NL NORTH Season 12 DRAFT REVIEW

Philadelphia Balboas Needs from the draft: 3B, RP, C

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus	Pro
					ground			SUMMARY
1	20	Hector Kendall	CF	19	JC	---	---	Defensively superior Ml'er but lacks the bat to hold an everyday job, his speed and defense are an asset though to have on a national league bench. The 20th pick though is still a reach for him.
1	36	Stephen Blackmon	P	19	JC	---	---	Solid Bullpen arm. Blackmon have 3 quality pitches excellent control and should freeze right handers regularly in the show.
1	40	Matt Marion	C	18	HS	---	---	Top flight catcher with solid power and contact, he lacks above average splits but if he makes his projections he should do fine.
2	64	Harry James	CF	22	COL	---	---	Good speed solid splits and decent contact, but not capable in cf but would be fine in RF or LF. Probable does not have the ability though to make much of an impact in the bigs.
2	71	Fergie Hunt	SS	18	HS	---	---	Signing issues allow Fergie to drop to the late 2nd round. He is an above average fielder with a solid bat, more than current SS in our league can say. Just need to sign him.
3	96	Wes Kirwan	SS	20	JC	---	---	Poor splits and poor batting eye will handicap Kirwan on his path to the big time, but he can field and runs like the wind.
3	103	Steve Bonds	CF	21	COL	---	---	Speed again with a top of the line contact guy he will struggle in CF, but he would be adequate. His poor batting eye will not help him either.
4	135	Scott Ramirez	CF	22	COL	---	---	The Balboas have fallen in love with speed in this draft and have stocked up yet again with Ramirez. He is adequate in the field, but has a weak bat at the plate.
5	167	Andrew Mahoney	3B	22	COL	---	---	Poor fielder at 3B and an average hitter with poor splits against righties and a bad batting eye. He is AAA fodder.

Summary: Kendall is the only reach for Philly in the draft. Blackmon, Marion, James and Hunt are all great picks. Hunts signing issues will be a challenge but he might be worth the effort. Kendall will be fine in the league, you just hope for more with pick #20.

Grade: A

Cincinnati Bowties
Needs from the draft: CF, LF, C

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	21	Paul Tobin	RP	19	JC	---	---	Top flight reliever. With 2 awesome pitches and great control. He has plus stamina for a reliever, but does have relatively low durability. Tobin does not seem to fit the Bowtie style, but is a welcome addition anywhere would guess.
1	31	Junior Martin	SP	22	COL	---	---	Soft throwing pitcher who has 4 good pitches solid splits and plus control and stamina, in other words everything the Bowties look for in a pitcher.
1	37	Harvey Merrick	CF	18	HS	---	---	Probable could play exceptional defense at 2b or CF, but he offers very little in the way of offense. He can make a career out of pinch running and defensive sub though.
2	72	Rich Whitehill	SS	20	JC	---	---	Average hitter and fielder, but nothing special enough to get him above a 4A player for life.
3	104	Pedro Cedeno	P	20	JC	---	---	Good find in the 3rd round but Pedro has only average splits with 2 great pitches and excellent control.
4	136	Chris Stone	P	20	JC	---	---	7M is a little high for a 4th rounder
5	168	Otis Russell	CF	19	JC	---	---	Great defender with amazing speed and base running. His low splits allow him to slide to the 5th round. But he does have ml talent.

Summary: Cinci is still the oldest team in the league by good margin, I solid draft is what the team needed to revitalize the team for the future. All and all this was not a bad draft to do that. Tobin is a solid reliever, a position that the bowties don't really use, but should draw good interest next season on the trade market. Martin is the type of pitcher who succeeds in the tandem rotation and should be a good fit. Merrick is very similar to what the bowties run out every day in their defensive core positions so he also fits the bill. All and all I think the Bowties succeeded in drafting well with what they had to work with.

Grade: B+

Detroit Lucky
Needs from the draft: 1: CF 2 SS 3: 2B

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	5	Davey Gonzalez	SP	20	JC	---	---	Stop of the line starter is what Detroit needs and with the 5th pick they get that. Davey has 2 solid pitches excellent splits and great control, With his velocity he will strike many out.
2	57	Samuel Jackson	SP	19	JC	---	---	Another solid starter, Jackson's a little low on stamina but would be a good fit in a tandem rotation. He has 2 above average pitches and good velocity.
3	89	Willie Jacobs	RF	18	HS	---	---	Defensive liability with a good power bat, Jacob will not hit much with below average splits. Probable with not get out of AA.
4	121	Phil Reed	2B	20	JC	---	---	Good LF with defensive prowess and great speed. He lacks any type of power, but would be a good speedster for a lineup.
5	153	Shane Newfield	SP	22	COL	---	---	Great pick up in the 5th round. He lacks a strong left hand split, but still have ML quality pitches , average control and plus stamina

Summary: Gonzalez and Jackson are a solid start to any draft board and Detroit has to be giddy to get both. These guys could anchor the Lucky lineup for a while. Reed is a solid bench guy for a team that needs speed, but if he had more to offer defensively his value would skyrocket... All and all this was a great first draft for a new owner.

Grade: A

Milwaukee Blue Stockings Needs from the draft: SS, 3B, RF

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back-	Contract	Bonus
					ground			SUMMARY
1	7	Andres Brogna	P	18	HS	---	---	Great control and 5 plus pitches make Brogna an enigma. He has ace quality splits but such poor stamina and durability combination it is hard to figure out what to do with him.
2	59	Moe Tucker	RF	18	HS	---	---	Solid defense and good power will give tucker a chance to make the big leagues. Being 18 he has a lot of time to develop.
3	91	Darrin Purcell	C	18	HS	---	---	Offensive focused catcher who has enough skill to be behind the dish without costing a team to much.
4	123	Donne Sellers	1B	22	COL	---	---	College power bat who will crack a home run, but will offer a team little else.
5	155	Emmanuel Mercado	LF	19	JC	---	---	Another power bat with poor splits and average fielding.

Summary: The stockings went after their usually in the Draft good enigmatic pitching at the top and poor fielding power hitters at the bottom of the first five rounds. I love the Brogna pick, I don't know how to play him and use him for what he is or could be, but he is a good player, In football he call his type an "athlete" because you can go a few different ways with him. Purcell fits the bill of a Blue's catcher sweet hitting but struggles at game calling. He still should do the team a lot of good.

Grade: B

NL NORTH S12 Preview

NL NORTH

Detroit Lucky (NL) PAYROLL 50.3M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 59-103
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Timothy Sutton	RF	21		Harry Chavez	2B	34
				Walter O'Brien	CF	32
				Charlie Patterson	SP	32
				Jimmie Estrada	SP	29
				Orlando Pena	RP	33
				Norm Knight	C	32

Opening Day Lineup
C Jacob Kwon (L)
1B Bo Glanville (R)
2B
3B Matt Matthews (S)
SS Mario Jenkins (R)
LF Timothy Sutton (R)
CF Mac Parkinson (S)
RF William Stewart (L)
Starting Pitching: Bob Hatteberg, Harry Silva, Jung Martin, Cookie Benitez, Arthur Jacobsen
Closer: Joey Dispenza
SUMMARY: Switching Matthews and Sutton would strengthen the Defense a little bit, but the biggest defensive liability they have is at CF. There is a nice young core in Detroit that should do well this year. Glanville, Stewart and Sutton should be a great core to lean on for years to come. The pitching has seen better days with Hatteberg the only dependable starter. The rest are a ragtag bunch of older guys, There is no depth in the farm to lean on for a while either. Dispenza is a middle of the road closer and at over 9M is overpaid for his skills.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: 2B and CF are dire needs; an upgrade in pitching is a luxury.
VEGAS ODDS: 38-1

Milwaukee Blue Stockings (NL) PAYROLL 45.3M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 63-99
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Harvey Carson	Lf	22		Ellis Small	RP
Grant Badilla	CF	22		Garrett Ferguson	RP	39
Everett Ritz	SP	23		Gus Wood	RP	31
Hideo Tamura	SP	22		Chris Leon	3B	29
Daniel Henry	RP	25		Pete Barnes	SS	33
Andre Kolb	SS	31		Rolando James	C	24
Raul Morales	RP	32
Sven Groom	SS	23
Rudy Shouse	C	31

Opening Day Lineup
C Rudy Shouse (R)
1B Lorenzo Estrada (R)
2B Arthur Worthington (R)
3B Elvis Lundquist (R)
SS Andre Kolb (R)
LF Scott Clarke (R)
CF Grant Badilla (S)
RF Tony Campos (L)
Starting Pitching: Keith Junge, Tori Walker, Angel Mateo, Jesus Melendez,
Everett Ritz
Closer: Raul Morales
SUMMARY Upgraded at Catcher should help the pitching in Milwaukee. The Starting staff is young and very talented. They will be able to carry this team at times. The Blues also feature young Studs in Scott Clarke and Lorenzo Estrada. Badilla and Groom should both improve as the year moves on, but might struggle out of the gate. Having Carson and Alanso on the bench gives this team great depth in the outfield OF and at 2B, but they really need to address the lack of a solid everyday 3B. Morales wins the closer role by default.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: 3B and Bullpen Help
VEGAS ODDS: 28-1

Cincinnati Bowties (NL) PAYROLL: 65.9M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 89-73
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
R.J. Polanco	P	34		Tanyon Hartman	P	42
Dennys White	P	34		Brandon Mercedes	CF	30
Hugh Aldridge	RP	31		Bump Loiselle	P	35
				Hades Sedlacek	SS	30
				Bill Hayes	C	36
				Phil Baek	3B	32
				Alex Wang	SP	31

Opening Day Lineup
C Brent Sheets (R)
1B Damon Miller (S)
2B Carlos Hernandez (S)
3B Jerry Robinson (R)
SS Stephen Allen (R)
LF Greg Bush (R)
CF Virgil Stein (R)
RF Jesus De La Vega (L)
Starting Pitching: Clarence Patrick, Ralph Ainsworth, George Jordan, Freddy Hurst, Butch Brush
Closer: Roy Murphy
SUMMARY The Bowties have an offensive powerhouse in Herandez and Brent Sheets, but the players around them are starting to drop off. The loss of Wang is cushioned slightly by the gain of Brush, but the bowties really could only pursue one huge FA this off-season and that was Brent Sheets. The rotation is quite strong as a 3 man tandem. Patrick and Ainsworth could sit on top of most rotations.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: A starting CF would go along way
VEGAS ODDS: 19-1

Philadelphia Balboas (NL) PAYROLL 53.0M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 88-74
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Juan Guerrero	2B	30		Justin Smith	1B	34
Dan Ellis	CF	33		Paulie Duran	CF	30
				Albert Rincon	RP	28

Opening Day Lineup
C T.J. Little (S)
1B Eugene Pryce (L)
2B Wade Prince (R)
3B Javier Martin (R)
SS Arthur Dunn (R)
LF Hunter Wilkerson (S)
CF Walter Lawrence (L)
RF Valerio Guillen (S)
Starting Pitching: Del James, Charlie Johnson, Louie Gutierrez, Miguel Seanez, Jose Astacio
Closer: Babe Rose
SUMMARY An injury to Guillen will have him sitting out the start of the season and will slow the Balboa offense down. The Balboas have a solid offense and great defensive presence and are a truly grinding team. No one guy will beat you, but as a team they will find their way to the top. The rotation is a mixed bag Johnson is an elite starter and james and Gutierrez are good support men, but the rotation takes a drastic turn after that. Rose should get another chance to close this season and he should have better success than in the past.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Pitching and CF upgrades
VEGAS ODDS: 20-1