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+

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