NL and AL South Draft Review

NL SOUTH

Louisville Sluggers
Positions of Need: CF, SS, RP
Summary: Mixed bag of a draft they seem to target certain guys who would be sure things for the team passing up on better skilled prospects for guys they must have been in love with. Sanders will be a great closer and might turn out to be the best and most easily translatable reliever of those to go in the top 10. Manship isn't going to be dominating but should be a solid major leaguer. Overall not a bad draft for ML potential players as they landed 3 solid options.
Grade: B
Historical 1^ST Round
S9 1.26 CF Earl Coleman- Better suited for 2B, but this guy can hit and Run well enough to be in the league (AA)
S10 1.50 SS Carl Crosby- Defensive superstar, but poor performer at the plate and on the bases. Will be a career defensive replacement and spot starter (HiA)
S11 1.6 CF Pete Peters- was a huge reach with the 6^th overall pick last season, he is a light hitter with great speed, He has a place of many teams, and he's just not the star you would want with a top 10 pick (HiA)
S11 1.35 1B Eddie Hultzen- solid power bopping 1B his middle of the road splits will scare some. (HiA)
S11 1.53 RF Tyler Dempster- Above average runner and a solid hitter, good late 1^st round pick up last season (LoA)
SEASON 12 DRAFT
1.9 RP Jermaine Sanders- In the year of the RP Sanders goes in the 1^st 10 picks. I believe he was the 4^th top 10 pick for RP in this draft. Sanders is a great all around reliever with precision control and 2 dominant pitches. He might be an elite closer one day in this league.
1.36 SP Gary Manship- some signing issues with Manship allowed him to slip into the late 1^st round. Overall he is a solid starter with 5 workable pitches including a good sinker. His control is already tolerable as an 18 year old prospect. He has a lot of growing to do and average makeup.
2.68 2B Rob Roberts- poor hitter with average speed and defense. Maybe a 1 star prospect at best huge reach in the top of the 2^nd round.
3.101 LRP Michael Byrd- above average fastball is the only solid pitch in his 5 pitch arsenal. His splits and control are MLB potential, although bottom of the barrel, He might still get a good number of innings in his career as a cheap alternative for a staff.

Durham CroBulls
Positions of Need: RP, SP
Summary: Coleman is going to be great in the right situation, but he will need to be monitored and watched. Walbeck further adds to a freshly growing bullpen. The best pick might be their 3^rd rounder where they pick up a perfect NL specialist in Bubba Ennis.
Grade: B-
Historical 1^ST Round
S9 1.4 RF Ryan Halama- Solid hitting prospect with good power and batting eye Traded S11 to Cin (AAA)
S9 1.54 3B D.T. Bailey- he is as fast as he is blind. Will strike out a whole bunch and steal a whole bunch no power. (AA)
S9 1.62 SP Joel Swift- Middle of the road splits average pitch selection. (AA)
S10 1.9 3B Fernando Gardel- UNSIGNED
S11 1.5 P Roland Gosling- top of the rotation type Starter, Gosling has 4 pitches good control and solid splits.
SEASON 12 DRAFT
1.7 RP Tripp Coleman- His Stamina and Durability scream out relief pitcher with limited pitch count. He would be a great closer if carefully monitored and maintained. He has ace quality splits and control with an outstanding Sinker and an above average slider. The 7^th pick might be a bit high for a guy you have to watch to make his piece fit into your teams puzzle.
1.50 RP Al Walbeck- solid reliever with above average control and splits. He has a great Split Fastball to work with and a solid 4-semaer to fall back on. Probably not going to be a superstar but a nice piece deep in the 1st round.
2.67 SP Alvin Merrick- In college he was known As: wild thang" Merrick. He might have killed a mascot or two with his killer velocity and lack of control. 5 solid pitches his best being his changeup. Unless he finds some control he does make it out of the minors.
3.99 2B Bubba Ennis- Great runner and speed guy with great contact. I love this pick in the 3rd round He should be a good defensive replacement in the field and a pitch running extraordinaire.

Kansas City Kansas City Royals
Positions of Need: SS, CF, C
Summary: Started a run on Relief pitching that lasted throughout the 1^st round. Everyone went into a mad grab for quality relievers. Defensive Stud and Speedster Midre Jacquez is a nice pickup in the 2^nd round. Overall I think KC got some prospects to be happy with that filled some of their needs.
Grade: B-
Historical 1^ST Round
S9 1.9 P Stewart Black- a Low durability reliever who has shown mix results as the ML Closer, He should be very successful if his pitch count is controlled. (ML)
S9 1.36 P Garland Badilla- 4 pitches middle of the road left/right splits he is going to be a mixed bag in the MLTRADED SEASON 10 to CLEV (AAA)
S9 1.49 P Tomas Borges- 3 quality pitches but average control and stamina will limit him to relief, he might sneak a few spot starts in his career (AAA)
S10 3 P Anthony Clifton- Pitching ace already in the bigs for good reason this guy can pitch. Not even close to full potential and he already averages almost a strike out an inning in the ML. (ML) S11 1.7 SP Howard James- Ace quality pitcher with 5 pitches excellent splits and good control lacks game changing velocity and is strictly a fly ball pitcher. (HiA)
SEASON 12 DRAFT
1.3 RP Luke Jennings- fairly developed Reliever for an 18 year old. He has a great pitcher splits and perfect control. His 3 pitches should bring him great success as a reliever for many seasons. At pick #3 he went way to high in the draft
2.63 SS Midre Jacquez- 2 great tools with his elite speed and running and his great defensive presence. He should have success in the Majors with those tools even with his lowly bat.
3.95 2B Hub Faulk- Better suited for RF or LF, he is a slightly above average hitter, but might not be skilled enough to get regular At Bats in the Majors.

Little Rock Anti-Clintons
Positions of Need: SP, RP, CF
Summary: Took a serious risk with their #1 pick Alvin Bradley. Bradley's signabilty issues scared off a number of suitors, but maybe Little Rocks risk will pay huge dividends and they will get a late 1^st round gem. Only time will tell, but you have to commend the guts. The rest of the draft doesn't deliver much in the way of ML prospects.
Grade: B-
Historical 1^ST Round
S9 1.14 1B Todd Clark- elite level hitter but the 1^st round is a stretch for a low fielding position. He can hit near the top though (AAA)
S10 1.28 SP Carson Lockhart- good college pitcher would have drafted higher if his stamina was better, but still he has 4 pitches on top of good control and left/right combination (AAA)
S10 1.39 P Vin Starr- Struggles at times against Lefties, but should pitch in the majors one day with 3 great pitches. (AAA)
S10 1.44 P Josh Pecina- he has the pitch selection and velocity of a star but has low stamina and average control. He will be a solid mop-up long reliever in the majors for a time. (AAA)
S10 1.55 2B Perry MacRae-Contact hitter with no power and bat batting eye but great speed and base running. He should provide enough tools to have the option to strike out as much as he wants in the Majors. (AAA)
S11 1.23 RF Tony Valenzuela- Good speed, but average hitting he seems the ball well and seems to understand the pitching he just doesn't have the natural talent.
SEASON 12 DRAFT
1.22 SS Alvin Bradley- he has 3B written all over him on defense. He possesses a plus bat with good speed. I would expect numbers close to a .290 hitter with 20 HR and 35 SB when he is ML ready. He is fairly developed and should rise quickly through the minors. He is considering football as a career option so he will be a late signer.
2.82 SS Ellis Henson- The backup plan for Bradley not signing. Defensively he's worse at 3B but he is capable. He is almost as quick and runs overall better than Bradley. He is a much poor hitter and is slated to be nothing more than an AAA grinder.
3.114 SP Richard Braun- Great pitcher to have in the minor leagues he will eat innings and throw solid games, He has poor baseball splits and will struggle to much against ML hitting to be a viable major league option.

AL SOUTH

San Antonio Sentinals
Positions of Need:
Summary: Totally hate the Rodriguez pick with their 1st overall selection, there seem to be other talent on the board which made a lot better sense with that pick, Getting Gil deep in the 2^nd round illustrated that even on their own draft board. Lombardi and Allen both are skilled players but like all late 1^st rounders they are flawed and will need to be in very defined roles for them to succeed.
Grade: D+
Historical 1^ST Round
9.1.25 Rp Junior Tavarez developed reliever with solid control and good right/left understanding. 3 pitches including a top flight sinker. (AAA)
9.1.42 2B Lee Brock- middle of the road hitter with good speed and base running. His defense is good enough to play most any position except SS and CF.
9.1.60 2B Virgil Maxwell- Good contact but an overall light weight hitter. He could play every day and contribute near the bottom of a lineup, but he is nothing more than a stopgap player.
10.1.32 P Tyson Cross- UNSIGNED
10.1.42RP Glendon Stockton- 3 pitches and good splits, glendon's low durability is not ideal for a reliever. (HiA) 11.1.29 P Von Pose Solid #2 or 3 starter on a good major league club. Von's makeup will make him a slow mover through the minors (AA)
11.1.34 P Reid Bordick- star 2 pitch reliever he has outstanding splits and great control and pitches, his low stamina will keep him to 1 or 2 batters max an appearance. (AA)
11.1.63 P Zoltan Jackson- Long Relief prospect with middle of the road splits and pitch selection, not going to make much of a major league splash (AA)
SEASON 12 DRAFT
1.32 SS Davey Rodriguez- below average fielder. He isn't much better in the field with above average power but poor contact hitting. Below average speed makes up the trifurcate of AAA player. Poor pick at #1
1.43 SP Tom Lombardi- poor durability on an otherwise solid relief pitcher. He has elite level control and 3
pitches to throw out over the plate. He just will be limited on the number of batters he can face an outing and the
number of appearance in a season. Probably a reach in the 1st round for this reliever.
1.48 C Bo Allen- Better DH than a positional player so on an AL team he should be fine. Great overall hitter with above average power and good batting eye. He isn't going to hurt you at the plate at all.
2.61 SS Carmine Gil- solid defender and a better overall player than #1 pick Rodriguez. He can play SS and should blow through the minors fairly quickly and be a key defensive sub. He will strike out a lot at the plate but he has enough bats to count on him to deliver some offense.
2.69 SP Rickey Eckenstahler-- Solid late 2nd round Pitcher. He struggles against Left hander hitters and has only 1 plus pitch to work with. He is not a bad pick up late in the 2nd round.
2.90 RP Charles Fonville- His fastball and Slider are unhittable when they get going and rank among the best scouts have seen, His control is also considered elite level. His drawback is his average pitching splits which show his struggles against Right Handers who at the MLB level might eat him up. Still might be a good risk/reward pick late in the 2nd.
3.122 SS Shigetoshi Zhang- Average hitter below average defender, above average speed. He's just a mixed bag in the 3rd round. Most likely he's nothing more than a minor league lifer.

Texas Justice
Positions of Need: SP, LF
Summary: Got their LF in the 1^st round, but had to reach for him. They still need to increase their stable of Farm arms, which seems to be desperately lacking
Grade: B+
Historical 1^ST Round
9.1.23 2B Stephen Albers- A guy who can hit and field. Not much not to like when he makes the league (AA)
9.1.41 SS Enrique Flores- better suited for 3B great power, but probably will hit for an average around .260 (AA)
9.1.51 C Tori Tatum- great offensive catcher offers a solid body behind the plate. (AA)
10- NO PICKS
11.1.28 SS Shane Kerr- Average hitter above average speed. Might be a weak SS in the field
11.1.31 SS Quinn Coco- Contact bloop single guy, he has little power and average speed, better suited for 3B.
11.1.45 CF Aaron Munro- Great speed, but a slight better than average contact hitter. He can play the field fairly well and should be solid platoon versus left handers.
SEASON 12 DRAFT
1.12 RF J.P. Diaz- huge reach in the mid 1^st round. He is a fast no power bat that sees the ball well, but can't drive it deep enough to even make up for his plus speed. He should steal 25-40 bases a season and has the running sense to take advantage of poor catchers and exploitable pitchers. To high in the draft for a guy that doesn't offer more than 2 tools. Needs to field as well
3.104 SS Phil Maxwell - would be more successful on defense at 3B, he doesn't offer enough at the plate (poor batting eye and hitting stats) and can't run the bases well enough to merit this high of a pick. Type A
4.136 CF Andrew DeJean – a contact hitter with poor batting splits. He might get some AB's against right handers, His bread and butter might be his speed if he develops his baserunning he might be a good defensive pinch runner in the league. Type B

Florida Manatees
Positions of Need: SP, C
Summary: Florida is young and has great depth everywhere. Their biggest weakness would be starting pitching where they have a number of young stars already developing. What they need is a few stronger stamina arms to extend the innings pitched for the starters, Superstar AAA P Edgardo Montana would be better in Long relief or setup with his stamina. Ashby fits the bill for the type of pitcher they needed for their farm. Omar James will also be an asset when he is ready to contribute. Both should be great players to have on any team.
Grade: B+
Historical 1^ST Round
9.1.2 SS Sal Gwynn- all around all-star, but weak against Left handers, still has great defense and hitting and should be a value then he breaks the big leagues (AA)
9.1.31 P Darrin Lennon- 4 pitches with good control and solid splits he could be a Great #2 guy if you overlook his durability (AA)
9.1.34 2B Derrick Brewer- Good stamina and control but average splits, His sinker and Fastball makeup for his poor Curve. (LoA)
9.1.47 P Darby Speier- Good speed and good contact, but lower power numbers and very mediocre left/right splits (HiA)
9.1.52 LF Vincente Moreno- average hitter and runner, but nothing more than a flash in the pan for major league prospects (HiA)
10.1.7 RP Ben Van Hatten- Great power reliever he could strikeout the side easily in an ML game. Might be the closer of the future for Florida. Great control and splits. Downside outside of his Curve his pitch selection is quite poor. (HiA)
10.1.33 CF John Bolick- Solid ML prospect, He has 5 tools to offer Florida including good speed, solid hitting and precision fielding. (AA)
11.1.3 SS Von Hammonds Average fielder and solid runner. He has great contact and splits, but not much power. He's probably a .320 hitter with 10 hr power and 25+ stolen bases. (LoA)
11.1.52 CF Jim Becker- solid power but will struggle putting the ball in play without making an out He also has good speed could be a solid 2B or CF prospect. (LoA)
SEASON 12 DRAFT
1.4 P Steven Ashby- Solid #1 or 2 option for a ML rotation, he has very underwhelming pitches, but he has strikeout power and great stamina to overcome his shortcoming.
2.64 P Omar James- One of the best Sinkers scouting has seen. He struggles some with his control, but if he develops that should be fine and he could be a good 10 closer in the league.
3.96 RF Conor Shaw- Shaw might be Long Hauls version of Rob Deer, this guy than belt it out of the park when he gets a hold of it, but he will bat close to .220-.240 on the season with a good amount of strikeouts.

New Orleans Knights
Positions of Need: RP, C, 3B
Summary: The Knights have taken a fill in approach to their bullpen, they are stacked with veteran talent, but lack any home grown recruits, this can be an expensive way to close out a game, Their start catch is also showing signs of his age and it would be nice to have a guy moving up the ladder to replace him. 3B Sherm James has never been a superstar, but a stable force on the hot corner, his contract expires at the end of the season. New Orleans brought in a few talented, but flawed prospects. Mcdill is talented and it will be interesting to see his reaction to major league hitting, he will dominant at times, but more than likely he will also lose control of games without a very good catcher.
Grade: C-
Historical 1^ST Round
9.1.3 P Bobby Buchanan- great changeup but 3 other average pitches after that to work with. He struggles against left handed hitting, but his control and stamina should make him a ML pitcher soon (AAA)
9.1.29 Russell Fontenot- Defensive wizard, Fontenot will struggle getting the ball in play without any natural talent at the plate, he does have great understanding how to hit and will draw a walk, but not a major league hitter. (AA)
9.1.35 Marcus Davis- Already nearly developed Marcus still has average splits, but still is weak against left handers. His control is also going to cost him at times. He has 3 great pitches. (AA)
9.1.48 SS Marcus Wilson- Solid Defense and good contact hitter, but little power and average baseball knowledge and batting eye. He will be a defensive guru in the league (AAA)
9.1.53 Robinson Embree- Poor splits will keep his knuckle curve out of the league most of his career. (AAA)
10.1.14 1B Rodrigo Torres- great hitter, but average splits and defense. Might have been a reach in the top 20 for a 1B (AAA)
10.1.17 SS Eli Torres UNSIGNED
10.1.34 P Jerome Harris- Poor control on an average reliever with only a changeup to throw. (HiA)
10.1.47 2B Virgil Ortiz- solid runner with above average contact and little power. Not an ML starter for long in the league, but still could find a role (HiA)
11.1.57 P Bill Key- Poor Control and durability will limit Key's role on a major league club, His best role will be in relief, but I'm not sure who if anyone will give him a major league shot (LoA)
SEASON 12 DRAFT
1.6 P Dan McDill- Average left/right splits will condemn a rather spectacular pitcher, with 3 great pitches, in college his fastball, curve and changeup won him many games at his high velocity. In the majors he will struggle at times. Still a reach in the top 10
1.49 SS Paxton Casey- NOT SCOUTED
1.59 RF Lloyd Vernon- Considering Basketball for a career. He's an average ML prospect at best with even worse batting splits. Good luck in the NBA Vernon.