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Old 11-26-2019, 12:59 PM   #763
BirdWatcher
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1975 WPK Amateur Draft, Round 1 highlights

The 1975 WPK draft is ongoing (just entering round 3) so let's take a look at how round 1 went.

First, let's take a look at the first 5 picks.

The expansion Houston Cavaliers had the honor of having the first overall pick in this their first amateur draft.
And the sense is that they chose wisely when they took 21-year old third baseman Steve Whitehead out of Dallas College. The collegiate third sacker profiles as a well above-average hitter who is a solid defender with a very strong arm. And while he doesn't look like a future leader of the team, he is considered very smart and a hard worker and is not a bad guy for an expansion club to start building a future around. In what looks like a rather weak draft, Whitehead was pretty clearly the best choice at 1-1.
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The other expansion club, the Chicago Fire, was up next and went with a starting pitcher Jack Hettinger out of Stetson University. Again, a pretty solid choice for an expansion organization. There are some questions about Hettinger's personality, which might end up being a bit abrasive, but he has good overall tools with a 4-pitch repertoire that should include a plus fastball along with above average slider and forkball offerings and a change-up that may never develop into a useful pitch. He's a groundball pitcher with good stamina and as a left-hander is great at holding runners at first.
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San Francisco was up next and also chose a collegiate starting pitcher, Jon Harrington out of Aurora College. Harrington doesn't look like a future star but with his 4-pitch repertoire, already advanced movement and decent potential stuff and control, and his propensity to get hitters to pound the ball into the ground, he is a pretty safe pick for a team trying to climb out of the cellar in the MGL.
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The run on starting pitchers continued as Milwaukee picked 6' 6" Curtis Robey out of Dallas Baptist. In spite of his size, Robey is not a power pitcher, topping out in the low 90's but he has a 6-pitch mix that should enhance his potential to have a WPK future, even if none of them are considered elite offerings. He profiles as a durable arm and has good makeup and while his ceiling is likely that of a mid-to-back-end of the rotation guy his floor is thought to be high enough that he is unlikely to fail to make some WPK contribution eventually.
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The fifth pick of the draft went to the Detroit Falcons and they chose starting pitcher Matt Pulver out of Rice University. Pulver has advanced movement that should develop to near elite status. His stuff should be just a bit above average though and he likely will struggle with control issues. His best pitch is a sinker that has potential to be very, very good and he should get a lot of groundball outs. But while his 4-pitch selection includes a splitter that should be pretty good his curveball needs a lot of work and his change-up may never become a useful offering. There are many in the WPK who think the Falcons reached a bit in taking Pulver this high, and not least due to serious questions about his makeup. Some speculate that Pulver will eventually prove to be clubhouse poison.
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Of the 22 players chosen in the first round (not counting supplemental 1st), 10 were starting pitchers, 3 center fielders, 2 each are relief pitchers, third basemen, right fielders, 1 catcher, 1 shortstop, and 1 second baseman was chosen, and no first basemen or left fielders were selected.
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