NL EAST S12 Draft Recap

New York Burros
Draft needs: LF, RP, BEST

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	30	Torey Kirk	RP	18	HS	---	---	Fly ball reliever with below average durability. He has lights out splits and 3 very good pitches to mix things up. He also has great control, but his stamina durability combination might limit his role.
2	80	Christopher Joseph	C	18	HS	MILB	$550K	Solid effort first offensive catcher. Joseph is weak against right handers but will need to sit a few games anyway with his below average durability. He has power to boot and great batting eye. He should excel behind the dish.
3	112	Russ Middlebrook	RP	19	JC	MILB	$425K	Average reliever for the 3rd round. He is weak against left handers but does have 2 plus pitches, solid control and decent velocity to bring to the mound.
4	144	Mike Meadows	SS	18	HS	---	---	4M for a below average SS with poor hitting chops is a little steep.
5	176	Ewell Lowry	RP	20	JC	---	---	If he plays his cards right me might make it to AAA.

Summary: Kirk is a dominant pitcher and his poor durability allowed him to slip to the 30^th pick. New York has a guy with value in him, and they are smart enough to know how to exploit that value. Joseph and middlebrook are most likely destined for other places as their value to the Burros is on the trade market where they can net bigger fish.

Grade: B+

Chicago Ballbusters

Draft needs: 3B, RF/LF, C, CF

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	25	Rob Black	SP	18	HS	MILB	$1,750K	Just shy of Ace status, Black has above average splits to compliment his good control and stamina, his slider is almost unhittable and he compliments that with 2 other plus pitches. He is going to be a solid #2 OR 3 guy for years.
1	26	John Sutcliffe	RP	22	COL	MILB	$1,660K	A one pitch reliever with below average control will not go far in this league. Major misfire here in the 1st round.
1	38	Juan Montanez	SP	18	HS	MILB	$800K	A bit wild and struggles versus righties, He has 3 plus pitches, he probably is a 4A pitcher without better control and a better right handed split.
1	46	Les Riley	SP	21	COL	MILB	$600K	Poor splits, but good control and stamina, add to a superior fastball and 2 other pitches. He hits a DITR on his splits and he's an ace.
1	49	Raymond Dunn	SP	20	JC	MILB	$600K	Dunn struggles with his control and has no dominant pitch to lean on, he has great splits, and he's a crapshoot in the majors.
2	76	Rich Bush	LF	22	COL	MILB	$550K	Good right hand hitter, but overall he is not going to bruise the ball he will find a tough road to get to the majors without anyone one skill to lean on.
3	108	Bing Corey	RF	22	COL	MILB	$425K	Solid RF with average power and great batting splits and eye. He is not going to burn you on the bases, but he will steal a few with his smarts.
4	140	Dean Long	3B	22	COL	MILB	$350K	Not going to make it at 3B, Long has a poor batting eye and below average hitting ability. He's a career minor leaguer.
5	172	Cookie Carrasco	RF	22	COL	MILB	$250K	Defensively he's got the skills to play RF, and he does have some pop, but he will struggle mightily with major league pitching.

SUMMARY: 5 first rounds is a lot considering Ballgrease has avoided the 1^st round for the past 2 seasons and now we see why. Like the Matt Millen of this season's draft Chicago missteps a number of times in the 1^st round picking up poor control starters in Montanez, Riley, and Dunn. Sutcliffe brings similar issues to the farm bullpen. Black is solid and probably saves the 1^st round if he can develop to his potential. Bush is a polished College player, but will find the adjustment tough. I think the big catch might be 3^rd rounder Corey who is not overwhelming with his still, but has enough to steal a starting job somewhere in the future.

GRADE: D+

Atlanta Braves
Draft needs: C, SP, 3B

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	16	Quentin Edmonds	SP	21	COL	MILB	$2,600K	Average splits and no dominant pitch will make Edmonds road to the BL's a tough one. He is a huge reach in the 1st round.
2	68	Nick Morehead	C	19	JC	MILB	$550K	Solid catcher and a decent value pick in the 2nd round. He is a position of need for Atlanta and should provide solid offense there. He is just average defensively and will have some issue, but no reason not to start him.
3	100	Alex Delahanty	C	19	JC	MILB	$425K	Another solid catcher, most likely he will end up passing Morehead if coaching is strong in the minors. Solid bat and glove, but a little worse defensively than Morehead.
4	132	Alan Small	RP	21	COL	MILB	$350K	Poor control on a reliever never works well, if they can teach him some control, he still has to overcome poor pitches, and he does have good splits and solid velocity.
5	164	Bruce Houston	RP	19	JC	MILB	$250K	Reliever with good control and durability, Houston also has 2 top pitches to work with. He lacks the proper splits to make an impact in the Bigs though.

SUMMARY: Morehead and Delahanty are solid early round pickups and in a position of need for Atlanta. Edmonds was huge disappointments for the 16th pick as a number of pitchers who went after him will go on to have far superior careers. Small and Houston are merely project guys who need DITR bumps to make it in this league

GRADE: B-

Iowa City Kamakazes Draft needs: SS, 3B, 2B

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	2	Trenidad O'Donnell	SP	18	HS	---	---	Dominant Ace in waiting O'Donnell will be s Workhorse for the future Kamakazes; He has 4 plus pitches to match precision control and superior splits. Pullmeafredo has already got the trade proposal written for next season.(assist to jweiland for scouting)
2	54	Jimmie Franco	P	18	HS	---	---	UNKNOWN
3	86	Roscoe Cannon	RP	18	HS	MILB	$425K	Solid reliever with no lights out pitches decent stamina and solid control. His biggest knock could be his below average durability. Combine that with less than 30 stamina and he might not provide too many innings each season.
4	118	Jack Olsen	SP	20	JC	MILB	$350K	Middle of the road fireballer, his splits is nothing special and neither are his pitches but he has good control stamina and velocity. Someone is bound to like that and give him a go. He will probably have a career 5.50 ERA
5	150	Jerome Jensen	SP	20	JC	MILB	$250K	Weak against left handers but features good control and stamina and could be effective versus right handers. His pitch selection is average.

Summary: Without even knowing anything about 2^nd rounder Franco, it is obvious the Kamakazes
went for the strength of the draft and picked up a number of great pitching prospects. O'Donnell is an Ace in waiting, at 18 its going to be a while before you get to taste his sweet fruit, but the wait is worth it. Cannon and Olsen are flawed but are Big League caliber. Iowa really didn't need to stock up on pitching, but when you reside at the bottom of the division why not.

Grade: B+