Friday, March 18, 2011

NL West Draft Review S19

Cheyenne Marmots

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

29

Moose Ingram

CF

18

HS

$1,380K

Good speed and contact combo on a player who could step into a starting 2B role in a few seasons. He doesn't have great power but could be a valuable leadoff man

2

85

Cliff Gibson

RP

22

COL

$550K

College closer who was the career saves leader at Armstrong Atlantic state. He is considered weak against right handers but does have 2 elite pitches and good control. He will have a tough time proving his worth in the ML with his weak right handed split.

3

117

Fernando Perez

SP

18

HS

---

Pure fly ball pitcher who induces almost all popups with his flame throwing arm. He 3 plus pitches and above average control. He should be close to his projections and will need to be with his slightly above average splits.

4

149

Houston Flores

2B

18

HS

$350K

All speed and contact is Flores, he is a below average 2B. Scouts project him to top out at AAA with his average splits and if he's lucky slips into the Ml for a cup of coffee

5

181

Michael Williams

3B

18

HS

$250K

Slightly above average power hitter. He is a solid fielder and projects out to be a solid ML'er. He is known to be a little lazy and it might take time to get his value out of him, if at all.

SUMMARY: When you are picking at the bottom of each round, you just look for value picks. Many of these picks will have some flaws and others are deep sleepers. The Marmots pulled strongly from each category. Ingram will have a solid Ml career, but is not for everyone's taste. Gibson and Perez are both sleeper picks. Williams is a great pick in the 5th round.

Grade: B

Colorado Springs Organizational Filler

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Contract

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

31

Butch Brantley

SP

18

HS

MILB

$1,190K

Lacks the control to be an elite pitcher, but does have 4 ML pitchers and he's almost unhittable against right handers. I think he will be an all-star a few times in his career similar to Kiki Soto.

1

50

Bryan Villone

RP

21

COL

MILB

$600K

Great reliever with all the tools to be successful, but he needs to rest more than the average reliever. Played correctly he's an all star

1

55

Al Martin

RP

18

HS

MILB

$600K

3 pitches average control and solid splits should get him a shot in the league. He's not a superstar, but he is a solid player.

2

87

Louie Olivares

3B

18

HS

MILB

$550K

Slightly above average hitter. Olivares might not do one thing good enough to get him Ml playing time, but he does everything well enough to always be in the conversation.

3

119

Fred Carter

RP

18

HS

MILB

$425K

2 pitch power reliever with solid control and splits. Got to like this pitcher in the 4th.

4

151

Juan Chavez

RP

18

HS

MILB

$360K

Low durability reliever who has 3 legit pitches average control and above average splits. With the proper GM he could be a valuable guy for 40 innings a season.

5

183

Damaso Prieto

C

18

HS

MILB

$250K

Better suited as a DH, He is power hitter who projects to be a .250 batter with 30Hr and 110K. Good pick up late in the 5th.

SUMMARY: 3 bottom of the 1st round picks and they got the next Kiki Soto In the making. Not a bad guy if he can fill those shoes. Villone and Martin are the kind of relievers who teams either love or find themselves frustrated with; I love them in the bottom of the 1st round. I love late round gems Carter, Chavez and Prieto. Very strong draft for the Fillers.

Grade: A

Colorado Mile High Club

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

26

Charles Remlinger

2B

18

HS

---

Slightly below average in the field, but he does offer a solid bat with plus power. Remmy has the potential of a 35+ homerun guy in Colorado. He is not extremely fast but could sneak in 10 bases a season without too much trouble. He is not a game changer but could be a nice stud to have on the farmhand given regular at bats too. He probably will not sign though.

1

47

James Ainsworth

3B

18

HS

---

Poor Runner with solid speed trumps this slightly above average batter with excellent splits. He really can't see the ball at all and if signed needs to be fitted for glasses.

2

82

Bruce O'Rourke

LF

18

HS

---

Speedy LF with great baseball splits and a solid batting eye. He is an average hitter who is destining to be a .240 hitter with 30+ stolen bases. If he played anywhere else in the field he might be a ML lock, but in LF he's a maybe.

3

114

Ben Kelly

RF

18

HS

---

NOY SCOUTED seeking 6.5M

4

146

Denny Fikac

RF

18

HS

$580K

With great power come great strikeouts. Fikac is a smart hitter when he gets a hold of the ball. He will miss it a lot but when he does get a hold of it expect 40 Hr and 120 strikeouts.

5

178

Walter Jackson

SP

18

HS

$250K

Great 5th rounder with ML potential as a long reliever. He does have solid splits with great control, but only 1 ML pitch in his slider. As a soft thrower he's not going to be great but probably average.

SUMMARY: Again Colorado went after the guys with the signing issues and again they might come out of the draft next to empty handed. They need to at least get a type D compensation out of Remlinger to make this draft have some value. Colorado has to hope to do the next draft better. Right now the roster is very young so risks can be taken but you don't want to get the farm get to far ahead of you.

Grade: C-

Salem Slammers

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

19

Barney Rizzo

SS

22

COL

$2,320K

Average college hitter. Rizzo has a great glove and is a solid fielder, but some point to his suspect range as forcing him a move to 3B. A huge reach with a top 20 pick in Rizzo. Not sure if he will be more than a ML footnote.

1

20

Rick Bukvich

RP

22

COL

$2,220K

Could be an all-star reliever with 3 good pitches nice control and stamina. This guy should be able to take control of the late innings

2

76

Mike Benard

SP

19

JC

$550K

Great control and stamina but really no dominant pitches or splits. He is a career minor leaguer

3

108

Charlie Hearn

3B

19

JC

$425K

Average in every way. Maybe slightly better hitter but still balanced by his likeliness to strikeout.

4

140

Reid Warner

SP

20

JC

$350K

Not much to see here but an inning eating for the minors

5

172

Bob Grissom

LF

22

COL

$250K

Power 1B with solid skills. At 22 he is very developed, but his average splits might leave him behind in AAA, but he would be a cheap ML option when he does get a shot.

SUMMARY: Again Salem reaches for a number 1 pick. Rizzo doesn't have SS range and will not provide enough offense to cover his defensive hole. He will be an ML'er just not a huge impact one. Bukvich is a better pick and could be a sure thing reliever. Other than him, Salem struck out until the 5th round in Grissom.

GRADE: C-

Thursday, March 17, 2011

NL North S19 DRAFT REVIEW

Philadelphia Stars

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Bonus

Pro
Yrs

1

7

Lenny Joseph

RF

20

JC

$3,440K

Most scouts might have never saw Joseph play at Gogebic Community College, so he might have slid on a few boards. He is a top rank hitter with solid power and speed he could challenge a 30/30 season on occasion. He is a great Right fielder and could be a gold glover there in Ryan. He is very developed and might only have a short stay in the minors before he makes his debut.

2

64

Rip Parrish

SS

20

JC

$550K

Rip showed flashes of his plus glove at Cincinnati State Technical & CC where he also showed a solid bat and good speed. His bat and speed will be tempered in Ryan, but still expect a guy capable of hitting left handers with some great defense and 10-15 bags a season.

3

96

Chris Avery

SP

22

COL

$425K

SEC pitcher of the year. He has 4 plus pitches and solid splits. His control can be an issue at times. He slid to the 3rd round because of concerns about his velocity and ability against right handed hitters. He should be able to prove his detractors wrong with a solid Ml career.

4

128

Victor Sampson

2B

21

COL

$350K

At Ferris State University he tore up the base paths and got away with a number of easy hits. He will not be so luck in Ryan. He has the skills as a base runner, but he will find his above average contact and average splits will not be enough to get him a regular job in the big Leagues here.

5

160

Zeus Eiland

2B

22

COL

$250K

Slightly above average hitter with a poor batting eye. He struggled at 2B for the University of Memphis and might be better suited for LF. He isn't going to win many award for his grittiness.

Summary: Solid draft that brought in a very college flavored draft board. There are a number of role players, but landing Joseph at 7 has to have Star fans very happy.
GRADE: B+

Pawtucket Patriots

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Bonus

Pro
Yrs

1

22

Chip Winn

SS

18

HS

$2,040K

Defensive minded shortstop. He should platoon against right handers and shows solid promise at the plate with some solid contact. He isn't going to hit everything and sometimes struggles to see the ball in the zone. Known to swing at almost anything close to the plate.

1

36

Esmailyn Melendez

RP

20

JC

$880K

Showed an excellent bulldog attitude at Queensborough Community College. His strikeouts were legendary, but so were his control issues. He projects to get his mechanics tweaked enough to have average control with his killer splits and sinker/slider combo he should be a solid Big leaguer.

2

78

George Hamilton

SP

19

JC

$550K

Average splits and low control are a deadly combination. He has 4 above average pitches to work with and might sneak into the Ml for a brief cup of coffee.

3

98

Kenneth Mayne

RP

18

HS

$425K

He is probably good for 15 pitches every 3rd day with his stamina/durability combo. Considering is documented struggle to get the ball over the plate this might be a challenge to get to many guys out. When he is able to keep his sinker from grounding out or his fastball from soaring into the stands he might strike a guy out.

3

110

Houston Michaels

SS

18

HS

$425K

Defensive stud with one of the best understandings of the game for a guy who has absolutely no hitting skill. He will strikeout 120+ times and maybe hit .220 in his ML time. His defense just make him a ML sure thing.

4

142

Bernie Espinosa

P

18

HS

$350K

Strikeout reliever with an amazing fastball and a good split finger. He has pinpoint control, but his pitches can be timed and predicted easier than an established pitcher. If you study him long enough you can beat him at his game.

5

174

Edgardo Durazo

RP

20

JC

$250K

2 pitches solid splits and control. He is good for 1 inning a game and should be a no-hum reliever. but a no-hum reliever with ML possibilities.

Summary: A couple of low control pitchers to go with a defensive minded shortstop, sounds a lot like role players to me. Not a single everyday guy to be found on the Patriot draft board.
GRADE: C

Cincinnati Ramrod

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

23

Larry Boyd

SP

20

JC

$1,940K

3 plus pitches and solid control, he is weak against right handers and might struggle more than you would like out of an everyday starter. He does have a solid shot to play on a weak rotation as a #4 or 5 guy.

1

45

Lonnie Reed

SP

20

JC

$600K

Average control and splits will make it hard for him to rise above AAA. He does have 2 good pitches to work with, but without the rest of the package he might be in trouble.

1

53

Kevin Potvin

RP

22

COL

$1,032K

Excellent sinker/fastball combo with ideal velocity for a closer. He have average splits which will limit his appearances in meaningful games. He is only slightly above average with control.

2

79

Freddie Gray

SP

18

HS

$1,850K

Potential control issues dropped Gray down most draft boards; he has solid splits and 2 plus pitches to work with his good stamina. If he drops a pitch from his selection I think his value might actually rise.

3

111

Philip Perez

SP

22

COL

$425K

Playing in the Spacious confines of University of Bridgeport, Perez was able to get away with high fly ball tendency. He has a very soft approach to the plate which leads to a lot of contact. He has 2 plus pitches to work with and Ml quality control and splits.

4

143

Luis Guerrero

RP

19

JC

$350K

Great Specialist reliever. He is the type of pitcher who enters the game to get that 1 critical out then sleeps the rest of the game. He would have went higher in the drat with his excellent splits and 3 pitch selection if he could throw more than 10 pitches an outing.

5

175

Nate Maddox

SP

19

JC

$250K

Great screwball with killer velocity, but no control of it. Lost 2 mascots in his last JUCO game. Not sure if anyone will give him a shot outside of the minors.

Summary: Drafted 7 pitchers in the first 5 rounds and not one is a sure ML player. Add a few flawed pitchers, no one that will be a game changer in any good way. I like Guerrero, but would love him more if he found a way to add 20 more pitches to his count. Overall this was a very average draft class without much to dance about.
GRADE: C

St. Louis Twains

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Back-
ground

Contract

Bonus

SUMMARY

1

3

Hank Silva

SS

18

HS

MILB

$3,820K

Went 1st but he was ranked on many boards as the 3rd best overall Shortstop candidate. He has great power and splits and can field well enough to be an everyday guy. He has 30/30 potential; I will never scoff at that. Just expect him to strikeout 100 times a season.

2

59

Vin Romero

CF

18

HS

MILB

$550K

All speed and defense, he could be a gold glover in CF and a 50+ base stealing threat. He doesn't have much power, but can find the hole through the infield or sneak on base by outrunning the throw. He struggles against strong left handed pitching which might scare some teams into platooning him.

3

92

Cole York

SP

18

HS

MILB

$5,428K

Good control and stamina but below average splits with keep his career in check. He has 3 solid pitches which allowed him to dominate high school competition, but his other flaws will keep him grounded to AAA in Ryan.

4

124

Norman Hampton

2B

20

JC

MILB

$350K

Good speed, but lacks the batting splits to be a ML player. He has good contact but not enough power to overcome his shortcomings.

5

156

Sal Campbell

SP

18

HS

MILB

$250K

Crafty pitcher with 2 above average pitches. He has excellent splits for a 5th rounder, but has less than ideal control and hitters could find his pitch right in their sweet spot at times. With only 2 pitches it is hard to see him in the starting rotation and without more zip on his pitch selection it's hard to see him with a regular job in the pen. He still is a prospect to watch in the minors just in case.

Summary: added some good depth to the minors with this draft. I like Silva just he should have slid to 10th or 11th with one of the more established guys going here. But what is done is done and Silva should be a solid star in St. Louis for years to come. Romero is a solid leadoff guy for the right team.
GRADE: B