Most of the teams I was able to write about, but some teams players haven't signed yet and I didn't see the same players they scouted.
Anaheim – Drafted 2 pitchers and 3 DH/1B/C types in the first 5 rounds. Apollo Xavier, whose name sounds like his job should include wearing a mask and yellow tights, has a super hero like bat. Thurman looks like a steal in the second round and should project to be solid #3 SP. DH/C Kiko and Conway both have great ML bats, but questionable defense.
Arizona – A few of his guys might be signing risks, but a speedy OF Sam Sisk and a power hitting Rollie Nixon 3B highlight this draft class.
Atlanta – Another fine job with position they picked in the draft. Gonzalez looks like a good LRA type pitcher, they got a speedy 2B. Corey Christenson looks like a sure thing big leaguer, a very nice player with pick #82.
Austin – Picked up 3 pitchers, a SS and 2B. 1st and 2nd round picks Schneider and Cruz both look like major league material, but both could also be signing risks so we’ll see if they both make it on the roster.
Boston – Focused on pitching for the draft. 4 of the first 5 rounds were spent on pitchers. Wish I knew more, but only scouted his 5th round pick.
Chicago – Another team I didn’t see many of the players he scouted/drafted. Position players were drafted with the first three picks, it does look like he has some signing risks in the group, particularly pick #42 Allie Whiten a decent player but demanding $8M.
Cincinnati – Grabbed a long armed SP that has 3 great pitches. C/DH Whitehead has a good bat, and RP Prince looks to make the bigs as a SuA.
Cleveland – Got one of the best SPs in the draft in Pichardo. Boehringer and Mitchell could be back of the rotation type SPs, which is pretty good for 2nd and 4th round picks. Hollins looks like a catcher that is both a quality backstop and has a good bat.
Dover – Picked up a premiere impact player with pick ten Cf Valdvia. Doyle Nathan looks like a solid prospect and JT Webster could be a back of rotation SP.
Florida – Focused on pitching in the with their first 4 picks of the draft. Looks to be building a solid core group with SPs Hale, Haney, and Sele.
Hartford – Some good value picks in round 2 and 3 with some solid position players.
Honolulu – Calvo looks like a sure thing future All-Star 2B, Great splits, and BE to go with good power and nice glove. Position players were the staple of Honolulu’s draft and a number should make the big leagues.
Houston – Brian Jung looks like a very nice RP, and they certainly had a strategy with the draft. All pitching all the time. 24 of 26 draft picks were pitchers.
Indianapolis – Looks like it Potvin signs he could be an All-Star. Speed, power, and a superior batting eye make him a wonderful pickup, particularly at #15. Their next 6 picks were also position players and it looks to be a good crop.
KC – Theo Buckley with pick 27 might be the steal of the draft. He’s a great defensive SS with some pop in his bat.
Las Vegas – David Larson in my opinion was the premiere SP in the draft. The next 5 picks were also pitchers and it should be a decent group of prospects. Even the 5th round OF has good ratings and should make the majors.
LA – Carlos Ibarra should be an anchor to this rotation for years to come. They grabbed some nice defensive CF/2B, but a couple of their guys look to have signage issues.
Memphis – 5 of first 6 picks were pitchers. Incomplete.
Milwaukee – Holliday is a sure thing ML talent. Great range and glove to go with an impressive bat, comparisons could be made to Atlanta’s Andrew Jones. Olivares looks to be a solid setup man, Guzman a good DH, and OF Forrest has tremendous power. Hopefully the praises of Holliday will lead the Gurus to want to trade him to the Mad Jesters ala OF Johnson of season 5.
Minnesota – Pitching Pitching Pitching, their first seven picks all were pitchers. Harang and Bo Moore seem the most promising.
Monterrey – Kojima was one of the premiere SS that was available. Followed up with 2B Ronald Jones this is going to be a potent MIF duo in the near future. 3rd round pick Bob McElroy seems to be on of those invaluable setup men with a rubber arm and good L/R splits. CF Monte Jenkins looks interesting, only projected rated 11 vL, but projects to 90s in both vR and BE means he could be a great platoon guy.
NY – Griffin and Winchester are solid ML talents, which is what you can expect when picking in the 29 range. As good as Winchester is, he is no Mark Ross. SP Kenny Williams actually could be a decent SP, he has a very nice #1 pitch.
Oklahoma City – The eighth pick was one of the most fascinating players in the draft. Usually IMHO a position player with 500+ ABs or a SP with 200IPs is worth a pick this high, but even an exceptional closer usually only gets 40-50 IP. I’m not sure if a player like Clayton has a real life comparison. His 49 STA and upper 70s DUR mean he could be a super RP that gets 70 games and 130 IPs, his L/R splits are great and he has two fabulous pitches. I’ll be interested in how his career turns out.
Sacramento – Russell Cook in my opinion was the best pure hitter in the draft. His major flaw is his defense, he’s a DH/1B but he can mash. He compares to Scottsdale’s DH Eric Thomas. His next couple of picks look good, but might have some signing issues.
Salem – After years of really focusing on pitching in the draft Salem went the position route, and did well. CF Fernandez looks like a great glove with speed and nice bat and will certainly make the majors. Their next three picks Canon, Ford, and Knowles don’t look to be all-stars, but certainly should have solid major league careers.
Santa Fe – Grabbed an OF in the first round, and then focused on pitching. I wasn’t able to scout most of his players. Rumor is 1/3 of their prospect budget is going to their 25th round pick a 48 OVR rated 1B.
Scottsdale – Picked up a couple decent OF. The first 7 picks all have a chance to make the big leagues, but mostly only as role or bench players no impact players.
St. Louis – When you have four first round picks you hope you can give a major boost to your team, and they did very well. Carson Sellers was a great pickup at pick 19, then a great slugging 1B Al Stewart, a setup/closer in Sammy Borbon, and another power hitter in 3B Tony Lee. Flood, Lemon, and Tarasco picked in rounds 2-3 also look to be great hitters. There is some obvious overlap in positions, but they probably got 7-8 major league players in this draft.
Texas – 3B Moreno is a true impact player for this team, then picked a couple of decent SPs later in round one and four. Blauser looks to be a decent prospect, but SS Doug Moore might not sign.
Toronto – SS Wathan is a power hitting SS, but could be a signing issue. After that they got a couple of decent IF prospects.
Washington – First pick was in the 3rd round because of FA signings, and picked up a solid all round 3B in Alston. Then a decent RP in Cosby. Not bad for so few picks, but honestly they probably got better players in the FA they picked up than the prospects they lost.
Wichita – SP Griffin is a signability risk, but taking a gamble at pick 14 on a potential #2 SP is worth it. The second round C might not have a end up staying at catcher, but he certainly has an impressive bat. SS Howie Randolf is light on the bat, but has a good glove and its always crucial to have those type guys.
Top Drafts 10
St. Louis - Best Draft by far, but also had the most picks
Cleveland
Las Vegas
Dover
Anaheim
Indianapolis
OKC
Salem
KC
Sacramento
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