2012 First Year Player Draft:
The Major League Baseball moguls will be maneuvering, conniving and cajoling today to get the pick of the litter in this year's amateur draft. They will be drooling and salivating over the new pups available in the rookie player draft.
Houston,
Minnesota,
Seattle,
Baltimore and
Kansas City have plenty to bark and yelp about, since they will have the first five picks. In the opinion of most baseball experts, these are the most highly prized players in the 2012 draft:
1.
Justin Rimmele, 21 year-old SS out of college.
2.
Bill Fowlkes, 22 year-old 1B out of college.
3.
Chris Cunningham, 20 year-old CF out of college.
4.
Jesus Muniz, 21 year-old SS out of college.
5.
Ryan Bates, 19 year-old CF out of high-school.
6.
Jim Hatfield, 20 year-old SS out of college.
7.
Erick Abler, 18 year-old 2B out of high-school.
8.
Chris Miller, 19 year-old CF out of high-school.
9.
Brian Fox, 18 year-old RHP out of high-school.
10.
Matt Clement, 22 year-old 3B out of college.
1st Round, 1st Pick(1st overall)
Houston Astros select 1B
Bill Fowlkes(22, 2/5*) out of Creighton University (Omaha, NE)
Good Competition: .303-39-87 1.337OPS 83G 8.7WAR
Signability: Normal, Bonus Demand: $3.0M
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality:
Work Ethic, Baseball IQ
A first baseman with 80 power potential and 80 batting eye potential,
Bill Fowlkes has slugger written all over him. Impressive kid.
1st Round, 17th Pick(17th overall)
Toronto Blue Jays select SS
Jim Hatfield(20, 1.5/4.5*) out of Louisburg College (Louisburg, NC)
Poor Competition: .317-20-51 27/39SB 1.298OPS 54G 5.5WAR
Signability: Easy, Bonus Demand: $1.5M
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality:
Loyalty, Adaptability, Work Ethic, Financial Ambition.
Baseball IQ
A switch-hitting infielder with 60 defense at shortstop, 70 at third and 65 at second base, he could be a fixture in our infield. With 60-65 speed and aggressiveness on the basepaths and a solid bat that can hit a ton of doubles and triples.
2nd Round, 17th Pick(47th overall)
Toronto Blue Jays select RHRP
Ricardo Maurer(18, 1.5/4.5*) out of Oklahoma State University
Average Competition: 2-0 7SV 0.96 73K 37.1IP 13G/3GS 1.9WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $240k
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality:
Adaptability,
Financial Ambition
A groundball pitcher with a 95-97mph heater with 98-100mph and the potential for a great curveball, the 18-year old Curacaoan only lacks a bit of control to become elite. We need good relievers and we decided to reach for the kid a bit early.
3rd Round, 17th Pick(77th overall)
Toronto Blue Jays select 1B
Adam Brzezinski(23, 1.5/4*) out of Vassar College
Average Competition: .312-30-76 1.330OPS 16/20 SB 8.6WAR 81G
Signability: Very Easy, Bonus Demand: $1.1M
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality:
Financial Ambition
A first baseman with 80 power and 85 batting eye potential, his biggest weakness is that he is prone to striking out a ton. A College senior, we hope he can develop quickly….
4th Round, 17th Pick(107th overall)
Toronto Blue Jays select OF
Jake Harris(18, 0.5/4*) out of Point Loma Nazarene University
Average Competition: .495-4-19 1.539OPS 10/17SB 6.3WAR 45G
Signability: Impossible, Bonus Demand: Unknown
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality:
Work Ethic, Financial Ambition,
Leader
The kid is kinda committed to college, and is someone with low financial ambition, so we may not be able to sign him, but we will try. He projects as an elite contact bat that can play solid defense in left field.
5th Round, 17th Pick(137th overall)
Toronto Blue Jays select LHRP
Mike Cosens(22, 2/3.5*) out of University of Florida
Great Competition: 7-1 2.27 100K 87.1IP 2.9WAR 16G/13GS
Signability: Normal, Bonus Demand: Slot
Injury Proneness:
Fragile
Personality:
Work Ethic
Same argument as with our 2nd rounder, we really need relievers and he was the best lefty in the class. The 22-year old has a 95-99 mph header with a slider and projects quite well… but is a bit fragile.
6th Round, 17th Pick(167th overall)
Toronto Blue Jays select OF
Ian Dellaripa(19, 0.5/3*) out of New Hyde Park Memorial High School
Great Competition: .500-9-47 1.704OPS 5.4WAR 33G
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $480k
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality:
Baseball IQ,
Financial Ambition
A good defender in left and right and decent in center, he is a good overall prosepct that should hit some and play decent defense. We have way too many outfield prospects now by what the hell.
7th Round, 17th Pick(197th overall)
Toronto Blue Jays select 1B
Vinny Rincon(17, 0.5/3*) out of University of Southern California
Average Competition: .407-23-57 1.635OPS 17/18SB 6.2WAR 42G
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $370k
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality:
Leader, Work Ethic, Financial Ambition
Very similar to our third rounder, we simply could not pass up the opportunity to sign another slugging first baseman. 80 power, 75 batting eye, strikeouts for days. We will see how he develops.