Season 10 First-Year Player Draft Review

In this post, I will review the first round selections (1-32) from this year's draft. While I believe the overall quality of this year's draft was low, most owners did well for themselves. Keep in mind that I am working with a 14M advance scouting budget, so my projections may differ from yours.

1. Jeff Earley - Kansas City FORCE
The first selection in this year's draft went to Kansas City and they went with a big bat. He's got great ratings across the board, although, if there is a weakness, it's his split against lefties, although even that is good. He's listed as a shortstop, and his projections are just below league average for the position. He could easily move to 3B as an all-star, or stay at SS. That will be a decision for ZEKE to make.
Grade: A-

2. Earl Morton - Colorado Springs Abominable Snowmen
Colorado Springs took another IF with the 2nd overall pick. While not as powerful as Earley, Morton has better splits and a great eye. He'll also be a great player down the road.
Grade: A-

3. Nicholas Hall - Little Rock Nine
Overall, he projects as a good pitcher that will pitch deep into games, however, his split versus lefties is a concern. Control, velocity, and pitches all look good, though. You just usually want a more complete pitcher for the first to come off the board.
Grade: B

4. Mo Davis - Salem Stripsearch
Another good pitcher, but again, one usually expects a better player in the top five. He projects to have great control and a very strong split against lefties, but his split against righties is just average. He won't be able to pitch as deep into games on a regular basis as you would like, either. Still, though, a fine player.
Grade: B+

5. Roy Lewis - Monterrey Banditos
This makes the third IF selected in the first five picks. He projects to have great contact and eye, which will make him an on-base machine. Power and splits, though, are just average.
Grade: B+

6. Neifi Gutierrez - Austin Sixth Streets
In my opinion, Gutierrez represents great value at #6. He's got stamina, splits, control, and a couple of great pitches. Only concerns are low velocity and he looks like more of a fly than groundball pitcher.
Grade: A

7. Edgar Borbon - Fargo Northmen
Borbon looks like a very nice hitting shortstop, although those defensive projections (range and glove) are just a hair below league averages, and you have to expect that he'll fall a little short of those. Even at 3B he'd be solid, though.
Grade: B+

8. Omar Martin - Arizona Sun Spots
As of this writing, Martin is not signed. Even if he were, he is not what you want at this part of the draft. Both splits are pretty weak, although he does have strong control, velocity and a couple nice pitches.
Grade: C+

9. Oscar Lo - Charlotte Trollups
Looks like a pretty good pitcher, but his split against lefties is not what you want. Other than that he looks pretty good. He projects to have plus velocity.
Grade: B-

10. Tony Reynoso - New York Metropolitans
A decent bat, but it's the defensive projections that make this player valuable. The question is whether he'll hit those projections, especially with the glove, which would need to improve nearly 30 points. If he does hit them, he'll be a nice all-around SS.
Grade: B+

11. Joe Plunk - Toronto Titwillows
This was a draft where it made sense to go after relief pitching in the first round, and this was the first to come off the board. He projects to 80+ in every category and should be a great closer in the future. His stamina may prevent him from pitching more than an inning in a game, though.
Grade: A

12. Johan Newfield - Pittsburgh Pirates
And the next reliever comes off the board right after Plunk. He's almost as good as Plunk, but more of a flyball pitcher and may be vulnerable to the homerun ball. His stamina is a bit better, though, and should have no problem pitching multiple innings.
Grade: A-

13. Robert Sparks - Mexico City Tormenta
The bat is alright, but his glove projections are not what you want at SS. He'd still be decent at 3B, though.
Grade: B-

14. John Boyle - Washington D.C. Senators
Boyle is the third reliever to come off the board. He also looks good across the board, although his secondary pitcher is weaker than the others. He still projects as a very nice bullpen pitcher.
Grade: A-

15. Dan Taylor - Seattle Argonauts
While he projects to have nice splits and pitches, his control is a major concern, and could be even worse if he doesn't hit the projection. Those splits might be enough to overcome the control, but then again, they might not.
Grade: C+

16. Joe Clark - Arizona Sun Spots
Clark is the second Arizona draft pick and the second one who is not signed. He projects to have average control, and a weak vL and velocity. He might get the job done in the right ballpark, as he is an extreme groundball pitcher.
Grade: C-

17. J.R. Hardy - Syracuse WHITETAILS
Hardy has pretty average splits, but projects to have great control, which is likely to make up for it. Syracuse may have a pretty decent pitcher on their hands.
Grade: B

18. Albie Liriano - Buffalo beef eaters
Great pitches, great velocity, and very good control. However, even that may not be enough to overcome his split projections, especially if they don't hit. He might have enough going for him to do it, though.
Grade: B-

19. Randy Howard - Tampa Bay Rowdies
Howard looks like he's going to be a pretty good ML player. He's got good splits with no glaring weaknesses to bring him down. If he hits his defensive projections, he should be right at league average for a 2B.
Grade: B+

20. Trevor Salazar - Augusta Hitmen
Salazar has ton of power, but his projections at batting eye and splits are cause for concern. We'll hope he can make the big leagues as a low on-base, high power player, but his deficiencies may be hard to overcome.
Grade: C-

21. Gary Hines - Cleveland Curse
Yet another IF prospect. He's pretty good across the board, and should be a decent player. Good value pick here.
Grade: B

22. Al Bennett - Trenton Generals
Average splits, as long as he hits them, but contact and eye leave something to be desired. His projections are a little short of what you want at SS.
Grade: C

23. Glen Lary - San Jose Aces
Lary is a corner outfielder with no power, poor splits, and average batting eye. His greatest strength is his ability to make contact, and that is usually not enough to save a player. He'll be looking to break into the majors at all.
Grade: D+

24. Jacob Kim - Colorado Springs Abominable Snowmen
Kim projects as a great hitter, although the only place he can really play is as a DH. As such, he doesn't have much power. He should still be a pretty decent player, at least on an American League team.
Grade: B+

25. Robin Butcher - Buffalo beef eaters
My scouts couldn't bring me back any information on this player and he isn't signed yet. If he doesn't get signed, he won't be worth much either way.
Grade: Incomplete

26. Emmanuel Alomar - San Diego Conquistadors
Another player with poor splits, poor contact, and some power, however, Alomar projects much better at batter's eye. He may actually be a decent ML player at some point, but not a star.
Grade: C-

27. Reginald Jepsen - Cheyenne Beagles
Projects as another good relief pitcher, however, his stamina is a bit low. On some nights, he may not even make it through a full inning. When he is on the mound, though, the results should be favorable.
Grade: B+

28. Peter Mahoney - Cincinnati Bearcats
Nothing really jumps out about this player, and he is a bit power-deficient. His glove doesn't project to one most managers would feel comfortable having at 2B, either.
Grade: C+

29. Donn Stewart - Tacoma Winter Stix
Could possibly platoon against left-handers at some point, but even in that role, he'd be just average. Contact and eye project to be pretty nice. Everything else is average or worse.
Grade: C-

30. Charles Morgan - Seattle Argonauts
It's hard to imagine this guy breaking into the majors. He's got decent contact and eye, but Triple-A splits. No power whatsoever, either.
Grade: C-

31. Esteban Moraga - San Francisco Seals
Good defense, but nothing else says major league other than eye. May be good for a September callup at some point, but little else.
Grade: C-

32. Stuffy Allen - Tacoma Winter Stix
Weak split against righties (the one you don't want to be weak) but everything else looks solid. Might be good for the back end of a rotation or long relief, however, he isn't signed yet.
Grade: C+

Good luck with all of your draft picks!

KANSAS CITY FORCE AT HALFWAY POINT

Here's a look at my team halfway through the season. Obviously the team is developing young players while it struggles at the major league level(OBVIOUSLY!).

I'm going to start with the controversial Julio Cedeno trade. It's been said he's the "greatest player this league has ever seen." This is true! I will miss him greatly.

Here's what I got for him:
CATCHER (AAA)
Stretch Burks
Who is hitting .333 avg/.440 on base/.643 slugging (21 homers,16 doubles,62 Rbi)
I'd say a got a pretty good power hitting catcher in return.

2ND BASEMAN(AAA)
Hal Walsh
Hitting .366/.428/.529 (30 doubles, 66 runs)
Another good hitting middle infielder

RELIEF PITCHER (HIGH-A/AA)
Khoury Simpson
High-A: 31 innings, 21 hits, ZERO homers, 7 walks, 30K's.
AA: 5 innings, 5 hits, zero homers, zero walks, 7K's.
Dominating closer

STARTING PITCHER (AAA)
Jose Moreno
Season 9 AAA: 94 inn, 104 hits, 9 homers (1.32 whip, 2.87 era)
Season10 AAA: 114 inn, 136 hits, 7 homers (1.54 whip, 3.87 era)
This is the weakest link. He pitched well in '09 but has taken a step
back this season. However, the stats are off a bit due to a couple of
bad outings (I'm talking some REALLY BAD outings!)

All in all it's turned out well. Could have done better but I certainly didn't
get taken.

WHAT'S DOWN IN AA? (Note: I've moved all my developing players up a level)

THIRD BASEMAN
Gorkys Lee
20 homers, 75 Rbi in High A
Struggling in first 10 games in AA

SHORTSTOP
Freddie Clayton
High-A:.376/.465/.579 (18 doubles)
AA: 10 games, .317/.378/.512

HIGH-A LEVEL IS LOADED WITH TALENT!

FIRST BASEMAN
Brian Taylor
LOW A: .333/.411/.591 (24 doubles, 14 homers, 67 rbi, 53 runs)
HIGHA: 10 games. .278/.325/.444

OF/DH
Patrick Flaherty
LOW A: .283/.378/.565 (27 doubles, 46 rbi, 43 runs)
HIGHA: Just called up.

OF/DH
L.J. Golub
LOW A: .308/.362/.581 (14 doubles, 16 homers, 48 rbi, 45 runs)
HIGHA: 10 games struggling

THE ENTIRE LOW-A STARTING STAFF MOVED TO HIGH A

Wilson Tapani
LOW A: 96 inn, 87 hits, 3 homers, 82K
HIGHA: Dominating

Takahiro Meng
LOW A: 54 inn, 58 hits, 4 homers, 57 K's)
HIGHA: Dominating

D'Angelo Serra
LOW A: 89 inn, 85 hits, 4 homers, 79 K's
HIGHA: Dominating

Antonio Ono
LOW A: 93 innings, 90 hits, 3 homers, 70 K's
HIGHA: Struggling after 2 starts

Juan Molina
LOW A: 78 inn, 65 hits, 3 homers, 75 K's
HIGHA: Dominating

THERE IS NOBODY LEFT IN LOW-A WORTH TALKING ABOUT!

ROOKIE BALL:
#1 draft pick overall
SHORSTOP
Jeff Earley
.414/.514/.862 (2 doubles, 3 homers, 8 rbi, 10 runs)
Took a while to sign so this is only in 11 games.

SOME INTERESTING PICKUPS:
OF (Off waivers)
Scott Harding
'09: Full season .281/.350 (70 sb's, 99 runs)
'10: basically the same so far but playing less in a platoon
He's not even fully developed yet so I'm looking forward to his future.

1B/DH (Minor leauge FA signing)
Dean Gonzales
AAA: .358/.426/.702 (23 homers, 22 doubles, 60 rbi, 51 runs)

I'm VERY happy watching my players develop and hope to be competitive
in a couple of seasons.