[Bub13]

We interrupt regular programming to bring you our annual draft review and minor league system report.

Draft
Signing the now-zombified Brady Dunne cost us our first round pick, so no superstars for us this year. With our league-best record last year, and seventeen (!) supplementary picks after Round 1, we won't pick until #76. Not an exceptionally deep draft again this year.

Round 2, 76th Overall
SS Mike Hunter, 22, East Carolina. High contact, line drive hitter. No power, so-so discipline, but won't strike out. Great fielder, a quality fit at second, third, or short. Also rates well in the outfield, but has no range there. Probably will start in A ball already.

Round 3, 114th Overall
RF Jesse Henkel, 19, high school. First of many high INT/WE players we took this year. Projects as a solid hitter all-around, upwards of 20-25 HR with good average. Intangibles could lead to better things for him, too. Average fielder, bad arm, which is a bummer.

Round 4, 150th Overall
RP Jason Barth, 20, St. John's. Smart kid. Good stuff, decent movement, control needs work. Fastball hits 96, quality curve as well. Wants to be a closer, but probably better suited for setup, or lefty specialist.

Round 5, 186th Overall
OF Dave White, 21, New Mexico. Another INT/WE guy who could prove better than he currently rates. Projects average to above average across the board, best at gap and HR power. Average glove, but rifle arm. LH batter, so could at least figure as a good bench bat.

Round 6, 222nd Overall
RP Jim Blair, 20, Georgia. Similar to Barth, above, with less stuff but better control. Good fastball and slider, hits 98 MPH already. Smart kid, good leader.

Round 7, 258th Overall
1B Andy Amiot, 20, Western Carolina. Thoroughly average, but has killer intangibles. High INT, WE, LE. Poor defense will keep him at first or as DH.

Round 8, 294th Overall
2B Scott Bachant, 18, high school. Projects as a good hitter, but with zero power. Bad eye, doesn't strike out. Defense doesn't stand out, but has decent range, no arm. Also rates as an above average reliever. High work ethic.

Round 9, 330th Overall
SP Chris Herman, 18, high school. Impossible signability, and wants over $2M. See you later, Chris.

Round 10, 366th Overall
OF Caleb Davis, 19, high school. Good fielder, average hitter with...wait for it...no power. Good but not great arm probably keeps him from RF. Decent pitching prospect as well. Went unsigned after being taken in the 20th round by Oakland last year, so he's moving up in the world.

Many, many rounds of "Who's this guy, again?"

Round 30, 1086th Overall
2B Dave Vincent, 23, East Aurora. Mr. Irrelevant, getting his 15 seconds of fame here. Went undrafted five times. We only took him because what do you expect in the 30th round? Good fielder, good runner. That's it.

......

Last Year's Top Five

1st, Ian McGowan, 20, OF. Hit just .192 in rookie ball, will probably start there again this year. Worryingly, his potential has dropped. Still projects well, but looking more like a solid bench player than what you'd hope for with the sixth overall pick. There's time, however.
2nd, Ian Albring, 24, RP. Dominated in short A last year, still pitching great in A ball this year. Doesn't have overwhelming stuff, so will need a little nudge to become a solid big league reliever. If his contact was a little (okay, a lot) better, he'd be a quality hitting prospect as well. Should get to AA later this season.
3rd, Ronnie Corgan, 20, RP. Still on track in his development. Pitched well in S A, still there this summer, but will get the call to A soon. Developing three pitches, but stamina not good enough for starter's role.
4th, John Canning, 20, SS. Only hit .227 in rookie ball, but is showing positive signs elsewhere. Strong baserunning, great fielding, and developing as a leader. Low DP ability might shift him to third, or maybe outfield, given his exceptional ratings there as well. I still like his versatility, and hope his hitting develops to at least an average level.
5th, Tyler Dion, 19, 1B. Right now is looking like a reach as a fifth rounder. Was taken as a project, and has lost ground in just one year. Hawaiian kid; was really hoping he'd pan out.

Best in the System

SP Rob Hart, started season in AA, now in AAA. His combined ERA in 11 starts is under 2. Has been great in four AAA starts. Except for his control (a familiar refrain), he's big league ready. Pitches and stuff (and control) have some room to grow, but he's just 20, and well beyond what you'd expect from a 9th rounder.
OF Mel Carillo, hitting .293 in AA, but down 20 points from a month ago. Still has a lot of room to grow, especially his contact, power, and K avoidance, but is putting up good numbers wherever he plays. Over 10% of his pro at bats have gone for doubles, for example. He's striking out a lot, but taking walks and getting on base. His fielding isn't great, but his stats look are good. Is still just 19 too. I will be extremely disappointed if he eventually tanks.
SP Mark Phillips, got off to a great start in AAA, but blew out his elbow and will be done until next April. Has killer stuff, already fully developed (20), and an elite curve with three other solid pitches. Stamina is okay (12), but movement is a problem (maxed out at 11). He's also a flyball pitcher, and Hawaii's park is an HR bandbox, so...if he comes back from his injury without losing anything, will probably be prime trade bait. As we signed him as a free agent after the Royals released him, he cost us nothing. So any return--should we go that route--would be a bonus.
IF Danny Holguin, was a 12th round pick in 2034 who's come on strong lately. At least, his ratings have jumped, even if his stats don't stand out in any way. A quality defensive player at all three 'skill' infield positions, he's got above average contact, won't strike out, and is speedy on the bases. Sounds like a perfect utility infielder to me. Won't get many extra base hits, but doesn't embarrass himself at the plate either.
SP Eric Jones, was taken in the 21st round in 2034, and has just shot up the charts. He jumped from A last year to AAA this year, and has been adequate to good so far. The one area he needs to work on is the usual bane of young pitchers: control. My scouts have him sitting at 7 (of 13) right now, which just won't get it done in the majors. As expected, his walks have gone up in AAA, to 5.4 per 9 IP. He's only 20, so I'm still hopeful he can get that under control (ha!) and get to the bigs. (Ed. note: for all the angst one feels about high draft picks that don't pan out--and there are plenty of those--I just love it when lower picks like Holguin and Jones look like future big leaguers, out of nowhere. Thank you OOTP!)

Minor League System Overview (records as of June 6th)
AAA - Kansas City T-Bones: 26-26, 3rd place, 5.5 back
AA - Lewiston Millers: 21-33, 6th place, 12.5 back
A - Eureka Aces: 29-24, 3rd place, 9.5 back
S A, both R teams: starting later in June

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Odds and Ends
...All-Star voting update: 1B Dunklee, 3B Groff, CF Drayton are second in voting, and LF McArthur is third, at their respective positions. CL Shewmake is fourth, which is fun since he hasn't played a game yet this season.
...A ball 1B Marty Wood suffered an undisclosed injury back in April, and will miss the entire season. His ceiling is low, but he did hit well in Eureka last year (.293/.386/.431) off the bench. Rumors are swirling in the coastal California city about the true nature of Wood's health issues, but the team is not commenting except to say that the player is still a part of the team and is expected to return to the lineup in 2038.
...My source in accounting says they're crunching numbers with an expected budget of $116M next year, and $122M in 2039 (up from $104M this year). Hmm, we'll see. The Pagan is all about the profit, says my internal monologue (and his fleet of yachts and supermodels), so I won't start spending anything yet.
...SP Tom DiFranco says he wants to stay in Hawaii after this year. He's 31 and making $12M. Sources say he's looking for $126M over 8 years. Ha ha ha! Pull the other one, Tom!
...My new favorite no-hoper prospect is Poughkeepsie reliever Heui-Seong Watkins. He's 25 and coming off two bad seasons in rookie ball, but I can't bring myself to cut him. Yet.


Next up: June, Part One