Season 4 Draft Analysis

Round 1

1. Arizona: Anse Fallon, SP 469 (4/3/4) 21
First pick and the best SP available, this years draft was not as deep as last years, however Fallon is a worthy first pick, has a good fastball, can spot his pitches very well to go along with his very solid breaking ball, his only slight weakness is his changeup, however that will not stop him from being a very solid pitcher.

2. Kansas City: Ed Wheeler, SP 490 (3/3/4) 19
Wheeler has a great arm, and spots his pitches well making his fastball a serious tool for the future, his other pitches are not great but are good enough to make him a solid SP in the future, with a bit of luck he can do very well for years to come.

3. Chicago(N): Ed Branca, SP 373 (4/4/4) 21
Branca can do everything except throw a hard fastball which is why he didnt go as the top pick, that said with the combination of a potentially great breaking ball and changeup and the ability to locate them very well Branca has every chance of sucess in the future.

4. Baltimore: Eric Eubank, OF 441 (4/4/3) 18
Baltimore passed up a 12 star OF to sign Eubank, however that decision is warranted as Eubank has the speed to be a threat and the power aswell, basically he gave up a star in GAP to get a power hitting OF with very good speed, a good pick.

5. Milwaukee: Ralph Byrne, 1B 438 (4/4/3) 19
Again letting the 12 star OF's slip in favour of speed and once again a good choice, Byrne can hit for power and average and his speed more than makes up for the loss of a star in GAP, gives Milwaukee a very solid young 1B.

6. New York(N): Gene Lord, OF 272 (4/4/4) 22
The first 12 star hitter to go this year, Lord doesnt have good speed but this should not be a big problem as he can do eveything else hitting wise, having defended the previous choices to ignore the 12 star hitters i still cant argue with this pick as Lord has a great chance to be an extremely good player.

7. Cleveland: Frank Casey, OF 338 (4/4/4) 23 Another 12 star hitter, not the youngest at 23, Casey has a bit more speed than Lord but not really enough to make him a major threat on the bases, once again Casey has every chance of being very solid in the future, but wont be the youngest rookie when he makes it.

8. Boston: Len Maas, 1B 421 (4/3/4) 20
Again the 12 star hitter still available is ignored, however this time the star given up is in power and that makes this choice a surprising one, Maas has good speed however personally given the choice of speed or power id take power, that said Maas has shown some power and if that side of his hitting improves then Boston made a good choice.

9. San Diego: Jim Rackley, SP 275 (4/4/4) 19
Last season i got a the RP equivalent of Rackley in the 2nd round which shows the difference in depth this year, with a very poor fastball it could be a struggle for Rackley, he undoubtadly has the control and 2 other pitches to rival any prospect, however his fastball is always going to be a weakness, poor fastball pitchers can be successful in the majors but the rest of their stuff has to be very good indeed, Rackley will need to excel in his other pitches to have a chance of success.

10. San Francisco: Billy Corbett, SS 325 (4/4/3) 20
San Fran fill a need for a quality young SS with Corbett, his speed is no more than average, however he hits for power and average and is a solid pick, even more so as he fills a gap in their system.

11. Philadelphia: Floyd Carlstrom, 3B 442 (4/4/2) 21
Philly pass up the 12 star OF in favour of a speedy 3B, Carlstrom also hits for power so this is a nice pick, gives them a high quality 3B to add to their improving farm system.

12. Tampa Bay: Lyle Mitchell, OF 443 (4/3/4)
Similar to Boston's pick in that Tampa rated a prospect with only 3 star power ahead of a 12 star OF, Mitchell does have good speed, however again personally i would have taken the power in front of the speed.

13. Houston: Art Smith, OF 290 (4/4/4) 23
And hers is the proof that i would have taken power over speed, Smith doesnt run well at all, he does however do the other aspects of hitting very well, he doesnt have the speed to fully exploit his gap finding ability and from that perspective i maybe could have looked for a power hitter with more speed who doesnt find the gap as often, that said im more than happy enough with this pick.

14. Anaheim: Frankie Dorman, 1B 317 (4/4/3) 20
Dorman doesnt have great speed but is more than solid in other departments, Anaheim may have wanted to take a 3B as they currently dont have any young prospects at that position, however Dorman is a solid pick who becomes there top young 1B prospect.

15. Chicago(A): Bill Evans, SP 450 (4/2/4) 20
With very few top SP prospects this year Evans is about as good as you can expect at this stage, his changeup looks like it will let him down in the future, his other pitches and control however are very solid, if his changeup can become close to respectable then he had a chance of being a decent ML pither.

16. Montreal: Casey Mcgaffigan, SP 429 (2/4/4) 23
Similar to Evans excpert that its Mcgaffigan's breaking ball that lets him down, he also has a slightly weaker fastball which means he has a bit more work to do to be a success, has a resonable chance of being solid in the future.

17. New York(A): Gary Delgado, SP 479 (3/4/3) 21
Delgado has the best fastball out of the 3 pithers that have gone in the last 3 picks, he also has the biggest upside as he has a very solid changeup and his breaking ball and control have some potential which if worked on could be solid pitches, that said Delgado also has the possibilty of having below average control and breaking ball which could prevent him from achieving a great deal in the future.

18. St. Louis: George Mosolf, 3B 313 (4/3/4) 22
St.Louis missed out on 4-4 hitters by taking Mosolf, George also does not posses great speed so this choice is a little strange, he is still a solid prospect but there were better available, if he is lucky and works hard Mosolf could still hit for power so this will be a case of waiting and hopeing he out performs expectations.

19. Florida: Doyle Kerlin, SP 434 (3/2/4) 23
Not a great pick here, Kerlin has a resonable fastball and very soild control, however his breaking ball is a bit sub par and his changeup is a bit worse than that, if he works hard on his pitches then he has a future, if not then i cant see his OK fastball and good control being enough for him to even reach the majors.

20. Texas: Manuel Rogge, RP 339 (4/4/4) 18 I like this pick, if you look at pick 9 it is a low fastball 12 star SP, Rogge has a better fastball (admittidley its still not great), is young at 18, and to cap it all has stamina of 252 which is very high for a RP, this makes him a potential SP of the future, he may not be a regular SP but looking at some of the SP's in the league at the moment he would have a legitimate shot at making the switch.

21. Seattle: Johnnie Guintini, SP 425 (4/2/4) 22
simialr to picks 15 and 16, Guintini's fastball is not great but it is acceptable, his downfall is his changeup, his chances of success will hinge on how much he can improve this, if he doesnt improve it enough he will struggle at ML level.

22. Colorado: Sean Alfonseca, 1B (4/3/2) 487
Colorado pass up power hitting in favour of a speedster, again personally i would prefer a power hitting prospect, but that said Alfonseca has a good chance to become a leadoff hitter in the future and a definate SB threat.

23. Minnesota: Terry Edmonds, SP 338 (3/4/4) 22
Edmonds will struggle unless his breaking ball improves sugnificamntly, his fastball is below par and although his changeup and control are very solid this probably wont be enough for him to make it.

24. Detroit: George Nichting, SP 384 (4/4/3) 21
with a slightly better though still not good fastball Nichting has a better chance of success than Edmonds, much will depend on if he learns to spot his pitches better as his breaking ball and changeup are very solid indeed.

25. Atlanta: Allan Gladman, OF 351 (4/4/3) 20
Galdman hits very well for both average and power, he also has some ability to find the gap making him a solid pick, he has some speed to boot, although he wont be a major threat on the base path.

26. Los Angeles: Dick Genewich, SS 470 (4/3/3) 21
Another speedster here, again there were players with more power available, but Genewich has shown some power, if his power develops then he can be an excellent player, can be a leadoff hitter in any event.

27. Pittsburgh: Dave Conley, C 395 (4/4/2)
Conley hits the ball very well, and for a C has great speed, cant argue this pick, has a good shot at being a top C in the future.

28. Oakland: Bill Barnhart, SS 275 (4/4/2) 21
Barnhart has poor speed, but this should not be a major concern as he will not find the gap with great regualarity, he hits for power and average and can be a very solid SS in the future.

29. Toronto: Jose Schroeder, OF 266 (4/4/2) 16
Very similar to Barnhart, being an OF his lack of speed will have less meaning defencesively then SS, and at 16 is very young and has the prospects of year at the top in front of him.

30. Cincinnati: Jim Kelly, OF 306 (4/4/1) 18
Again fairly poor speed, but once again Kelly is not a player who will hit the gap alot, so all in all a solid pick to finish off the round.

Round 1 Roundup
Picks Per Position:
SP: 11
RP: 1
C: 1
1B: 4
2B: 0
3B: 2
SS: 3
OF: 8

Best Pick: GM's seem to have had their best year at setting their draft cards this season, the majority of the picks were very solid, the last 4 teams managed to come away with 4-4 hitters, i was pleased to get a 12 star hitter with the 13th pick, the 1st pick was a worthy one, however Manuel Rogge picked 20th by Texas is mt top pick, the only RP chosen in the round, and although his fastball is below par, he has all the other tools to succeed and has the stamina to switch to a starting role.
Worst Pick: The only one i can see is Florida's choice, Kerlin is not a bas prospect, but looking at the next 2 players picked, i would have taken both of them infront of Kerlin. Minnesotas pick was also a dissapontment, and as yet they have not signed any players.
Overall: An extremely solid first round, a few choices where there were other possibilties that may have been better but nothing really poor. SP's and OF's dominated the picks.

Note:Several draft cards were traded this year, however i have not reflected that on the review as it is still the GM's from the original clubs that are responsible for picking the players.

[Season 1 Draft Analysis]
[Season 2 Draft Analysis]
[Season 3 Draft Analysis]