Wednesday, June 9, 2010

NL North S16 Draft Review

Columbus Horseshoes

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Age

Summary

1

22

Damian Harden

SS

22

Has the speed and base running to succeed in the Majors, but his bat and defense are well short of the standard. He could field well enough to be a 3B, but couldn't hit well enough to serve anyone there. His only hope is to slip into the Majors as a pinch running specialist. Good luck with that. Poor 1st round selection

2

77

Pascual Ortiz

CF

18

Might be a better pick than Harden, but he still is a 1 tool prospect with his speed and baser running. His bat is a little crisper than Hardens, but overall he is probably not a fulltime major leaguer in Ryan.

3

109

Nolan North

RF

19

A speedy 1st baseman with some pop, but a poor batting eye and below average batting splits, He is probably going to be a miss in this draft and never become more than a minor league dreamer.

4

141

Danny Serrano

RP

22

3 average pitches below average control will limit his opportunities as a reliever. He might get a few injury replacement innings, but he is far from a consistent major league guy.

5

173

Lefty Gutierrez

P

20

He is a great right hand specialist, In college his 3 pitches held batters mystified at the plate, but in the Big Leagues his lack of velocity and inability against Left handers will destroy him.

SUMMARY: I don't think the team picks up 1 sure fire Major Leaguer. Everyone drafted will most likely spend their careers hammering it out in the minor leagues. They have to be looking back on this draft and wonder what went wrong. Time to replace the scouting and plan again for next season.

GRADE: D-

Cincinnati Ramrods

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Summary

1

1

Roland Bryant

SP

Truly the best pitcher in this seasons draft. Cincinnati got their man to replace HOF'er Clarence Patrick whenever he hangs up his cleats. Bryant has plus control and splits. His stamina is among the league leaders and all 3 of his pitches should get guys swinging and missing. He might be one of the best pitchers the league has seen come out of the draft in a few seasons.

2

55

Buddy Thomas

SS

Defensive Stub, outside of fielding though he is not greatly gifted with a bat. He seems to understand how to hit, but does seem to have the natural talent to translate that into hits almost no power.

3

88

Miguel Cora

RF

Power hitting 1B, he is not going to hit for a high average but should sink 30+ homeruns a season in regular play. With limited defensive options, he may never get that chance.

4

120

Yamil Espinosa

C

College DH, with an average bat, not much chance he makes it into the league without clearer defined tools to offer a team.

5

152

Gerardo Hernandez

RP

Solid low end ML reliever, his below average control and lack of strike out velocity will make his great curveball pretty hittable at times. He might get a chance to show it in the league, but he has no long range future.

SUMMARY: The #1 overall pick translates into the best player in the draft, how that happens! Even looking beyond the 1st pick Cincinnati did a fine job with their picks getting guys with roles that need to be filled and should translate well to a NL team. Thomas will be a ML SS with his Defense. Hernandez is a great gem in the 5th round, in that he still has Ml possibilities.

GRADE: A-

Milwaukee Blues

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Summary

1

18

Erick Seaver

CF

Slightly above average hitter and runner. Overall a stretch in the 1st round for a player who does not project to hit really well and fields in a position closer to Left/Right field. He was a big swing and a miss for Milwaukee in the 1st round.

2

72

Banjo Hammond

SS

NOT SCOUTED SEEKING Almost 4M in Bonus Money

3

105

Kenneth Woods

SP

I like This pick in the 3rd round. Woods has plus splits and3 above average pitches. He has poor control but still you sign him and hope he can get DITR on his control. Any prospect which has only 1 screwed up rating is worth signing just in case.

4

137

Logan Brooks

LF

Great speed and base IQ and a solid contact hitter, Brooks has little power and poor batting understanding. He makes an interesting prospect because of his great base running.

5

169

Pepper Franco

RF

Also considering a football contract. Franco dropped in the draft as a result. This guy is a burner on the base paths and has great contact and can hit right handers good enough to give him a major league look. He is a strike out machine who really is a poor fielder. Decisions decisions… in Milwaukee.

SUMMARY: Started out with a very weak 1st and 2nd round, but picked up a number of solid guys in the 3rd through 5th rounds that are flawed, but still have a pretty good upside. You have to take a chance on those high risk reward guys sometimes just in case a little magic happens.

Grade: C+

Philadelphia Balboas

Round

Pick

Player

Pos

Summary

1

21

Dwight Jameson

SS

Solid Defender and runner, Jameson should average 20+ stolen bases. He is an average hitter but still should be a solid major leaguer in his career. A poor makeup might make his minor league stay a little longer than the average 21 year old with his current skill, but patience will pay off on his fielding.

1

49

Arthur Ruffin

SP

4 good pitches and great velocity will make him a solid AAA pitcher, but his average splits will keep him from excelling to the Majors anytime soon.

1

53

Alex Gonzalez

2B

Mr. Average nothing special about him except he will not play 2B more like RF in the minors.

1

54

Rusty Ramsay

SS

Better defensively at 3B, Ramsay is an average overall player and should not excel much past AAA for long.

2

76

Omar Chavez

CF

Weak 2B option with an even poorer bat. If he had at least good base running with his above average speed, he might have some kind of hope, but nope.

3

108

Jeromy Scanlan

SP

Minor League inning monster, ML washout.

4

140

Theo Cooney

3B

Some power and an okay hitter but defensively better at LF than 3B. Not going to log much major league action either way.

5

172

Ira Rocker

2B

College rocket runner, he is wanting to stay in College to break some NCAA running records because he doesn't have much ML hopes though he does have great contact and speed to work with. Not worth 7M a season.

SUMMARY: The Balboas could have added so much with 4 1st round picks and they seem to fail at doing so. Jameson is not a complete failure of a player, but they really could have benefited with a more complete package with the 21st pick. The rest of the supplemental picks will most likely never pan out to be ML talent and were all big reaches for their talents.

GRADE: D+

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