very few pitchers have succeeded in the majors with that type of ratings. Can Capra be the next?

29. Billy Rivers - Great, great pick. The Herd had to have been ecstatic that Rivers fell to them. Not sure he has the glove to play 2B full time, but thats a nice bat.

30. Ray King - Very interesting selection. Great ratings, but unfortunately will probably only be able to play in 80-100 games a season due to his durability.

31. Jose Sierra - Nice pickup this late in the draft. Should be a solid reliever in the bigs.

32. Jaret House - the Gators were very happy house fell to them. Only question mark seems to be his batting eye which will lead to a lot of K's. But again, any pick this late usually will have warts.

33. Jonathan Rauch - Great pick. Could easily have gone 10 spots higher. Catcher is another position where it is very hard to find a decent fielding backstop with a good bat. Rauch definitely fits that mold.