Whom Should I Draft?

[Klew1986]

I will have the 2nd overall pick in the 2018 June Draft in my fictional game. I am an expansion team. I was wondering who I should take with the #2 overall pick.

[philthepat]

Martin or Dobeck for sure...

The SP being 'fragile' is enough to stop me picking him.

[Snider&Hodges]

Originally Posted by philthepat

Martin or Dobeck for sure...

The SP being 'fragile' is enough to stop me picking him.

I'm the dunce that voted for Barton in the poll but I overlooked that and you're right, banking on fragile pitchers can be dangerous. I like the idea of building a team around an ace SP but it's not Barton.

I like Martin a lot.

[BirdWatcher]

I'm curious why no love for Wicker here.
Not saying he would be my choice, but I am intrigued by a solid defensive secondbaseman with very fine turn dp skills and the chance to be a truly impact power hitter at a position not known for this skill. Coupled with the potential for a pretty good eye and decent potential contact and gap power skills, I'd be curious to see what he develops into as a player.
Not yet 18 years old, I guess there is a strong chance he never develops and there might be some question about his work ethic (?).

I'd also love to see his OF ratings as he could profile as a LF'er. (That HR power potential! I just can't let go of the thought of that easily.)

Anyway, just wondering what others are seeing here that I might not be seeing?

[ThePelvicWoo]

Dobeck for me. Martin's potential is incredible but I always get burned by the high potential high school guys. Dobeck will be able to help you pretty soon and is a safe bet to be a plus player for a long time

[Snider&Hodges]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

I'm curious why no love for Wicker here.
Not saying he would be my choice, but I am intrigued by a solid defensive secondbaseman with very fine turn dp skills and the chance to be a truly impact power hitter at a position not known for this skill. Coupled with the potential for a pretty good eye and decent potential contact and gap power skills, I'd be curious to see what he develops into as a player.
Not yet 18 years old, I guess there is a strong chance he never develops and there might be some question about his work ethic (?).

I'd also love to see his OF ratings as he could profile as a LF'er. (That HR power potential! I just can't let go of the thought of that easily.)

Anyway, just wondering what others are seeing here that I might not be seeing?

There's no wrong answer, I said Martin over Wicker mostly because we're already seeing how his Gap Power and Home Run power is turning him into a dangerous hitter. (35/55 hits were XBs). Also, Martin's signability is very easy for OP's team, while Wicker is extremely hard.

I don't know too much about how to compare high school average competition with college average competition, but maybe someone else can shed light on that.

[MisterTidster]

I’m all about Peabody, but not sure about that work ethic scouting report. Even if he never reaches his potential, a decent hitting shortstop with exceptional defensive ratings including the turning DP might be the most valuable piece to a team. Most of the time you have to sacrifice hitting for defense and the possibility of having a very good power hitter with exceptional defense is truly a rare find. In my experience you can go cheaper on your pitching if you build around exceptional middle infield defenders coupled with average to above average ground ball pitchers.

[NoOne]

peabody, wicker, martin -- flip a coin on them. the most likely cause of non-developement is actually bad scouting at draft.

well, the 17 year old ss is from college and the 21 year old ss is from high school makes me worried about accuracy of scouting related to hs/college and age.

i liked rosco peabody over the 17 year old with more power, because i am assuming the accuracy is likely better for a 21yo than a 17yo. i don't trust draft power scouting much... within ~20range is ~equivalent (of 100) for me

anyway, very highly skilled, 21 and won't take long with great defense at SS. hard to pass that up. i'd throw him in at A-ball and assume his current contact is off due to age... but if he floundered, demote to short-a after a month or so.

wicker is a good choice too. mainly due to position i'd edge toward peabody.

the pitcher isn't worth it with bonafide power hitters available. at 21 his slightly above average stuff is at its ceiling too -- no velo bumps likely. this guy will never be elite as rated. where as the 3 genuine power hitters have a chance at HoF if developed.

dobeck ss -- no power.. middling offensive threat at best. weak arm for a 'better' defensive SS too. okay leadoff batter, but you can more easily procure those than SP or power hitters.

the "CF" that is actually a lf/rf guy is good too, but it's easy to get corner OF. he is young, but seems to be well-developed for his age, which can be a great thing. again, mostly comparing positions between my top-3, and assuming some amount of inaccuracy on draftee scouting.

2nd thoughts... if i had too many young power hitters at a very young age, i might allow need to force me to take the leadoff guy... only in extreme circumstances would i do such a thing. (whehter for dobeck or the sp in this case). with luck they could both be in mlb in 1-2 years and providing a needed service, if not as productive as other draft choices at the time over their career. i always try to take the best offensive talent or best pitchign talent etc... i'll work out the musical chairs with trades later.

[rudel.dietrich]

Wicker and I don't even really find it to be close.

[NoOne]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

Wicker and I don't even really find it to be close.

i'd mostly agree if it's set to 100% accurate scouting. that could also be the best offensive ss/def combo in league for next 15 years too with only slightly less power and better gap power that will make up for a large portion of that.

plus, with all that power his babip ratings is nearing ~100/200 which almost assures inconsistent offensive production year-to-year.

all of these guys needs some sort of bump to be a generational type talent. assuredly, something about them is scouting wrong too.

[BirdWatcher]

And now to play devil's advocate towards my own earlier post arguing in favor of the desirability of Wicker: you are an expansion team and it appears there is a very good chance you might be unable to sign Wicker. And same for Dobeck, same for Peabody.
Martin, who is expected to be easily signed, is a solid enough pick. Sure I find Wicker intriguing. But I don't think Martin is any less worthy a pick and it might make more sense under the circumstances.
Either way, I hope you keep us posted how it turned out.

[rudel.dietrich]

And Wicker is 17.5 years old and is a college player. So if his career flames out you can hire him in the front office since he is some sort of genius

[UltimateAverageGuy]

Peabody for me i love defense up the middle first and foremost, which Wicker has none of

[Hotwheelz]

Wicker or Dobeck. Curious to see what Wicker's work ethic is. "Could work even harder than he does" seems to suggest he doesn't work as hard as he should but then it could mean he does work hard but there is room to grow. Hmm.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by Hotwheelz

Wicker or Dobeck. Curious to see what Wicker's work ethic is. "Could work even harder than he does" seems to suggest he doesn't work as hard as he should but then it could mean he does work hard but there is room to grow. Hmm.

Yeah that is very odd wording. I mean anyone could work harder!

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

And now to play devil's advocate towards my own earlier post arguing in favor of the desirability of Wicker: you are an expansion team and it appears there is a very good chance you might be unable to sign Wicker. And same for Dobeck, same for Peabody.
Martin, who is expected to be easily signed, is a solid enough pick. Sure I find Wicker intriguing. But I don't think Martin is any less worthy a pick and it might make more sense under the circumstances.
Either way, I hope you keep us posted how it turned out.

My expansion teams usually have low payrolls and lots and lots of cash as a result of high attendance and low payroll.
If thats the case with Klew he can overpay for draft signing bonuses to get his new franchise up and running.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

My expansion teams usually have low payrolls and lots and lots of cash as a result of high attendance and low payroll.
If thats the case with Klew he can overpay for draft signing bonuses to get his new franchise up and running.

Well, if that is the case then I think I would lean towards Wicker. Or the current popular choice- Peabody, for positional importance. As NoOne pointed out, Martin profiles better as a corner outfielder. If he provided premium centerfield defense then I would rate him higher.

[geisterhome]

I love this wicker guy, he will be an annual contender for the HR title at least, huge power plus good contact will do that for you. His hitting ratings look at better than those of Giancarlo Stanton. I would take him as a offense first 1B or LF but he is actually an above average defender at 2nd base as well.

[Rosco Peabody]

I don't think there's any question here....

DRAFT ME!!!!!!!

[Rosco Peabody]

And also give him a nice beard or at least a chin goatee. I haven't been without facial hair for one than a week since I was about 16 : )