AL WEST S18 Draft Review

Kansas City McCoys

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	13	Luis Furcal	2B	21	Good power hitter with solid contact and batting eye. he is a poor man's 2B, but could be a starter in the outfield. He is a plus runner, but doesn't have great running speed. Look for a stats line of around .280/35/100rbi with 10 SB.
1	47	Alfredo Quevedo	1B	19	Nice supplemental pickup. Plus defender at 1B with good power and solid hitting He might never be an all-star but he should be a team leader in a few categories.
1	56	Del Headley	2B	20	Good speed and contact, but lacks any power and runs the bases poorly. He isn't going to do a lot in the field expect him to be an AAA guy at best.
1	58	Vance Terry	RP	22	College closer will be tested in the ML. He does have Ml quality splits control and 2 plus pitches. His. Biggest knock is his lack of velocity and is a pure fly ball pitcher, often an issue for late inning relief.
3	103	Shaggy Griffith	SS	21	Solid speed and base runner with good contact, he lacks plus defensive skills to get him regular ML at-bats. AAA'er for life.
4	135	Roosevelt Collier	RP	21	Great 4th rounder limited stamina with reduce his role, but he has excellent pitch selection and plus splits. His above average control should serve him well.
5	167	Jorel Delahanty	RP	20	Below average control, but otherwise a ML quality pitcher with 3 solid options to throw.

SUMMARY: Raucous continues his late round dominance and lands a bunch of quality arms in the late rounds. He scored well with his late 1^st rounder, but rauc, had to be hoping that he would have landed a skill position with the 13^th overall. Not saying Furcal isn't going to be an all-star just would have been nice if his d was worth something.

Grade: A-

Anaheim strasfigor

Season	Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
18	1	14	Vladimir Pena	RP	20	Solid reliever, he has 2 plus pitches and a 3rd out pitch. He has solid splits and above average durability for a reliever. As a top 15 pick he seems to be a reach with this pick. I am never a fan of taking a reliever this high unless he is truly elite. Pena will be an above average reliever but not a consistent all-star
18	1	48	Perry Sparks	RP	22	5 pitches and great splits, he was known for his precision control at Vanderbilt. Vandy went with a tandem rotation this past season, so Sparks's stamina will be a huge issue as a starter. Expect no more than 4 innings out of him. He is efficient at pitching but don't expect many strikeouts. Probable finds ML work as a reliever.
18	2	71	Dennis Chang	P	18	NOT SCOUTED
18	3	104	Alfredo Herman	SP	19	Average splits and pitches selection. He is an AAA guy at best; even his elite control isn't going to merit him a shot.
18	4	136	Edinson Galarraga	SS	18	Solid left handed swing with plus contact, he struggles with his glove at SS, but should perform well enough in the minors. If you can overlook his strikeouts and his inability to hit righties he could have a few Ml at Bats.
18	5	168	Ralph Stroud	P	18	NOT SCOUTED

SUMMARY: spend the draft filling up the pitching staff, not a bad idea for anyone. I don't think loading up on Relievers is the best strategy though. Huge reaches for guys who will be limited in innings. Both guys should be Ml caliber, but The team would have been better served with Sp Pat Berkman who went 20^th or SP Harry Torres who went 51^st

Grade: C

Salt Lake City Prospectors

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	31	Willie Juarez	SP	21	Great control, stamina and velocity would make him an all-star, but he's picked 31st because of his lack of above average splits. It will be interesting to see how far he gets with his 4 pitches and poor splits. Most teams would not give him much time out of AAA.
2	87	Hal Rogers	SP	20	I like Rogers better than Juarez and to me he has a better chance for Ml success. He has above average control and splits. He has 3 plus pitches and strikeout velocity. It will be interesting to see how their Ml careers compare.
3	120	Stuart Thompson	LRP	20	Average splits, good control 3 solid pitches, but his low durability and stamina will limit his exposure to hitters. Not enough skill to exceed past AAA.
4	152	Horacio Jose	SP	18	Poor splits will keep him in the minors for his career.
5	184	Gaylord Tam	RP	21	Good 5th round pick. Solid right hand specialist with 3 pitches and excellent velocity. Could see come Ml time.

SUMMARY: 2^nd straight year adding pitchers this time they went after less risky signees, but still didn't land a sure fire guy. They have a couple guys who might fill in holes for some time, but no one is a permanent solution.

Grade: C

Tucson Mail Order Cowboys

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	30	Junior Torres	CF	19	All-star caliber defender with elite speed. He makes average contact with the ball, but doesn't strikeout a whole lot. Nor will he be leaned on to power many runs in. his D and speed will get him to the ML.
1	40	Julian Duran	SP	21	Looked solid at Winthrop in his Junior year, but scouts fear he will not translate into a ML Quality pitcher. He should perform well enough to be a mop up guy or as a 4A player.
2	70	Eric McGehee	SP	21	Another college product he struggled in college against right handed hitters, but still posted a respectable college ERA and ranked near the top of the NCAA in Strikeouts. He will need to improve his pitch selection to even have a ML chance.
2	86	Heath Duvall	SP	19	Picked out of the junior college ranks, Duvall lacks the control and the pitch selection to be anything more than an AA guy. He does have a good handle on how to pitch if he DITR's a season he might surprise the league.
3	119	Omar Maduro	SP	20	With his high velocity and lack of any control someone is going to get hurt with his monster fastball. He has great splits if he finds the strike zone he will be a great ML pitcher. The chances of that are slim, but in the 3rd round you take the chance.
4	151	Ryan Braden	3B	21	Has good speed, but defensively he's a better match to the outfield. He's a below average hitter with plus splits and solid batting eye. I don't seem him with a ML career.
5	183	David Nunez	P	21	Good splits for a reliever in the 5th round but lacks control and an above average pitch.

SUMMARY: I love Daley, but with 5 1^st round picks I would hope to love a few more players. Breslow is also my kind of guy. In my opinion walking out of a draft with 2-3 ML quality starters is great. Tucson did that, but still I feel jilted by the rest of the draft. They need to start adding youth in the lineup and missed on almost all of their prospects. Hopefully pitching can bring in the hitting prospects in the future.

Grade: B

DRAFT REVIEW S18 AL EAST

Chicago Wolves

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	29	Quentin Gibson	CF	20	Solid defender with plus power. At college he showed great speed, but did make a number of base running mistakes. He is known as a hothead and rumor is he expects to the starting CF in Chicago very soon. My scouts say otherwise.
1	52	Kelvim Kawakami	SP	20	Below average batting splits with good control. He features 2 plus pitches and 2 average pitches. He might be a solid AAA guy, t I don't see him as a ML starter
2	85	Lawrence Turner	SP	19	Average splits with no great go-to pitch. He isn't going to go far without a feature pitch or better velocity.
3	118	Carl Madson	LF	18	Below average in the field is this power right hand hitting slugger. He isn't going to play every day, but used in the right way he could be an effective ML player.
4	150	Earl Desmond	SP	20	Below average splits with one real go to pitch. He has strike out velocity, but will only be featuring that in the minors.
5	182	Erik Bristow	P	20	His forkball was legendary at Middle Georgia State. That's about all he brings to the minors.

GRADE: Got a solid defender in Gibson. He will scare a few teams away because of his low batting stats. Expect him to struggle to make the bigs and get regular at bats. The Wolves went after a number of starting pitcher options, but did not get anyone that will have ML implications

SUMMARY: C

New York Knights

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	4	Guy Costello	SP	18	3 pitch fireballer. Costello is dominant against right handers and should be one of the top options for the Knights in the future. Only having 3 pitches is usually a sign of fault by some owners personally I would mind having Costello and his selection. His biggest knock with me is his low stamina. But expect to see him get at least 5 innings as start.
1	27	Collin Kimbrel	SP	18	4 plus pitches and pinpoint control will get him a pass to the big boys club, but his below average right handed split might cost him a few ER's over the seasons. As a late 1st rounder he's worth the risk. And should compete for a 4th or 5th rotation spot in a few seasons.
1	37	Sherry Casanova	CF	18	Average hitter with plus speed and solid defense. He's not going to change the league but should see a fair amount of time when he does arrive. I see a guy who will average 10hr and 20sb in his time.
1	44	Willie Kohlmeier	RF	18	Kohlmeier is expected to eat up left handed pitching and show above average power and work the pitchers pretty well. He doesn't provide to be much more than a 2 star prospect on any college recruiter's data sheets though.
2	61	Jesus Cela	P	18	NOT SCOUTED
3	94	Artie Lewis	RF	18	Average hitter with some speed, but he isn't talented enough to get away with only playing 1B. Might do just enough to get some time in RF and sneak into AAA.
4	126	Andy Potvin	2B	18	Shows enough power to get some interest from Ml scouts in High school, but overall the complete package isn't worth the time it took to drive to Iowa. How my scouts projected him to be a 2B is beyond me, LF at best.
5	158	Norman Sipp	SS	18	Poor man's excuse at SS, he can play in a pinch and does have some pop, but far from a ML glove or bat. Classic Minor league burn-out.

SUMMARY: 3 1^st rounds last season and 4 more this season. The minors are starting to blossom with prospects or at least warm bodies. This season New York found some success in the 1^st round unlike last season. 2 starting pitchers who should contribute to a successful rotation and a solid CF defender are all good catches for a team struggling with glaring holes in the minors.

GRADE: B+

Baltimore Bandits

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
2	83	Quinn Tracy	3B	18	Projects to have monster power, but outside of that and a solid batting eye, Tracey is not much of a prospect. Look for him to challenge the career minor league HR record.
3	116	Don McGowan	RP	20	2 pitch solid control and durability, but really lack any ML knack for getting batters out. He will not contribute to any ML success. Period.
4	148	Keith Magnusson	SP	21	Average to below average starter who showed at Colorado State that you didn't need to throw anything better than a sloppy grapefruit to have success in the Mountain West. AA or bust.
5	180	Charlie Moseley	3B	22	High strikeout left field that had shown high power numbers in college. He isn't going to hit above .230 in his career but could do that with 30+ homers if given the opportunity

SUMMARY: for the 2^nd straight year Baltimore picks without a 1^st rounder. The farm is already barren one more year will not add to the fun for the future. Baltimore did pick for power and got a few minor league ball mashers, but no one that will make a dent on the ball for the big club.

GRADE: D

Durham Bulls

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	Age	SUMMARY
1	2	Joey Taft	SS	22	Better suited to play 3B. Taft has excellent contact and a solid batting eye. At Brigham Young he showed that he could knock in runs with his gap power and extra base speed. He does struggle with the base paths and will never be much more than a 15 hr guy in his career. I'm not sure Taft is a guy you can build a franchise around, but he is a nice piece to have on the team.
2	59	Morris Roberts	RF	18	Super power hitting man-child this guy has elite power potential and can already swing for the fences at 18. Watch out when he breaks into the league in 3-5 years he could be a killer. He isn't going to offer much as a defender and he shows a bit of an injury bug, but you have to be happy with him in the early 2nd round. Quite a steal!
3	92	Clint Beaulac	SP	22	Bottom of the rotation feeder, he has solid splits and control and 4 plus pitches. Great pick up in the early 3rd round. Score 2 for Durham.
4	124	Delino Park	3B	19	Average hitter without much special going on he isn't going to win you the game, but he's not going to cost you one either. He might get a cup of coffee in the majors if someone gets hurt.
5	156	Philip Gil	2B	21	The CFL just drafted their new starting QB in Gil, because he isn't playing in the MLB.

SUMMARY: Adding to their stockpile of talent. All their picks in the first 3 rounds project to be ML starters. Anytime you do that you uncork the Champaign and start to celebrate.
GRADE: A

AL NORTH AND AL SOUTH S18 PREVIEW

AL NORTH

 

Minnesota Wobegon's (AL)

LAST SEASON 70-92 PAYROLL 36.3/57M

Needs: Pitching

Stars: SP Antonio Lankford, 2B Murray Woolf, DH Donnie DuBose, 1B Bo Glanville, RF Jose Ayala

Slugs: SP Benji Alarcone: SP Carson Forest

Minor Hope 1B Buddy Dubler(AAA), 3B Achilles Heffner(AAA), 3B Billy Shea(AAA), LF Tsubasa Kojima(AAA), LF Vince Maxwell(AAA), CF Rajai Fields(LoA), RF Herm Young(AAA), Sp Sterling Daniels(HiA), SP Steven Adcock(AAA), RP Midre Guerrero (HiA)

Summary 2 to 3 seasons from now this will be the franchise in the Al North. Right now they will be playing for .500. Minnesota still lacks any pitching depth that will allow them to compete in this division this season. They should have enough hitting to jump there win total to be close to the mystical .500, but will fall short

Projection: 78-84- they are at least 2 seasons away from being dominant in this division.

 

Burlington Ice Storm (AL) LAST SEASON 20-142 PAYROLL 74.9/84M

Needs: Staring Pitching

Stars: LF Chris Dwyer , 2b Nipsey Diaz. 1b Sergio Cuddyer

Slugs: P Billy Gipson

Minor Hope: 1B
Willie Balfour(HiA), 1B David Johnson(HiA), 3B Earl Boswell(AAA), SS Hunter King(AAA), RP Reagan McQuillan, RP Tex Nelson(AA), RP Kelvin Shaw (HiA)

Summary Better than there record could show. Last season's debacle with salary earned this team the 1^st pick in the draft, but cost them dearly on a number of huge injuries. Those factors put a top contending team near the middle of the pack and trying to rebuild for the future. There still is some star power in the lineup, but the pitching is going to find itself in trouble again this season. Look for a big rebound, but don't expect them to break .500 this year

Projection: 75-87 they might surprise me and push this number

 

Madison Massa's (AL)

LAST SEASON 97-65 PAYROLL 82.7/82M

Needs: Pitching, Defense

Stars: LF Marcus Thompson, 2b Craig Cooper, 1b Bret Sanders,, CL Neil Young

Slugs: 1b Casey Kaline, SP Valerio Andujar

Minor Hope: 2B Joe Owens(HiA) 2B Slash Fletcher (HiA), 3B Shane Garland, LF Alex James (AA) LF Bill Strickland(AAA), RF Lee Liverman (AAA), RF Calvin Turner (AA), P Tom Forrester(HiA), P Jeromy Pride(LoA)

Summary Star power is starting to fade each year. They need to freshen the blood up a bit. The next level of players are there on the farm, but many would be a step down the learning curve and Madison seems to be hoping for the same "one last run" they have been clinging to for 5 seasons.

Projection: 90-72 they are going to have to fight for the wild card

 

 

Helena Heel Turners (AL)

LAST SEASON 92-70 PAYROLL 105.8/108M

Needs: Middle Relief

Stars: C J.P. Santiago, LF Carlos Hernandez, RF Timothy Sutton, DH Garret Hall, P Pedro Seguignol, Rp Orlando Frias, SP Virgil Diaz, RP Joel Byrne

Slugs: DH Ron Fox, 3B Eddie Wilson, RP Michael Okajima, RP Hector Quevedo

Minor Hope: LF Tony Maradona(AAA), RP Bo Rothschild(LoA)

Summary Offensively the best team in the Al North my far. They will get up on opponents in a hurry. The pitching is established and has proven all-star caliber talent. They have grayed though and that will cause Helena to turn to more the middle relief. The relief is a huge concern and might cost the Heel Turners some wins if they don't get another quality arm. Not much to trade away on the farm to get that.

Projection: 94-68- baring injury they should easily dominate this division

 

 

AL SOUTH

Houston Stone Cold Killers (AL)

LAST SEASON 72-90 PAYROLL 72/73M

Needs: Starting Pitching, SS

Stars: DH William Clyburn, 2B Stephen Dreifort, CF J.C. Stokes, RF Neal Robinson, 3B Rob Mulder, LF Louie Rosario, SP Pedro Barcelo

Slugs: RP Daisuke Yoon

Minor Hope: LF
Mike Thomson(AA), CF Lawrence Hutton (AAA), SP Tony Sweeney (AAA), SP Bruce Trammell(HiA), SP Darrin Connelly(HiA)

Summary:
They might have the next great superstar in Robinson, his talent is surrounded with a solid supporting cast. I would not be surprised if they make a run for the playoffs. Pitching will slow them down during the season. The pen features a couple guys who have had little success.

Projection: 80-82 I think there holes still outweigh their talent, but its close

 

Louisville Loud Mouths (AL)

LAST SEASON 90-72 PAYROLL 77/90M

Needs: Pitching,

Stars: SS Kurt Morgan, 3B Roger Post, 2B Sven Kinkade, RF Ivan Spehr, Sp Neifi Lopez

Slugs:

Minor Hope: C
Emilio Batista(AA), DH Jose Berroa(AA), SS Glenn Lemon(AAA) RP Gorkys Rijo

Summary A solid team who will be just that, battling their way to wins. Opponents who are patient should be able to hit around the Loudmouth pitching staff with their wild tendencies. A good patient team will eat them alive. The Louisville offense should be amazing and will be the reason they could sneak into the playoffs

Projection: 91-71 they lack a true weakness

 

Tampa Bay Pelicans (AL)

LAST SEASON 82-80 PAYROLL 55.9/70M

Needs: Starting Pitching

Stars: C Johnny Ritchie, CL Lonny Uribe

Slugs: LF Fergie Wickman, Sp Joel Perry, SP Stephen Smith, P Steve McDonald

Minor Hope: C
Bobby Joe Carroll(HiA), C Jordan Haney(AAA), 2B Pat Sanders(HiA), 2B Ryan Van Hekken(AAA),
LF Joey O'Malley(AAA), RF Jorge Pena(AAA), SP Javier Gonzalez(AAA),SP Malcolm Rupe(AAA), RP Wes Monroe(AAA), RP Tony Matos(AAA),RP Gary Jenkins (AAA), RP Felix Lee(AAA)

Summary Loaded with talent on the farm. This team will be bursting onto the seasons in a few short seasons. At this point it is possible the AAA team might be able to beat the ML team. They have the best Catcher situation I have seen any team in.

Projection: 77-85 there will be a drop off this season next year will be the test.

 

Texas Tornadoes (AL)

LAST SEASON 103-59 PAYROLL 78.4/80M

Needs: CF, Pitching

Stars: 3B Aurelio Espada, DH Todd Scott, 3B Ivan Crespo, LF Vicente Arias, CL Benito Cortez, SP Ronnie Leach, SP Diego Gomez

Slugs: RF Earl Tate, P Ricardo Espinosa

Minor Hope: C Luis Owen(AAA), 2b Enrique Alvarez(HiA), SS Yadier Lopez(HiA), SS Jared Malone(AAA), 2B Howie Grace(AAA) , RF Phillip O'Toole(HiA), SP Barney Russ(AAA), SP Yamil Servet(AA)

Summary Potent offense with good young pitching. Last season they showed their stones by taking the division, but they also showed their weakness by falling in the first round. They still have a few obvious holes in the defense and pitching. A couple key ads from the farm would make this team that much better

Projection: 96-66 they still look like they might be a lock for the division.