Season 11 Draft Review Part I

Well - it's that time of year again! Time for one of your four favorite NL North team owners to give his thoughts on the amateur draft. We start with the Phillies.

1. Philadelphia Phillies - Adrian Ashburn, starting pitcher. Ashburn looks like a true future #1 stud. He has great control, is strong against righties and lefties, and should possess 4 quality pitches by the time he hits the bigs. Ashburn throws hard, and manages to keep the ball down as well. He also receives praise for his makeup, patience and emotional stability. This is a fine pick by the franchise's new owner, jway11.

2. Oklahoma City Outlaws - Les Finnessey, centerfielder. The Outlaws went for Finnessey, which surprised many scouts around the league. He will be a capable gloveman, and he has a decent bat for the position, but most thought that he would go ten to twenty picks later. He is similar to Happy Lowell (and to a lesser extent, Jarred Mantei), but with not quite as much upside.

3. Oakland Acorns - Tony Sojo, starting pitcher. The Acorns also surprised many with their pick of Sojo. A workhorse, Sojo will throw many innings, and has an astonishing arsenal of pitches, but his lack of control will limit his upside. If he can learn to keep the ball around the plate, he could become a #2 starter, but that seems unlikely.

4. Charleston Vampires - Otis Hennessey, starting pitcher. The Charleston Vampires took a risk on picking this two-sport star from Cal Poly, and it paid off. He was the number one pitching prospect in this year's draft, with pinpoint control and a nasty 4-seamer and slider that make him almost major league ready as is. Scouts in the know project him to be a dominant, Cy Young award level starter, since he decided to throw the horsehide instead of the pigskin.

5. Kansas City Chaos - Mark Wallace, relief pitcher. Wallace is the best relief pitching prospect since Season 5 #1 pick, Don Davis. Wallace is a Goose Gossage style two inning closer who will dominate for the Chaos.

6. New York Juicers - Bobby Roskos, starting pitcher. The Juicers risked the ire of fans by picking Roskos over Dennis Spivey. However, it's easy to see why the New York nine liked this left-hander. With 3 plus-plus pitches, great control and equal effectiveness against batters from both sides of the plate, Roskos should be a #1 starter by season 15.

7. Montreal Canadiens - Happy Lowell, second baseman/centerfielder. Lowell is a little bit of a sleeper at #7, but his sterling glove work and powerful swing make him a worthy selection by our northern colleagues. Lowell is fast, makes great contact and generates a lot of power for his position. His sole weakness is an unwillingness to draw walks, but that won't stop him from a very solid career.

8. Salem City Slickers - Dennis Spivey, designated hitter. Possibly the finest offensive prospect to come into World Alexander since its inception, Spivey is already terrorizing Rookie League pitching to the tune of a 1.400 OPS. Defensively limited to the point of being solely a DH, Spivey will hit, hit and hit some more. He's a triple crown waiting to happen.

9. Charlotte Grandma-mas - Jarred Mantei, rightfielder. Mantei is very similar to Happy Lowell, but with a better arm but not as much range or as good a glove. He'll be a solid #5 hitter and starting RF for Charlotte. He will likely push disappointing Bud Davis to the bench by season 14.

10. Augusta moose - Pascual Lopez, starting pitcher. Much like the Acorns, the moose reached for a strting pitcher with a significant flaw. While Lopez has a multitude of pitches and great control, his domination of left-handers does not extend to righties. In the end, his mediocre ability against right handed swingers will likely push him to the back of the rotation.

Montgomery Maulers season preview

Loses - Lifetime Maulers Frank Ramirez and Cesar Vizquel have left the team.

Additions - Ex-Mauler Blade Cook is back and to replace vizquel at 2B is Livan Seanez.

Goals - With 4 time AL MVP Karim Martin leading the team expectations are high here in Montgomery. Goals are 1. Win the AL South, 2. Win the AL, 3. Win the World Series.

All-Time Franchise Wins Through Season 10

Rochester 1090
Indianapolis 985
Montgomery 972
Pawtucket 947
Colorado Springs 937
New Britain/Ottawa 934
Texas 906
New York (NL) 891
Kansas City 886
Toronto/Fargo/Buffalo/Syracuse 873
Anaheim/Honolulu 866
St. Louis 863
Augusta 850
Baltimore 837
Albaquerque/Oklahoma City/Las Vegas/Vancouver 835
New Orleans/Santa Fe/Charlotte 813
Montreal 809
San Francisco/Los Angeles/Boise/Arizona/Boise/Anaheim/Las Vegas 780
Nashville/Louisville/Richmond 776
San Diego/San Juan/Helena 753
Milwaukee 740
Cincinnati/San Juan/Boston/Chicago/Philadelphia 716
Charleston/Tampa Bay/San Antonio/Jackson/Mexico City/Jackson 716
Las Vegas/Tacoma/Tucson/Las Vegas/Salem/San Diego/Oklahoma City 715
Cleveland/Columbus/Chicago/Philadelphia/Iowa City 715
Boise/Arizona/Oakland 706
Chicago/Jacksonville/Cleveland 703
Richmond/Cleveland/Hartford/Trenton/Charleston 701
Louisville/Santa Fe/Atlanta/Memphis/San Juan/San Antonio 693
Norfolk/Syracuse/Philadelphia/Wichita/Chicago 687
Madison/Scranton/Philadelphia/Madison/New York (AL) 634
Atlanta/Tampa Bay/Nashville/Little Rock 597

AL/NL MVP

Here are my picks for AL and NL MVP and the reasons

AL

1. Karim Martin - He is a Mauler but with a .307 52 HR and 160 RBI season is hard to vote against.

2. Jorge Park - I tend to lean more toward HRs and RBI which is why I pick Parks .282 59 HR and 133 RBI.

3. B.J. Frascatore - Amazing season but plays for a losing team. .345 41 HRs and 109 RBI is a nice season.

4. Dion Lane - Again a losing team but if Fresh offered I'd take his .372 30 HR and 100 RBIs anyday.

5. Glenn Morgan - Another non-playoff team and another great season. .324 34 HR and 109 RBI

NL

1. Rudy Aldridge - Surprise! Surprise! Aldridge having another great season. .362 50 HR and 130 RBI

2. Charles Baek - After Aldridge the next 3 are very tight in my opinion. I put Baek first because of the reasons in the next 2 player summaries. Baek ended up with .306 40 HR and 113 RBIs.

3. Garry Stankiewicz - Great season with a .309 31 HRs and 120 RBIs but not even the best player on his own team.

4. Stan Damon - .283 41 HRs and 122 RBIs are impressive but no playoffs knocks him down to 4th.

5. Otis Lowell - .292 28 HRs and 76 RBI.

Season 10 Amateur Draft Analysis: Picks 21-32

21. Stephen Johnson (Honolulu Tsunami) - The Tsunami have quietly stockpiled a ton of young talent, and Johnson is another piece to add. Three solid pitches and an ability to handle RH batters makes Johnson a solid future starter. Grade: A-

22. Del Douglass (Richmond Revolution) - Pitchers like Douglass are the hardest to predict: whether or not his control develops to where it's projected will decide whether Douglass is a successful ML pitcher or not. Grade: C+

23. Ozzie Wilkins (Kansas City Fresh) - Wilkins will be a very solid relief pitcher in the future, and will be able to pitch a lot thanks to his high durability. If his splits were a bit higher he'd be a great closer candidate. Grade: B

24. Josh Foster (Jackson Jokers) - Foster is another great steal of the draft. He has great power and is a nightmare for LHP's. Although he's not a great defender, he is adequate behind the plate and won't be limited to DH duties. Grade: A

25. George Bochtler (Colorado Springs Field Mice) - Although Bochtler is listed as a SS, it is unlikely he'll ever play there as he just doesn't have enough range. With his great speed, he might be a better option coming off the bench in the future. Grade: C-

26. Joey Seo (Charleston Vampires) - Seo is another hard-to-predict pitcher. If his control develops fully, he'll be a solid ML pitcher who can go deep into games. If not, he might be AAA material. Grade: C+

27. Gerald Nicholas (Cleveland Redlegs) - Without a dominant pitch or more than one really solid pitch, Nicholas will probably be no more than a solid number 4 or 5 starter. Grade: B-

28. Skeeter Offerman (Montgomery Maulers) - Offerman has great control and a solid 4-pitch arsenal. However, his low effectiveness vs. both lefties and righties means he should probably never see the big leagues. Grade: D

29. Toby Watkins (Indianapolis Lancers) - With durability 10 points higher, Watkins would probably be a solid 4 or 5 starter. However, with durability of 11, he's probably limited to a relief role in the future. Grade: B-

30. Ed Reboulet (Ottawa Rough Riders) - Reboulet won't be an All-Star (most likely), but he should be a pretty solid starter or bat off the bench. Grade: C

31. Jim Hoffman (Pawtucket Patriots) - Hoffman's solid splits and great batting eye will give him a high OPS. However, with his low pitch calling, he might be limited to DH duties. Grade: B

32. Hughie Wright (Rochester Big and Tall) - Wright won't be dominant out of the pen, but he'll be a very solid reliever who can rack up a lot of innings in relief. Grade: B+

Season 10 Amateur Draft Analysis: Picks 11-20

11. Gregg Falk (Montreal Canadiens) - While Falk falls a little short of the trio of aces due to his weak curveball and changeup and tendency to struggle a little against righties at times, he'll still be a very solid big league pitcher who should rack up some complete games. Grade: A-

12. Randall Osborne (Helena Loggers) - If Osborne signs, this will be one of the steals of the draft. While he's a bit subpar for SS defensively (probably better suited to 3B), he's a very solid hitter who definitely has a big league future. However, he hasn't signed yet and might opt for college. Grade: Incomplete

13. Alex Rice (New York BREAK YOUR BACKERS) - Rice boasts two very good pitches, solid velocity, great control, and an ability to pitch an insane number of innings out of the bullpen. However, his splits mean you might not want him pitching a lot of innings. Grade: D-

14. Rafael Quixote (Charlotte Grandma-mas) - Although Quixote will sometimes struggle with RHP's and doesn't have a great eye at the plate, he makes great contact, hits for great power, fares well against lefties and has decent speed. Grade: A-

15. Mo Levier (Augusta moose) - Levier will be a solid hitter and defensive SS. He doesn't have phenomenal power but he makes contact and drives the ball. He'll probably bat over .300 multiple times in his career. Grade: B+

16. Torey Burnett (St. Louis Arch Angels) - Burnett wants to sign, but it looks like the Arch Angels don't plan on inking him to a deal, and for good reason. Although he has good splits and quality pitches, his control means that he'll be a borderline ML pitcher at best. Grade: F

17. Marvin Owens (Texas Texas Rebels) - Good splits, great control, a dominant 4-seam fastball, and two other good pitches...on the surface Owens looks like a superstar reliever. And he will be good...when he is able to pitch. But that low durability coupled with his stamina means he won't be able to be used as a closer or as a workhorse setup man. Grade: B-

18. Alex Rogers (Vancouver City Slickers) - Rogers isn't a superstar offensively - he can hold his own but probably isn't going to be an All-Star when it comes to batting. However, his excellent defensive skills make his offense more valuable, and make him a good pick. Grade: A-

19. Chris Stark (Colorado Springs Field Mice) - Stark has some of the most pure power of any hitter in the draft. What makes him really special, though, is his ability to hit for average as well as get a lot of long balls. Grade: A

20. Russell Duran (Little Rock Radioactive Reindeer) - Duran is the definition of solid: he's not a star on offense or defense, but he will be a solid starter in both respects when he reaches the big leagues. Grade: B-

Season 10 Amateur Draft Analysis: Picks 1-10

Grades are based on the value of the player selected at the position they were selected at. I have $16 million advanced scouting, so everything I see isn't 100% accurate.

1. Eddie Flynn (New York Juicers) - Flynn is the best pitcher in the draft this year, and if he signs, he'll likely be one of the top pitchers in World Alexander. However, he still hasn't signed and word is he's heading to college. Grade: Incomplete

2. Glen Waterson (Philadelphia Wild Cats) - Waterson's changeup, sinker, and curveball are below average, but that won't stop him from being the future ace that the Wild Cats need so badly. Grade: A

3. Timothy Bowie (Chicago Cubs) - My $16 million advanced scouting budget shows Bowie projecting to a startling 98 overall - thanks in part to projected 100 durability, but also to the fact that he plays great defense at SS, has excellent speed, and swings a decent bat. A solid all-around player, but not a superstar on offense. Grade: B

4. Tony Flores (Oklahoma City Knights) - Flores is the third of a trio of aces picked near the top of the draft this year. Although he doesn't have a dominant pitch, his great splits, control, and velocity will make him a very good starting pitcher in the future. Grade: A

5. Javy Rivera (Iowa City Black Hawks) - Rivera plays solid defense at SS and swings a decent, if unspectacular, bat. He'll be a good player, but I think there were better players available this high in the draft. Grade: C-

6. Bono Dean (Oakland Acorns) - Dean boasts a great fastball and solid velocity, but his mediocre control and splits will prevent him from being a star. He projects to be a bottom of the rotation starter if he makes the big leagues. Grade: D

7. Wayne Knowles (San Antonio Stars) - If Knowles signs, this is one of the top picks in the draft. He projects to be a superstar hitter, as well as having the defensive skill to play behind the plate. Unfortunately, he also has skill on the court, as he's being scouted to play professional basketball and may not sign. Grade: Incomplete

8. Frank Saunders (Las Vegas Dreamers) - Saunders will be a decent player in the big leagues, as he boasts solid speed and a pretty good bat. However, he doesn't play 2B too well defensively, and he bat is only "pretty good." Grade: C

9. Francisco Espada (Milwaukee Brewers) - Espada's only weakness is his struggles facing left-handed batters. If he didn't have this problem, he'd rank right up there with Flynn, Waterson, and Bowie as aces of the draft. Grade: B

10. Ted Rogers (Cleveland Redlegs) - Rogers will be a good defensive catcher and above average at the plate. He should be an important part of the Redlegs' lineup for years to come. Grade: B+