AL South S19 Draft Review

Louisville Loud Mouths

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	28	Bob Coombs	RF	21	COL	---	Power hitting right fielder from St. Augustine's, he has great speed and can run the bases well enough to take advantage of it should be a 30/30 player in the majors. He does struggle against quality right handed pitching, but always seems to get a good piece of the ball and put it in play. Critics point to his long injury history in both High school and College which have sidelined him for a good part of his high school senior year, parts of his freshman and junior season's at St. Augustine's
1	49	Steve Wise	LF	22	COL	$600K	Big reach in picking up Bemidji State University Senior Wise late in the 1st round. Although he does have plus speed, he is nothing more than an average runner with average hitting at the plate. Without a core defensive position, he is nothing more than AAA fodder
2	84	Geraldo Uribe	P	19	JC	$550K	JUCO freshman who showed great strength in college. He should bring that flame throwing arm to the Bigs with some success. He has great control of the ball and 3 quality pitches along with 2 average pitches to choose from. His stock took a major hit when it was determined he could not throw more than 75 pitches a session without major exhaustion.
3	116	Philip Grey	SS	22	COL	$425K	Minor League short stop with good speed and a solid contact swing. He sometimes finds himself swinging at balls that are way out of the zone. Probably will not have the fielding to be a ML Shortstop full-time but could work in a pinch and offer some speed off the bench.
4	148	Billy Huskey	C	22	COL	$350K	At Grand Canyon University, he showed a solid presence behind the dish with an accurate arm, his bat never really impressed or scared many opponents. He was a career .287 college ball player who averaged 8 dingers and 23 RBI a season.
5	180	Dicky Jackson	3B	22	COL	---	Mr Average, He is a career minor league who does everything right at the average level. Not going to make any ML impact.

SUMMARY: Coombs if he can stay healthy is a great 1^st round picks up, but there is a reason his stock fell where it did. Louisville will have to work to keep him healthy for the next few seasons. The lest of the top 4 players will fill in the minor league ranks with an off chance that Uribe or Grey can sneak into the majors for some relief work. All and all a productive draft that filled in the minors with solid players
Grade: B-

Wichita Wildcats

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	14	Sam McConnell	SP	18	HS	$4,640K	Elite splits and good control with proper stamina and durability will make him an elite level pitcher once he reaches his potential. Scouts point to his average pitch selection as the reason he slipped to the 14th pick, Of his 3 pitches his fastball and slider are both projected to be ML quality
1	43	Chip Roenicke	SP	20	JC	$600K	3 pitches and great velocity on them means he wills strikeout a lot of guys. His average splits make him a ML question mark. Someone will give him a chance to pitch and he will reward them with a 5.75 ERA. More than likely his career dies with 1000 minor league innings under his belt.
2	71	Brian Kulik	CF	18	HS	---	NOT SCOUTED looking for 3.5M
3	103	Jack Elarton	3B	22	COL	---	Mac school Hitter NOT SCOUTED
4	135	Corban Freeman	SP	22	COL	---	At Nebraska for 4 seasons's his fastball was lights out, in the Big Leagues some left handed hitter is going to put some upper bleacher lights out off of it. He is a solid prospect who does through the ball hard enough, but beyond his 1 pitch there is nothing more than a thrower here who is going to get eaten alive when the batters get the timing down.
5	167	Morrie Gaillard	SS	22	COL	---	Being scouted for the NFL as a DB out of Cal. I think he saves us the trouble and goes that route.-

SUMMARY: Went after starting pitching and scored big with #1 choice McConnell. I would expect the rest of the pitches to do their job and project him through his Minor league journey. All and all 1 solid ML'er is not too bad, but with 2 first rounder's you had to hope to walk away with 2 potential players...
Grade: C+

Houston Stone Cold Killers

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	16	Brad Nelson	SP	18	HS	$2,600K	4 slightly above averages pitches along with good control and splits propelled Brad into the middle of the 1st round. I would love to tell you he's a sure thing all-star but I think he is closer to a long term average starter. Still not a bad pick un when you can get a guy who can give you 8-10 seasons of work.
2	73	Stan Williams	P	20	JC	$550K	3 plus pitches, solid control and splits, but low stamina will limit his role in the league. He would have soared up the draft latter if he had even a little more power to his pitches. As he stands he is a fringe long reliever.
3	105	Jayson Howard	RP	21	COL	$425K	Throws one of the best slurves in college ball which should find some success in Ryan. I would expect him to do very well with his pitch command and splits. He does have low durability which will limit his appearances; he might be solid 1 or 2 batters closer though.
4	137	Sean Schneider	SP	21	COL	$350K	The former WMU Bronco showed some poise in his college games, but his pitching style does not translate into the league very well. He has average pitch selection with low velocity. A nightmare combination. He should be a good Minor League inning hog though.
5	169	Jesse Williams	C	19	JC	$250K	Better suited off the field. Jesse brings a killer bat to the lineup. He seems to be an expert versus right handed pitching and seemed to eat the college competition up in his limited time. He has the potential to be a 15 HR guy while batting around .300. I'm not sure he has more than limited value in the big time.

SUMMARY: I like Nelson and project him to be a great #3 guy on almost every team once he gets to his projections. Williams will be an acquired taste for most teams, but he should find a team who can make use out of his skill set. Howard might be the steal of the draft in the 3^rd round. All and pitching is the name of the game and Houston loaded up this draft on it.

Grade: A-

Texas Tornadoes

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	27	Tom Charles	SP	21	COL	---	3 potential plus pitches with great stamina and spits. He lacks average control, but has the velocity to erase some of those walks with strikeouts. I like him at the end of the 1st round.
1	48	Homer Purcell	C	22	COL	$600K	Showed a lot at the plate in his time at SVSU which should translate into the making of a monster hitter in the ML. He projects to be a 40 HR guy batting around .280. He does have a long swing and could find himself missing more than you hope in a career hitter, but think of that power and hitting potential when he does get a hold of the ball.
2	83	Trevor Rhodes	SP	18	HS	$550K	Average splits with solid stamina and control. He does have 2 plus pitches and 2 other average pitches to work with. He could bounce in and out of the league over his career.
3	115	Stephen Flair	RP	18	HS	$425K	3 pitch multi-inning reliever with good control and splits. He is probably not an all-star but a huge inning eating reliever once he makes his projections. His splits are on the low end so he will need to land close to the experts final projections, if he is to succeed.
4	147	Jolbert Lunar	P	20	JC	---	NOT SCOUTED
5	179	Bailey Cosby	SP	18	HS	$250K	Lacks ML quality control, he projects to have 2 average pitches and not much velocity. He does have the ml quality stamina and splits. If he DITR's his control or even his pitch selection, he could be an awesome sleeper.

SUMMARY: A few value picks here who have flaws, but have great potential Purcell's is a top flight DH and Charles once you get over the fact he is going to walk 4 a game will probably strikeout 7 a game. Rhodes and Flair will also have roles to serve when all is said and done.
Grade: A-

NL EAST S19 Draft Review

NEW YORK DOLLS

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
2	74	Junior Carrasco	SP	22	COL	$550K	Eastern New Mexico State's 3rd all-time career wins leader. Carrasco is a solid 2nd round guy but probably no better than a fringe ML'er with his average splits pitches and stamina.
3	106	Roosevelt Engle	CF	19	JC	$425K	Speedster with poor splits, he has solid upside with his powerful batting stance. He might slip into 2B for his career. Not a huge impact player.
4	138	Turk Decker	2B	20	JC	$350K	Good speed on a future outfielder with solid contacting. At St. Louis CC he was often caught overrunning bases and caught not paying attention to what's happening in the field.
5	170	Jeff Gray	2B	19	JC	$250K	Mr. average across the boards he can hit some field some and even run some. He's average at everything and as a result might never get a shot at an average ML career.

SUMMARY: Without a 1^st rounder they basically needed to fill the minor league ranks and project the existing prospects. Carrasco is a solid AAA guy. The rest of the draft is great fillers for the Minors. If someone gets a DITR bump New York might be the smartest guy in the room.

GRADE: C+

Norfolk Trainwrecks

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	Summary
1	4	Kenny Anderson	C	18	HS	---	I love Anderson; he's a potential all-star every time he steps on the field. Already well developed at 18 he could blow through the minors with his powerful bat. He's a Mike Piazza type catcher, but projects to be able to call a solid game. He could also steal 5-10 bases a season.
2	60	Pat Blum	SS	18	HS	$523K	2 tool prospect offering fielding and speed. His bat is bad, but he should offer just enough to risk giving him an everyday job.
3	93	Shawn Washington	CF	18	HS	$406K	Great speed and base running with good contact, but his splits scare most scouts. He's also a strikeout monster. He probably doesn't have a huge future.
4	125	Gregory Winchester	SS	20	JC	298K	All defensive shortstop. He will be a gold glover, but this is his only tool. Guys have succeeded at short with similar projections.
5	157	Scott Howard	SS	18	HS	$213K	Great defensive star with left hand hitting potential and good power. Scouts point out that his high school coach has difficulty getting him to push his skills and seems to believe he is already a star. The ML will prove him wrong, he is going to need to work to reach his potential or he won't make it far. He hits his projections and he's a steal.

SUMMARY Scouts loved Anderson; He has the potential to be a Hall of fame caliber catcher in this league. Add in fringe ML'ers Blum and Winchester and sleeper pick Howard this is a very satisfactory draft to build on last year's draft.
GRADE: A

Pittsburgh Pirates

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	9	Bob Kelly	SP	18	HS	$3,250K	Soft throwing high schooler. Kelly has good pitch selection and projects to have ml quality splits, control and stamina Projects to be a solid #1 or 2.
4	130	Jim Powell	SP	21	COL	$350K	Oral Roberts junior with average projections and plus velocity. He has enough skill to get a few looks in spring training. He might squeak in the league if he gets hot for a streak, but I don't see him having staying power.
5	162	Elvis Baumann	SP	21	COL	$250K	University of Iowa junior comes out early after an 11-3 record with 118 Strikeouts in 98 innings. He's a strikeout machine, but lacks splits that translate into ML level numbers. He also has only a sharp curve to lean on, enough in the college ranks but not in this league.

SUMMARY: Third straight draft where the pirates loaded up on pitching talent. Kelly should be another great arm to add to the Pirate stable. The others will add depth and maybe a project to work on developing. Without a 2^nd or 3^rd rounder they did quite well.
GRADE: A

Atlanta Braves

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	2	Kenny Callaway	RP	20	JC	$3,910K	Could be one of the greatest relievers in league history. He's a killer reliever but still a 1 inning guy who is dependent on team to keep it closes to get to him.
2	58	Junior Bird	RP	20	JC	$550K	Average ML reliever, not a great career ahead of him, but still a chance at a career.
3	91	Anthony Brown	RP	22	COL	$425K	Has the substance to be a great reliever but has only average splits, he will have a tough time convincing a team to give him the ball late in a close game with that flaw. Still as a 3rd rounder he's a solid pickup.
4	123	Hack Nieuwenhuis	2B	20	JC	$350K	Great speed, but lacks anything else of substance. He's average across the boards.
5	155	Eliezer Aviles	RP	18	HS	$250K	All Strikeout and no substance lack quality pitches and slits to go with his good control. No ML chance in heck for this reliever.

SUMMARY: As an elite reliever you have to love Callaway, but I'm not sure of him as a #2 pick. Atlanta reached for a player who might be only able to give them an inning of work and even then when they are close to winning the game. On a team on the verge, he might be a great pick up. Atlanta still has a number of holes to fill before Callaway is justified.
GRADE: C

DRAFT REVIEW S19 AL EAST

Chicago Wolves

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	15	Tony Segui	P	21	COL	$2,690K	Strikeout velocity with control and 2 plus pitches. His splits project to be ML average, but he will struggle to find a full-time role with his low stamina. His makeup also will make his big league dreams short lived.
3	104	Daiki Suzuki	P	22	COL	---	NOT SCOUTED. Looking for 2.3M as a 3rd rounder.
4	136	Jackson Becker	CF	22	COL	$350K	Below average hitter with plus speed and solid defense. At 22 unless he DITR's he will be a career minor leaguer. His best position might be at RF or LF.
5	168	Richie File	RP	22	COL	$250K	3 pitch reliever with solid velocity and control. He lacks even below average splits though and will not be anything more than a minor league stopgap.

GRADE: The Wolves again went after a number of pitcher options, but did not get anyone that will have huge ML implications. Segui will be a tough sell to make his projections and probable a huge reach in the mid-1^st round.

SUMMARY: C-

New York Knights

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	5	Adrian Sexson	P	18	HS	$3,630K	For a top 5 guy Sexton is considered weak against left. He does have elite control and velocity to make up for his struggles against left handers. 2 top rank pitches also don't hurt his value, but his difficulties against left handers will frustrate Knight fans.
1	40	Dwight Colbrunn	SS	20	JC	$720K	Dwight has top speed and base running, but doesn't seem to do enough anywhere else to prove his value outside being an occasional role player in the majors. Look for him to be a solid backup option at 3B if he makes it out of minor league hell.
3	94	Ozzie Quinn	RP	18	HS	---	Oz's value dropped when reports out of Edmunds showed he was leaning toward college. If the Knights can convince him to come to the big city, they will be looking at a 3 pitch reliever with average control and above average splits. Scouts do note that his arm tires easily and it does take a long period of time to recover.
4	126	Groucho Smith	SS	22	COL	$350K	Below average with the glove at short but the rest of the skills are there on defense. Grocho has the speed to be a ML factor, but lacks a useful bat.
5	158	Bob Buckley	P	18	HS	---	Poor right/left splits will condemn an otherwise solid pitching prospect. His control and stamina will make him a great asset in the minors chewing up innings. If he DITR's his splits he would be a good ML factor, until then AAA will be his max.

SUMMARY: Sexton is a frustrating top 5 pick; he is loaded with talent, but lacks the type of splits which teams come to expect with a top pitcher. He will have an ML career ahead of him, but protecting him against left handed hitting will be a challenge and could lead to some short outings. He is going to need to score close to his projections for him to make huge projections.
GRADE: B+

Cleveland Spyders

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	SUMMARY
1	32	Edge Robbins	SP	21	COL	Edge could turn out to be a nice steal with the 32nd pick. He has great control and splits with good projected stamina/durability for a starter. At 22 he is already developed and has a nice start on others his age. His pitch selection is solid yet unspectacular. He will be a fine 4 or 5 guy for a nice lineup.
1	33	Garland Woods	SP	21	COL	Great stamina and velocity will light opponents up in the minor leagues. His splits will not translate well to the big boys even with his pinpoint control. Someone desperate might give him the ball for a few ML innings, but don't expect huge success here.
1	38	Abdul Hodges	P	21	COL	NOT SCOUTED
1	51	Stan Scott	RP	18	HS	Average reliever with 2 plus pitches. His durability is below average and his left hand split is poor. He will struggle to break into the ML with his flaws.
1	56	Ren Kwon	P	18	HS	NOT SCOUTED
2	88	Renyel Guerrero	LF	18	HS	NOT SCOUTED
3	120	Teddy Koch	2B	18	HS	Great speed and base running. With great contact. He lacks any type of power and struggles heavily versus left handed pitching. He could be a great pinch runner and occasional role player.
4	152	Manny Gates	LF	18	HS	NOY SCOUTED
5	184	Will Drese	RF	20	JC	Quality 5th rounder with good power top speed and solid base running. He has above average splits. He does like an average batting eye and might struggle to top 110 games a season.

SUMMARY: After 2 years without a #1 pick, Cleveland had 5 picks this season. All of them at the end of the 1^st round. Edge is a great sleeper who slipped because of fear his pitches would not convert well into the ML from college. Edge will be looking to prove his critics wrong. The rest of the draft for Cleveland is either an unknown or a never going to be anything

GRADE: C-

Durham Bulls

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	Back- ground	Bonus	SUMMARY
1	1	Raymond Witt	CF	18	HS	$4,000K	As the #1 overall pick, I hate this selection. Witt could be a proven ML'er with solid fielding and a solid bat. He is projected to be a 25HR guy with 10 steals a season and a .280-.295 batting average. He should also draw a good amount of walks. He projects to be a solid #2 man in almost any lineup, but he is not a slam dunk all-star year after year.
2	57	Mo Franco	SP	20	JC	$550K	Average pitch selection and left/right splits. Projects to be a bottom ML tier pitcher. He could hit his projections and fill out the lineup. At BFIT his sophomore year he showed great command but lacked any strikeout punch. He doesn't project to have much power on his arm.
2	62	John Murata	CF	21	COL	---	NOT SCOUTED
3	90	Gus Raines	2B	20	JC	$425K	Good contact hitter with the speed and base running to take advantage. He would be more valuable if he had
4	122	Achilles Allen	SP	20	JC	$350K	Great sleeper in the 4th round. He isn't a barn burner, but he's a guy who has good stamina and control to ride along with 3 plus pitches. He struggles more than you want against left handers, but his high velocity and a pension for ground balls might mask that fault some. Someone might give him a shot which is all you can ask when drafted in the 4th round
5	154	Bo Headley	SP	18	HS	$250K	Average pitch selection with poor splits and solid control will limit his action to just the minors, but he should chow on a lot of innings and be useful to keep the better prospects from wearing out

SUMMARY: Durham saw there man in Witt and went after him. Witt is far from the best player in this season's draft. At 18 he has a lot of growing to do, but he is fairly developed and should make it close to his projections. While not an all-star I would still expect him to be an impact player on the field. Franco isn't going to be a long term solution, but he could be a great short term plug if Durham needs one. The draft on a whole was one that avoided risk and just filled needs. I love Allen in the 4^th round and his progress should be followed to see where he ends up in 4 years.
GRADE: B