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9. Iron Mountain Miners – RHP Bobby Lewis, 23 years old – Lewis fits the mold of most of the pitchers in this draft, but will have to work on improving his stuff and the speed of his pitches. If he doesn’t have good control or movement on his pitches, he will get absolutely pummeled by M-O League hitting. “I know I have to work on my stuff; I have a lot of room for improvement there. I’m looking to develop a third pitch to help me out too,” Lewis said pre-draft. Lewis is still a few years away from a big league roster.


10. Chillicothe Indians – SS Antonio Amparan, 21 years old – This sweet-swinging, switch-hitting Cleveland native will be a fixture as a leadoff man for years to come in the M-O League. Antonio will never hit for power and is poor defensively (we could see him moved to 2B), but he could be a potential .400 hitter and that’s something you can’t pass up ever.


11. Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers – LF Ben Myers, 22 years old – Is Myers disaster control for the White Lakers if Wareham leaves the organization? Many other GM’s and scouts seem to think so. While not as talented as Wareham, Myers does possess a very potent bat and is a future .330-.350 hitter. He doesn’t have too much in the power department though and could play RF as well so he could make a nice complement to Wareham in the future.


12. Ann Arbor Democrats – LF Anthony Beresford, 23 years old – Beresford has all the talent in the world but one area that he is seriously lacking is his ability to get on base by hitting. He has great power numbers and has a good eye and can run like the wind, but it won’t matter if he can’t make contact with the ball. The Dems will keep a close eye on how he adjusts as he makes his way up the ranks as they could have a dominant superstar if he can adjust and improve.


13. Toledo Admirals – 1B Chris Cox, 19 years old – The Admirals selected the large Omaha-bred first baseman with the hope he will eventually develop the power that befits a man of his size. Scouts don’t doubt Cox’s ability to hit for contact, but many question his power talent and his eye. Regardless of what happens, Toledo picked a guy that will be a productive player at some point, a surprise he was still available at this point.


14. Canton Terriers – RHP Mike Rogers, 21 years old – The Terriers might have made a little bit of a “reach” pick here with this Georgia peach. You cannot doubt Rogers’ attitude as he is a player that works harder than anybody, is a complete leader on and off the field and despises losing, so he may develop based purely on those statistics. You have to question how effective of a pitcher he will be based on his ability though, but Canton hopes they have found a diamond in the rough here.


15. Columbus Archers – CF Jesus Rosalda, 21 years old – Columbus’ lead scout Roger Mullis is simply ecstatic this sweet swinging lefty is still available this late. Mullis rates him as the top player in this draft, with almost maxed out talent ratings. Other scouts don’t see him quite in the same light but some still see him as a very high rated talent. He has a great arm, but should be moved to a different outfield position as he is pretty poor defensively and that’s something you can’t have for a CF.


16. Kalamazoo Bells – RHP Raibeart Jackson, 23 years old – The Bells hope they’ve found a sleeper with the pick of Jackson coming out of Arizona St. University. While Jackson doesn’t have the most electric stuff, he does locate his pitches extremely well already and moves his pitches around pretty well too. A great leader and a very intelligent player, they have already put Jackson in single A South Haven. “I’m very excited to be going to the best team in the Michigan-Ohio Baseball League,” Jackson said excitedly from his parents’ home in New Mexico. “I couldn’t have dreamed a better scenario for me and I’m looking forward to getting started.”


And that ends the first round of the first annual inaugural draft. Coming up, updated standings and stats from the halfway point of the first season