S20 Draft Review - Tampa Bay Don Ceasars

Tampa Bay Don Ceasars 

Needs: C, 1B with power, COF, SP
Arrival of Hardtke locks up half of a solid catching platoon, but need other half
Has strategy of loading up the infield with natural SS which has the effect of providing great defense, but lacking in overall offensive prodution
Has some nice balance in the outfield, with some aging veterans being pushed by a couple of talented youngsters, but could use another COF
Solid, reliable rotation will need to find replacement parts soon
Bullpen a mixture of age and youth, and the flow through of replacements where necessary appears to be taking place

Draft Preparation:
Player budget: above average (93 mill)
Prospect budget: low (6 mill)
Draft budget: heavy on college scouting (20 mill)
high school (7 mill)

Number of Draft Picks Rounds 1-5: 8

Picks

Round 1 Pick 28 C Brant Ducey 
Nice choice in the late 1st round, calls a good game and has a bat that can help power any ML lineup. His durability is low, hence the low overall rating, but since Tampa already has another solid platoon catcher in place, he will fit in nicely.
ML Proj: 320 AB/20 HR/.280 BA

Round 1 Pick 41 (supp) RP Fausto Lee 
Solid late inning bullpen addition. Has all the right tools to have a long productive stay in the ML. Won't be an all-star, but with his uncanny ability to keep the ball on the ground, he induces an obscene number of double play balls. Feature pitch is the fastball.
ML Proj: 40-50 IP/2.70-3.20 ERA

Round 1 Pick 56 (supp) CF Glen Barkley 
Solid defensive CF with some hitting ability, Barkley can run like the wind, and does it with intelligence. He is every manager's dream of that 4th outfielder who can fill in at every outfield position if needed.
ML Proj: 300 AB/8 HR/.260 BA/35 SB

Round 2 Pick 88 RP Zip Lansing 
Talented short relief specialist with some occasional control problems. This may cost both him, and his team, once in a while, but overall the benefits outweigh the risks. Feature pitch is the fastball.
ML Proj: 40-50 IP/3.40-3.80 ERA

Round 2 Pick 94 RP Jason Russell 
Long relief pitcher has numbers that are just barely good enough to be that last man on your pitching staff. He will be used in mop up situations, and at other times when the remainder of your staff arms are in desperate need of a rest. He is capable of getting outs for a couple of innings, but that's it.
ML Proj: 50-60 IP/4.00-4.75 ERA

Round 3 Pick 126 C Gio Lee 
A capable enough hitter to spend time in the big leagues, but his defense is marginal. He may stock up frequent flyer miles between the big club and AAA.
ML Proj: 100 AB/6 HR/.270 BA

Round 4 Pick 159 1B Clark Aaron  
Solid AAA bat, but no further

Round 5 Pick 191 SS Bob Hammonds 
Good minor league infielder. Ceiling AAA

Hidden Gems: none apparent

Overall Grade: A
Cebola did an outstanding job of plucking talent from later picks in the draft, finishing with 4 players capable of securing solid ML careers and a couple more who could spend time there. The only blemish was that most of his picks came at positions where he already has a backlog of talent