AL EAST SEASON 12 Draft review

Burlington Ice Storm

Needs from the draft: C, CF, SP

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	18	Iago Silva	2B	21	COL	---	---	Solid #2 guy in the lineup. He has good speed and can bunt and runs fine. He is not an overwhelming hitter, but is good enough to be an everyday guy. He is a slow learner and will need strong coaching to make is projections.
2	69	Andre Becker	RF	21	COL	---	---	Solid yet unspectacular hitter, he will provide adequate defense, he has good speed, but might struggle to maintain an everyday job in a lineup.
3	101	Bill Clinton	SS	20	JC	---	---	Clinton has always had good defense and has never had the best eye, but he got the job done, This Clinton is similar except he can't hit righties.
4	133	Joey Hartman	C	20	JC	---	---	Solid defender and pitch caller, Joey will have average offense, but should get Big League Abs in the future.
5	165	Shea Hooper	2B	20	JC	---	---	Above average speed, but he houses a below average bat. He is not going to amount to much without a DITR.

Summary: Didn't even get a whiff of a starting pitching in the 1^st 5 rounds is a bit odd in this draft, but the Storm did come out of the draft with 2 solid positional players in Silva and Becker and filled a need with Hartman who should be able to climb immediately up the positional depth chart.

Grade: B-

Durham Bulls

Needs from the draft: LF/RF, SP, 1B

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	13	Stan Nation	SP	18	HS	MILB	$2,880K	Slightly above average splits make an otherwise solid pitcher a big reach with the 13th pick. Stan does have 4 great pitches and excellent control. Nation's stamina is also a huge question mark this high.
2	65	Hideki Chang	C	22	COL	MILB	$550K	Better suited to never take the field defensively, Chang is a power slugging DH who will struggle against a right handed pitcher. Chang is also a huge project with poor makeup and an advanced age it will be very difficult for him to make his projections without elite coaching.
3	97	Thom Costello	SP	21	COL	---	---	4A quality pitcher he has 2 good pitches and a mix of other pitches to compliment his plus control and stamina, but he has very average splits to work with on the mound.
4	129	Trace Vitiello	SP	22	COL	---	---	Vitiello lacks quality pitches to make his plus control and stamina work well for him. A better pitcher in the long run than Costello, Trace will find getting out of AAA a challenge.
5	161	Evan Sanders	RP	18	HS	---	---	Career minor League pitcher

Summary: IMO misfired on Stan Nations, but that misfire seemed to get the tone of the Bulls draft. Nation, Chang and Costello all have what could be fatal flaws for a ML career. Each should get their chances though to prove me wrong.

Grade: D

Hartford Ascension
Needs from the draft: SP, RP, BEST

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus	Pro
					ground			SUMMARY
1	3	Dick Lewis	SP	18	HS	---	---	Great velocity dominant splits and superior control, what does that spell A-C-E…? Go team this guy is the type you build around.
2	55	Walter Garcia	SP	22	COL	---	---	Garcia has good ML potential 2 plus pitches and 2 average pitches, good control and stamina and decent splits. He is a little weak around a right handed bat, but he still should get plenty of chances to prove that rating wrong.
3	87	Orber Lee	SP	22	COL	---	---	Poor splits will leave his career derailed at AAA
4	119	Sid Sanders	SP	19	JC	---	---	No pitch to lean on and poor splits might have his career halted in AA
5	151	Lucas Enders	RP	19	JC	---	---	Right hand specialists are rare in this league Enders will not break this tradition anytime soon.

Summary: Needed pitching and that they got, Lewis could be the best pure pitcher in the draft, Garcia is a nice Ml prospect and rest of these pitchers fall in line, Hartford has to be seeing the fruits of their labor as they have one of the best young farm systems coming around.

Grade: B+

Washington D.C. old school warriors

Needs from the draft: SP, RP, 2B

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	4	Don Orosco	2B	18	HS	---	---	Probably the premier hitter in this draft. He is defensively weak at 2B, but should settle in the OF without issue. He is a perennial all-star with 40/40 capabilities. The next Casey Kaline?
1	42	Thurman Holder	SS	18	HS	---	---	Defensive prize, which has a weak bat but a decent set of wheels and good intangibles for a ballplayer. If you can hide his bat he will reward you in the field and on the bases.
2	56	Alan Shields	LF	22	COL	---	---	Slap hitting right hand hitting specialist. He has superior speed and can bunt with the best. His lack of power and his lack of left hand hitting will make him a sure platoon.
3	88	Karim Drese	CF	21	COL	---	---	UNKNOWN
4	120	Daniel Hundley	C	18	HS	---	---	UNKNOWN
5	152	Clyde Hamilton	LF	21	COL	---	---	UNKNOWN

Summary: Needed to target some pitching in this draft, but include they went after the premier hitter in the draft, Orosco. Who can blame them, Orosco is a 5 tool guy who gives the team a little of everything. Holder works fine in a ML defense and could be traded for the pitching the team needs in the future. Next year look for Washington to aim high for the pitching ranks and build that system up some.

Grade: B

AL EAST SEASON 12 PREVIEW

AL EAST

Burlington Ice Storm PAYROLL 60.1M

LAST YEARS RECORD: 76-86
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Shawn Kennedy	C	32	a	Shawn Kennedy	C	32
Pasqual Concepcion	SP	31		Rafael James	LF	35
Benito Javier	C	28		Glenn Osik	2B	32
Johnny Stroud	2B	25		Todd Hardy	RP	35
Pedro Osuna	RF	25		Ray File	DH	28
Tony Kelly	DH	34		Bump Ford	SP	30
				Brian Wang	C	31

Opening Day Lineup
C Shawn Kennedy (R)
1B Denny Graham (L)
2B Raul Gutierrez (R)
3B Rolando Johnson (L)
SS Steven Jenner (R)
LF Farmer Drese (R)
CF Johnny Stroud (R)
RF Pedro Osuna (R)
DH Tony Kelly (R)
Starting Pitching: Lucas Neagle, Pasqual Concepcion, Rigo Granados, Jarrod Everett, Carlos Torcato
Closer: R.A. Bellinger
SUMMARY: the hitting is in the place the Storm have added 2 solid hitters through trades in Osuna and Stroud. The Addition of FA Conception also adds a good arm to the rotation.. Thgis team finished sub-500 last season but should have no issues breaking .500 this season if everyone stays healthy. As a team they have solid defense and can play a strong game if the hitting gets going. Pitching is solid but again unspectacular with a solid bullpen closer in Bellinger..
HOLES TO ADDRESS: would benefit moving Stroud back to 2B and getting a solid defender for CF..
VEGAS ODDS: 27-1

Durham Bulls PAYROLL 58.6M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 73-89
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
				Clint Malone	SP	28
				Al Borbon	RP	31
				Daryle Davis	RP	30
				Kelvim Sellers	SP	32
				Mike Durrington	DH	32
				Malcolm Hutton	SS	26
				Dario Mouton	DH	33

Opening Day Lineup
C Justin Vernon (L)
1B Tito Hume (R)
2B Deivi Blanco (R)
3B Haywood Woods (R)
SS Scott Rose (R)
LF Junior Buckley (R)
CF Jaret Nathan (S)
RF Richie Cormier (L)
DH Tony Jimenez
Starting Pitching: Jose Rojas, Sherm Taylor, Enrique Saez, Will Gonzales, Bob Hines
Closer: Clarence Adams
SUMMARY The team does not do much extremely well, but they also don't do much poorly either. The Dulls have a lot of power guys who strikeout more than their share. They need to find that dependable .300+ bat to build around. The bullpen is missing a steady arm and the starting rotation has an extra could be a converted starter pitching out of the Pen. Closer Clarence Adams will continue closing after taking on the closer role and filling in better than expected, but another arm in the pen would be welcome.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: upgrade at Catch and 1 superstar would be great for the offense a solid bullpen arm would also add greater depth.
VEGAS ODDS: 30-1

Hartford Ascension PAYROLL: 17.7M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 65-97
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Clarence Morgan	3B	22		Alfredo Padilla	SP	33
Calvin Lui	2B	22		Josh Brantley	SP	29
Cristobal Jacquez	1B	21		Andres Martin	C	32
Joe Lincoln	RF	25		William Fryman	SP	30
				Bob Jenkins	2B	28
				Bart Hitchcock	3B	28
				Charles Howard	RP	32
				Greg Griffiths	3B	30
				Alfredo Sanchez	P	29
				Glenallen Bell	SP	33
				Gus Tabaka	SP	40
				Oscar Rollins	RF	27

Opening Day Lineup
C Davey Santana (R)
1B Marquis Ashley (L)
2B Calvin Lui (R)
3B Clarence Morgan(R)
SS Dennis Lockwood (R)
LF Ivan Gonzalez (S)
CF Matthew Hurst (R)
RF Joe Lincoln (S)
DH Cristobal Jacquez (L)
Starting Pitching: Jake Becker,Victor Perez, Willis Ryan, Willis Daniels, Wesley Matthews
CloserKris Aspromonte
SUMMARY: With solid hitters Marquis Ashley, Clarence Morgan and Calvin Lui along with Speedster Matthew Hurst, this team does have offensive tools. The Pitching staff is in shambles, at best you have a pair of middle of the rotation guys. Add in lot of rule 5 draft picks and this pitching staff will struggle to compete with BL hitting. This team badly needs an ace in the rotation to compliment the stable of hitting. The bullpen also has huge holes to address most relievers would struggle in AAA let alone the Show.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: This team badly needs to complete the pitching staff. The Team has one of the worst bullpens in the league and this will need to be addressed with a few last minute free agents.
VEGAS ODDS: 100-1

Washington D.C. old school warriors PAYROLL 64.8M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 66-96
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Alex Chang	RP	31		Roy Robinson	SP	29
Jeff Foster	C	25		Richard Frazier	1B	28
Vic Toca	RP	35		Cesar Batista	C	35
				Emil Rogers	P	35
				Ismael Lopez	RP	38
				Rube Jefferson	RP	41
				Alex Padilla	RP	39
				Darryl Sexton	RP	37

Opening Day Lineup
C Mariano Lee (R)
1B Douglas Ainsworth (L)
2B Ozzie Ono (R)
3BGraeme Watson (R)
SS Craig Cooper (R)
LF Trevor Jackson (R)
CF Luther Oliver (L)
RF Victor Mondesi (R)
DH Adam Corsi (R)
Starting Pitching: Julio Carreras, Junior McLemore, Doug Ojala, Darrell Williamson, Chad Goldman
Closer: Tony Eckenstahler
SUMMARY: Trevor Jackson's 50+ SB's are a nice along with his 100+ Runs a year. Cooper is the catalyst for this offense they just need more power around him to balance the order more. A few Lefties would be nice or this hitting will struggle with strong pitching and coaching. Pitching is improving slowly but the rotation could do without Ojala and the bullpen will need to upgrade after key losses of Sexton, Padilla, Lopez and Jefferson.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Weak at 1B and 2B, and CF. pitching is in need of an ace in the bullpen and 1 more solid arm to start.
VEGAS ODDS: 45-1