Draft re-cap

This is just a quick re-cap of the players taken in the draft. A few notes: I only looked at rounds 1-5 so if you got an all-star in round 6 way to go and sorry I missed him. Also my scouts didn't catch every player drafted (I put some notes about that in the forum) so some teams notes are less complete than others. At the bottom I also added an "awards" section.

A couple things I also noticed by looking at almost 150 players drafted. First off as a whole there seemed to be a much stronger group of position players than pitchers. There really only looked to be about 4 impact SPs in the draft -impact players meaning they should have multiple all-star appearances. SS and 2B seemed to be strong position groups, both offensively and defensively. There seemed to be less super hitting catchers than in the past, but they might have just fallen to later rounds since so many people have them. Also it seemed the player generator made lots of copies of fast CF with average splits, low power, and great range. Also there seemed to be quite a few 1B with high L/R splits, BE, but just average power ratings. Outside of the top couple of picks COF seemed to be an average group.

Arizona - very nice Closer, a RP/LHS type player, and a speedy OF/3b

Atlanta - 2nd Best pitcher in the draft with 29th pick Mullen, another solid SP in McLaughlin, and a solid RP in the 5th round

Austin - Solid SP with 11th pick, a CF with nice range, another speedy OF

Boston - unknown 1st, two very solid OF with above average bats and gloves,

Chicago - No first round pick, but picked up a nice SP in round two and a defensive specialist.

Cincinnati - Stud 3B Gaetti that should be MVP contender, Above average hitting 2b/CF, abd a fine IF prospect in Flores.

Cleveland - Solid SS in Kane, All round very good 2B Crespo, a rangy LH CF that hit RHs well, solid RP, another speedy OF, and a solid hitting 3B. Maybe no MVPs but solid core group.

Colorado Springs - A couple holdouts that might not sign, a very solid #2 hitter type RF prospect, a good hitting/defensive 2b/CF, and a decent backup OF type player.

Florida - MVP Candidate Hutton with first pick, a decent 3B, a power hitting DH, and a number of tough signings.

Hartford - no first round pick, still got a solid hitting 1B, Speedy defensive specialist 2b/CF, average hitting major league COF

Houston – My scouts didn’t get his prospects for round 1 and 2 but obviously focused on pitching. Looks to be a nice SP prospect if he signs, future closer, a solid 2B, a high OBP C/DH, and a LRA type P. Multiple decent ML prospects.

Indianapolis - Potential All-Star SP in Cortes, a couple of decent tough signing guys. There were only 4 SPs in the draft that have star quality and Cortes is one of them.

Las Vegas - Very nice SS prospect with a great bat in Boliver, a solid hitting speedy 3B, a decent hitting quality fielding SS.

LA - A nice SP that should do well in their park, some other decent SP/RPs but no position players until 10th rd.

Louisville - Best defensive SS in the draft that could hit, followed by another one, a good SP, a SuA type player, a power hitting 2b/OF, and a number of borderline SP/RP in picks 52 through 141.

Memphis - a speedy top of the order type OF, a couple of decent hitting 2b/CF types, and a future major league backup IF.

Milwaukee - Top SP in the draft, a speedy quality defensive CF/2B that can hit, a good OBP/RBI 1B prospect, another slugging 1B/DH.

Minnesota - A decent Outfielder. Heavy on the SPs, but so many have average to poor L/R splits they might find the road to the big leagues tough.

Monterrey - A beast of a 2B prospect in Cesar Park, followed by some decent SP prospects. Also a power hitting 1B.

Montreal - Grabbed one of the few exceptional SPs, a few unknowns, a very nice power hitting SS that can field well, a couple more decent middle relief type guys and a speedy CF.

NY - Picked up a decent hitting 2B Cambell that could lead the league in SBs, and a power hitting OF. The 4th rd C/DH should be a superior OBP players.

Oklahoma - Jimmy Colon looks to be an all-star/gold glove SS and will be an impact player. Also got a couple of decent RPs.

Richmod - picked a light hitting phenomenal fielding SS late in rd 1. A decent hitting 2B in rd 2 followed by a borderline RP prospect.

Sacramento - A solid SP prospect, he also grabbed two power hitting 3B and a speedy CF.

Salem - No 1st rd, a decent hitting speedy 2b with a great glove, followed by 3 light hitting SS.

Salt Lake City – Their first round pick is playing hardball and might not sign. 2^nd rd pick looks to be a great #2 hitter in their lineup, a couple of OFs in round 3 and 4 should also make the majors.

Santa Fe - A phenomenal prospect in Anderson that will put up MVP numbers in that ballpark. Followed up with a power hitting SS that has a good glove and a switch hitting 1B that should have a decent OBP.

Scottsdale - 11 picks in 5 rounds, mostly slugging types. No SPs in their first 14 picks.

St. Louis - Only had one pick in rd 1-5 and my scouts didn't see him.

Texas – My scouts missed two of his picks top picks (P and 2B) looks like they might be holding out. Savage is a 2B with a good glove and nice bat, Locko is a light hitting speedy CF with a good glove.

Toronto - If he signs Isringhausen could be a powerful hitter, he picked up another great bat in Presley but he really projects to a DH. Also added a couple of fringe pitchers.

Washington - Focused on pitching, Chapman looks to be a quality middle relief player. My scouts did see 1st round pick.

Best Value Award

Atlanta – To pick up 2 quality pitchers (one with all-star potential) and a solid RP with their picks is a great job. One of the top 5 drafts of the day.

Building with Depth Award

Cleveland – They had a 4 picks from 17-51. There is not a HOF in the group, but there are a bunch of solid ML quality players that will make a solid core for the team.

Was it enough? Award

Florida – It looks like 3 of the top 4 picks won’t sign, and they aren’t exactly in the position to be giving up decent draft picks. Then again if you draft Albert Pujols do you really complain about the draft? Most guys from pick 15 down would give up their draft to get Hutton.

First one to 100 wins Award

Santa Fe – Derrick Flynn partnered with JP Anderson in a couple of years could be a scary lineup, outside of Hutton he’s the most dominating player in the draft. But not picking a pitcher until round 17 might not be a formula for success every year particularly in a need area.

Scottsdale - was honorable mention in this group. A lot of power hitters and zilch on the pitchers.

Back to the basics Award

Montreal – This team did not make the sexy picks, but it was a solid draft. The picks were quality players and they focused on defense and pitching.

Best Drafts

I really thought two team did very well.

Cincinnati – Not only did they get a superstar in Gaetti they also got two other IFs that should combine to make a nice young core.

Monterrey – Probably the most well rounded draft in the league. Most teams were heavy on pitching or heavy on position players. They got all-star position players and still managed to land a couple of good pitching prospects.

The Best

National League
Best Hitter: Carlos Johnson (Hartford) - His batting line reads like something out of a horror story for pitchers… a .380 avg, .498 OBP, .843 SLG…30 HRs, 80 RBIs. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me.

Best Pitcher: Douglas Parker (Richmond) - This was a tough pick as nobody really took control. This guy has a WHIP of 1.21 and an ERA of 2.96. He has struck out 56 while walking only 26. He’s also thrown 4 complete games. Pretty solid all-around right there.

American League
Best Hitter: Rusty Jones (Scottsdale) - .430/.533/.804. That says it all right there. 18 HRs, 58 RBI, only 10 K's. This was a no brainer.

Best Pitcher: JC Russell (Salem) - Through 90.2 IP his ERA of 2.08 leads the AL by nearly a full point and his WHIP of 1.04 is best by .13. This is a no-brainer.

The Best & Worst of Division Play

National League
Best: NL East - With 3 teams within 4 games of first place and all 3 teams are at least 10 games over .500. This division has a shot of landing 3 teams in the playoffs when the season is over.

Worst: NL North - This could be a barn-burner of mediocrity and awfulness. 4 teams. 5 games separate them. Unfortunately the division leader is 30-31. It’s looking more and more like 80 games could win this division.

American League*
Best: AL West - Scottsdale could run away with this division, but the rest of the teams are still within a multi game winning streak of making this into an interesting division race.

Worst: AL South - There was no clear-cut winner so I just went with the division whose bottom teams were worse than the other divisions’ bottom two.

* You could make a case for any division in the American League for both classifications. In each division (minus the South) the second place team is 5.0 games out. It's early, but that's quite a ways out of first place.

BEST INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS – NL EAST – SEASON ONE

No need in lying about this…the signings for this division are easily the worst of any division I’ve reviewed yet.

1) Best Value

Vasco Suarez is a Honduran third baseman that signed with Hartford for $610K. He’s currently spending his third consecutive season in AA ball and is on pace to demolish his previous high of 14 HRs in a season. His .312 career batting average in the minors is evidence of his offensive strengths. Vasco’s weakness is his defense, as he averages an error in every 4.22 games. His range and glove ratings seem to imply that Suarez may find at best a pinch hitting role in the majors.

2) Lowest Production Per Dollar AND 3) Best Overall

Hartford also signed Colombian pitcher Omar Castillo with the hopes that he could earn a spot in the major league rotation. He was dropped immediately into the Low A roster, where he was shelled (10.57 ERA, 2.45 WHIP) in 10 starts.

Despite the horrible start in Low A, he was promoted to High A for Season 2. Over the next 2 seasons, Castillo pitched 280 innings and put up a 21-12 record, 4.24 ERA, and a 1.40 WHIP. In Season 4, he moved to AA and has since pitched 261 2/3 innings with an 18-12 record, 3.20 ERA, and a 1.35 WHIP.

Looks good, right? So why does he get the "lowest production" award? There were no other highly paid International players in the NL East, and Castillo seems prepared for Triple A ball at this point. His $3 million signing bonus seems high now for a AA player, but there is a very good chance that Castillo could start paying dividends in the majors within a few seasons.

***This was authored by Chrispy***

League Notes at the 1/3 point

Biggest Surprises

Santa Fe - After season three when this team made an 80 game improvement and a second place finish things looked up for the new ownership. But season 4 came along and so did another 100 loss season. This season started a little rough for them, and then a decision from management came down to move perennial MVP candidate Flynn from SS to the OF and be replaced by a quality fielding SS. Flynn had 50 errors at SS 3 out of 4 seasons and was well on his way this season before the move. While playing in Santa Fe probably will never earn a pitcher a Cy Young award, with their potent offense (eight players might reach 100 RBI mark) they are not out of any game.

Salem - In Season 4 this team made its mark by signing the two best FA pitchers available, but pitching in the thin air of Colorado was rough and they finished their fourth straight season in 3rd place and ranked towards the bottom on the league in pitching. With a move to Salem they have been a much tougher opponent. Pitching is ranked 4th in the league and their offense is still in the top 1/3 of the league.

Montreal - Statistically this team is below average, but the owner is a vet of sim league baseball and that knowledge must be of some value in HBD because he has taken a team the has lost 100+ games the last two seasons and got them playing .500 ball.

Honorable Mention

Cleveland - They have won the division two straight seasons, but got little love from the pundits for doing so. Most picked St. Louis and Toronto to dethrone them.

Florida Phoenix - While hovering around .375 is usually not something to cheer about this team has reached a level of respectability and you just can't ignore them. They have taken series from Scottsdale, NY, and Minnesota.

Salt Lake City - While there are no easy divisions in the league, it is tough compete in a division that 113 wins equaled 2nd place last season. Ownership has brought together a team can score some runs, which is always needed in the AL.

Colorado Springs – There has been one team that has won their division title every season, the Arizona Scottsdales. Colorado has been in the top 1/3 of pitching and above average for hitting. If Colorado Springs is going to stay in first they need to get more from their 5^th starter and maybe add another bat.

Head Scratchers

Toronto - Morgan's first championship team has always put together good team. This is shaping up to be their toughest season yet. Yamid is still in MVP form, but only one other player that projects to get 75 RBI. The pitching has been decent, but inconsistent. A trade for a big bat could help, but in 5 season's their owner has yet to make a trade so its not likely to start now.

St. Louis - Admittedly this hasn't had a history of success. But the new ownership came in and signed 3 of the biggest FA pitchers on the market. That got the entire league's attention. The pitching has been good, ranked in the top 10 most the season, but their unproven offense has let them down. They don't play small ball and don't have enough power to wait for homers. The good new for this team is that if they were able to add a couple of potent bats to the lineup they are within striking distance of the division leaders. As bad as they have been, nobody wants to face that staff in the playoffs.

Boston - This is a young team and they should do well in the future. The owner has won championships with other teams so he knows what he's doing. But the goal of at least competing this year barely seems reachable. They’re ranked 31st in pitching and hitting which makes it difficult to win. The troubles can’t be blamed on lack of attention from the owner. This team might be using MLB’s Florida franchise as an example to build a strong young team, but this isn't their year.

Sacramento - The questions about last year's 113 Win performance being a run of good luck persist. They ranked 2nd in both pitching and offense last year, while pitching is just barely above average this season offense has been non-existent. Ranked in the bottom 5 offenses of the world won't ever get you in the AL playoffs. They might get three guys with 100RBIs, but after that nobody projects to 60.

Texas - While Chicago is probably the most surprising poor performance, Texas has to be the biggest drop for no apparent reason. Some decent signings and they kept most the players from last year's 98 Win team, this team might not get 1/2 the wins as last year. The biggest culprit was Ben Musial's colossal slide from his MVP form, but he's getting back on track. It might be to late though for this team. They only have one SP with sub 5.25 ERA. Last year their pitchers weren't dominant, but they had the offense to overcome average groups of SPs. Now their offense is mired in the bottom third of the league which won’t cut it for that staff.

Chicago - There isn't a bigger surprise on this list. Its not like Pitching and Offense have completely tanked for this team, both are above average in the league. A couple players like Santayana are not playing as well as they have in the past. FA pickup Buddy Parrish who was expected to give a lift to the offense and pitching with his skills behind the plate has barely been adequate. His catcher's ERA is a full run higher than it was last season, and he doesn't look to get anywhere close to the 100 RBIs he has averaged over the past three seasons. Usually superb SPs Joey Diaz and former cy young winner Ted Riveria have really fallen on hard times for this team - when they haven't been hurt. The good news for Chicago is that they are only a few games back and have the talent to still make a run for it.