Season 12 - First Round Amateur Draft Review

All player names are "clickable" to their profile. Each prospect is reviewed by me, but some owners also submitted their thoughts about their pick.

1. Nashville - Can't go wrong with a top of the rotation ace with the number one pick. The Commodores gambled a bit as Izturis wasn't sold on signing as he was "Undecided" however, he shocked many in not only signing, but he also didn't demand more money. Quite the coup for the new Nashville GM.

cctigerfan - "Number 1 overall pick Willie Izturis is a four pitch finesse pitcher, who has the potential to be a cornerstone of the Commodores rotation for many years to come."

2. Iowa City - Not sure he projects well enough defensively to play SS, but tbone might be able to live with sub par defense with the bat Justice brings to the table. What a great name as well! Really nice player to continue the rebuild process around.

tbone66: "My first round draft pick is who I targeted I figure I need help at a lot of positions why not start at SS. Love the name Buck Justice has good contact numbers can hit the HR ball and ptential great Def numbers. Also has good health ratings. Lacks a little in speed for a SS is probably a 3 to 4 years before ML."

3. Dover - I wish his glove projected a bit higher and then I'd be more onboard with this pick. However that is my bias talking as I prefer to have Gold Glove level SS. Dawkins definitely has the arm to play SS which will lead to some plus plays, but will only be average with the glove. Solid bat to bring to the table at SS though.

byers61 - "The Blue Hens drafted Ollie Dawkins with the #3 pick. Unlike a few of the other shortstops at the top of the board, he has the range, glove and arm to play the position at the ML level. Pretty good blend of power, batting eye, and baserunning skills. This pick looks better if Santo Borges doesn't sign, since Borges (and his $8,000 price tag) was on the board but was passed over because of signability issues."

4. Buffalo - Really like this pick. Gold glove level CF prospect who brings a ton to the plate as well. If his vR was higher, this would be a home run, but still a solid top 5 choice. With his speed, he will have the chance to be a 30-30 hitter plus defender.

5. Jackson - Santo Borges - Didn't sign, he loves the college life at Waukesha County Technical College. Now that is funny.

6. Chicago - Ricardo Sosa - Love love love this pick. It is extremely difficult to find great hitting catchers that can also field the position well. I think this is a steal at #6. He won't be ready for another few seasons, but when he is, watch out!

arte - "The Blue Demons were quite pleased to get Ricardo Sosa with the 6th pick overall. With decent defensive skills and a way above average bat, the Demons really hope their generous signing bonus will sway the kid away from his college dream."

7. Helena - Pedro Santos - Hasn't signed and doesn't look like he will.

8. Memphis - Torey James - Hasn't signed and doesn't look like he will.

mh17: "CF Torey James? Management is at a lose for words yet again. Taken with the 8th overall pick and asking $7.5mil, and with only 1 pick in the first 3 rounds to boot. A huge and costly oversight."

9. Boise - Einar Chavez - Solid selection and will be ready in a season or two. Always nice to find a solid 2B defender with some pop in his bat that can also make some noise on the basepaths.

abesmem - "Very, very happy with Chavez at number 9. I had him rated as 2 overall. He basically can do it all. He should hit for both avergae and power and can deal with lefties and righties. He should be in the majors within 2 seasons."

10. Oakland - Rigo Cerda - Solid choice to round out the top 10. Above average splits with two plus pitches, great control and will induce a ton of ground balls. Should be very solid.

z0601 - "Its not often that you have someone drafted by one ownership group and then signed by another one. With the changes taking place out here in Oakland, we are determined to make sure Rigo Cerda doesn't fall between the cracks and get lost in the system. Having very little time to look at Cerda in action, he appears to have a long future in baseball being such a youthful talent.
As long as Cerda can stay healthy, when he gets to the ML level, he should be a starting pitcher that will be able to eat up some innings and give the bullpen an night off. Cerda lacks a little when it comes to his splits against lefties, but his control and command of his Slider and Fastball should be more than enough to over come those slight short comings. Overall we are excited to have selected Cerda and looking forward to seeing what he can do on the mound for us.""

11. Huntington - Lance Shawler - Pretty nice closer prospect here with great splits, control and solid pitches. His DUR/STA combo should allow a good amount of save opportunities as well.

hurricane384 - "Lance Shawler has the potential to be a very good closer/SuA. I don't like drafting relievers so early, but he was the #2 guy on my board, so it was a no-brainer. Reminds me of Livingstone."

12. New Orleans - Everett Wood - Can be a very good defender at either 2B or 3B, but is probably a reach at SS. Should hit pretty well with a higher OBP with his great batting eye and he'll even steal a few bases. Probably won't be a star, but can be a very nice piece to a ballclub.

kilgore - "The Bayou Bengals were ecstatic when their turn came up at the 12th spot in the first round and SS Everett Wood, a Minnesota native who starred collegiately at UNC-Ashville, was still available. Wood, a plus defender with good speed and excellent baserunning instincts, hits from the left side with power not commonly found in middle infielders. His keen strike zone judgment compensates for the fact that he is vulnerable in some parts of the strike zone, particularly against left-handed pitchers. New Orleans believes that Wood is ready to immediately contribute at the AA level, where he will join prized outfield prospect Thomas Lucano, last year's first round pick. "

13. Cincinnati - Livan Sardinha - Solid, if not spectacular, relief prospect. Great control, above average splits and pitchers so he'll definitely help in the 7th-9th innings.

Allright: Livan Sardinha is certainly no lights out prospect. In light of budget realities,team needs, the liklihood of a quick trip through the minors, he does fit the bill. I like relievers with good control and good vs. R and good endurance/stamina. He won't rank as anybody's first round steal; but, I like him.

14. Kansas City - Arthur Johnstone - As of this posting, he is undecided on whether he is signing or not.

15. Columbus - Thomas Fogg - Very much like Mr. Wood at #12. Solid, but not spectacular 2B prospect. Will be a good piece to the puzzle eventually.

16. New York - Walker Nye - Can definitely be a nice piece to the puzzle to the Red Storm pitching staff, Solid vR with two plus pitches. Can't be a part of a 4 man rotation with his STA/DUR combo, but could be a good piece to a 5 man rotation.

17. Charleston - Donn Rodgers - Really nice pick although not sure he is good enough defensively to play catcher. He will hit the crap out of the ball though.

18. Seattle - Wandy Reynoso - Pretty good relief prospect here. Should be able to eat up a good amount of innings and still be efficient with his projections. Would be a great closer prospect if his second pitch was a bit better.

19. Portland - Denny Wang - Definitely will not/should not be a SS at the major league level, but could slot in nicely as a 3B. It seems tough to find a quality defensive 3B who can also hold his own at the plate and Wang certainly fits the bill there.

sirius07 - "Portland was looking for a starting pitcher, but instead, the have drafted a young shortstop. Therefore, it seems that this guy may end playing in the in-field corner or in the outfield corner. Wang is quick, but his contact is not high enough to make him a lead-off hitter, but maybe second or third in the lineup. He has some power and his good against both lefties and righties. "

20. Louisville - John Lewis - Really like this pick and am surprised he fell to #20. Really good splits especially his vR and solid control with a couple good pitches in his repetoire. Good piece to keep the rebuild project in Louisville going.

21. Minnesota - Yorman Lee - Really like this pick as well, although he is definitely not a SS. As I stated a couple picks ago, its difficult to find a legit defensive 3B with a good bat, but Lee brings the good there. Nice pick as we get into the last third of the draft.

22. New York (From Little Rock for signing Matthew Lennon) - Glen Morgan - High risk/High reward. The only reason he lasted this long was due to the abysmal health rating. Morgan can't seem to walk down the street without turning an ankle. If he is able to stay healthy then he will be a great pick in the latter half of the draft as he is a top 10 talent.

23. Detroit - Wallace Stephenson - Another nice pick. Lots of good power hitting Catchers in this draft. He likes to swing at everything, but most of the time makes really good contact. Nice choice.

tk21775: Had him ranked 10th on my board and got him with the 23rd pick; he's got good enough defense to play the C position for the Wolverines and has a great bat, which is what we were looking for. We found Mitch Carter's replacement and picked up some power.

24. Charleston (from Texas for signing Freddie Upshaw) - Mark Komatsu - The Cougars clearly wanted a Catcher in this draft, but if this was a "live" draft I'm not sure this pick would have happened after they chose Rodgers at #17. Worst case is they can dangle one of the catchers as trade bait to fill in holes elsewhere. I actually like Komatsu better because he is better defensively.

25. Richmond - Asked for too much money so cm decided to walk and take the pick next season.

cmthieme: "He's OK, nothing exciting really. I'm not sure if he'll sign, and I'm not sure if I even want him to. I'd be satisfied rolling the pick to next season."

26. Charlotte - Rob Bryant - Would be a better selection if his vR was better. Still a good prospect as a back of the rotation starter, however this isn't really what the Tar Heels needed as they have a huge stable of young arms. Might be trade bait in the offseason.

27. Los Angeles - Wilt Tabaka - Long Reliever at best with his stamina and won't blow the doors off the hinges if he gets to the bigs as he sports barely above average splits and only one plus pitch.

ajwalton - "We're happy to get Tabaka at 27. Our scouting dept. believes that he can eventually become an effective back of the rotation ML starter...but then again, our scouting dept. sucks. Time will tell."

28. Fargo - Alex Carter - Has a solid bat for a catcher which helps and he should be pretty good defensively although he doesn't project to call the greatest pitches which will hurt.

mikejuggalo: He is ok, best i could come up with at that pick. im satisfied

29. Arizona - Harold Taguchi - not sure he is worth a first round pick, but Taguchi can definitely be a huge help defensively at SS for the Sun Devils. Won't contribute much offensively, but could be a gold glover defensively.

lpa2a - "What can I say, i'm really bad at drafting. My scouting was 10/10 so I really can't blame that for the disaster of a first round pick. At least I proved you can win without good drafting ;-)"

30. Oakland (From Philadelphia for signing Howie Grim )- Jim Lee - Probably won't sign.

31. Fargo (type D after the first round pick from last season didn't sign) - Charles Robbins - Doesn't look like Robbins projects to much of a big leaguer. Doubtful he can play 2B or 3B with a mediocre glove and his bat doesn't project to make it efficient for him to play a Corner OF/1B/DH position.

mikejuggalo - "he will be a career minor leaguer im sure"

32. Syracuse - Evan Randolph - With his splits, he projects to be at best a long reliever/mop up guy and maybe just maybe a spot starter b/c he doesn't have some good pitches.

evil doers: "When you're drafting 32nd you get what you get. We think Evan Randolph can be a contributing major league starter. He has great control and while not showing a killer number one pitch, he makes up for it by not having any really bad pitches. For a 32nd pick we're happy with him."

33. Charleston (From Salem for signing Jared Strickland) -