NL EAST S17 Draft Review

NEW YORK DOLLS

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
2	94	Craig Andrelczyk	RP	18	Solid Splits, but average control and pitch selection will burnout this relief pitcher. I'm not sure many teams will give him a chance to make the league. He's very developed for an 18 year old, but his talent level just isn't there for the 2nd round.
2	96	Ryan Rhodes	SP	18	2 picks later you get Rhodes who is a good grinder for the minor leagues, he's not good enough to make a deep impact in the ML, but he's got the ability to see some time as filler for a team that needs to get buy for a season. Or a few games.
3	127	Vin Maxwell	CF	21	Great speed and defense give him 2 tools to work with, he sees right handed pitching well that's a plus, but doesn't have the pure baseball talent to be a regular. I like him as a bench guy.
4	159	Morgan Brower	CF	19	Fast guy, but struggles to much on the bases to be effective as a threat. He also will struggle at CF and should see his action in RF or Left in the Minors. He doesn't hit well enough to see time outside of AA.
5	191	Frank Stoddard	2B	22	Below average 2b, He's not good enough to even be considered a prospect at this point.

SUMMARY: Added just a few depth guys to the team, No one is going to shine from this bunch, but a few might have some nice games in their careers. Overall without a 1^st round pick and only picking at the bottom of the 2^nd they did okay identifying talent early, but no one is going to be a huge impact starter for New York anytime soon.

GRADE: B

Norfolk Trainwrecks

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	9	Manny Nelson	P	18	Long Relief extraordinaire. He has everything you would like in a pitcher except ideal stamina. His stamina limits him to a role in relief or as a super closer.
1	48	Gabe Dawkins	C	19	I love Gabe Dawkins. He's a killer backstop with a fine bat, his splits are average to below average, but he should hurt the team to much with his actual baseball skills as refined as they are.
1	57	Josh Baez	P	21	Similar to Nelson, as a solid long reliever, he has just enough stamina to make a few spot starts without hurting him too much. His control is average, but that is his only real huge concern.
2	69	Bobby Blake	RP	22	Solid bullpen skills, with 3 pitches, good control and solid splits. He does throw softer than I would like to see out of the pen and his durability is less than ideal to match his stamina.
3	105	Juan Colome	C	19	Offensive catcher, Colome doesn't offer much of support for the pitchers, but is solid behind the dish. He has great contact and solid power. He should give Norfolk 350-400 ab's in his prime with his durability rating.
4	137	Ryouta Fujiwara	C	20	3rd catcher the team took fills up the farm system. He has ML power and solid fielding and a great battery mate. He has below average splits, but still could see ML time down the road. Great 4th round pickup
5	169	Donatello Shaw	CF	19	All speed very little to offer at the plate and average defense for a 2B. He needs some help to make the league maybe a breakthrough in the field would ensure him a path to the league.

SUMMARY: Norfolk had their sights set on getting the catcher the team needs for the future and might have found him late in the 1^st round. They also picked up 2 late round guys who have potential and should bring something in trade when Norfolk starts to shake things out in a few seasons. Nelson as the 1^st pick might have been a reach, only because he's a tweener that has no defined position. Use him as they may, he is a good player.
GRADE: A-

Pittsburgh Pirates

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	5	Alberto Rodriguez	SP	21	Super workhorse pitcher with solid control and splits. He has nice velocity and should strikeout a few in his career. His pitch selection is solid but lacks a spectacular punch to take him to the next level.
4	133	Alex Lee	SP	21	Solid starting prospect he has above average splits and Average control. His lack of velocity does not add his lack of above average pitching. IF he had a killer pitch, he would have received more love in the draft, but for a 4th rounder you got to love this guy.
5	165	Billy Smart	SP	20	Great all around pitcher, except he has no concept of where the plate is when throwing. At least with his limited velocity no one will get hurt when he hits a guy or two.

SUMMARY: 3 pick to represent the Pirates and I think they pulled down 3 solid guys. Rodriguez might not be a superstar, but he is a sure anchor to the pitching staff. Lee and Smart both could have solid opportunities with the ML.

GRADE: A

Atlanta Braves

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	2	Marty Waters	SP	18	Have all the makings of an Ace pitcher, Ideal control, splits and 3 solid pitches. He is a Mean SOB with a hard throwing arm His stamina is his biggest knock as he might struggle to get 9 innings a go on his arm and if he did his low durability would affect time over time...
2	62	Ronald Fischer	SP	18	3 pitches with average splits and velocity. He has good control and stamina, but might not be much without maximizing his potential in his right/left splits. I think he was a solid chance to be in the ML.
3	98	Omar Estella	CF	22	Great speed and base runner, Estrella has good enough contact to take advantage of those skills and sneak his way onto base. Watch for him to bunt his way onto bases at times He lacks power and good batting understanding to be effective every day, but as a super sub he should see ML time.
4	130	Damian Becker	SP	22	Below average splits and control minimize another wise lightning fast pitch selection. He isn't going to rise above AAA and if he does he will be eaten alive in the Big Leagues.
5	162	Pete Burrell	C	18	Great battery mate for the right pitching staff, he's average at the plate, but will not hurt a team who turns to him every day. He should be a .240 hitter with 10hr power, but he will play for his pitch selection and arm as a backstop.

SUMMARY: Good a future Ace who will be very similar career wise to a Pedro Seguignol who has carved out a HOF career. I'm not sure he will be that good, but the potential is there to be similar. The other pitchers also should serve useful roles for the team and both Becker in the 4^th and Burrell in the 5^th are solid picks for their rounds.

GRADE: A-