Anaheim - Drafted a franchise 1B in Quentin Riggs who should do very well. I see him as a Will Clark kind of player.

Bo Yarnall in the second round looks like a backup C. He is ML material and Bo knows how to do everything ok, but doesn’t excel in any area.

Third round pick Max Estrada is interesting. I’ll say chances are that his ratings won’t translate into a great MLB player. His control and splits are slightly above average to mediocre, but he has two highly rated pitches might be enough to overcome the others. For a third round pick I think it was a great gamble on a guy that might have some upside.

Arizona – Pick SPs late in the first round almost always gets a guy that has a couple of warts. Allen Sisco should have a decent career, but his vR rating and 4th pitch certainly not ideal.

8 of their next 9 picks after Sisco were also pitchers. Usually this is just an accidental consequence to trying to prioritize pitchers (or another position), but it rarely seems to produce the best results in a draft. Second round pick Brian Bannister The combination of low splits and two very low pitch counts doesn’t seem to indicate success at the major league level.

Atlanta – If 1st round pick Bill Swisher signs (sorry can’t link unsigned players) they will have gotten a great hitting catcher that is passable behind the plate. His durability is low, but the almost 30 point difference in vR and vL ratings make him a great half of a tandem. Looks like he won’t sign though.

In the supplemental round the got a decent SP/LRA in Eduardo Cruz. He is versatile guy who could fill the roll of starter or a good long relief type pitcher.

In round two ATL got Shane James who has great DUR/STA ratings and solid enough numbers to make it to the majors. Like with 90% of the RPs out there whether he is actually an effective RP is up to the HBD gods.

3rd and 4th rounds they picked Charlie Rakers and Emmanuel Sanchez who look very much like their second round pick except with not quite as impressive DUR/STA ratios. 3rd and 4th round picks are iffy to be making the majors so any player that has a shot at producing in the majors is a good pick.

Atlanta always has picked toward the end of the draft, if their first round pick signs then this will be a very good draft for where they picked. If he doesn’t than at least they got half a bullpen for the future.

Augusta – Drafted SP Juan James with the 25th pick in the draft. He’s looks to be a #3,4 or 5 pitcher. Good control and 4 decent pitchers, maybe a pitching coach can get him to drop that 5th pitch which is currently rated a 9. I think in the pitch list it is actually noted as being underhanded.

In the supp round they drafted a nice hitting 1B/LF Ben Simms who will have a great BA, but won’t exactly knock the cover off the ball. He’ll do well at the major league level.

With their second supp pick they drafted Davy Duran, a slick fielding 2B/CF type guy. Actually I really like this guy and he could have been drafted sooner except for what I see as a very dismal DUR rating in the low 60s. You have to have a platoon ready for players with DUR ratings in the low 60s, but when it comes to making a choice between a talented guy with low DUR and not so talented guy with DUR in the 90s – go for the talent.

In round two they got a quality defensive SS in Roger Taylor. Hopefully that really high contact rating will keep his BA in the acceptable range to keep his glove in the lineup.

I don’t see 3rd round pick Louie Johnson as being an impact SP, but maybe he makes the team as LR/Mopup type guy.

Austin - Juan Santiago was a good pick at number 9 in the draft. He’s a quality leadoff hitter that will get on base and steal bases. He’ll never be in the MVP discussion, but he just looks like the type of player that can create a lot of havoc in a game for an opposing team.

They grabbed another CF with their next pick, Jeffrey Eaton. He has gold glove type defense and an adequate bat.

Boise - Timothy Roberts looks to be a great closer, but I will say the same thing I wrote about when Milwaukee got Gregg Goulet with the fifth pick a few seasons again. I find it hard to justify picking a player that high in the draft when he will only pitch 45-60 IPs a season. Next RPs seem to be the most volatile position in the game when there was probably options that are sure things. That said if you can solidify a position in need for 10 seasons he will look back and be happy.

I actually like Vinny Durham about as much as their first round pick. He’s a starter and has a number of highly rated pitches.

Vinny Durham picked in the 3rd round also looks like a decent RP.

Boston – Grabbed slugging 3B Charlie Towers with the 19th pick in the draft. He doesn’t have ideal contact or batting eye, but he has monster power and L/R splits.

They seemed to like Charlie Towers so much they drafted his brother Shane Towers in the next round. He will probably be a platoon type guy.

Chicago – drafted CF/2B Pat Richard in the first round. He’s playing SS now, but 55 errors in rookie league don’t seem to translate into successful big league SS. He could be a great CF/2B. He has some pop in his bat and a great batting eye. Good solid talent, but not the kind of bat that will carry a team.

For being the 67th guy picked in the draft Delino Benitez looks like a solid SP, on par with and better than many of the SPs picked late in round one or in the supplemental round.

Chicago Lookouts – Picked up the best player in the draft in Galahad Mercker. He is a virtually lock to play in multiple all-star games.

Tony O'Neill is actually a pretty good pickup and I can see him as a core player for this team for many years.

3rd round choice Willie McMillon couldn’t hit a RH pitcher to save his life, but he might be the best defensive SS drafted this season. Much worse players could have been picked in the third round.


Cincinnati – With the 13th pick choose Andrew Malone. He’s a solid pitcher, not spectacular but should hit the majors. 2 of his four pitcher look good, but 2 look below average, and his splits are just average ML material. His OVR rating is bumped up by his rubber arm which could though 250+ innings if you wanted him on the mound that long. He could be pitching in the big leagues in two seasons though as he is already pretty far along in development.

Colorado – While first round pick Otis Roth didn’t seem to indicate that he would hold out, it looks like the sixth pick in the draft might not sign. Too bad since he looked like a good player that could hit both lefties and righties, even at 19 he could probably play on numerous teams today. His vL and vR ratings are already at 63 now.

Unfortunately second round pick Andy Adcock just proves that poor control can doom the best rated pitchers. Every other number is major league material, but that control has doomed him to a 10.70ERA in rookie ball.

While he’s not without blemish, 3rd round pick RP Yannick Andrews actually looks like he could be a decent relief guy.

Dover – Got one of the stars in the draft with Brett Bell with the 5th pick in the draft. Sure you wish his Stamina topped out in the mid 80s instead of upper 60s, but he will still be a stellar SP and should win many awards. The bad news is that he broke his arm this season, at least on the bright side for going on the 60 day DL he only dropped 2 OVR points.

It seems pretty clear that WifS changed some player creation matrix and added the extreme platoon player, and one of the best could be Jeff Sutton. Outside of his vL rating he could be an all-star. Played correctly and he will be a very productive player at the big league level.

Watty Brumfield would have a solid bat for a gold glove type SS or 2B, unfortunately he can only play DH or 1B and would be below average at those power hitter type positions.

Florida – Took an interesting player at #18 in William Harris. He has a great bat and I could see him hitting .330+ in the majors. But he has some unique skills, for instance he projects to having a superb glove. But his range is a bit low for 2B and his arm is well below average. Not often do we see a great glove rating with all the other defensive skills being average to below average. He also could be the fastest guy in the league with 100 speed rating, but his base running skills are suspect. He’s already tearing up the rookie league, and I’m sure in 3-4 seasons he will be doing the same in the bigs.

George Herman looks to be another in a trend of very talented players that can only hit from one side of the plate. Oddly enough he is a lefty that can only hit lefties, but should do it very well.

Fifth rounder Luis Alvarez looks to be a very good defensive backup catcher.

Hartford – This team had 6 picks in the first 2 rounds, but none before #29. Richie Cox is a superb hitter, but his catching skills leave a lot to be desired. Hartford has already tried experimenting with him at LF, but not sure this is his best chance at the majors either.

With the 37th pick they grabbed future 1B Mateo Dominguez who looks like he could be a star. Hits everything well and should be a very good 1B for many seasons.

Ok we get it, Chone likes slugging 1B types. Orber Mullin picked at #47 is very similar to the guy they grabbed 10 picks earlier, but he doesn’t hit RH pitchers as well. Three picks later they grabbed another one of these guys, but he won’t sign.

Connie Grant won’t be able to pitch a ton of innings, but he’s a solid RP that should make the majors. Later in the 2nd round they got another RP Tracy Gold who should also be in the majors in a few seasons.

Indianapolis - Christopher Brewington is a good hitting RF and was picked about where he should be in the draft. Won’t be a superstar, but will be a solid core player for this team.

B.J. Durham has a decent bat, but it might be a little light if he can only play in a traditional power position like RF/LF/1B.

Las Vegas – Got a pretty good SP Patrick Champion with the 12th pick. Solid all around he should be a major league pitcher for many seasons.

Supplemental pick Dwight King might make is as a major league SP, but that control is borderline.

Louis Castillo looks like a decent setup man in a few seasons for Vegas.

Little Rock – Well Arte got a steal of a player at #28, Hipolito Prieto is a solid guy that should have a great career for LR.

Late in the second round they also got a pretty good setup man in Sherm Blair.

He won’t be a star, but 4th round pick Alexander Gibson might actually get some meaningful ABs in the majors. Pretty good for a 4th rounder.

Louisville – Is another team that had multiple 1st and 2nd round picks. With #23 they got DH/C/1B Vincenzo Osborne who is a talented hitter that they are going to have to find a place for on the field.

With multiple first round picks you can gamble on a quality SP with low health. Sammy Paniagua is a quality player, but his low health rating has already landed him on the DL with a major injury. Here’s hoping he is able to recover and get back on track.

2nd round pick Tomas Lee looks like a nice closer for the future. Norman White is one of those tweener type pitchers with his STA/DUR combo that will probably end him up as a long relief type guy.

Memphis – Actually had the fortune of having two picks in the top 20. At #17 they got IF William Satou, who has a very good bat and will be a core player for them. He probably won’t be able to play SS in the majors, but his bat is good enough that you don’t have to worry about him not producing enough at another position.

With pick #20 the got power hitting OF Tiny Gardner, this is the kind of guy that can carry a team offensively. Nice to see a team get extra draft picks and they produce such a good crop of guys.

2nd rounder Thumper McIntosh looks like a nice setup/closer type, and bringing in a closer named Thumper just sounds cool.

Milwaukee – Second pick in the draft was David Cooper, a solid fielding IF with a great bat. Looks like this is the last time Milwaukee will be picking this high for a while as they have been flirting all season with the second best record in the AL.

Didn’t pick again until the third round and got a very good player in Will Richardson. He could be a core player in the future for this team. 4th rounder Quilvio Santiago looks like a decent backup IF.

Minnesota – Had 4 picks between 24 and 49, and they signed them all. Justin Shields is a quality IF that is doing very well in rookie ball so far.

I’m not sure if Willis Roundtree will become a successful major leaguer. He has great numbers all around except for L/R splits which are below average. His pitch ratings are nice and he has great control, so maybe he does make it.

Felix Kimura is a supplemental pick that should turn out to be a good 2B with nice OBP.

Both Chad Torrealba and Alex Pinzon are fringe talent that could end up on the roster.

Monterrey – Has a history of drafting well, and is starting to show some signs of improving at the ML level. Dale Presley is another solid pick. I kind of see him as a #3 or #4 starter that can throw a ton of innings.

Didn’t pick again until the third round and got Jim Moriarty. Chances are his control limits him from being a star, but a pretty good pick for a SP in the third round.

Nashville – With the 8th pick in the draft the grabbed Tim Cook who offensively looks a lot like Timothy Bryne , who I think is one of the unheralded stars in this league. Cook’s numbers will probably be very similar to Bryne’s with a .330 career BA, .950 OPS, will produce at any spot in the batting order from 1-5, but only average about 450 ABs per season. He’s a very nice pickup.

Second round pick Boomer Roth actually might have a glove good enough to play SS, and he has a pretty good bat to go with that. Another quality pickup at this point in the draft.

NY - Harry Lugo looks like a pretty standard MLB OF. Decent numbers all round, but nothing extremely well. He is tearing it up in rookie ball.

Salem – Picked up a decent SP with the 15th pick in Dion Wilkerson. Very nice pitch rating and should be able to throw a ton of inning.

Miguel Furcal looks to be a typical OF for the ML team.

I actually really like their 3rd round pick, the 100th guy taken in the draft. Curt Palmer has good stuff, stamina is a bit low for most SPs but he should be able to get 5 good innings a game. He’s doing well so far.

Salt Lake City – Picked up the premier RP in the draft with Neil Meadows at #21. He’s raw and has a long way to go, but it’s a good pick and should play for many seasons in SLC despite his rough start so far in the minors.

Rip Lawrence is probably going to be a decent long reliever. Control will be an issue for him. Randy Brown is also a borderline productive ML’er, which is what you expect so late in the second round.

Kyle McNamara looks to be a pretty good defensive CF, that can maybe hit well enough to start.

Scottsdale – Had the third pick in the draft. This won’t be pretty for Scottsdale because the guy really looked like just a slightly above average major league ball player, but he spurned the offer and didn’t sign. Wayne Wheeler looks like a capable RP. The good news is that by next draft this former rookie owner will have completed 6 drafts and I’m sure he’ll land something decent with that pick.

Texas – Drafted a powerful slugging IF Ron Conti with pick #10. He should have a respectable average and OBP, and could easily hit 45-50 HRs in any season.

2nd round pick Henry Simpson looks to be a decent prospect that should make the team in 3-4 seasons.

Toronto – I’m still somewhat torn about Yorrick Walton being a successful big league player. Maybe its my poor scouting, but I see his vR rating really low and he doesn’t seem to have a good enough pitch ratings to overcome his vR rating. That said he is doing well in the rookie league so far.

Second round pick didn’t sign, but the third rounder Bernard O'Neil looks to at the very least be a speedy defensive CF off the bench, and maybe more.

Vancouver – The first of three first round picks was Rob Neal who is a very raw closer prospect. Given time he should develop into a quality RP, but he is probably at least 4-5 seasons away.

David Perez looks like he will develop into a productive ML starter, but probably won’t get his glove quite up to the SS requirements. Might be good enough at least be an emergency backup for SS while manning 3B/2B. One note about this player, combine poor HS scouting with average advance scouting and you get a player that projects a whopping 10 points below what my HS scout thought he was, ouch.

The final first round pick was Rudy Patterson who is a Hal Morris like 1B.

2nd rounder Abraham Waters might have a career as a platoon OF.

Washington – Didn’t pick until the supplemental round, Kris Cobb probably tops out at being a 5th starter/Long Relief type pitcher.

Got a nice power hitting 1B Pete Mitchell with the 40th pick.

Also got a quality OF in the second round Nate Taylor. Nice player that has a good glove and a good enough bat.