Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The “Where were our scouts on that guy” all-star team.

Guys drafted below number 75 that have gone on to produce at the ML level. Virtually every team had at least two shots at these players and most team picked up career minor leaguer sometime before these guys.
1B Lon Morris Won rookie of the year in S5 and was the Gold Glove 1B in S6. His best season he hit .287/55/136, and had another seasons of .261/54/120. Drafted #116 in S3 he has had one of the most impressive out of nowhere guys careers.
RF Rex McMillon. In S9 Hit .315/30/115 with 200 hits. Drafted #75 in S4.
DH Happy Pressley is going into his 5th season in the majors. His best season was S7 when he had 191 Hits while batting .357. He is a career .314 Hitter with .374 OPB. Happy was picked #141 in S3
C Lee Mitchell is starting his 4th season as starting catcher for Las Vegas. He has a solid glove, and in S9 hit .311/36/111 for the team. By far this player is better than anyone picked almost 200 slots ahead of him as he was pick #344 in S2, Lee is the lowest picked player to make the list.

SS Vinny Hayes. Anaheim’s slick fielding starting SS drafted #104 in S4.
RP Eduardo Velazquez. In S8 he was 14-3 w/ 3.52 ERA. He’s 28-18 w/ 19 Saves in 298 Career innings. Eduardo was drafted #85 in S3.
C David Mayne took a long time to get to the majors. Drafted in S1 he did not get any meaningful playing time until S8. He’s a great defensive catcher with pop in his bat. In S9 he was an all-star, won the gold glove, and the HR Derby. His best season was S9 when he hit .288/43/122, which might not be that impressive for a C more suited for a DH, but this guy is a top notch defensive Catcher. David lasted until pick #136 in S1.
1B Brace Iannone is no longer in the majors, but for three seasons (6-8) he averaged 42 HRs 121 RBIs while batting .287. Certainly these are better numbers than his pick of #144 would indicate.
RP Bill Hitchcock is starting his second full season as Salem’s closer, last season he saved 34 games with a 3.71 ERA. He was drafted #185 in S4
C T.J. Ausmus made it to the big leagues in his second pro season, and actually played pretty well in his third pro season. Still contributing this many seasons after being drafted #189 in S3.
RP Bernard Morgan is in his third season in the majors. He has a career 4.14 ERA while winning 12 games in 144 IPs. Bernard was drafted #166 in S3.
C John Simmons is one of the premier defensive catchers in the game. He was the starting catcher for NY in their Championship season in S8. He was drafted #171 in S3.

C/DH Timothy Hardy is one of the best hitting catchers in the league. He has a career .429 OBP and career 1.023 OPS in 423 career games. He was draft #76 in S2.

RP Tom Hoffman is entering his 3rd season as the Vegas closer. He’s been very effective and over his career he has a 1.24 WHIP and 3.45 ERA in 185 IPs. Pretty good for being drafted #101 in S2.
DH Richie Stanley has just put in one season in the majors. But in S9 he hit .341 in 466 ABs. Not bad for a guy drafted #216 in S4.
RP Mikey Henderson has been a capable setup B type guy. Over the past 3 seasons he has a 3.75 ERA. He was drafted #121 in S2.

RP Al Ortiz has had a bit of a roller coaster career, but in his travels actually pitched well in Cincy. Drafted #146 in S2