[Westheim]

2036 DRAFT POOL ANALYSIS

It was a pitchers’ draft, and a draft for players that fit into the all-glove, no-stick mold, and for the latter there was the problem that they were so numerous that some of them might go undrafted entirely. There is only so many slick-fielding second basemen with less power than a handful of ants that I can care about.

Which doesn’t mean that there weren’t some interesting batters in the draft, too. The thing was that at #16 the Raccoons were entirely unlikely to get one of those three or four players, and since pitchers were more numerous, our first-rounder would probably be a pitcher.

But we don’t want to go without mentioning at least two of them, two future All Stars it seemed. Both were also super utility players, capable of playing about a handful of positions, so you know that I was salivating about them, and yet they were unreachable. Phil Rogers and Felix Marquez were the best college batters up for the draft, no questions asked. The former was probably more of an outfielder type, maybe even a Gold Glove centerfielder, while the latter figured to be an above-average shortstop or a Gold Glove second baseman, whatever your heart desired. Needless to say, I’d give an arm for either of them, or two arms for both. Maud is relieved that our scout guy, Gomez, or Fernandez, or whatever his name is, has assured her that the Coons won’t get either of them boys, and she won’t have to feed me for the rest of my life.

When it came to pitchers, the offerings were rich, and you could get whatever kid you wanted – at least if you had an early pick. There were high schoolers, college kids, lefties, righties, even an interesting closer or two. Overall we had 121 players on the shortlist, and the following dozen-or-so on the revered hotlist (*high school players):

SP Gabe Blanco (14/12/14) *
SP Kyle Conner (11/14/15) * - BNN #2
SP Mike Bezet (12/15/14) – BNN #1
SP Mike LeMasters (12/11/10) * - BNN #8
SP Melvin Lucero (11/13/14) *
SP Mike Carnes (12/12/9) – BNN #5

CL Van Anderson (16/15/13) *
CL Josh Shackelford (12/13/13)

UT Felix Marquez (14/13/17) – BNN #3
SS/3B Justin Morgenstern (13/4/4)
1B Art Goetz (8/13/13)

UT Phil Rogers (8/14/13) – BNN #4
RF/LF/1B Josh Wotring (13/10/12)

Off note shall be that Van Anderson entered the draft as a meh outfielder, but is actually a bit of a pitching standout in high school ball. He doesn’t have the stamina to be a starter, but he looks like an interesting pick. Morgenstern (which is German for morning star) has been grimly rated by our scout guy, but seems to hit a whole lot better in college.

I don’t currently have a favorite among those pitchers on offer. I would like a left-hander, which is not currently a common commodity in our system, so that would mean Bezet or LeMasters (though there are more A- options available), but I wouldn’t kick any of the righties off a bridge over the Willamette. Given the numbers we should get *somebody* off the list at #16.