2031 Draft Discussion - Draft will begin Mon 3/11

[mwetts]

Delandis is up in the draft

[mwetts]

JJLinn is up in the draft

[Carlos]

Thoughts on my three picks thus far.

2.14 Harry Donnelly. This guy looks like Mr. Average across the board. He is basically a 5.5 in everything. Hitting, fielding, running. Good college numbers. I hope he's more Dane Browning than T.J. Scott when it comes to left fielders.

2.16 Israel Moreno. My scout predicts Moreno will develop his changeup which would give him three good pitches and with decent stamina he could be a starter. If he doesn't develop, there's still hope he becomes a good reliever. OSA doesn't like him as much. At worse I guess he ends up being Jimmy Kearney which would be a waste of a second round pick.

2.20 Geoff Starr. Both OSA and my scout believe Starr is likely to be a serviceable player. There's some hidden fielding potential in there that we hope he unlocks. Could be a centerfielder with enough reps. We'll take it.


A few comments on players we really wanted that were scooped up by other teams (in the order of players I thought had a better chance of falling to me)

2.11 Alec Young (California). Really like Young's hitting potential. As a gap hitter with a line drive profile, there would have been good opportunity to see him hitting 30+ doubles every season in Denver. I don't think he will be much of a home run hitter, but he should be a very good defensive player at the very least.

2.2 Tom Crosby (Miami). I'm not super excited about Crosby, but I still see a middle rotation arm and considering it's hard to find guys that can slide in the bottom of the rotation without destroying your chances of winning, it's still important to find the Crosby's of the world in the draft. Good groundball pitcher. 4 very good pitches. A leader. The kind of college stats you have to like once you get past the aces of the college-sphere. It's a good pick and really the best of the remaining starters at that point of the draft.

1.18 Benjamin Johnson (New York). He won't be Alpha at the plate, but Johnson should develop into a really good power hitter. His batter profile really lends well to his projected power and though he might not be the best contact hitter, he won't suffer too much. It'll look worse in New York because of the field but I hope Spectre doesn't undervalue him when he considers trading him in ten years. Someone will get a good player in the 2040s.

1.16 Norm Knowlton (Philadelphia) I considered Knowlton a third round pick but that was based on his high school numbers. My scout does really like him and even if he only touches OSA's ratings, there's a good pitcher there if his personality doesn't get in the way.

1.9 Marcos Savage (Los Angeles). I'm a bit surprised he went this early but OSA loves him more than my scout. That said, I really like this guy. He plays a prime position and has good potential as a batter. LA will have a defensive wizard with great gap power at the very least. Considering how hard it is to find CFers, I could see him batting in the bottom of the lineup and playing everyday just for his defense. At best, he's at the top of the lineup winning DWIs and driving in runs. Can't go wrong with this pick.

Honorable Mention

3.1 Hunter Penick (Miami). There's a secret offensive weapon hidden inside Penick. Will be interesting to see what shark does here. I liked Penick because no matter what he's going to be a reliever in the BLB. But the chance he could be a hitter as well is really intriguing. My scout thinks Hunter will be a soft contact hitter which doesn't bode well for a 1B or a guy with poor speed, but I'd take it if you're talking pinch hitter when he doesn't pitch in relief. Stepping beyond the 4th wall, I don't know how OOTP will handle this so it might be too difficult to arrange. He's not a starter so you can't play him on off-days. Might just need to place him as a pinch hitter and only have him in middle relief. Putting him in the closer / stopper / set-up spots might be way too risky if OOTP doesn't handle it well. I'll be paying attention or trying to trade for him.

[Pat]

Good read Carlos!

My turn:

1.21 OF Charles Farris (UNLV - NCAA) - I traded up (how dare you) from 1.24 for 4.16 and 5.24. Odds are it was pointless but as Farris continued to fall, Carolina announced they were looking to move down and I jumped. In 2030, Farris hit .376/1.300 OPS and 198 OPS+, finishing 3rd in Outstanding Hitter and had a 27-game hitting streak. By comparison, this year OF Martin Christensen (1.4) hit .384/1.250 198 OPS+. This season in the fourth game of the year, Farris was hitting .417/1.378. After a solo home run against Stanford, he was beaned in his next at bat. The pitch hit him in the face and broke his cheekbone (out 6 weeks). When he returned, his play has slowed a bit as he is unhappy being on a 17-33 team. My scout has his batting and fielding potential slightly better than OSA and my previous scout had him almost identical. He's the 2nd highest rated prospect in NCAA after Christensen. There are questions about his fragility, his fielding, his proneness to striking out and his intangibles are still shown as "normal." But I thought he had the highest remaining potential at that point and I thought he had a chance to be a Top 10 pick.

2.24 SP Jerry Rodriguez (YDU - CCBL) - This might be a reach, if there is such a thing in these newer draft classes. He's a 2-time All-Star and finished 3rd in POTY voting last year. His stats are undeniable but his potential from my scout and OSA isn't anything to get excited about. My scout did like him better in previous versions, however. He's a flyball pitcher with high stamina. I won't be surprised at all if he ends up being a solid middle of the rotation starter who in the right matchups performs very well. I equally wouldn't be surprised if my scout and OSA are right, and he doesn't even make the BLB.

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Other Picks I Really Liked:

1.4 OF Martin Christensen (ARZ - NCAA - CAR) - While I think a lot of teams didn't have him as a top 5 pick, I think if we were a stats-only league, he might have gone #1. OSA has him as the top prospect in NCAA. His stats are off the charts. He is a rare two-way player. And if my scout is right, he might be in the BLB by Opening Day next year.

1.15 SP Trey McCaffrey (Bishop - HS - NO) - This is mainly based on my scout but of all the HS SP prospects that have gone in the first two rounds of the draft, Trey was the best according to my scout, and it wasn't even close. He won POTY last year. High groundball. No injuries. Has the frame to add some velocity.

2.8 SP Nickson Wilson (Huntington - HS - MAI) - My scout wasn't over the moon about him prior to the conversion but his accolades are impressive. He threw a No-Hitter with 0 BB and 12 K as a 15-year old. He's also 6'11. And he already hits 96 MPH. Maine paid a steep price (next years 1st) to trade up for this pick but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being well worth it.

2.11 SS Alec Young (BAY - NCAA - CAL) - I had a deal almost in place with Pawtucket to move up to 2.7 but before I could respond with a yes, Funclown found a prospect. Young is impressive. He appears to have a legit arm and great range. He might miss a few balls and isn't the best at turning the DP but his can probably play 3B-SS-2B all at a high level. My scout and OSA have concerns about his contact but as a switch-hitter with high work ethic, I wouldn't worry about it.


Honorable Mention:

2.23 C Willie Palmer (ORE - NCAA - MAI) - I think he easily had the highest potential of any remaining prospect in the draft but RH catchers are everywhere. My current duo at the BLB level were drafted in the 3rd and 6th round, and one of my top prospects is also a RH catcher in Triple-A (drafted in the late 2nd in 2028). I'm not even sure I would have drafted him before maybe my late 3rd round pick just because of redundancy, but I was still surprised he lasted this long.

3.1 CL Hunter Penick (Alac - HS - MIA) - I didn't discover this guy until just recently. My scout has his potential 65-50-40, what you would normally see as maybe a swing MR. However, if you read the summary, it thinks he can finish games. Haven't yet figured this new scouting system out but based on his stats, his stuff appears electric.

[BradZ]

Sharkn20 is up

[Pat]

Lintyfresh85

[Z]

Love the two posts above from Carlos and Pat

[BradZ]

Sharkn20 is up

[BradZ]

Sharkn20 is up

[Delandis]

Sharkn20 is up