[Bub13]

And now, we bring you a short break from the regular season for...

2048 DRAFT and MID-SEASON SYSTEM REVIEW

Welcome to the 2048 amateur draft! We have two third round picks this year, but no sixth rounder. We also traded away a handful of very low round picks, since I'm usually extremely bored by then and can't be bothered. The top of the draft order in round one will be: POR, STL, TEX, LAA, and TEX (two picks!). Along with the Rangers, the Cards and Angels also have two first round picks. The top of the draft looks pitching heavy, with MLB listing pitchers as 8 of the top 10 prospects.

Portland makes pitcher Justin Weitlauf the number one pick, and I...don't get it. His best rating looks like his '20' stamina. Mediocre movement, just okay stuff, and a third pitch that may never develop. St Louis goes and takes pitcher Travis Nowell, and he looks no better than Weitlauf. Are my scouts deluded? Texas takes OF Ronnie Halverson #3 and pitcher Ted Miller #5. Halvorson should be an okay hitter, who could overdevelop. Safe pick. Miller, frankly, looks way better than the top two picks, and also could become a terrific power hitter. Should have been the #1 guy, really. At #4, LA took pitcher Jeff Corcoran, a low-effort guy with control issues. No thanks. Nobody else in the first round blows me away, but there are a few good picks to mention. There's a trio of outfielders (Nate Forrester, STL #15; Jeremy Hyde, LAA #16; and Rodrigo Jimenes, ATL #27) and two top-notch closers (John Rodgers, WSH #9; and Shane Cameron, PIT #32) who look solid. And Minnesota grabbed pitcher Jerry Caprio at #6, after he went #2 to Texas (them again) and didn't sign. Worst pick? Can't say there look like any outright busts here, but the picks I mentioned at the top of the draft don't look like much to me. If Miller develops as a hitter, he could be the only guy anyone ever remembers from this first round.

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As usual, here are our top picks, plus a few select others. This was not a very good draft for us, so I'll be surprised if more than, say, two guys make it to the bigs--let alone become starters--out of this class.

Rnd 1, 34th overall: P Josh Egan, 18, high school. A six-pitch repetoire and a groundballer? Sure! Hard worker, smart kid, and young enough to grow beyond his ceilings. Control needs major work, and will be what determines his MLB future.

Rnd 2, 64th overall: P Greg Van Tilburn, 22, Louisiana-Monroe. Risky pick, honestly. Has three good pitches already, and will probably get sent right away to A ball. Ceiling looks low right now, tho, unless his intangibles make up for that.

Rnd 3, 88th overall: OF Caleb Royer, 21, Manhattan. Speedy and defensive outfielder, with average hitting ceilings. Won't walk much but could become a good contact hitter who won't strike out. Supplemental Round pick by STL way back in '45.

Rnd 3, 123rd overall: OF/P Jesse Mills, 18, high school. As a batter, very similar to Royer, but with less power and a better eye. Also rates as a potential SP, so will get a crack at both in the low minors. Another guy who has to rise above his current numbers.

Rnd 4, 159th overall: OF Stephen Eason, 17, high school. Intriguing pick. Has intangibles to burn, can play across the outfield, and ceilings project him as a better hitter than Royer and Mills, above. Very young, however, so he could end up going either way, the way things work out. Probably our #2 prospect out of this draft, really.

Rnd 5, 195th overall: OF Ryan Sligh, 18, high school. Drafted for his defense and work ethic. Average-looking hitter, with no power. Decent speed, adequate runner. Goes into our large OF prospect pool and will get to simmer along for several years before we poke him for doneness.

Rnd 7, 267th overall: P Travis Waite, 21, Long Beach State. Fair relief pitcher, needs control work. Another high INT/WE player who could surprise in a couple of years or fade off into obscurity by age 24.

Best of the rest: Not much at all. IF Ashton Marks (11th) is a fantastic fielder, but has little else; C Ian Guerin (12th) becomes another never-will-be catching prospect for us; and OF David Husnik can run, has a huge arm, but considers hitting optional. We did pass on pitcher Carlos Spalding, however, who just wrapped up his days at the Ohio State School for the Blind.

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Our system ranks 7th overall, which is surprising, giving how many guys (five) moved on from last year's top six. Only one of the current six is in the bigs (two if you count the DLed Ashton, who's career as a useful player may be over). As usual, pitching looks like a strength, and (non-1b) infielders and catchers a weakness.

#1: 1B Jules Medici, ranked #1 by MLB. International complex. Dare I keep hoping? At this point, yes, I'm all in. Still looks like a future premiere contact/power hitter, cornerstone-type player. No defense, but that's what 1B and DH are for, right? Will turn 18 in a month or so, and I'm already resisting the temptation to move him to rookie ball.

#2: P Braden Mathiesen, #61 by MLB. Eureka (A), 11 GS, 4-3, 4.80 ERA. Acquired in a trade with Richmond in '47. Groundballer, elite change, and ceilings projected as a mid-rotation starter. My hope is his high INT/WE combo will push him higher. Stuff and movement coming along, control lagging behind (4.4 BB/9 for Eureka right now). Would like to see him in AA by the fall, and AAA next year. Only 19, so there's no rush.

#3: 1B Tim Chapman, #76 by MLB. Poughkeepsie (Short A), no stats yet. First rounder from '47. Looks like a high-contact hitter, who could hit 40 doubles and 20 HR with regularity. At worst, he's a platoon player and regular backup. No defense, but a surprisingly fast and dangerous runner.

#4: OF Jerry Cappuccilli, #82 by MLB. Hawaii, .264/.333/.396, 53 AB. Hasn't hit what he did last year (.329), but is becoming a very useful platoon guy across the outfield. Wants to start, and could in a pinch. Still battling with Phil Lasky to become the #1 go-to backup and pinch hitter.

#5: P Chris Carpenter, #87 by MLB. Boone (rookie), no stats yet. A fifth round pick from '47, our scouts have been nudging him up the charts over the last year. Right now he projects as a AAAA-level pitcher, but as he's been rising, who knows how far he'll progress. He struggled last year in Boone, so starts there again this year.

#6: P Jonathan Ashton, #106 by MLB. Hawaii, on the DL, out 9-10 more months. He's just 21 and already has a scary injury history. Pitched 14 games in '46, and just one last year. Won't pitch again until the spring. Still looks decent, however, so I'm hopeful he'll be able to salvage something out of his career. Pitched well this spring until he got hurt, so it's possible he could take a run at the roster again next year.

Others of note...
...2B Josh Matson, 23, AAA (.418/.443/.627). Only 67 AB in AAA this year, but is just killing it. Solid hitter, could probably hit MLB pitching already, but is only a middling fielder. Should push Rangel at second this fall and next spring, and might just outright take his place, if I can live with his (much) lesser defense.
...P Jaheim Mwaura, 22, AAA (19 GP, 4.98, 30 K in 21.2 IP). Was dynamite in the spring, but fell victim to a veterans numbers game. With Ramirez struggling, he could be in Hawaii sooner than later. Is struggling a bit this year, but still has room to grow. Will get a look this fall, at least.
...P Tim Mitchell, 23, A (on the DL, out for 2-3 more weeks). First rounder from '46. Missed half of last season, and hasn't pitched yet this year. Still, could become a back-end starter one day.
...OF Julius Burrows, 22, A (.239/.316/.408). Coming along nicely. Looks a lot like most of our other OF prospects: LHB, good fielder, solid hitter, bad L/R splits. Should fight for a spot by 2050.

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Take out Medici, and this is definitely not a top ten group, possibly not even top twenty. Not that there aren't some quality guys after him. But years of drafting at the bottom of each round, plus a drop in the developmental budget, have probably taken their toll. If I had to make a lineup out of my prospects, assuming they reach their scouted potentials, we'd have a decent pitching staff, about half of a solid starting lineup, and not much power hitting. And we still don't have a catching prospect worth talking about.