Your Yearly Draft Retrospective
How are your favorite teams' draftees doing? What can you expect from the City Leagues this year? Let's take a look...
Allison Spelunkers
2015: 1B
Walter Sebring: .265/.393/.483, 10 HR, 26 RBI
2016: SP
Chezley Harris: 5-3, 5.32 ERA, 20 BB, 43 K, 66 IP between AA and AAA
2017: SP
Russell Hawkin: 5-1, 1.51 ERA, 20 BB, 52 K, 71.1 IP in Elliott Springs A
Draft Surprise: 2017 2nd round pick SS
Carlos Figueredo is already up with the team, which makes you wonder (again) why the Spelunkers dealt for
Adam Foreman but the real surprise is this year's 4th round pick, reliever
Jeremy Knight, who wasn't expected to be much more than organizational filler but is starting to look like a strong middle relief candidate, something that should become important with the longer schedule.
Deepvale Ferrymen
2015: SP
Mike Dodson: 8-4, 2.49 ERA, 24 BB, 91 K, 101.1 IP at AA (note: Dodson is 26 now, and while he has all the talent in the world -- 8/10/10 talents -- he's been excruciatingly slow to develop -- 3/5/4 ratings.)
2016: 3B
Mekeli Masters: .248/.352/.387, 2 HR, 13 RBI at A
2017: SP
Ryan Jones: 0-1, 3.71 ERA, 3 BB, 10 K, 17 IP at AA
Draft Surprise: 2015 3rd round pick RF
Jason Bratton (.256/.301/.372, 5 HR, 14 RBI) is the only Deepvale draftee to actually play in the Bay League, which by default makes him a surprise, though maybe not in the way Ferrymen fans would hope...
Elliott Springs Tornadoes
2015: CF
Lannce Barber: .198/.303/.331, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 16 SB (out of 16!)
2016: LF
Tim Bohm: .156/.279/.312, 4 HR, 18 RBI
2017: SP
Sam Przybilla: 5-7, 4.50 ERA, 34 BB, 89 K, 98 IP at AA
Draft Surprise: The Tornadoes have had good luck with their first round picks, not so much with their lower-round picks. 2016 2nd round pick SS
Seth Maybin has the full-time shortstop spot, and is hitting .264/.311/.393 with 4 HR and 14 RBI. Nothing earthshattering, but dependable enough from a #8 hitter.
Gentry Hills Scouts
2015: P
Damian Latimer: 0-1, 1 SV, 2.78 ERA, 8 BB, 18 K, 22.2 IP in Elliott Springs AA
2016: SP
Tyrus Fuchs: 6-3, 2.63 ERA, 21 BB, 74 K, 95.2 IP at A
2017: CF
Lee Schrupp: .145/.239/.246, 4 HR, 10 RBI at A
Draft Surprise: 2015 3rd round pick RP
Bryant Griffin is looking like a steal. The lefty junkballer has really grown into himself and now looks like a top-notch reliever at just 20 years old. He's 0-1 with 3 saves and a 2.84 ERA in 6.1 Bay League innings as the Scouts' top setup man.
Lorris Greens
2015: 2B
Sherman Wells: .288/.398/.536, 8 HR, 25 RBI at A (his 3rd season at that level...)
2016: SP
Arlie Hammick: 7-4, 3.82 ERA, 37 BB, 84 K, 92 IP at A
2017: SS
Jason Hyde: .226/.319/.339, 2 HR, 13 RBI at A
Draft Surprise: 1B
Brad Marsh is looking a lot better than the players selected around him in 2017's 2nd round (6/6/5/7/7 talents), but he's no longer the property of the Greens organization, but rather the Tornadoes. Notice a trend? Elliott Springs clearly has an eye for talent that other teams think is expendable: Allison and Gentry Hills have both given away good first round prospects and Lorris dealt Marsh in exchange for 1B
Aaron Thomas. To be fair, Thomas
is hitting .366/.400/.552 in the Bay League for the Greens.
Marsein Knights
2015: LF
Matt Roy: .309/.409/.451, 5 HR, 23 RBI at AA
2016: CF
Jason Driggers: .353/.488/.412, 0 HR, 4 RBI at AA, .105/.105/.105 in 19 AB in the Bay League
2017: 2B
Aaron Gonzalez: .298/.420/.427, 3 HR, 19 RBI at 3 city league levels, 8 AB, 1 BB, 0 hits in the Bay League
Draft Surprise: 2016 3rd round pick RP
Marquel Townsend has a 2.61 ERA and has struggled a little with his control, but he appears to be shaping up as a useful reliever.
Silver Beach Whales
2015: 1B
Richie Jones: .300/.364/.383, 2 HR, 13 RBI at AAA
2016: RF
Ben McAfee: .227/.271/.273, 0 HR, 6 RBI in Bay League
2017: 1B
Carson Richardson: .222/.309/.380, 6 HR, 28 RBI at A
Draft Surprise: 2016 2nd rounder SP
Sam McBride has turned out to be a very pleasant surprise, starting 4 games in 2016 for the Whales with a 3.03 ERA and going one better in 2017, going 1-1 with a 1.91 ERA and a 21:7 K to BB ratio in 28.1 IP (4 starts)
Tifton Generals
2015: P
Ahmad Reese: 1-1, 1.80 ERA, 2 BB, 3 K, 5 IP in Bay League
2016: 1B
Steven Underwood: .370/.430/.663, 14 HR, 30 RBI in Bay League
2017: 1B
Ralph Duell: .342/.457/.553, 1 HR, 7 RBI in Lorris A, .294/.360/.476, 4 HR, 13 RBI in Lorris AA
Draft Surprise: 2016 3rd round pick C
Charles Dye has come out of nowhere to nab the starting backstop job for the Generals. After a decent 2016 season at A (.264/.377/.421), he started the season at AAA (.348/.444/.391) but got the callup after just 8 games. He looks like a quality offensive catcher, though his arm is nothing to write home about.