Draft History - Your Team's First Rounders

[Guest]

I just decided to look back at my draft history, and not only were most of my 1st round picks busts, but ALL of the pitchers I drafted were. Lets go over my #1 picks:

1978: OF Ken Henshall - traded for Desi Rochs IIRC, never panned out in Pitt or Philly

1979: 2B Mark Steward - traded for Buzzell and has turned into a stud 2B, good for both teams

1980: SS Howard Haydon - came into his own last year and drove in 103 runs. Win.

1980: SP Gary Boivin - pitched well in my minors but got a random talent decrease. Appears to have regained his potential elsewhere

1981: CL Nathan Perceval - traded for Buzzell, solid in the minors but has struggled in Hartford

1982: SP Manny Hernandez - had a 3.00 ERA in his first year at A ball yet had his potential plummet and is now nothing more than minor league depth

1983: OF Pat Brown - had nearly identical potential ratings as Rex Knight yet randomly had his potential drop and will now likely never make it to Pittsburgh

1984: SP Anibal Soto - pitched well in A ball this year but his potential also dropped


So either I'm unlucky or my scouts are horrible.

[Clay]

1983: OF Pat Brown - had nearly identical potential ratings as Rex Knight yet randomly had his potential drop and will now likely never make it to Pittsburgh

I think you had a bad scout if you had him on par with Knight. I had him as slightly inferior to Jerry Tracy (who I took and will start in the BLB this season). I know Smear liked Brown a little more than Tracy... but he was never the same player as Knight. IMO.

[Guest]

He was still pretty highly touted coming out though. I think he was like the #20 or #21 prospect after he got drafted. Fell completely off the list at the end of the season and now is a POS.

[Pat]

I'll play.

1978: SP Tessai MacArthur - I didn't make this selection. I took over after the 1978 season. After two average full seasons with Washington as a #5/spot starter, he was traded to Dallas. Still only 24. Somewhat injury prone.

1979: RP Tim Pardue and RP Zoilo Lambarria - Pardue was an expansion choice of Indianapolis while still in the minors and was later traded to Davenport in the Robby Shannon trade. He had a 2.99 ERA in 120 IP last season. Lambarria dominated the BLB in 1983 at 21, pitching 1.85 ERA in 82.2 IP. Last season however he had a midseason meltdown and finished with a 4.28 ERA.

1980: 2B R.A. Grounds - Flew through the minors, and made his BLB debut in 1981. Now is my starting 2B for the foreseable future. Hit .281 with 40 doubles this year.

1981: RF Michio Nago - A 1983 September call-up who was the leadoff hitter in the playoffs for the BLB Champs. Full-time starter in 1984. Hit only .250. Still developing.

1982: LF Miguel Angel Padilla - One of the leagues best prospects. Sitting in Triple-A. Out for the season because of a 13 month dodgeball injury.

1983: SP Jerry Stuart - Started the 1984 season in Double-A but finished in Triple-A where he went 8-2 with a 2.49 ERA in 72.1 IP.

1984: RP Chad Williams - Pitched 18 scoreless innings in Single-A, then had a 2.45 ERA in Double-A. This season he is starting in Triple-A. Possible September call-up.

[Pat]

I think you had a bad scout if you had him on par with Knight. I had him as slightly inferior to Jerry Tracy (who I took and will start in the BLB this season). I know Smear liked Brown a little more than Tracy... but he was never the same player as Knight. IMO.

I did like Brown a lot. Even better than I liked Jerry Tracy. I think Brown could still have a future though. He is a good fielder, great speed and his batting potential isn't awful.

[Guest]

Eh...all 4's and 5's isn't too impressive. Right now he's got 4th OF potential at best.

What's really bizarre is that he couldn't hit to save his life in A, but he hit .267 when I bumped him up to AA.

[Lintyfresh85]

Here's California's. (I've only drafted the '82, '83, '84 classes)

1978: SP Cade Roberts - 1.5 - "Maddux Jr." had a odd journey through the Cali farm system. Started out posting a 14.6 VORP as a 17 year old in Single A, posted a 35.2 in AA and then whoever was the owner at the time made the bonehead move of skipping AAA and moving him straight to the majors! where he put a -1.6 VORP with an UGLY 23/9 BB/K ratio. In 1980 I'm assuming he started in AA ball but had bad numbers and was sent all the way back to A ball where he pitched on an average level. In '81 he started the year in A ball but was quickly moved up to AA where he posted a 21.6 VORP. In '82 when I came in, I had him in AA and he looked good his first few starts till he tore his triceps and was lost for the season. With the injury came a big time talent drop. Not worried I promoted him to AAA in 1983 where he put a outstanding 1-3, 2.23, 15.9 VORP in just 48 innings. And then the kiss of death. Needing pitching badly after I had lost Charlie O'Rogan to Washington on a waiver claim... even though he an ace in the making in '82... I fell to the same problem with Roberts... both pitchers were young, and I didn't want them to lose complete confidence so I tried to slip both back through waivers... neither made it. Roberts was picked up by Sully where he posted a solid enough 5.53 ERA in 40 innings and only a -1.9 VORP compared to the horrible -13.6 he had posted with me. (Side note... O'Rogan and Roberts are both solid pitchers... I'm pretty sure 1983 was a horrible chemistry team or something... we did good in '82, tanked in '83 and rebounded in '84). As for Roberts, he spent all of '84 in AAA with Wilmington posting a very good 30.8. He should only continue to improve as the kid is still only 24.

1979: 1B Pete LaClair - 1.6 - Pete started out right away in AA ball. In 768 at bats over three years he posted a .268/21/98 line for a -0.4 VORP. In '81 he moved up to AAA ball where he was greated with much better success posting a .260/43/188 line in 1218 at bats for a solid VORP of 40.0. Seeing as his power steadily improved through the years I thought Pete was an answer at 1B. Sadly that never came about as in 112 BLB at bats he has hit .170/.198/.377 with 0 Hr's/6 RBI's. Along the way Pete also suffered a dreaded random talent drop and now at 24 is nothing more than a fringe AAA/AA player as evident of his .202/5/26 in 193 AAA at bats last year.

1980: SP Nick Duncan - 1.2 - Nick started his career with a brief stop in A ball before spending most of his professional career in AA. Lifetime Nick is 20-26 with a 3.66 ERA in 428.1 innings pitched posting a solid 69.6 VORP. Originally in '82 he struggled horribly when I moved him up to AAA for a brief moment but faired much better in '84 where he went 13-8 with a 4.48 ERA and a VORP of 6.9. Unfortunately over this past offseason Nick lost a talent point and now is listed as "Not Ready for Triple A" in the System report. It seems he may top out as a AAAA player as he will be 26 years old before the season starts next year.

1981: 1B/OF Steve Boyd - 1.2 - Boyd was a mistake on my part. I'm glad the owner who drafted him did, but I screwed up this guys development terribly. In 499 at bats in A ball Boyd dominated the competition posting a .321/.415/.910 line with a 56.3 VORP. Not satisified with his continued progress I pushed Boyd to AA where he hit .350 in 80 at bats. Thinking he could handle it, I then moved him to AAA... and once again, Boyd answered the call hitting .333/.400/.867 in just 45 at bats. I then called him up to the BLB. This was my first year managing a team in OOTP and I was not aware on how you have to deal with prospects and thought sending him through A-AA-AAA-BLB in one year was perfectly acceptable. I screwed up. In 45 at bats Boyd hit .122/.182/.450. Ouch. Thinking he'd be fine I sent him back to AAA but the damage had already been done. He hit .207 in 116 at bats in AAA before being demoted to AA where he hit .254 but posted a solid .747 OPS. Unfortunately near the end of the year Boyd got hurt for 10-12 months and suffered the dreaded injury talent drop. Eventually he came back in '84 and posted a modest .273/.318/.785 line for me in AA before he was traded away to Syracuse with Shunsen Miyamoto in exchange for my current closer Paul Scott. I think Boyd could still be a back up some day... but certainly nowhere near the level of potential he once showed.

1982: SP Jud Graham - 1.3 - Jud was my first draft pick and he has turned out very nicely for the Kodiaks so far. Coming into the draft he was a RP with 5 endurance. Don Stevens and Joaquín González went before Graham as they were the two stud pitchers Indy and Mississippi would build their foundation around. Thankfully Graham took a solid endurance hike and skyrocketed up the prospect chart. He has posted an 10.0 or above VORP in all three levels of the minors and currently is about to open the season as my ace in AAA. Only 19 Graham may make a September call up for the Kodiaks this year. Unfortunately in '83 he suffered a minor random talent drop but it looks like it only hurt him very slightly... and he now projects as a solid 2-3 in the rotation and not an ace.

1983: SP Mac Avery - 1.5 - Mac was a steal for me at 1.5. He was nothing short of great in his first half season of pro ball as he posted an amazing 2.72 ERA with a VORP of 19.7 in AA. During the '83 offseason I moved him up to AAA where he was equally as impressive posting a 2.68 ERA and a VORP of 36.5. Mac was traded at the deadline in 1984 for *hopefully* our 1B of the future Robby Shannon. Mac unfortunately suffered a pretty serious injury soon after the trade, but from what I've heard has avoided any ratings drops and looks to be a big part of Indy's pitching future.

1984: C Manny Cisneros - 1.4 - Manny is interesting. His future looks extremely bright... and the fact that the BLB seems to be filled with superstar slugger catchers only helps to make his future brighter. Unfortunately, Manny had a horrible first half season in A ball as he posted a terrible .192/.220/.505 line for a -7.5. Thankfully over the offseason he upped his contact from a 2 to a 3 so I'm guessing his numbers will take a jump this year. He's very raw, and very prone to talent swings... as evident by the fact he jumped from the Top 30 to #9 on the prospect list. Since then he has lost one point in Eye potential, but if his power rounds out, and he avoids long term injuries and random talent drops... I think he'll still eventually make a solid regular.

So as you can see, I've had more success with pitchers in my first two drafts but Cisneros is only 19 and he gets an incomplete.

Can't wait for pick 1.6 this year! Ties the 1979 draft for the furthest back California has ever had to pick! Baby steps!

[Guest]

Cisneros looks like a BEAST. My scout has him at 7-7-8-7-7 potential.

On another note, nearly all of my best picks have been very late rounders. For example:

Joe Nazaire - 14th round
Teodor Leal - 6th round
Angelo Rodriguez - 10th round
Zhi-peng Zhao - 13th round

Then you have Rosales who was a 2nd round pick, of course.

[Jim]

Here's California's. (I've only drafted the '82, '83, '84 classes)

That's a lot of info on those guys...you should post that as an article and get some money for it!!

[Jake]

Same drill for Syracuse (only drafted '84, when I didn't have a 1st).

1978 - 1.15 - RP Phil Gibson - Career BLB ERA of 4.82 with an approximate K-BB ratio of 3:2. However, Gibson's only had one season of sub 5 ERA in 1983. Just claimed by Washington last sim.
1979 - 1.10 - 2B Frank Rancourt - Currently our starting 2B, with a career VORP of 80.3 in two years.
1980 - 1.5 - SP Nacho Zagistado - A bust. Now 27, Zagistano has an outside chance to be a spot starter one day, and even that is a long shot.
1981 - 1.3 - LF Justin Chewning - Tore up the minors before evidentally getting bored in AAA last year. Hit .302 in a late season callup and at 22 will start in LF on Opening Day.
1.18 - LF Rbb Laurence - Still working to get through the minors.
1982 - 1.7 2B Raul Zamora - Impressed in his first season in the BLB, and will start at 3B in 1985.
1983 - 1.14 3B Ivan Ontiveros - Currently out with back spasms for another 5 months. Missed most of 1984 after a mediocre half season in 1983. Probably just about done.

[Clay]

Moved the stuff from that 1985 thread to a new thread....

[Clay]

My turn!!!

The Virginia Colonials

1978 Delmar Oyos -SP- 1.14

One of the few things that the original ownership did right in Virginia. While Oyos seems to have spent his entire career right on the edge of breaking out, he's yet to really become that dominant starter that Virginia needs. Oyos is only 25 and the clear ACE on the staff. Right now he's doing just enough not to lose, but not yet enough to win as proven by his 14 no decisions last season. He'll go into '85 as the clear leader of yet another young staff.

1979 Simone Bertetto -SP- 1.8

Bertetto was the last #1 pick taken by the old administration before the S.H.I.T. Group took over the team in the 79-80 off-season. The Italian born hurler was the apple of the scouts eye during his days in the low minors, but in a case of too much too soon, after making his debut in the big in '83, he lost his control and has struggled with BBs as a Pro. He's been a servicable AAA pitcher, even throwing a No-Hitter in his first start after being sent down in '83. But his chances of ever contributing to the BLB Club grow thinner by the day.

1980 Hsin-pei Mar -2B- 1.9

The first S.H.I.T. pick was a slick fielding infielder from China who had the scouting report that would exploit the wide open gaps at Colonial Park at Williamsburg. Though stll high on the prospect, Management decided to include him in an '81 deal that would bring current Colonials Martin Carlton and Brian Greenham (plus a 2nd Rounder that would become Adrian Boyd) in the Eric cafferty deal to Los Alamos. Mar hit the ground running in that system, but an ilconceived switch to Centerfield may have slowed down the progress of the former Top 25 prospect. Still only 23, he struggles in AAA last year after a late promotion.

1981 Yan van den Adel -CF- 1.4 & Ivan Reveles -P- 1.13

You win some and you lose some! Yan van den Adel seemed like the perfect storm. Power, speed, fielding... he was going to be the player that would finally push Danny Nelson out of CF and into his more natural corner spot. Unfortunately, things don't always work out. Though you can't question his speed - he's stolen over 200 bases in just over 400 games - he just doesn't have enough bat to make it to the show. Though Management still loves him and has shown commitment to him, even going as far as protecting him in the last expansion draft, he may only get a cup of coffee in the majors as a pinch runner and defensive replacement someday.

Reveles was just 17 when he was drafted as a Closer out of West Point H.S. in Mississippi where he and his family moved just two years earlier and he picked up a baseball for the first time. Though he doesn't do any one thing exceptionally well, he's a tough kid and will fight. In his days in the minors he was used as a Closer and in a Setup role, but the BLB club always saw him as a Starter and have been stretching him out for years. When he got the September call-up this season, he started 4 games where he struggled with his control, though showed he did have the endurance to be a starter. He'll go into Spring Training in '85 with a legit shot at winning the Spot Starter role due to his bullpen versitility.

1982 Yoritoki Maeda -3B- 1.6

Currently the #12 Prospect according to Baseball America, Maeda came from the infamous "Baby Draft of '82" where he was plucked out of his native Japan and shipped to Blacksburg at the age of 16. Though somewhat slow to develop, at 19 years old, scouts still absolutely love Maeda's potential with even the conservative OSA Scouting Service currently projecting him at 6-7-6-6-8. A dead-pull hitter, Maeda runs exceptionally well for a corner infielder. Though he's played 3B exclusively in the low minors, most exports project a move the 1B when he hits AAA as he has shown a slightly inferior glove to Joshua Poling - the other stud 3B that will make up the Colonials IF of the future. A dissappointing ommission from the 1984 Japanese Team in the World Baseball classic, the youngster has his eyes on a breakout career that will make his country take notice.

1983 Nate Magness -SP- 1.1, Jerry Tracy -OF- 1.6 & Gene Bland -SP- Sandwich 1.3

In the 1983, the Colonials had three big picks before the beginnig of the 2nd Round. Their henious play earned them the #1 overall pick and the rights to draft Nate "The Skull" Magness. While many experts waffled between Magness, fellow Pitcher Denver Brode and 5-tool CF Rex Knight, the Colonials zeroed in on Magness from Day 1. After two seasons of collegiate ball at his hometown University of Cincinnati where his Dad is the coach, Magness spent only 13 games in the minors before being given a spot in the starting rotation coming out of 1984 Spring Training. Thought three separate injuries cost "The Skull" about 10 starts during the season, he managed to get in 143 innings of work in his rookie year. He struggled with his control at times, but with an off-season in winter ball, he comes into '85 fully developed and looking like a stud.

The Colonials grabbed the 6th pick from Mississippi that season in a surprising trade and used it to land Outfielder Jerry Tracy. Though some experts thought Pat Brown would be the pick here, Virginia went with the UCONN Senior stick because they loved his development and polish. He rewarded them by breezing through Single A before hitting AA Battle Creek to start the '84 campaign. In 84, he showed the team that he was ready to contribute by hitting .302 and swatting 10 HRs in AA before getting the call to Detroit where he nursed a back injury yet still yoked out 4 bombs and 17 RBIs in 17 games while hitting .359 (.425 OBP). He got the September call-up and hit .307 in his first 75 BLB ABs. Until two weeks ago he was slated as the #4 OF going into '85, but the injury to Alberto Hernando has caused some shuffling of the lineup that will likely result in Tracy claiming an everyday OF spot.

When Jimmy O'Loughlin left Virginia for Pawtucket, he left behind a sandwich pick that the Colonials turned into Gene Bland. The California southpaw had a rather pedestrian '83 campaign, but quietly emerged in '84 as a player to watch after compiling a 12-5 record with a 3.25 ERA.

1984 Arlen Spencer -SP- 1.5 & Florian Toselli -OF- 1.15

Too soon to tell what Arlen Spencer is going to become. Virginia was not blown away by the 1984 draft class, but loved the tenacity of Spencer - an Air Force Brat who they scooped right out of HS. The mental makeup is there and he knows how to get guys out. We'll see what he can do with it.

After the Simone Bertetto experiment, the Colonial's organizaton were reluctant to take the call from Europen Scout C.F. Boyardee. When they did, he brought them a reel on a 21 year old native named Florian Toselli. Thought not looking for another corner outfielder, they found themselves at a place at pick 15 where Toselli's upside was just too much to pass up. With a .405 OBP in his 33 games in A-ball (he missed two weeks with blurred vision after a beanball incident in July) Toselli proved that he was worth the pick and could potentially be a key component in the future of the organization though it may be as a component in a trade.

[Andrew]

1978 - Gil O'Moore - Made it the BLB in 1980, his 3rd professional season. Career 55-24 with a 2.77 ERA. Won the 1984 Brewmaster's Championship MVP. Has some injury concerns but is currently one of the best pitchers in the BLB. Not much else to say.

1979 - Joe O'Rafferty - First Maine draft pick of the "scouting era" didn't turn out too well. He had an OK minor league career but his ratings never progressed to the point where he could take the next step. Was traded to Syracuse in 1983 ina deal that brought Galterio Tibaldi and Joe Cuevas, two members of our 1984 championship team.

1980 - Paul Scott - I traded Scott before he made it to his minor league affiliate. He was sent to Syracuse in a deal that brought Bill Johnson, who was a key member of our 1980 championship team. He's having a decent career so far but doesn't appear to have the stuff to be a closer, which is what I originally drafted him as.

1981 - Kyoden Kubota - Drafted as a 17 year old and was in the BLB by 19. A very patient hitter that is still improving. Should be a fixture in the Maine lineup for years to come.

1982 - Clarence Nicholson - Another player traded in my 1983 deal with Syracuse that brought Cuevas and Tibaldi. Had good potential but didn't seem to be developing all that fast so decided to move him.

1983 - Clarence Evans - This guy will never be a great hitter but looks to have a future in Maine, even if it's just as a utility infielder. He's rated highly at all four infield positions. Also a very good baserunner. I'm still holding out hope that he could turn into a decent hitter and become a starter.

1984 - Tino Suarez - Not many people liked this pick but he is looking pretty good. Currently ranked #38 by Baseball America and is my organizations best prospect. Had a very good year in AA last year and could see the BLB sometime next season.

[Lintyfresh85]

Just looking through the draft histories... has anyone done a better job drafting than JMW and Dallas?

I mean you really know your stuff.

'79: Gil Melgoza - 1.2
'80: Joe Molenza - 1.7
'81: Antenor Corona - 1.9
'82: Dani Álvarez - 1.8
'83: Denver Brode - 1.2

All of those guys are in the BLB right now! You either are an amazing evaluater of talent, or you've had some of the best luck with prospects out there.

Also if my math is right, these five combined for a total VORP of 110.2! For comparisons sake... California's total offensive VORP last year was a combined 8.5. Those five guys put up nearly 14 times the amount of VORP that my starting 9 did. That's flat out amazing. Congrats on the great work!

[liquidcrash]

1978- 1.10- 1B Si Phan- I thought that Phan would turn into a star player who would be a fixture in the middle of our lineup. After struggling for the first few seasons of minor league ball, Phan came on strong at AAA and was thought to have "turned the corner." Unfortunately, he's stuggled (to put it mildly) at the BLB level. He still has decent ratings, but he's running out of time. He must produce this season.

1979- 1.12 SS Jonathan Ruffin- My scouts disagreed on Ruffin, but I thought I was going to get a SS who could hit for a solid average and play terrific defense. He's done neither. Bust.

1980- 1.12 SP Logan Greathouse- Drafted at only 17 years old, I was hoping Greathouse would develop into a 1/2 starter in the BLB. After a very good first half-season at A level, things looked promising. Since then Greathouse has struggled and may never even make it to AAA ball. Bust.

1981- No first round pick. I don't remember who I traded this pick for and so far can't find it anywhere.

1982- 1.20- MR Cy Kirkpatrick- I converted Kirkpatrick into a SP after a year in the minors, and he flew threw the system after that, dominating AA ball. After only two starts in AAA, my scouts told us he was ready for the bigs. Several disastrous starts later, he's back in the minors and it now appears his once promising career may be effectively over.

1983- 1.15- SP Shawn Gates- I was thrilled to see Gates fall to our pick in this draft, and I'm still happy about it now. Gates has put together two good seasons in A ball, and should move up the system this year. Currently the #43 prospect in the BLB.

1984- 1.19- SP Jed Lewis- Only 17 years old when he was drafted, Lewis is going to be brought along slowly. He was in the top 100 prospect list after draft day, but a strained rotator cuff ended his first season early. Too early to tell if he'll pan out.

So, none of my first round picks has made any real contribution to the big league team. As a result of poor drafts, my farm system isn't rated very highly and I've reevaluated my draft strategy. But my team is certainly feeling the effects of these picks. I've never had a pick higher than 10th, so I guess that makes it better.