Las Vegas Bishes
Needs: 1B, SP, RP
Behind the plate, funhat appears to be set up quite well with a young Nicholas Sexton shouldering the lion's share of the load. Better yet, he has a solid young tandem in Branch Skinner and Alex Callaspo coming up behind Sexton, who will one day probably share the catching duties. Both are very solid hitters and can work the pitching staff quite capably. Funhat also has a talented young infield that will only get better with experience. The recent IFA signing of RF Geraldo Segui completes a capable young outfield as well. This is strengthened by a couple of young CF in the minors who will fill in capably as backups when needed once they are ready to make the jump to the bigs. On the mound, funhat is slowly assembling an outstanding young pitching staff that just needs some time to develop. It was very difficult finding any real weaknesses on this team which has such a bright future. All funhat needs is a little bit if fine tuning, and some patience, until this team claws it's way to the top. Maybe another quality SP, a little more RP, and a big bat to anchor the middle of the batting order is all that is required.
Draft Expectations: Low - Moderate
Las Vegas only has the standard 5 picks through round 5, but they start with overall pick no. 8. This should allow them to add to their already substantial stable of quality young talent. With the remainder of his picks, if funhat can pick up even one more solid future ML player, he can consider this draft a success.
Draft Preparation:
Las Vegas is in a very enviable position, both with it's team, and with it's finances. funhat has done an outstanding job setting this team up for the future. With the second lowest payroll in the league, funhat has left himself open for countless different possibilities on which direction to take. Ultimately, he settled on a very balanced distribution of his funds across the board. This fits well with his situation, as he will now get a good look at all the possibilities, and choose what to do accordingly.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 8 SP/RP Theo Washburn
Depending on how funhat chooses to use him, Washburn can either be a short-inning starter, putting in 5-6 innings per start, or as a dominant long reliever. Talent-wise, is well worth the number 8 pick, especially when you consider what funhat's pre-draft needs were. Pin-point accuracy and bat-splitting velocity will make him virtually unhittable at times. This is strengthened by his top-of-the-rotation left/right splits. His two dominant pitches are a fastball and curveball, and they are so good that when opposing batters do make contact, they usually drive the ball straight into the ground.
ML Projection: 150-160 IP/15 W/180 K/.190-.230 OAV/2.00-2.50 ERA
Round 2 Pick 65 RP Darwin Lankford
Again, sticking to his draft blueprint, funhat chose a talented relief pitcher for his second pick. Lankford has all the numbers of an elite reliever, except for his questionable control. What I have found however, is that if all the remaining numbers are good enough, questionable control can be overcome, as long as the control isn't too bad. A 42 control ranking can definitely be overcome, and with Lankford, it probably will be. His other numbers are that good.
ML Projection: 80-100 IP/5 W/5 SV/.180-.220 OAV/40-60 BB/
2.50-3.00 ERA
Round 3 Pick 97 SP Jose Bocachica
A good set of minor league numbers will make Bocachica a dominant minor league starter, but he will never see the big leagues, especially with the talented rotation ahead of him. Ceiling AAA
Round 4 Pick 129 RF/1B Buddy Jenkins
Jenkins has plenty of power, but not much else to make that power work for him. He will be a slugging monster in the minors, but unfortunately, that's where he will probably stay. Ceiling AAA
Round 5 Pick 161 SP/RP Matty Ugueto
Another strong minor league pitcher, Ugueto will max out at either AA or AAA.
Hidden Gems: none foreseeable
Overall Grade: A
Not only did funhat get the two prospects he should have, but he got them in areas where they could be the most beneficial. This is a team on the way up and will become a force in the future.
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