NL NORTH Draft Review S15

Columbus Horseshoes

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	Potential	SUMMARY
1	24	Hal Friend	P	18	HS	$1,850K	ML SPOT ST	A solid pick, he is a great control pitcher with high strike out potential, but his low stamina will keep him from logging to many innings as a starter. He features 3 good pitches and good splits. Might be a closer similar to Matt O'Malley.
1	56	Josh Romero	SS	18	HS	$600K	AAA	Solid 3rd base defender with an average bat and speed. I'm not sure without a better bat he doesn't languish in AAA until retirement.
2	88	Fred Boucher	P	20	JC	$550K	4A	Average splits might keep him from a potential long term position similar to Friend in pitch selection, velocity, and control.
3	121	David Latham	3B	18	HS	$425K	AA	Potential power house slugger, who could potentially play 3B, but poor splits, and low makeup will top him out at AA
4	153	Tito Rushford	CF	19	JC	$350K	4A	Defensive specialist with good speed, His type seem to sneak into the ML as a specialist, but fizz out when they want a payday
5	185	Reggie Mercedes	CF	22	COL	$250K	AA	Nothing you want on your Major League team.

SUMMARY: Friend is a mixed bag on what to do with him, you could try to start him and see how his control pans out to keep pitch counts low enough to get him through 6 innings or move him to a super closer role. I believe we will see him start in the minors to get the innings and experience and move to the pen when he arrives. Outside of his pick not enough to dance about in Columbus, anyway no one will notice anything outside of Columbus that isn't football.

Grade: C

Milwaukee Blue Stockings

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	Potential	SUMMARY
1	10	Al Encarnacion	SS	19	JC	$3,160K	ML Starter	He makes his projections and Milwaukee has a great major Leaguer in their grasp, Encarnacion is a solid SS with a plus bat and good speed. His makeup will make his minor league path a long and tedious one
2	74	Jimmie Brown	P	21	COL	$550K	ML	Could be the best pitcher in the 2nd round, he has good splits and solid control, but has only his fastball to lean on.
3	107	Roger VandenHurk	P	21	COL	$425K	Ml Setup	Great 3rd round setup guy with good splits and 2 pitches and nice control. He isn't going to strikeout many but might induce enough fly balls in a pitchers park to be a great pitcher
4	139	Angel Upton	P	22	COL	$350K	ML Setup	He has the splits, control and stamina to be a good pitcher, outside the fact he has only 1 pitch to lean on in tough times.
5	171	Josh Felsen	P	19	JC	$250K	ML Setup	5th round gem, 3 pitches solid control and great splits, low stamina might limit his role, but it will be in the majors some day.

SUMMARY: When you get a solid prospect in all the first 5 rounds you know you rolling and here Milwakee is rolling. Outside of Encarnacion's risky pick with #10 Milwaukee aimed high and walks away with a good haul.
Grade: A+

Philadelphia Balboas

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	Potential	SUMMARY
1	22	Quentin Lawrence	RF	18	HS	$1,970K	ML	Great potential to be an all-star and at 18 he has time to develop ,but he also has dirt poor makeup which will limit that growth. Outside of that he does have good speed and a solid bat. He is just not going to be the superstar he could be.
1	55	Darby Voigt	P	20	JC	---	ML Setup	Signing issues on top of poor control might make him an unlikely addition to the Balboa's staff. He has potential to be a great 3 pitch reliever if he did sign for some reason.
2	86	Aaron Jones	CF	21	COL	---	4A	Good speed, solid defense and not much of a bat. A good defensive specialist to have on hand just in case of need a late inning guy to steal a base and make a catch
3	119	Javier Cruz	P	18	HS	---		NOT SCOUTED
4	151	Larry Harris	3B	21	COL	---	AAA	Average hitter and fielder with a poor batting eye. AAA is written all over him
5	183	P.T. Green	SS	22	COL	$250K	AAA	Solid speed and a decent fielder, but not enough to make up for his lack of a good bat.

SUMMARY: Lawrence is a scary pick on a team because you see what he can become and potentially fall in love with that idea, he will have a difficult time getting close to those numbers without a lot of training and time committed to him. I'm not sure even then he could get close to that potential. Voigt is a wasted pick as a supplemental pick even if you over him a contract and he turns it down you get no compensation at 6M he's not worth the risk of signing. A draft full of what ifs is not what Philly was looking for.
Grade: D-

Toronto Terriers

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	Potential	SUMMARY
1	14	Travis Kerr	P	18	HS	---	ML RP	Big reach for a reliever , there were a whole slew of Pitchers who provided a better options for Toronto. Kerr is a solid dependable everyday reliever with 2 pitches good control and splits, but far from an all-star
1	29	Joey O'Malley	2B	21	COL	---	ML Platoon	Solid hitter with low makeup and a poor right hand split. He has good power and left hand splits and solid defense. He should be a good platoon if he progresses with his splits.
1	37	Ryan Van Hekken	3B	19	JC	---	ML OF	Solid Outfield prospect, he has good power and decent splits and batting eye, but is a blue collar type guy in this league.
1	51	Gary Jenkins	P	19	JC	---	Ml SETUP	Solid reliever with 2 good pitches, solid control and stamina and durability. He might not be an award winner but he could play anywhere
2	78	Mark Satou	LF	18	HS	---	AA	Runs well and could be an all-star if his splits were hit with a DITR. As he stands no one is going to give him a shot in this league if he can't hit pitching except off a tee.
3	111	B.J. Hitchcock	P	22	COL	---	AAA	Poor Splits solid everywhere else, but nothing will overcome those splits
4	143	Ralph Thurman	SS	21	COL	---		NOT SCOUTED
5	175	Joshua Kelly	P	21	COL	$250K	AAA	Poor Splits and only average pitch selection, but an inning later in the minors does have a role with any team

SUMMARY: all Toronto's 1^st rounders have ML potential, just no one is going to stand out as an all-star. Average ML'ers at best. They need to start working on next season's #1 and get that right.

Grade: B-