Montreal Coqs
Needs: Everything but Catchers
Unless sir_hc21 can re-sign some of his aging, soon-to-be free agent talent to long term contracts, we will be seeing a major re-build take place in Montreal. The only position not in need of a major overhaul is behind the plate, where sir_hc21 has a number of options, culminating with 19 yr old Abraham Grabowski. On the bright side, with the number of potential Type A FA's Montreal will lose in the next couple of years, there will be plenty of high draft picks in compensation to help with the re-build.
Draft Expectations: Low
The standard 5 picks in 5 rounds beginning with no. 17 overall. No windfall of talent can be expected, but this is the draft where sir_hc21 starts building his future.
Draft Preparation:
The 4th highest payroll in the league was not created by sir_hc21, but it is the burden he has been left with. Montreal, as a result, has low scouting budgets across the board. sir_hc21 did try to adjust his numbers a bit to give himself a higher prospect budget, but he will be limited to trying to pick a rabbit out of the hat in the amateur draft.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 17 SP Bob Sisco
A very wise choice. While faced with a major rebuild, there is no better, or more important, place to start than your starting rotation. While not a future hall-of-famer, Sisco will grow to become a very solid no. 2 starter, and a good core player to start building around. His relatively low durability/stamina combination means he will only put in about 6+ innings per start, but they will be quality innings. A solid left/right split, and control/velocity split, means there are few weaknesses for opposing hitters to exploit. He also sports 5 different ML quality pitches. Quite an impressive arsenal.
ML Projection: 170-190 IP/15 W/.220-.240 OAV/2.80-3.20 ERA
Round 2 Pick 74 SP/RP Alfonso Ortega
A very disappointing 2nd pick, Ortega lacks the talent and skill levels needed to break into the bigs. Ceiling AA or AAA long relief.
Round 3 Pick 106 SP/RP John Collins
His numbers are only slightly better than Ortega's, but that may be enough to warrant a sneak peek in the majors. Otherwise, his primary role will be much like Ortega's as a long relief specialist in AAA.
Round 4 Pick 138 RP Jensen Bowman
A scaled down version of Ortega and Collins, which isn't saying much.
Round 5 Pick 170 RP Ahmad Dickens
See above, only scaled down even further.
Hidden Gems: None foreseeable
Overall Grade: D+
With so much on the line, only getting one future ML player in this draft has to be a big disappointment. The only thing that saved this from an "F" grade was Montreal's 1st pick Sisco.
King Felix
Saturday, April 16, 2011
S18 Draft Review by holer
Cleveland Curse
Needs: IF, OF
Cleveland's future catching situation is well in hand with last season's 1st round choice Juan Lira on his way up. The remainder of the infield, with the exception of Mathewson at SS, are all below the current league standard and could use upgrading. The outfield is in much better shape, but has been spread thin as a result of several natural outfielders being pressed into service in the infield to cover there. By far Cleveland's greatest strength is its pitching. Fast_eddie is set in both the rotation and bullpen for years to come. Wholesale commitment to drafting positional players would be my advice.
Draft Expectations: Moderate
With his first pick at 13th overall, fast_eddie should expect a star quality player with that pick. He also has a supplemental first rounder to give him two chances at a good quality player within the top 50 picks. Overall he has 6 picks in the first 5 rounds.
Draft Preparation:
Middle of the road player payroll means that with some planning, fast_eddie should have a successful draft. He chose to forego the international market, and opted to put all his faith in the domestic draft. He sank a bit more funding into college scouting than high school scouting, and kept his prospect budget relatively low.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 13 RF Hector Borders
Although he may be better suited to play 1B, Borders will give Cleveland some much needed pop in the middle of the batting order. His outstanding speed and batting eye means he will most likely hit 3rd.
ML Projection: 25 HR/.300-.320 BA/30-40 SB
Round 1 Supp Pick 47 RP Cliff Larkin
Very solid relief pitcher will have a long career as a set-up man. His high make-up rating means he should come very close to his projected ratings. He has good control and very effective splits, and could also fill in as the closer if needed.
ML Projection: 70 IP/3-5 W/.210-.230 OAV/2.00-2.50 ERA
Round 2 Pick 70 SP/RP Adrian Gardner
Signability issues. If he had signed, he might have been a deceptively effective pitcher.
Round 3 Pick 102 SP Thumper Withem
Nice name. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing worthwhile about Thumper from a ML baseball point of view. AA or AAA ceiling
Round 4 Pick 134 SP Alvin Jacobs
Has some intriguing numbers. While his control and groundball/flyball ratio numbers are huge red flags, he sports ML quality left/right splits, and 3+ ML pitches. He is a player worth considering for a brief tryout at some point.
Round 5 Pick 166 C Javier Mercedes
Is borderline defensively for a catcher, and may be better served as a DH. His hitting numbers are good, but may not be good enough for a ML DH. He probably will top out as either a AAA C or AAA DH.
Hidden Gems: C King Rowe?, C Buddy Green?, RP Bud York
Overall Grade: C-
fast_eddie's 1st pick Hector Borders at no. 13 overall is right about what should be expected. The second pick, RP Larkin was a nice find in the supplementary round. After that though, the pickings get a bit lean. Hopefully for fast_eddie, some of the lower picks get a good bump from the DITR lottery.
Needs: IF, OF
Cleveland's future catching situation is well in hand with last season's 1st round choice Juan Lira on his way up. The remainder of the infield, with the exception of Mathewson at SS, are all below the current league standard and could use upgrading. The outfield is in much better shape, but has been spread thin as a result of several natural outfielders being pressed into service in the infield to cover there. By far Cleveland's greatest strength is its pitching. Fast_eddie is set in both the rotation and bullpen for years to come. Wholesale commitment to drafting positional players would be my advice.
Draft Expectations: Moderate
With his first pick at 13th overall, fast_eddie should expect a star quality player with that pick. He also has a supplemental first rounder to give him two chances at a good quality player within the top 50 picks. Overall he has 6 picks in the first 5 rounds.
Draft Preparation:
Middle of the road player payroll means that with some planning, fast_eddie should have a successful draft. He chose to forego the international market, and opted to put all his faith in the domestic draft. He sank a bit more funding into college scouting than high school scouting, and kept his prospect budget relatively low.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 13 RF Hector Borders
Although he may be better suited to play 1B, Borders will give Cleveland some much needed pop in the middle of the batting order. His outstanding speed and batting eye means he will most likely hit 3rd.
ML Projection: 25 HR/.300-.320 BA/30-40 SB
Round 1 Supp Pick 47 RP Cliff Larkin
Very solid relief pitcher will have a long career as a set-up man. His high make-up rating means he should come very close to his projected ratings. He has good control and very effective splits, and could also fill in as the closer if needed.
ML Projection: 70 IP/3-5 W/.210-.230 OAV/2.00-2.50 ERA
Round 2 Pick 70 SP/RP Adrian Gardner
Signability issues. If he had signed, he might have been a deceptively effective pitcher.
Round 3 Pick 102 SP Thumper Withem
Nice name. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing worthwhile about Thumper from a ML baseball point of view. AA or AAA ceiling
Round 4 Pick 134 SP Alvin Jacobs
Has some intriguing numbers. While his control and groundball/flyball ratio numbers are huge red flags, he sports ML quality left/right splits, and 3+ ML pitches. He is a player worth considering for a brief tryout at some point.
Round 5 Pick 166 C Javier Mercedes
Is borderline defensively for a catcher, and may be better served as a DH. His hitting numbers are good, but may not be good enough for a ML DH. He probably will top out as either a AAA C or AAA DH.
Hidden Gems: C King Rowe?, C Buddy Green?, RP Bud York
Overall Grade: C-
fast_eddie's 1st pick Hector Borders at no. 13 overall is right about what should be expected. The second pick, RP Larkin was a nice find in the supplementary round. After that though, the pickings get a bit lean. Hopefully for fast_eddie, some of the lower picks get a good bump from the DITR lottery.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
S18 Draft Review by holer
Syracuse Psychos
Needs: C, IF, SP
Paddling into uncharted waters, ARod great gydk suddenly finds himself in a situation where he has to start filling in some glaring holes. Starting with a quickly deteriorating situation behind the plate, gydk has a catching tandem of two aging defensive stars that are going from little offense, to no offense at all. The infield is a patchwork of veterans coupled with some young OF talent being forced into the infield to fill the gaps. The OF situation looks much better with a number of options available, but with players already being forced into the infield, the outfield ranks have become thin as well. In the rotation, Syracuse has several good pitchers that are getting quite old. The quality then drops off dramaticaly to the next tier of prospects coming up. Help is obviously needed here as well.
Draft Expectations: Very Low
Following up on his last great, dominant season, gydk did not experience his first pick until no. 29 overall this year. Coupled with just the standard 5 picks in the first 5 rounds, gydk should not expect much help to come from this draft. This may change starting next year as he has several top end stars approaching free agency, but that is next year and this is this year.
Draft Preparation:
There was not much gydk could do this year in terms of draft preparation. He has a high payroll being paid out to a few select aging stars. As a result, he had little money left over for scouting or prospects, and this season's draft could reflect that.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 29 CF Shawn Durocher
Considering it was pick no. 29, Durocher was a pretty good pick-up. Defensively he is a mixed bag. He will get to a lot of balls, but will also make plenty of mistakes. He has good speed and base running skills, and plenty of power, but will struggle to get on base at times. Considering the task at hand for gydk, he did well to get Durocher.
ML Projection: 40 HR/.250-260 BA/25-30 SB
Round 2 Pick 85 SP Devaris Collins
A poor man's 4th or 5th starter, Collins may find himself somewhere in the Syracuse rotation within 3 to 4 years due to Syracuse's current predicament.
ML Projection: 200 IP/8-10 W/.280-.290 OAV/4.00-5.00 ERA
Round 3 Pick 117 C Milt Hillenbrand
Nice pickup in round 3 for Syracuse. Hillenbrand's defense isn't the best, but with a couple of elite defensive catchers already onboard, his bat is what Syracuse needs at this position.
ML Projection: 25-30 HR/.260-.270 BA/5 SB
Round 4 Pick 149 SP/RP Eli Sandoval
Huge signability issues. Why so many controlling mothers? Be a man Eli and make your own decisions!
Round 5 Pick 181 SP Luis Ontiveros
Standard AAA SP.
Hidden Gems: None foreseeable
Overall Grade: B-
Considering gydk was between a rock and a hard place going into this draft, coming away with 2 solid quality prospects was an admirable achievement. I am looking for him to achieve even better results in the next few drafts.
Needs: C, IF, SP
Paddling into uncharted waters, ARod great gydk suddenly finds himself in a situation where he has to start filling in some glaring holes. Starting with a quickly deteriorating situation behind the plate, gydk has a catching tandem of two aging defensive stars that are going from little offense, to no offense at all. The infield is a patchwork of veterans coupled with some young OF talent being forced into the infield to fill the gaps. The OF situation looks much better with a number of options available, but with players already being forced into the infield, the outfield ranks have become thin as well. In the rotation, Syracuse has several good pitchers that are getting quite old. The quality then drops off dramaticaly to the next tier of prospects coming up. Help is obviously needed here as well.
Draft Expectations: Very Low
Following up on his last great, dominant season, gydk did not experience his first pick until no. 29 overall this year. Coupled with just the standard 5 picks in the first 5 rounds, gydk should not expect much help to come from this draft. This may change starting next year as he has several top end stars approaching free agency, but that is next year and this is this year.
Draft Preparation:
There was not much gydk could do this year in terms of draft preparation. He has a high payroll being paid out to a few select aging stars. As a result, he had little money left over for scouting or prospects, and this season's draft could reflect that.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 29 CF Shawn Durocher
Considering it was pick no. 29, Durocher was a pretty good pick-up. Defensively he is a mixed bag. He will get to a lot of balls, but will also make plenty of mistakes. He has good speed and base running skills, and plenty of power, but will struggle to get on base at times. Considering the task at hand for gydk, he did well to get Durocher.
ML Projection: 40 HR/.250-260 BA/25-30 SB
Round 2 Pick 85 SP Devaris Collins
A poor man's 4th or 5th starter, Collins may find himself somewhere in the Syracuse rotation within 3 to 4 years due to Syracuse's current predicament.
ML Projection: 200 IP/8-10 W/.280-.290 OAV/4.00-5.00 ERA
Round 3 Pick 117 C Milt Hillenbrand
Nice pickup in round 3 for Syracuse. Hillenbrand's defense isn't the best, but with a couple of elite defensive catchers already onboard, his bat is what Syracuse needs at this position.
ML Projection: 25-30 HR/.260-.270 BA/5 SB
Round 4 Pick 149 SP/RP Eli Sandoval
Huge signability issues. Why so many controlling mothers? Be a man Eli and make your own decisions!
Round 5 Pick 181 SP Luis Ontiveros
Standard AAA SP.
Hidden Gems: None foreseeable
Overall Grade: B-
Considering gydk was between a rock and a hard place going into this draft, coming away with 2 solid quality prospects was an admirable achievement. I am looking for him to achieve even better results in the next few drafts.
S18 Draft Review by holer
Trenton Thunder
Needs: C, OF
Orber Furcal does a more than adequate job at, and behind, the plate, but with a low durability rating, he desperately needs another capable catcher to help shoulder the load. The infield is already loaded with talent. Any more talent added there will only mean somebody is going to be used as trade bait, likely to add SP's. The outfield is surprisingly thin considering all the infield talent 50below has, but he does have a couple of young studs coming up through the system. Another one wouldn't hurt. 50below is also largely set on the mound as well. While his big league rotation currently looks a bit thin, he has obviously been addressing this problem in recent years, and quality help is coming up through the system.
Draft Expectations: Moderate
Two 1st round picks in the top 25 could make this either a very successful, or a disastrous draft for 50below. The remainer of his picks are all standard, but he should be able to come away with 3 future big leaguers.
Draft Preparation:
Trenton's payroll is near the bottom of the league, allowing 50below a great deal of flexibility, which is a good position to be in considering he has those two 1st round picks. He has chosen to conduct his scouting in the high school ranks, and to also take his chances with the internationals. With a 20 million prospect budget, he is obviously looking at signing some serious talent, one way or another.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 20 2B Jonathon Hamelin
Sweet pickup with #20 overall. Hamelin's outstanding range will win him plenty of gold gloves over his long, award-winning career. He has star-power written all over him, and what he can't get accomplished with his glove, he'll take care of at the plate. The only thing lacking is speed on the bases, but with his top-notch batting eye, and significant power, he will be a force in the middle of the batting order.
ML Projection: 35-40 HR/.290-.310 BA/5-10 SB
Round 1 Pick 22 SP Zeus Britton
2 for 2 and having a great day at the plate, 50below has brought home his second stud in as many picks. Seeing Briton go at 22nd overall made me immediately go downstairs and slap both my chief scout and my director of player personnel around (considering my first pick was the sandwich pick at no. 21). Briton is a tailor-made number 2 ML starter. Not quite ace stuff, but pretty darn close. He has 3 plus pitches to choose from, and has impeccable control. Outstanding durability and stamina means he will go deep into many games, and will probably hold the franchise record for complete games when he is done. Good velocity and splits to go along with his control means a good shot at 200k's every year.
ML Projection: 250+ IP/200 K/15-20 W/.240-.250 OAV/
3.00-3.25 ERA
Round 2 Pick 78 RP Ernie Ledee
A solid ML RP. All the right numbers are in all the right places. Outstanding control/velocity splits will offset a slightly low left/right split. Two superior pitches (and vicious ones at that: sinker and cutter) are the primary contributors to an outstanding groundball/flyball ratio. Look for him to spend 15 seasons in somebody's bullpen.
ML Projection: 70-75 IP/3-5 W/5 SV/.230-.240 OAV/
2.40-2.60 ERA
Round 3 Pick 110 SP/RP Chili Ashley
One of those "almost there" 4A guys. He has 4 very nice pitches, but falls just a bit short in most of the essential categories. He will probably live out most of his career in AAA, but may get a few call-ups.
ML Projection: Emergency replacement
Round 4 Pick 142 SS Louis Padgett
Outstanding defense, but virtually no offense. His ability to spend any time in the bigs will depend largely on the patience of some owner putting up with virtually nil production from one of the slots in his batting order.
ML Projection: Defensive Infield replacement
Round 5 Pick 174 SP Steve Vander Wal
Another pitcher with some nice pitches, but not enough raw talent behind those pitches to climb the ladder to the top. Final stop will either be AA or AAA.
Hidden Gems: None Foreseeable
Overall Grade: A
50below's grade is based primarily on his first two picks. All too often we see owners with more than one 1st round pick squander at least one of those precious picks, but not 50below. He got outstanding bang for his buck. Forget that he didn't really find the players to fill his most pressing needs, he simply got the best two players that were available in the draft at that time. Besides, with all his talent now, he can trade to fill his needs.
Needs: C, OF
Orber Furcal does a more than adequate job at, and behind, the plate, but with a low durability rating, he desperately needs another capable catcher to help shoulder the load. The infield is already loaded with talent. Any more talent added there will only mean somebody is going to be used as trade bait, likely to add SP's. The outfield is surprisingly thin considering all the infield talent 50below has, but he does have a couple of young studs coming up through the system. Another one wouldn't hurt. 50below is also largely set on the mound as well. While his big league rotation currently looks a bit thin, he has obviously been addressing this problem in recent years, and quality help is coming up through the system.
Draft Expectations: Moderate
Two 1st round picks in the top 25 could make this either a very successful, or a disastrous draft for 50below. The remainer of his picks are all standard, but he should be able to come away with 3 future big leaguers.
Draft Preparation:
Trenton's payroll is near the bottom of the league, allowing 50below a great deal of flexibility, which is a good position to be in considering he has those two 1st round picks. He has chosen to conduct his scouting in the high school ranks, and to also take his chances with the internationals. With a 20 million prospect budget, he is obviously looking at signing some serious talent, one way or another.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 20 2B Jonathon Hamelin
Sweet pickup with #20 overall. Hamelin's outstanding range will win him plenty of gold gloves over his long, award-winning career. He has star-power written all over him, and what he can't get accomplished with his glove, he'll take care of at the plate. The only thing lacking is speed on the bases, but with his top-notch batting eye, and significant power, he will be a force in the middle of the batting order.
ML Projection: 35-40 HR/.290-.310 BA/5-10 SB
Round 1 Pick 22 SP Zeus Britton
2 for 2 and having a great day at the plate, 50below has brought home his second stud in as many picks. Seeing Briton go at 22nd overall made me immediately go downstairs and slap both my chief scout and my director of player personnel around (considering my first pick was the sandwich pick at no. 21). Briton is a tailor-made number 2 ML starter. Not quite ace stuff, but pretty darn close. He has 3 plus pitches to choose from, and has impeccable control. Outstanding durability and stamina means he will go deep into many games, and will probably hold the franchise record for complete games when he is done. Good velocity and splits to go along with his control means a good shot at 200k's every year.
ML Projection: 250+ IP/200 K/15-20 W/.240-.250 OAV/
3.00-3.25 ERA
Round 2 Pick 78 RP Ernie Ledee
A solid ML RP. All the right numbers are in all the right places. Outstanding control/velocity splits will offset a slightly low left/right split. Two superior pitches (and vicious ones at that: sinker and cutter) are the primary contributors to an outstanding groundball/flyball ratio. Look for him to spend 15 seasons in somebody's bullpen.
ML Projection: 70-75 IP/3-5 W/5 SV/.230-.240 OAV/
2.40-2.60 ERA
Round 3 Pick 110 SP/RP Chili Ashley
One of those "almost there" 4A guys. He has 4 very nice pitches, but falls just a bit short in most of the essential categories. He will probably live out most of his career in AAA, but may get a few call-ups.
ML Projection: Emergency replacement
Round 4 Pick 142 SS Louis Padgett
Outstanding defense, but virtually no offense. His ability to spend any time in the bigs will depend largely on the patience of some owner putting up with virtually nil production from one of the slots in his batting order.
ML Projection: Defensive Infield replacement
Round 5 Pick 174 SP Steve Vander Wal
Another pitcher with some nice pitches, but not enough raw talent behind those pitches to climb the ladder to the top. Final stop will either be AA or AAA.
Hidden Gems: None Foreseeable
Overall Grade: A
50below's grade is based primarily on his first two picks. All too often we see owners with more than one 1st round pick squander at least one of those precious picks, but not 50below. He got outstanding bang for his buck. Forget that he didn't really find the players to fill his most pressing needs, he simply got the best two players that were available in the draft at that time. Besides, with all his talent now, he can trade to fill his needs.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
S18 Draft Review by holer
New York Yankees
Needs: C, CF, SP, RP
Like a number of other teams, New York has to start thinking about their future catching situation. They have a solid backstop right now in Darren Green, but like many of this league's front line catchers, he is aging. Dick Easley will rise to become a solid defensive replacement, but he can't carry the full load, and there is nobody else in the system capable of making an impact at the ML level. In the rest of the infield I don't presume to understand who acesspade has playing where and why, but he does have all the pieces necessary to fill out a pretty capable infield. New York's biggest problem in the outfield is in CF. The two corner positions can be adequately covered by existing players, but Kevin Grahe is marginal at best and needs to be replaced. On the mound, acesspade has a lot of marginal ML talent, but not many soilidly reliable ML pitchers. He needs to spend the next few drafts shoring up this area.
Draft Expectations: Moderate
Two 1st round picks, including number 4 overall, and 6 picks in the first 5 rounds. With those numbers, acesspade should be able to pick up at least 3 rock solid future big league players.
Draft Preparation:
acesspade's current payroll runs right about mid-pack. Obviously he likes his draftees young as he has sacrificed the college players, and has evenly distributed his funding to the high school and international scouts. He has also maxed out his prospect budget to ensure he can sign some high-end talent this year.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 4 SP/RP Calvin Curtis
Definitely a stretch at number 4 overall. Curtis is a solid pitcher who will have a long ML career, but he isn't even close to being a future ML star, which ideally is what you want from your 4th overall pick. He will probably end up in a long relief role as his stamina is way too low to be a starter, especially in the bigs. He will give a solid 2-4 innings of work whenever he is called upon, and if surrounded by good talent could be a vital lynchpin in the bullpen for a team trying to get to the top. But he is a role player, not a core player.
ML Projection: 90-110 IP/6-8 W/5 SV/.230 OAV/2.75 ERA
Round 1 Supp Pick 34 2B/CF Duane Andrews
I know, I know, he really is a natural 2B, and a good one, but because he would still do just as good, or better, than Kevin Grahe at CF, I had to slip that in. To be completely honest, he will probably have twice the impact that Curtis has, even though he was selected 30 picks later. Defensively, he is a stud at 2B, and would be adequate at CF. He has great speed, but the coaches will have to keep a tight reign on him as he doesn't always make the best decisions while running the bases. He is a good hitter with little power, but those swift legs will come in handy as they allow him to pick up countless infield hits.
ML Projection: 5-10 HR/.290-.300 BA/25-30 SB
Round 2 Pick 73 SS Miguel Maduro
A very nice pickup at 73rd overall. His outstanding defensive ability is only slightly hampered by below average range. Outstanding speed, and decent baserunning ability, makes him a legitimate basestealing threat. Offensively, he will add some runs from the bottom of the order, but because of his limited durability, he will have to share SS duties with another player.
ML Projection: 120 G/15 HR/.250-.260 BA/35 SB
Round 3 Pick 93 LF/CF Clarence Strange
His range and glove make it possible for Strange to play both LF and CF. He is a deceptively effective player, and it would not be surprising to see him hold down the 4th outfield position for just about any team.
ML Projection: 5-10 HR/.250 BA/5 SB as utility outfielder
Round 4 Pick 125 RP Chris Stuart
Stuart is a bit of an enigma in that his talent ratings are loaded with extremes, both good and bad. He can pitch a ton of innings for you - good. His lack of control is scary - bad. He can be effective against righthanders - good. Don't let him pitch against lefties - bad. He has a phenomenal groundball/flyball ratio - good. Opposing hitters would actually have to swing the bat to produce groundballs - bad. In the end, I just don't see any big league managers signing up for the carnival ride that is Chris Stuart.
Ceiling AAA.
Round 5 Pick 157 C Paul Thornton
Signability issues have prevented the Yankees from making Thornton another viable option at C for them in the future. Although he would be a marginal C at best, he would still give them a player to fill in at that position, which New York has precious few of.
ML Profection: emergency replacement (if signed)
Hidden Gems: none foreseeable
Overall Grade: C+
Full marks to acesspade for identifying his team's weaknesses, and actively trying to fill those holes in the draft. After a very shaky start with the 4th overall pick, he recovered well to pick up some good prospects in later rounds.
Needs: C, CF, SP, RP
Like a number of other teams, New York has to start thinking about their future catching situation. They have a solid backstop right now in Darren Green, but like many of this league's front line catchers, he is aging. Dick Easley will rise to become a solid defensive replacement, but he can't carry the full load, and there is nobody else in the system capable of making an impact at the ML level. In the rest of the infield I don't presume to understand who acesspade has playing where and why, but he does have all the pieces necessary to fill out a pretty capable infield. New York's biggest problem in the outfield is in CF. The two corner positions can be adequately covered by existing players, but Kevin Grahe is marginal at best and needs to be replaced. On the mound, acesspade has a lot of marginal ML talent, but not many soilidly reliable ML pitchers. He needs to spend the next few drafts shoring up this area.
Draft Expectations: Moderate
Two 1st round picks, including number 4 overall, and 6 picks in the first 5 rounds. With those numbers, acesspade should be able to pick up at least 3 rock solid future big league players.
Draft Preparation:
acesspade's current payroll runs right about mid-pack. Obviously he likes his draftees young as he has sacrificed the college players, and has evenly distributed his funding to the high school and international scouts. He has also maxed out his prospect budget to ensure he can sign some high-end talent this year.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 4 SP/RP Calvin Curtis
Definitely a stretch at number 4 overall. Curtis is a solid pitcher who will have a long ML career, but he isn't even close to being a future ML star, which ideally is what you want from your 4th overall pick. He will probably end up in a long relief role as his stamina is way too low to be a starter, especially in the bigs. He will give a solid 2-4 innings of work whenever he is called upon, and if surrounded by good talent could be a vital lynchpin in the bullpen for a team trying to get to the top. But he is a role player, not a core player.
ML Projection: 90-110 IP/6-8 W/5 SV/.230 OAV/2.75 ERA
Round 1 Supp Pick 34 2B/CF Duane Andrews
I know, I know, he really is a natural 2B, and a good one, but because he would still do just as good, or better, than Kevin Grahe at CF, I had to slip that in. To be completely honest, he will probably have twice the impact that Curtis has, even though he was selected 30 picks later. Defensively, he is a stud at 2B, and would be adequate at CF. He has great speed, but the coaches will have to keep a tight reign on him as he doesn't always make the best decisions while running the bases. He is a good hitter with little power, but those swift legs will come in handy as they allow him to pick up countless infield hits.
ML Projection: 5-10 HR/.290-.300 BA/25-30 SB
Round 2 Pick 73 SS Miguel Maduro
A very nice pickup at 73rd overall. His outstanding defensive ability is only slightly hampered by below average range. Outstanding speed, and decent baserunning ability, makes him a legitimate basestealing threat. Offensively, he will add some runs from the bottom of the order, but because of his limited durability, he will have to share SS duties with another player.
ML Projection: 120 G/15 HR/.250-.260 BA/35 SB
Round 3 Pick 93 LF/CF Clarence Strange
His range and glove make it possible for Strange to play both LF and CF. He is a deceptively effective player, and it would not be surprising to see him hold down the 4th outfield position for just about any team.
ML Projection: 5-10 HR/.250 BA/5 SB as utility outfielder
Round 4 Pick 125 RP Chris Stuart
Stuart is a bit of an enigma in that his talent ratings are loaded with extremes, both good and bad. He can pitch a ton of innings for you - good. His lack of control is scary - bad. He can be effective against righthanders - good. Don't let him pitch against lefties - bad. He has a phenomenal groundball/flyball ratio - good. Opposing hitters would actually have to swing the bat to produce groundballs - bad. In the end, I just don't see any big league managers signing up for the carnival ride that is Chris Stuart.
Ceiling AAA.
Round 5 Pick 157 C Paul Thornton
Signability issues have prevented the Yankees from making Thornton another viable option at C for them in the future. Although he would be a marginal C at best, he would still give them a player to fill in at that position, which New York has precious few of.
ML Profection: emergency replacement (if signed)
Hidden Gems: none foreseeable
Overall Grade: C+
Full marks to acesspade for identifying his team's weaknesses, and actively trying to fill those holes in the draft. After a very shaky start with the 4th overall pick, he recovered well to pick up some good prospects in later rounds.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
S18 Mid-Season Awards
AL MVP: My goodness the AL is loaded with guys having fantastic seasons......Brady Jones, Omar Castillo, Santos Torres, Sammy Cochrane, Roy Bell, Ralph Kydd and Abraham Matthews to name a few would be worthy candidates in most seasons, but this ain't no ordinary season being put up by 3-time MVP Pedro "Hack" Bonilla. Bonilla has been nothing short of Ruthian, hitting .352 with a .417 OBP and 1.155 OPS. In 91 games he's got 35 HR's, 101 RBI's, 94 runs, 130 hits, 27 doubles and the man has even stolen 20 bases!!! Bonilla is on pace to crack the top 5 single season runs created list and is on his way towards MVP #4. If he gets his 4th MVP award, only Dante Ming who won 9 MVP's would have more.
AL Cy Young: Among the many worthy contenders, its comes down to two, but how can the blog choose between Marino Pena and Dan Shaw? Both of these men have been flat out dominant so far. Pena has gone 12-3 for Augusta holding opponents to .230 OAV, .297 OBP and posting a 1.14 WHIP and a 2.91 ERA. Shaw has been just as good for barjaz and his Rocks of Wichita by going 11-3 and holding opponents to .214 OAV, .292 OBP and posting a 1.13 WHIP and a 3.27 ERA. To further illustrate just how even these guys are, both have both put up 13 quality starts. Coin flip.........Marino Pena is the mid-season AL Cy Young!!
AL ROY: This is a two person race between Geovany Molina and Enos Hoffman (my apologies to Edwin Sabathia who's saved 15 of 17 for Cleveland). Hoffman is tearing up AL pitching and leads all rookies with 28 HR (4th in the league). On top of this he's racked up 91 hits, scored 53 runs, picked up 57 RBI and has swiped 15 of 19 SB attempts. The only knock against him are his OBP of .343 and the fact that he strikes out more than double the amount he walks. Most years these mid-season stats would be enough to win ROY at the end of the year, but not with Molina around. Molina who must certainly benefit from the monsters that surround him in the Anaheim lineup, has been a little monster himself, hitting .311 with a .423 OBP and a 1.046 OPS. Monlina also has went deep 21 times, scored 69 runs and has walked almost 2x for every strikeout. His number are impressive and thus Geovany Molina is the mid-season AL ROY.
AL Manager of the Year: dengodd2 - Augusta was ranked 17th in the pre-season power rankings and dengodd2 has led them to 58 wins and the 2nd best record in the AL.....very impressive.
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NL MVP: This race is much less clear than in the AL, and I'd venture to say that there are 8-12 guys in the AL who'd be the NL MVP if they were in the NL. That said the contenders in the NL include Chuck Merrick, Gary Girardi, Jason Swann, R.J. Ordonez, Groucho Hargrave, Raymond Brock, Nigel Lidge, Eugene Moreno, Tony Pena and Cesar Rios. The mid-season NL MVP however belongs to none other than S17 NL MVP Frank Robbins. Robbins has carried the Pelicans this season putting up 23 HR, 86 RBI, scoring 55 runs and walking 42x while hitting .332 with a .408 OBP. Robbins is also leading the NL is runs created.
NL Cy Young: There are multiple pitchers having great seasons this year including Bronson Jiang, Rico Roque and Robert Lambert to name just a few. The blog also feels that Burlington's Gustavo Mateo deserves special recognition by going 11-2 with a 1.05 WHIP and a 2.36 ERA. That said, the mid-season NL Cy Young has got to belong to the Downriggers Gregg Sweeney. Sweeney has been a work-horse this year. Not only is he 12-4 with a 1.25 WHIP and a 2.99 ERA, but he's pitched 4 complete game shutouts (already tied for #5 all-time) and has pitched 135.2 innings--2nd most in the NL. Sweeney has also put together 15 quality starts on his way towards his first Cy Young award.
NL ROY: When Lee Fick went down with a serious early injury langer1979 must have been nervous. Thanks to Les Callaway all those nerves are a distant memory and so is Mr. Fick's hold on the 1B spot in Chicago. Callaway has been great so far racking up an NL leading 31 HR's to go along with 81 RBI and 66 runs on top of a near .300 OAV and .622 SLG.
NL Manager of the Year: langer1979 and tmantom3285 have their teams playing great ball, but both of these teams were top 10 in the pre-season power rankings.....cebola on the other hand has taken the pre-seasons 27th ranked team and lead them to the NL South division lead with 55 wins.....boy was the blog wrong on that one!!! My bad...
AL Cy Young: Among the many worthy contenders, its comes down to two, but how can the blog choose between Marino Pena and Dan Shaw? Both of these men have been flat out dominant so far. Pena has gone 12-3 for Augusta holding opponents to .230 OAV, .297 OBP and posting a 1.14 WHIP and a 2.91 ERA. Shaw has been just as good for barjaz and his Rocks of Wichita by going 11-3 and holding opponents to .214 OAV, .292 OBP and posting a 1.13 WHIP and a 3.27 ERA. To further illustrate just how even these guys are, both have both put up 13 quality starts. Coin flip.........Marino Pena is the mid-season AL Cy Young!!
AL ROY: This is a two person race between Geovany Molina and Enos Hoffman (my apologies to Edwin Sabathia who's saved 15 of 17 for Cleveland). Hoffman is tearing up AL pitching and leads all rookies with 28 HR (4th in the league). On top of this he's racked up 91 hits, scored 53 runs, picked up 57 RBI and has swiped 15 of 19 SB attempts. The only knock against him are his OBP of .343 and the fact that he strikes out more than double the amount he walks. Most years these mid-season stats would be enough to win ROY at the end of the year, but not with Molina around. Molina who must certainly benefit from the monsters that surround him in the Anaheim lineup, has been a little monster himself, hitting .311 with a .423 OBP and a 1.046 OPS. Monlina also has went deep 21 times, scored 69 runs and has walked almost 2x for every strikeout. His number are impressive and thus Geovany Molina is the mid-season AL ROY.
AL Manager of the Year: dengodd2 - Augusta was ranked 17th in the pre-season power rankings and dengodd2 has led them to 58 wins and the 2nd best record in the AL.....very impressive.
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NL MVP: This race is much less clear than in the AL, and I'd venture to say that there are 8-12 guys in the AL who'd be the NL MVP if they were in the NL. That said the contenders in the NL include Chuck Merrick, Gary Girardi, Jason Swann, R.J. Ordonez, Groucho Hargrave, Raymond Brock, Nigel Lidge, Eugene Moreno, Tony Pena and Cesar Rios. The mid-season NL MVP however belongs to none other than S17 NL MVP Frank Robbins. Robbins has carried the Pelicans this season putting up 23 HR, 86 RBI, scoring 55 runs and walking 42x while hitting .332 with a .408 OBP. Robbins is also leading the NL is runs created.
NL Cy Young: There are multiple pitchers having great seasons this year including Bronson Jiang, Rico Roque and Robert Lambert to name just a few. The blog also feels that Burlington's Gustavo Mateo deserves special recognition by going 11-2 with a 1.05 WHIP and a 2.36 ERA. That said, the mid-season NL Cy Young has got to belong to the Downriggers Gregg Sweeney. Sweeney has been a work-horse this year. Not only is he 12-4 with a 1.25 WHIP and a 2.99 ERA, but he's pitched 4 complete game shutouts (already tied for #5 all-time) and has pitched 135.2 innings--2nd most in the NL. Sweeney has also put together 15 quality starts on his way towards his first Cy Young award.
NL ROY: When Lee Fick went down with a serious early injury langer1979 must have been nervous. Thanks to Les Callaway all those nerves are a distant memory and so is Mr. Fick's hold on the 1B spot in Chicago. Callaway has been great so far racking up an NL leading 31 HR's to go along with 81 RBI and 66 runs on top of a near .300 OAV and .622 SLG.
NL Manager of the Year: langer1979 and tmantom3285 have their teams playing great ball, but both of these teams were top 10 in the pre-season power rankings.....cebola on the other hand has taken the pre-seasons 27th ranked team and lead them to the NL South division lead with 55 wins.....boy was the blog wrong on that one!!! My bad...
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
S18 Draft Review by holer
Toledo Mud Hens
Needs: C, MIF, SP
Toledo needs to shore up it's catching situation as Hector Pena is currently their only legitimate option big league option. At 2B, William Simpson faces free agency and may, or may not, re-sign. Diory Lopez is miscast at 2B and will be hopelessly lost there. At 3B, Odalis Sojo's all-world cannon of an arm is off-set by a very sloppy glove and Toledo needs to start a search for a capable SS to replace Jolbert Jacquez now. Now for the good news. Toledo appears to be as set in the OF as any team in the league. They have many outstanding options, and all are young and improving. Toledo also has a talented young foursome of SP making their way to the big team, but nobody after that. They need another 2 or 3 SP's to give themselves room to breathe.
Draft Expectations: Moderate
The standard 5 picks in the first 5 rounds, however their first pick happens to be the 2nd overall. Without any extra picks to count on, the importance of a good selection with his 1st pick is vital for this draft to be a success.
Draft Preparation:
With the lowest payroll in the league, Toledo is positioned to make the most of it's search for prospects this season. Moderately high amounts allocated to all scouting departments will ensure they will get a shot at most top end talent that is out there. Add an obscenely high prospect budget, and we can expect to see Toledo pull down a number of good prospects this year, both domestic and foreign.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 2 SS Dock Sanders
Dock Sanders is a solid, if unspectacular, choice at number 2 overall. He is listed as a SS, which should not be a problem as he ascends through the minors, but will become a problem as he reaches the big team. At that point he would benefit greatly from a move to 3B. He is not a basestealing threat, but will be more than capable at running the bases. His elite contact rating coupled with a plus batting eye will keep his batting average quite high, and the strikeouts down. Very nice effectiveness splits to go along with moderate power means he will probably be a doubles hitting machine with 15-20 HR power. Get ready opposing infields because the line drive is coming your way!
ML Projection: 15-20 HR/50 2B/.320-.330 BA/10 SB
Round 2 Pick 59 RP Ozzie Blake
Another safe/solid pick at no. 59, Blake will be a workhorse out of the bullpen for many years to come. As a sinkerball pitcher with a high groundball/flyball ratio, he will be coveted by many teams, and will have little trouble finding a home throughout his career.
ML Projection: 70-80 IP/5 W/.250 OAV/2.80-3.20 ERA
Round 3 Pick 91 3B Jerry Collins
Collins is one of those players who always seems to be just on the verge of making it. Often referred to as a 4A player, he will probably gain many frequent flyer miles as he shuttles back and forth between the big team and AAA.
ML Projection: Spot duty/injury replacement
Round 4 Pick 123 SS Henry Giles
An outstanding find at pick 123, Giles is a defensive phenom at SS. At Vanguard high school, he holds the distinction of being the only player in school history to both hit for the cycle and complete an unassisted triple play in the same game. His nickname there was "Henry Potter", an obvious reference to his defensive wizardry. Under proper instruction, he should easily rise through the minor league ranks to become Toledo's premiere utility infielder. The only drawback to Giles is his knack for being injury prone. But as a defensive substitute, this is not as great a concern as it would be if he were a starter.
ML Projection: Utility infielder
Round 5 Pick 155 LF Buck Ginter
Two words. Raw. Power. He should personally end the careers of several young, fragile minor league pitchers. He is the type of player who will fill the stands of minor league stadiums with fans who have hopes of watching him not only leave the stadium, but leave the county as well. At some point, a team in need of a power infusion into their lineup may actually give him a shot at the bigs, but probably only for some very brief stints.
ML Projection: spot duty/pinch hitter
Hidden Gems: none foreseeable
Overall Grade: B+
The theme of Toledo's draft seemed to be one of always making the solid, safe pick. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and for a team looking to rebuild, Toledo appears to be on the right track.
Needs: C, MIF, SP
Toledo needs to shore up it's catching situation as Hector Pena is currently their only legitimate option big league option. At 2B, William Simpson faces free agency and may, or may not, re-sign. Diory Lopez is miscast at 2B and will be hopelessly lost there. At 3B, Odalis Sojo's all-world cannon of an arm is off-set by a very sloppy glove and Toledo needs to start a search for a capable SS to replace Jolbert Jacquez now. Now for the good news. Toledo appears to be as set in the OF as any team in the league. They have many outstanding options, and all are young and improving. Toledo also has a talented young foursome of SP making their way to the big team, but nobody after that. They need another 2 or 3 SP's to give themselves room to breathe.
Draft Expectations: Moderate
The standard 5 picks in the first 5 rounds, however their first pick happens to be the 2nd overall. Without any extra picks to count on, the importance of a good selection with his 1st pick is vital for this draft to be a success.
Draft Preparation:
With the lowest payroll in the league, Toledo is positioned to make the most of it's search for prospects this season. Moderately high amounts allocated to all scouting departments will ensure they will get a shot at most top end talent that is out there. Add an obscenely high prospect budget, and we can expect to see Toledo pull down a number of good prospects this year, both domestic and foreign.
Prospects
Round 1 Pick 2 SS Dock Sanders
Dock Sanders is a solid, if unspectacular, choice at number 2 overall. He is listed as a SS, which should not be a problem as he ascends through the minors, but will become a problem as he reaches the big team. At that point he would benefit greatly from a move to 3B. He is not a basestealing threat, but will be more than capable at running the bases. His elite contact rating coupled with a plus batting eye will keep his batting average quite high, and the strikeouts down. Very nice effectiveness splits to go along with moderate power means he will probably be a doubles hitting machine with 15-20 HR power. Get ready opposing infields because the line drive is coming your way!
ML Projection: 15-20 HR/50 2B/.320-.330 BA/10 SB
Round 2 Pick 59 RP Ozzie Blake
Another safe/solid pick at no. 59, Blake will be a workhorse out of the bullpen for many years to come. As a sinkerball pitcher with a high groundball/flyball ratio, he will be coveted by many teams, and will have little trouble finding a home throughout his career.
ML Projection: 70-80 IP/5 W/.250 OAV/2.80-3.20 ERA
Round 3 Pick 91 3B Jerry Collins
Collins is one of those players who always seems to be just on the verge of making it. Often referred to as a 4A player, he will probably gain many frequent flyer miles as he shuttles back and forth between the big team and AAA.
ML Projection: Spot duty/injury replacement
Round 4 Pick 123 SS Henry Giles
An outstanding find at pick 123, Giles is a defensive phenom at SS. At Vanguard high school, he holds the distinction of being the only player in school history to both hit for the cycle and complete an unassisted triple play in the same game. His nickname there was "Henry Potter", an obvious reference to his defensive wizardry. Under proper instruction, he should easily rise through the minor league ranks to become Toledo's premiere utility infielder. The only drawback to Giles is his knack for being injury prone. But as a defensive substitute, this is not as great a concern as it would be if he were a starter.
ML Projection: Utility infielder
Round 5 Pick 155 LF Buck Ginter
Two words. Raw. Power. He should personally end the careers of several young, fragile minor league pitchers. He is the type of player who will fill the stands of minor league stadiums with fans who have hopes of watching him not only leave the stadium, but leave the county as well. At some point, a team in need of a power infusion into their lineup may actually give him a shot at the bigs, but probably only for some very brief stints.
ML Projection: spot duty/pinch hitter
Hidden Gems: none foreseeable
Overall Grade: B+
The theme of Toledo's draft seemed to be one of always making the solid, safe pick. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and for a team looking to rebuild, Toledo appears to be on the right track.
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