Season 3 Draft Analysis

Round 1

Draft Round 1

1. Arizona: Ray Kimsey, OF 493 (2/2/2) 22
Arizona GM MIA, no need to say that this is a bad pick, whoever takes the job at Arizona has got a HUGE job in front of them.

2. Kansas City: Rafael Henry, SP 496 (4/3/4) 16
With Arizona MIA the first pick in reality fell to Kansas, there were probably 2 choices for the first pick, Henry was one of them, with a amazing fastball, a great breaking ball and control and a changeup with some promise Henry is very solid, to add to that he is only 16, the qusetion is will his changeup do well enough to put him past the other possible first pick.

3. Tampa Bay: Randy Benton, SP 438 (4/4/4) 23
Benton was the other possible 1st pick a 12 star SP with a pretty good fastball is without doubt a very solid pick, Benton can expect to make up his fastball disadvantage over Henry with his superior changeup, both players are good choices, personally i had Benton as my no.1.

4. New York (N): Quilvio Booles, 2B 416 (4/4/4) 21
A 12 star infielder with very good speed is tough to pass up, still this is a slightly suprpising pick given that a very solid SP and RP were still available, that said Booles has potential to be a stud 2B and from that perspective i cant argue with this choice, you cant win anything with pitching alone.

5. Chicago (N): Jim Houser, SP 466 (3/4/4) 21
Houser is the very solid SP i mentioned, his only weakness may be his breaking ball but even that has potential, with a good fastball and chaneup and control to match Houser has every chance to be a very solid SP, if his breaking ball comes along he can be excellent.

6. Houston: Laurie Luskey, RP 466 (4/3/4) 21
And Luskey is the RP i mentioned, Luskey's fastball has been clocked at the same speed as Houser's, his breaking ball and control are both equally as impressive, his only downfall and not a major one is his changeup, with some luck he could be a great RP, he should be solid in any event.

7. Baltimore: Felix Hadley, OF 407 (2/2/1) 18
Whoops, Baltimore GM misses the draft, apparantly technical problems hindered there draft, the problem should be sorted for nest season after the managment kicked the computer in an attempt to resolve the problem.

8. Florida: Ed Jones, SP 488 (4/2/3) 20
A poor pick here, yes Jones does have a very good fastball and a very good breaking ball, however his changeup is never going to be ML level and his control is also marginal, there were solid pitchers still available and a lot of good hitters.

9. San Francisco: Mark Shokes, OF 300 (4/4/4) 21
The 2nd 12 star hitter in the draft and he lasted until the 9th pick, a more than pleasant surprise for San Fran no doubt, not much to argue here, there were good pithcers available but then Shokes has the potential to be a great player who can do everything hitting wise.

10. Texas: Cecil Azcue, SP 435 (4/4/3) 16
Solid pick, Azcue has a resonably good fastball, and his other pithes are impressive, his only downfall may be his control, if he turns out average he will be good, if his control improves he could be great, a good pick.

11. San Diego: Derek Butters, SP 479 (3/3/4) 21
Butters has a good fastball and control which makes him resonable, however his other pitches need some work, how these turn out will determine his success, could be great, could just as easily be average at best.

12. Anaheim: Billy Melor, C 333 (4/4/3) 20
Mellor hits for power and average and can even find the gap, has decent speed for a C, Anaheim though are pretty deep at C, maybe another position would hae been wiser, however Melor is still a solid pick.

13. Boston: Chuck Hunt, RP 458 (3/4/4) 19
Vey Solid pick, 7 picks earlier i was happy to get a similat prospect, Hunt has a good fastball can spot his pitches, he also has a good changeup, his only slight weakness is his breaking ball, if this develops he can be a top RP.

14. Cleveland: Howier Anderson, SP 341 (3/3/4) 20
A poor pick here, only Andersons control looks like being ML calibre, his fastball is poor and his other pithces likewise are not great, if he overachives greatly then he could be useable, however Cleveland have chosen not to sigh him so we will never know, it is probably a wise move and a good money saver to not sign him, however not a good pick at all.

15. Milwaukee: Frank Brouhard, SP 402 (4/3/3) 23
In the rush for SP's Milwaukee came up with a fairly poor pick, Brouhard has a chance if he overachieves, however with a mediocre fastball and similar changeup and control it looks like despite a good breaking ball Brouhard will not make much of an impact in the majors, however he does have a chance but will need to improve a fair deal.

16. Philadelphia: John Hinchman, 2B 373 (1/2/1) 19
No draft card set by Philly, Hinchman runs quite well, so maybe a career in another sport is a possibility, one thing for sure, he has no fututre in baseball.

17. Montreal: Luke Gernert, SP 314 (3/4/4) 23
Again rushing for an SP and getting one who may struggle, with good control and changeup Gernert has some potential, however with a poor fastball and not great breaking ball he is unlikely to make much of an impact.

18. Detroit: Juan Say, RP 425 (4/3/4) 20
Good pick this time, another solid RP prospect, the 3rd to go so far, Say does not have an overpowering fastball but it is useful, with a good breaking ball and control he has every chance of being a good RP in the future.

19. Seattle: Joe Veach, 3B 490 (4/4/2) 20
Very nice pick, Veach has great speed making him a threat on the bases, add to this the fact that he can hit for both average and power, and you have a potentialy great player, obviously nothing is guarenteed but Veach has all the tools to be a big success.

20. Colorado: John Mason, C 388 (4/3/4) 21
Fast for a C, will make contact and find the gap, something he will be able to make some use of with his speed, Mason has also shown potential to hit the odd homer, a solid pick generally speaking, Colorado are not short of C, but Mason is good enough to add to what they have.

21. Cincinnati: Orlando Demmitt 1B 250 (4/4/3) 21
Demmitt's only weakness is his lack of speed, however being a 1B and having lots of power potential this really is not a problem, Demmitt gives Cincinnati a very solid young 1B that they needed, good pick.

22. Minnesota: Dud Hopper, SP 363 (1/4/4) 23
A bad pick here, despite having a good changeup and control Hopper will not be a success, his fastball is fairly poor and his breaking ball is weak, even if his control and changeup improve to very high levels he will not achieve much with only one pitch.

23. New York (A): Johnny Waldbauer, 1B 347 (4/4/2) 17
Resonable speed is a plus but the main thing is his hitting abilty, with the ability to make contact and to hit for power Waldbauer is a solid pick, at this stage of the draft getting a 4-4 player is always a good pick, even in this years draft which was relatively deep.

24. Atlanta: George Mallette, SP 489 (1/4/4) 19
Similar to Hopper with 1 big difference, Mallette has a cannon of an arm, his breaking ball is a worry and may lead to him giving up the odd big inning, however if he can get past them, then hs has a good chance of being a usefull SP.

25 Chicago (A): Carl Drake, SS 303 (4/4/3) 20
Again getting a 4-4 hitter at this stage is a solid pick, Drake also has some ability to find the gap although he does not have great speed to fully explopoit it.

26. St.Louis: Doc Antonella, 2B 488 (4/4/2) 22
Great speed hits for power and average, cant argue anything about this pick, except for the fact that St.Louis need to fill some other positions in the system, that said Antonella was too good not to pick.

27. Toronto: Greg Thomson, 2B 273 (4/4/3) 20
Thomson makes up for a lack of speed by hitting the ball out of the park and walking around the bases, needless to say another good pick here.

28. Pittsburgh: Jim Baxes, SS 297 (4/3/4) 20
Baxes success will depend on how his power develops, if he doesnt improve his power he can still be good but not unlikely to be great, if the power comes on then he can be very solid, a lack of speed will mean he is not a threat on the bases and make him unsuitable to lead off.

29. Los Angeles: Pete Washburn, 3B 478 (4/3/4) 23
Hits the same as Baxes but Washburn has the speed to utilis his ability to make contact and find the gap, a future lead off man who if his power improves could be very solid.

30. Oakland: Russ Schu, 3B 291 (4/4/1) 291
Oakland rounds off the first round with a solid pick, a 4-4 hitter is always solid, Schu doesnt run well, but this is not a big problem as he is not someone who will find the gap.

Round 1 Roundup:
Picks Per Position:
SP: 11
RP: 3
C: 2
1B: 2
2B: 4
3B: 3
SS: 2
OF: 3

Best Pick: Several of the later picks were very solid, with many 4-4 hitters going there, Seattle getting Veach with the 19th pick was very solid, Boston picked well avoiding the temptation of taking a SP and getting a very solid RP instead.

Worst Pick: Excluding those who didnt set their cards for whatever reason, Florida's pick was disapointing, passing up a 12 star hitter for a mediocre SP.

Overall: A mixed bag, as ever SP's were the most sought after, but a few of them were poor picks, a few teams who didnt set there cards which let the talent slip a bit further, a fairly deep draft allowing the 30th pick to be a 4-4 hitter.

[Season 1 Draft Analysis]
[Season 2 Draft Analysis]