Sunday, January 27, 2013

S25 Draft - Top 10 Review by habslmets


1. Norfolk Turkeys – Sammy Medrano, 2B/CF, Central Michigan

Norfolk got the draft going by taking Sammy Medrano  with the number one pick. Medrano has very solid defensive skills, and should play gold glove defense at either well valued 2B or CF. With power and contact splits both 75 or higher, his bat should come into great use as well. Medrano is the kind of player you can build your line up around with him hitting at multiple positions in the order.


2. Seattle Water Wolves – Robb Lockwood, SP, Georgia Tech


Seattle made Robb Lockwood the first pitcher off the board, and with good reason. The 86/89 lefty-righty splits made many owners take notice. His control is also excellent, but there are a few reasons to be concerned. A durability of only 11 could be a concern as the season wears on, but his health of 98 definitely should take a load of off reigny's mind.


3. Kansas City Renegades – Pablo Figureoa, SP, College of Lake County


The Renegades plucked another top pitcher with their selection of Figueroa at 3. Figureoa has the kind of stamina that will make him a great innings eater. Combine that with his perfect health and it won't be surprising to see him frequently top 200 innings pitched. He is equally solid against both left and right handed batter, and has very nice control. There are few weaknesses in Figueroa's game.


4. Santa Fe Sluggers – Ray Griffith, 1B, Larnerd High School (KS)


Griffith was easily one of the few truly solid first basemen in the draft, but he may have been a slight reach at number 4. His lefty-righty splits were among the best in the draft, and his power and contact will make him a terror in the middle of an order. His health was my main reason for falling a little in my draft board, but if first base is your main priority, then Griffith was the way to go.


5. Chicago Blagos – Bartolo Gonzalez, SP, Hartshorne High School (OK)


Gonzalez rounded out the elite tier of starting pitchers in this years draft thanks to his 91 stamina, 83 control and scorching 98 velocity.. Gonzalez also posed on of the toughest arms against lefties at 83, but his 55 split against righties may have scared off a few teams. Teams should be afraid of Gonzalez, who will make a great top end starter in the future.


6. New Britain River Rats – Bo McMillan, CF, Little Falls High School (MN)


The 6th pick in the draft started a small run of position players, and the River Rats made McMillan the first outfielder off the board. McMillan has great hitting ability with contact at 75 and a power rating of 84. His lefty-righty splits are a little low, and he has below average ability at center field defensively. However it wouldn't surprise me to see McMillan tearing it up at 2B in the future.


7. Louisville Lumber – Alvin Miceli, SS, Salt Lake West Theron High School (UT)


The Lumber took Miceli with the 7th pick, but at the time of this writing he is the only one of the top 10 unsigned. If he does sign, he will be a very talented shortstop both offensive and defensively. His skill in the field is very good, and his 88 power makes Miceli a rare power shortstop. However his health is a little low for comfort, although that may not matter if Miceli decides not to sign.


8. Baltimore Orioles – Vic Montero, SS, Northwest College


Baltimore landed themselves another stud shortstop with Montero, who by my counts was the best defensive player available in the draft. His high health and durability ratings means he could a gold glover for years to come, and his very solid 76 power and 53 contact ratings will make him a solid member of any batting order. The Orioles might have had the steal of the draft with Montero.


9. Wichita Rocks – Alex Harris, SP, Iowa Western CC


Alex Harris ended the run of position players, and for good reason. Harris is very solid in almost every major pitching category, with his 82/77 splits and 91 velocity really standing out. A perfect health rating of 100 was another major bonus for the leagues oldest franchise, and could find himself in the ace role in the years to come.


10. Rochester Rakers – Ricky Gold, RP, North Texas University


The Rakers rounded out the top ten by landing themselves the best relief pitcher in the draft. Ricky Gold was a steal at number 10, and will make a top bullpen arm. Gold's lefty-righty splits of 86 and 83 are spectacular, and his 83 control and 89 velocity make him solid all around. Granted his stamina is low, but with a health rating of 90 the Rakers may have found their closer of the future. 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

S25 Power 10

1)  San Diego Beards of Zeus -  40_dog and his Black Panther magic is doing even better than winning 60%  of the time 100% of the time...they rolling at a clip of 76%.   SD has been on a slow up swing winning 62, 75, 83 over the last 3 seasons.   Can young gun Horacio DeLeon get 40 back to the playoffs for the first time since S18?

2)  Augusta Polar Bears -  Balls are flying out of Noes Field at an alarming rate.......the blog wonders if the commish took a page from The Lorrax and bottled some of the fresh Rocky Mountain air and is piping it into Noes.......could happen......

3)  Tampa Bay Don Caesers -  2x ARod World Series champ cebola continues to get it done with solid hitting to go with great pitching and fielding.    You better have a lead late against TB as stud closer Alfonso Villafuerte is virtually unhittable!!!

4)  Philadelphia Colonials -  All those years in the basement collecting talent is paying off in a big way for brutus08, but the "cou de ta" was landing superstar SP Gary Pressley last year in a trade........speaking of that, who traded him to brutus?  I gotta go back and look so we can kick their ass!!!  :)

5)  Helena Peacemakers - Another team loaded with superstar young talent.........here's to wishing we had to the MWR in place 10 season's ago, maybe bigp wouldn't be in for such a dog fight this year.   Keep an eye on slugger Hersh Glynn as that crazy breakout MVP season could happen at any moment.

6)  Tacoma XMEN -  Just when it looked like mrx39 was going to give up on his rebuild, he gives it one last change and what do you know............loads of young talent here but is there enough pitching to keep this going?

7)  Colorado Shock -  The Shock are doing what The Shock do......struggle against the truly elite and handle everyone else.   Could this be the year that bigparb13's $110 million investment finally pays off - Gio Hernandez?

8)  Hartford Dirt Dobbers -  The entire town of Hartford held its collective breath when superstar Art Krause was injured ..... luckily for the Dobbers it was just a calf strain and with Krause set to make his return tomorrow, rdwaltz71 has done a great job keeping the Dobbers in 1st place in the NL North division.

9)  San Juan Rum Runners -  new owner BroncoRon has a solid veteran squad sitting in first place but in recent days he's indicated a desire to re-build.  There's been no significant moves to-date but the blog wonders when we might see that first domino fall......

10)  Tie -Trenton Thunder &  Iowa City Rounders -  really?  really?  two of the best teams in ARod both sitting under .500 33 games in a more that a bit shocking?   Is it rebuild time for Iowa?