Saturday, February 21, 2009

NL NORTH S11 DRAFT REVIEW

Philadelphia Balboas

Needs from the draft: 3B, CF, RP

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Contract

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

21

J.P. Ordonez

RP

19

JC

MILB

$2,000K

High talent reliever, but lacks the durability to give you back to back days of work. He has dominant left/right splits and excellent control to harness his 3 plus pitches.

2

67

Jay Shannon

SP

18

HS

---

---

He's going to college, but he also has 7M demands. He has great control and stamina but struggles against lefties. He really has no strong pitching.

3

99

Floyd Ball

SP

18

HS

MILB

$425K

Solid middle of the rotation type. He has 1 great pitch complimented by 2 plus pitches. Above average control and a pension for the ground ball are all good signs for a ML career.

4

131

Red Felsen

SS

22

COL

---

---

Above average runner and a below average hitter. You might be able to hid his defense in the outfield, but he's no SS.

5

163

Bruce Long

SP

20

JC

---

---

Career Minor Leaguer

Summary: Filled their need in the Bullpen, but took a lot of risks in picks and got burned too much. 2 Solid Ml'er is not all bad for a draft, just wish they would have addressed their biggest areas of need in the field.

Grade: C+


Cincinnati Bowties
Needs from the draft: LF, CF, 3B

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Contract

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

27

Dave Torres

RP

18

HS

---

---

Solid bullpen guy. He has 2 great pitches with solid control and plus durability. He is a bit of a soft thrower and does not induce a lot of ground balls.

2

73

Kip Webster

SP

18

HS

---

---

Middle of the road pitcher, he has the pitches to compete in the league, but lacks a superior right/left combination.

3

105

Marty Golub

SP

18

HS

MILB

$405K

Career Minor Leaguer with poor splits.

4

137

L.J. Irwin

SP

18

HS

MILB w/STI

$290K

Bottom of the rotation starter. He needs to improve his splits to make it in the league. Right now he is a 4A type pitcher.

5

169

Andrew Matthews

LF

21

COL

MILB w/STI

$230K

No power, poor eyes, but good hitting splits. HE is an average fielder. Who is most likely going to die out in AAA.

Summary: Needed to solidify their hitting ranks and they didn't again with this draft. Torres has good value, but without guys fielding behind him he is going to be a lost cause in Cinci.

Grade: C-


Seattle Warbirds
Needs from the draft: 1: CF 2 SS 3: SP

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Contract

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

4

Bert Sosa

RP

19

JC

MILB

$3,720K

Could be the biggest reach of the 1st round. Sosa is at best a late 1st rounder at worst a late 2nd rounder. Mid range stamina will limit him to long relieve or a tandem role for his career. He has 4 above average to elite pitches and great control. He also has major league quality splits.

2

50

Dan Schmidt

SS

20

JC

MILB

$550K

Defensive superstar with a below average overall bat. He has almost no power and poor batting eye, but should still make a ML roster someday if he makes his fielding projections.

3

82

Jay Patrick

SS

18

HS

---

---

Better suited for 3B than SS. Jay is an all-out power hitter who strikes out as much as he will get hits. He is most likely destined to ground out in AAA with a few call-ups to the bigs.

4

114

Burt Swan

SP

20

JC

MILB

$350K

4A type starter, He has 4 solid pitches but with middle of road splits he has little staying power in the majors.

5

146

Oswaldo Vallarta

P

21

COL

---

---

CAREER MINOR LEAGUER

Summary: Tried to add Pitching and SS help. So Seattle made a good attempt to fill their holes, they just in my opinion blew their top pick. Sosa will have a solid ML career, but I think his role will be limited. Time for him to prove me wrong.

Grade: D-

Milwaukee Blue Stockings

Needs from the draft: SS, 3B, RP

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Contract

Bonus

Summary

1

6

Preston Guerrero

RP

18

HS

MILB

$3,540K

Guerrero is a huge reach with the stockings 1st pick. He has the splits, control and 2 elite pitches to make him a major leaguer, but with low stamina and poor durability, he is not going to be an everyday option in the bullpen. If used right and maintained he will have a great career, but that's a huge IF.

2

52

Joey Owens

RP

18

HS

MILB

$550K

Excellent Long Reliever who has the tools to succeed. Great splits and solid pitch selection compliment his pinpoint control. At 18 he is very developed.

3

84

Al Richards

1B

18

HS

MILB

$425K

Nice slap hitting 1B, similar to a Kevin Millar he will probably pound out 15-20 homeruns but have a .300 average.

4

116

Jeremy Lowery

RP

20

JC

MILB

$350K

Nice value find in the 4th round. Lowery is a great example of a long reliever in the Majors. Solid Splits and 3 great pitches to go with plus control.

5

148

Ozzie Christman

RF

18

HS

MILB

$250K

Speedy corner outfield with a poor batting eye, but otherwise a great 5th round pick. Christman will never be a superstar, but should provide a spark for short spurts.

Summary: With the exception of the 1st pick, I like the Blue's draft. Guerrero will be a fine player I just think he went to high for his talent level. The Blues also neglected their biggest needs at SS and 3B in lew of pitching. I will not condemn the decision with the talent they did draw in the late rounds, but they will need to address those positions sooner rather than later.

Grade: B+

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