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ayaghmour2 · 05-02-2020, 11:02 PM

We had four picks in the rest of the bonus rounds, three of ours and one from the Kings that came to us in the Bretz trade. Those picks came in at 42nd, 58th, 70th, and 74th. I went with one high schooler and three college players, three arms and one bat.

The first pick was a 18-year-old with a familiar name to Cougar fans, Bill Ross. Ross was the only prep player, a graduate from Providence HS. Ross had a really good senior season, going 4-2 with a 2.50 ERA (159 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts with just 1 walk in 57.2 innings pitched. His career numbers are just as good, finishing his high school career 14-7 with a 2.63 ERA (157 ERA+), 0.99 WHIP, and 138 strikeouts with just 15 walks in just over 200 innings. Ross is extremely talented, ranked 10th of all draft eligible high schoolers and fifth of all prep pitchers. Ross doesn't have the best stuff and doesn't throw too hard, but he gets enough strikeouts and has pinpoint control. His three pitch arsenal is headlined by a change up. He has a mid 80s cutter and slider, but neither of those pitches are really that good.

With our 4th Round selection, we took CF Bill Alexander. By now, the quality of the pool was really diminishing, and Alexander is a project pick. He didn't have a great junior year, hitting .322/.361/.436 (93 OPS+) with 3 homers, 9 steals, and 36 RBI's. His career numbers aren't much better, with a .291/.354/.401 (96 OPS+) line with 10 homers, 29 steals, and 77 RBI's. His defense, however, is above average, finishing this season with a +5.5 ZR and 1.065 efficiency out in center. Alexander has a lot of potential, projecting to be an above average defender with above average bat speed. He's extremely athletic and has the speed to catch anything in the outfield and steal a ton of bases.The St. Pancras graduate ranked 15th of all draft eligible college players and 5th of all outfielders (2nd for center fielders) and he's defintley a project worth taking on.

Our 5th Round selection came from Brooklyn, so the Heinie Bretz trade ended up being for Mel Leonard and Fred Collins. Collins, 21, is unlike most draftees as he's actually gotten better each season. His junior year was the best, finishing 3-2 with a 3.06 ERA (167 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. He's finished his college career at Henry Hudson 16-11 with a 3.51 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.29 WHIP, and 164 strikeouts in 261.1 innings. He ranks 5th in a really weak group of college pitchers, but 17th of all collegiate draft eligible players. Collins boasts a 4 pitch arsenal featured by a low 90s cutter. He does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground, but he isn't the most exciting arm there is. To me, he's a safe pick and while there might not be much upside, he should be a dependable back of the rotation arm.

The 5th round selection that was ours turned into righty Billy LeBeau from Boulder State. His best season was as a freshman, where he went 5-3 with a 2.75 ERA (150 ERA+), 0.94 WHIP, and 59 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. The next two seasons weren't as good, but he finished his college career 14-13 with a 3.70 ERA (129 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, and 210 strikeouts in 260 innings pitched. He ranks 23rd of draft eligible colelge players and 10th for all pitchers. He's got a decent arsenal with a fastball, slider, and changeup and he sits in the high 80s with the hard stuff. Like Collins, he seems like a safer pick and shouldn't cost too much in terms of a signing bonus.

This class doesn't look too strong, but I think I did better this year then in 1928 where the quality of the pool was stronger. This could compare to the 1926 class that featured 1st Rounder backstop Fred Barrell. I had high hopes for the top picks, but beyond that, no sure things. Interesting enough, the 4th Rounder was Heinie Bretz and 9th Rounder was Ben Turner (both who were recently traded), but Billy Kline (2nd) and Mickey Williams (5th) are the only guys from that class who currently rank in the top 30. There's still 20 rounds left, but for the most part it will be lottery ticket after lottery ticket and more luck then skill involved.

05-02-2020, 11:02 PM	#107
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,033	2030 Draft: Round 3-5 We had four picks in the rest of the bonus rounds, three of ours and one from the Kings that came to us in the Bretz trade. Those picks came in at 42nd, 58th, 70th, and 74th. I went with one high schooler and three college players, three arms and one bat. The first pick was a 18-year-old with a familiar name to Cougar fans, Bill Ross. Ross was the only prep player, a graduate from Providence HS. Ross had a really good senior season, going 4-2 with a 2.50 ERA (159 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts with just 1 walk in 57.2 innings pitched. His career numbers are just as good, finishing his high school career 14-7 with a 2.63 ERA (157 ERA+), 0.99 WHIP, and 138 strikeouts with just 15 walks in just over 200 innings. Ross is extremely talented, ranked 10th of all draft eligible high schoolers and fifth of all prep pitchers. Ross doesn't have the best stuff and doesn't throw too hard, but he gets enough strikeouts and has pinpoint control. His three pitch arsenal is headlined by a change up. He has a mid 80s cutter and slider, but neither of those pitches are really that good. With our 4th Round selection, we took CF Bill Alexander. By now, the quality of the pool was really diminishing, and Alexander is a project pick. He didn't have a great junior year, hitting .322/.361/.436 (93 OPS+) with 3 homers, 9 steals, and 36 RBI's. His career numbers aren't much better, with a .291/.354/.401 (96 OPS+) line with 10 homers, 29 steals, and 77 RBI's. His defense, however, is above average, finishing this season with a +5.5 ZR and 1.065 efficiency out in center. Alexander has a lot of potential, projecting to be an above average defender with above average bat speed. He's extremely athletic and has the speed to catch anything in the outfield and steal a ton of bases.The St. Pancras graduate ranked 15th of all draft eligible college players and 5th of all outfielders (2nd for center fielders) and he's defintley a project worth taking on. Our 5th Round selection came from Brooklyn, so the Heinie Bretz trade ended up being for Mel Leonard and Fred Collins. Collins, 21, is unlike most draftees as he's actually gotten better each season. His junior year was the best, finishing 3-2 with a 3.06 ERA (167 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. He's finished his college career at Henry Hudson 16-11 with a 3.51 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.29 WHIP, and 164 strikeouts in 261.1 innings. He ranks 5th in a really weak group of college pitchers, but 17th of all collegiate draft eligible players. Collins boasts a 4 pitch arsenal featured by a low 90s cutter. He does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground, but he isn't the most exciting arm there is. To me, he's a safe pick and while there might not be much upside, he should be a dependable back of the rotation arm. The 5th round selection that was ours turned into righty Billy LeBeau from Boulder State. His best season was as a freshman, where he went 5-3 with a 2.75 ERA (150 ERA+), 0.94 WHIP, and 59 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. The next two seasons weren't as good, but he finished his college career 14-13 with a 3.70 ERA (129 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, and 210 strikeouts in 260 innings pitched. He ranks 23rd of draft eligible colelge players and 10th for all pitchers. He's got a decent arsenal with a fastball, slider, and changeup and he sits in the high 80s with the hard stuff. Like Collins, he seems like a safer pick and shouldn't cost too much in terms of a signing bonus. This class doesn't look too strong, but I think I did better this year then in 1928 where the quality of the pool was stronger. This could compare to the 1926 class that featured 1st Rounder backstop Fred Barrell. I had high hopes for the top picks, but beyond that, no sure things. Interesting enough, the 4th Rounder was Heinie Bretz and 9th Rounder was Ben Turner (both who were recently traded), but Billy Kline (2nd) and Mickey Williams (5th) are the only guys from that class who currently rank in the top 30. There's still 20 rounds left, but for the most part it will be lottery ticket after lottery ticket and more luck then skill involved.