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Post by Chip_PhilliesGM on Aug 19, 2016 11:46:05 GMT -5
Here we are again here for another exciting draft in the PBL. With a lot of faces returning, the 2039 draft looks to be one the deeper drafts in recent memory. Without further adieu, here are my grades for picks 1 through 5.
PICK #1 – SS Pierre “Bullet Ben” Boucher, Toronto Blue Jays – Moving up from 3rd overall in 2038, Boucher is a no-brainer to take the #1 spot in the 2039 draft. Boucher has serious wheels, an advanced approach at the plate, he hits for contact and power and does it all while providing plus defense at a premium position. At 23, he should move through the Toronto system quickly and find himself in the PBL sooner rather than later. GRADE: A+
PICK #2 – SP Eric Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals – Another guy who climbed the ladder from the 2038 draft, Gorman shot up 11 spaces. Gorman is a lefty with a unique arsenal, eschewing the conventional fastballs for a cutter and throwing a knuckle curve along with a traditional curveball. While, he’s certainly talented, there are some other starters and hitters even I like a lot more in this talented class. GRADE: B
PICK #3 – SS Michael Flagell, Montreal Expos – Flagell reminds me a lot of Boucher, he plays a premium position and has all the tools to play SS well, along with no real weakness as a hitter. One difference is he comes in from the right side and hits equally well against RHP and LHP, which is the one possible knock on Boucher, who has hit a little worse against lefties. There’s more risk here due to his age, but a lot of reward as well. GRADE: A
PICK #4 – SP Ramon Ramos, Chicago Cubs – Another lefty who throws primarily a cut-fastball, along with a good curve and a changeup that could be one of the best in the game if he continues to refine it. Ramos also moves up from pick #11 in 2038. Ramos has all the potential to be a #1 or #2 with the Cubs and is being looked at to bring some hope to the franchise along by their new GM. GRADE: A-
PICK #5 – SP Rob Jacobson, Houston Astros – The 3rd LHP in a row off the board, Jacobson can dial it up to the mid-to-upper 90’s along with a power slider and curveball that are already solid pitches with room to become dominant ones. The real fear with Jacobson is that he won’t have the ability to remain effective deep into games against more advanced hitters, which is why I feel he is a bit of a stretch at #5. Grade: C
Next up...Picks #6 - 10.
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Post by Dustin Ackley on Aug 19, 2016 19:43:19 GMT -5
Patiently waiting for the next set so I can see my grade
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Post by BlueJaysGM_Fin on Aug 19, 2016 20:10:54 GMT -5
Great article so far Chip!
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Post by Chip_PhilliesGM on Aug 19, 2016 20:30:56 GMT -5
PICKS #6 - #10 (Thanks to the Brewers for letting me catch up).
PICK #6 - SS Mel Wolfe, Cincinnati Reds - This draft is going to be the start of a new wave of stars at shortstop. Wolfe is a college hitter with the best power tool of the entire draft that goes with a plus hit tool that could combine to make him a dangerous offensive weapon. Wolfe is no slouch with the glove either, capable of playing well across the entire IF and has also played the outfield competently in college. This was a great pick by the Reds and gives them a potential franchise player with the 6th pick in the draft. GRADE: A+
PICK #7 - RF Robert Bland, Houston Astros - Bland is an 18 year old with tremendous power potential and with his plus speed, could be a easy 30/30 threat. There have been talks with scouts from the Astros about shifting Bland to 2B, which is what may save this pick from being a bit of an overreach. His average hit tool and defense would make him a solid corner outfielder, although nothing special, but if he could transistion to being an average 2B, he could be a star. Still, hard to justify Bland here with Segura still out there. GRADE: C+
PICK #8 - CF David "Snake" Segura, New York Mets - Segura's a speedy contact hitter with excellent gap-to-gap power and has a build that could fill out and in his prime could let him hit around 20 home runs in a season. He's a true CF with no concerns about needing to shift over to the corners. A nice pick at #8 for a guy that has the bat to profile as a great #2 or #3 hitter without losing out on defense at an important position. GRADE: A+
PICK #9 - SS John "Slewfoot" Beatty, Atlanta Braves - The 4th SS selected in the first ten picks, Beatty marks the noticeable decline in elite hitting prospects outside of the first 4 taken in the draft. Beatty has a more one dimensional bat that profiles as a leadoff or #2 hitter with his excellent speed and instincts on the bases. Slewfoot shows a quick bat and is able to make a ton of contact with enough strength to rack up doubles, although he'll likely never hit more than a handful of balls out of the park in a season. He does offer some flexibility to the Braves, displaying the athleticism and instincts to handle CF or either middle infield position. While a step below the other hitters already taken, he is arguably the best of those that are remaining with his elite hit tool and positional flexibility. GRADE: A
PICK #10 - SP Andrew Hicks, Washington Nationals - A personal favorite of mine and a potential steal here with the best pure stuff of any starter in the draft. Hicks is a true power pitcher with velocity in the upper 90's and a tremendous splitter that has plus-plus potential and can drop off the table. His curveball is still a work in progress, but shows flashes of being a plus pitch that would give him three go-to pitches. There are concerns about his durability given his generous 5'10" listed height, as well as if he can manage to keep his electric stuff in the strike zone. Still, I think the risk is worth the potential reward here at the 10th pick, as long as the Nationals can afford his steep price, since he is represented by infamous agent Isaac Zevin, known for getting the most for his players. GRADE: A+
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Post by Chicago(N)GMMike on Aug 20, 2016 15:59:45 GMT -5
Great job!
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Post by Chip_PhilliesGM on Aug 26, 2016 11:42:38 GMT -5
PICK #11 – SP Truman Childs – Detroit Tigers: Childs is an interesting pick at #11. The good: Amazing stuff, with an elite fastball in the upper 90’s and a sinker that generates a ton of ground balls. Also, Childs is fairly polished and could see the majors fairly soon. The bad: Childs’ third pitch is a changeup that is just bad and he shows no feel for it. This leads to concerns that a two-pitch repertoire will relegate him to the bullpen. Overall though, I like the pick, mainly because I think his ability to generate ground balls can soften the lack of a real third pitch. Grade: A-
PICK #12 – SP Alfredo “Iron Curtain” Ruiz – Milwaukee Brewers: Ruiz is a 19-year old pitcher with a solid standard 3-pitch assortment of a fastball, change and curveball and each pitch projects as above average with the fastball being the true standout, reaching just a hair under a 100 MPH at times. He looks to be an overall standard teenage pitching prospect, with his main flaw being average control thus far. Grade: B+
PICK #13 – SP Mauro “Bally” Avila – New York Yankees: Another high school pitcher, albeit not cut from the standard power pitcher mold. Avila throws in the low 90’s at his best and utilizes a broad assortment of 6 pitches and movement to keep hitters off balance. The remarkable thing is that all 6 of his pitches look like they could become at least average. Bally also has excellent makeup, and the one knock against him would be his size, at 5’10” scouts are always going to be suspicious of his durability. His lack of reliance on pure power may make him the exception though. Grade: A
PICK #14 – SP Dave Meyer – Kansas City Royals: In what is becoming a pattern, another starter is off the board, Meyer has a 3-pitch assortment with a very good fastball and cutter, as well as a solid change. He uses his excellent cutter in lieu of a 2nd off-speed pitch. Meyer looks to be a balanced prospect with no real weak areas. Grade: A-
PICK #15 – SP Aaron Ford – Minnesota Twins: The Twins really really like Ford. After failing to sign Ford at 14th overall in 2038, the Twins are trying again at 15th overall. Ford is in the upper level in terms of pure raw stuff for starters in this draft class and has shown good enough control and movement to get by. Although, his off-speed pitches are still lagging behind his fastball, he has a curve and change that often display the potential to be true out pitches. The rawness of his offspeed stuff is somewhat concerning with his fairly advanced age at 22. Grade: B
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Post by Chip_PhilliesGM on Sept 8, 2016 11:35:46 GMT -5
I'm back! After a deep post-draft depression, I promise to finish my duty as grader of the draft no matter what substances I must ingest or inject to feel real emotions with so many months until the next draft.
PICK #16 - 1B/3B/OF Jake Buck, Texas Rangers - The Rangers got their man after all, although it took a pick 28 spots higher. The Rangers drafted Buck 44th overall in 2038, but we're unable to come to terms. Buck has shown tremendous gap power with a projection of probably 25-30 HR power. His other tools with the bat are solid as well, and he should be at least average in his contact ability with a decent, if unspectacular eye. The worry with Buck is that his bat, which is solid, but not exceptional, will need to carry him. Although he played 3B in college, scouts don't see much of a future there, and believe he will have to move to 1B or an outfield corner eventually. Grade: B
PICK #17 - SP Roy Barton, Minnesota Twins - Going 17th overall for the 2nd year in a row, the Twins select another SP after taking one 15th as well. Barton's a high school pitcher with a fastball that sits in the low 90's, a change that could develop into a true out pitch, as well as a good slider. Sometimes his stuff can flatten out at times and leave him susceptible to the long ball, but he shows an excellent work ethic and an ability to stay in the strike zone. As with all HS pitchers, there's a long way between here and breaking into the majors, but Barton is a solid pick in the middle of the 1st round. Grade: B+
PICK #18 - C Antonio Lopez, San Diego Padres - Lopez has a sweet swing and a contact machine with one of the best hit tools of the draft. Lopez gets raves for his smarts and work ethic, which he is going to need to make the most of his average arm and instincts behind the plate. At best, he'll likely only ever hit around 10-15 HR's, so his bat doesn't profile well at 1B or DH. I still like the pick here and I think he has the drive and ability to get to close to average behind the plate, and he would make an excellent #2 hitter who could hit over .300. Grade: A-
PICK #19 - SP Jose Gallegos, Milwaukee Brewers - Coming out of UNC Chapel Hill, Gallegos is a 22-year old with a fastball/slider combo that already looks fairly polished. The problem is his lack of a 3rd pitch, with only a changeup that he has shown no feel for and has gotten hammered when he's been brave enough to throw it. This will very likely limit him to a relief role as he moves up the ladder, unless he can find another pitch that is actually a feasible option, especially against LHB. Grade: D
PICK #20 - SP Greg Howse, Seattle Mariners - Quite a departure from Gallegos is Howse, who howses (see what I did there?) a broad arsenal of 5-pitches that all could be above average pitches, although he lacks a true "out" pitch and has a lesser margin for error because of it. He's fairly well developed already and could move through the Mariners organization fairly quickly. Howse likely isn't going to be ever competing for the Cy Young, but he's also less likely to flame out than many of the other more raw pitchers taken in the draft. Should be a decent #3 starter, or a very good #4. Grade: B-
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Post by Peter - Boston Red Sox on Sept 8, 2016 15:51:44 GMT -5
Love these reviews! Must take a lot of time for you to do these. But very cool! Can't wait to see how the rest of the 1st rounders grade out.
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Post by Chip_PhilliesGM on Sept 12, 2016 11:58:45 GMT -5
Love these reviews! Must take a lot of time for you to do these. But very cool! Can't wait to see how the rest of the 1st rounders grade out. Thanks for the kind words. It does end up taking significantly longer than I keep expecting. PICK #21 - SP Jack "Everyday Eddie" Bryant, Philadephia Phillies - After some confusion and conflict between ownership and the GM over selecting the polished college hitter Dave Hall, the Phillies GM won out and settled on the 19-year old Bryant. Bryant's got a power arsenal with a tremendous fastball, as well as three off-speed offerings that show promise. With the build, talent and repertoire to succeed as a power starter as a #2 guy in the rotation, the main risk is that he's a 19-year old pitching prospect and all the perils that come with that. Grade: A PICK #22 - SP Chris Bainton, Colorado Rockies - Bainton's a lefty who generates a good amount of groundballs with a fastball, slider, splitter 3-pitch arsenal that he is able to mix up with equal effectiveness. He likely won't be a innings-eater, frequently tiring out in the 6th and 7th innings, but the talent is there to make those 6 IP very good ones. Grade: A- PICK #23 - SP Roy Lacenaire, San Diego Padres - Polished college lefty with a good fastball and excellent slider and change. Lacenaire is similar to Greg Howse, with not a huge amount of upside, but he could move quickly through the system and be a solid #3/#4 starter. Grade: B PICK #24 - CL Vernon Mason, Oakland Athletics - With the premium position and SP talent beginning to fall off, the first reliever is taken in Mason. My feelings are mixed on Mason, I really like his fantastic sinker and ability to generate a ton of groundballs. The downside is that he is 23, and still is relying only on his sinker, which to be fair, is already a fantastic pitch that is PLB-ready. Mason has not trusted his changeup enough to, leaving what could be a 2nd dominant pitch that is still underdeveloped for a 23-year old. That leaves the pressure on for Mason to fully develop in a couple seasons. If he can develop that change, the combination of strikeouts and groundballs could make him a top closer. Grade: C+ PICK #25 - SP Harry Lawson, Tampa Bay Rays - This is a very good pick here at #25 for the Rays. Lawson is a college power arm with the stamina, arsenal and intelligence to be a #2 starter. He gets a lot of movement with along with his power, preferring a very good cut-fastball, along with a good forkball and slider, and rounding it out with a average changeup. His control may never be much better than average, but he has the stuff to compensate for that and is a great pick for the late 1st round. Grade: A+
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