This year I don't have any extra picks, but it is still another important opportunity to stock my minor leagues with more young talent.
Round 1, Pick 12
There wasn't a clear choice for this pick, but I ultimately decided to take the top ranked pitcher on my board, SP Sean Killough (22, college). He is among the top players in projected pitching ratings with control being the least developed. He projects to have three great pitches and has great velocity.
Round 2, Pick 9
CF Bob Cecil (19, high school) was the top remaining player on the board and I went with him. He has the potential to be an above average to great hitter. He has above average speed and could be an average CF or better in the corners.
Round 3, Pick 12
Next, I took SP Brian Caprio (22, college). His is pretty much a lefty version of Killough. He has three potentially great pitches, great velocity, and control is the least developed of his pitching ratings. He has one of the top intangibles ratings in the draft.
Round 4, Pick 13
As I do in most years, I went for an "impossible" player in round four, 3B David Lawrence (18, high school). He has the potential to be a great hitter and 3B is his highest upside defensively.
Round 5, Pick 13
CF Ross Wright (21, college) has plus speed and defense. He currently projects to be slightly above average with the bat. As he has among the top intangibles in the draft, I hope this will lead to some gains beyond his current batting projection.
Round 6, Pick 13
For this pick I passed on several higher ranked players to get a pitcher with the looks of a future starter. SP Sean Korb (20, college) has three potential above average pitches, slightly above average pitching potential, and average velocity. He also has the best intangibles of all players in the draft, so there is some hope for further development.
Round 7, Pick 13
Next, I took my second "impossible" player, SP Brian Carson (18, high school). He is a high potential, high risk player. The positive is he could have among the best curveballs in the game and possibly remain a starter. The negative is that his control is currently only 1/20 and projects to be about average. He signed for just under $4 million and was the highest paid pick for me this year.
I was hoping to take CF Bizette with my next pick, and if I did it again, would have taken him here.
Round 8, Pick 13
SS Bizette was drafted before I could select him, so I chose SS Calvin Love (18, high school). Love projects to be a high contact, gap power, and avoid k hitter. He has good speed and should remain at shortstop, at least until he gets nearer to the majors. If he can improve is IF Error rating, he could be a great defensive shortstop as well. It seems he is currently plagued by concentration issues in the field.
Draft Recap:
Overall, I'm happy with the draft results, though there aren't any players that stand out as potential superstars initially. It's possible that in the coming years I stop manually drafting around pick 15 or so. My customized draft board makes it such that I rarely select any pitchers in the back half of the draft.
After all of the signings were completed, I came in $1 million under my draft budget of $10 million. I could have come in at almost half of this without selecting or signing SP Carson in the seventh round.
I will post an updated top 30 organizational prospects list soon to see where these draftees fit into my system. However, next is a recap of the month of June...