First Pick: Juan Silverio - SS - 16 years old
Roundup: Never one to pick outside his comfort zone of lower-ceiling, more likely to reach their ceiling players, GM Zalaski took a drastically different approach with the teams first pick this year.
In the past, draft picks have usually been trade fodder once they have developed, and that success has led to Zalaski's ability to drastically reshape the roster for MLB success. This has led to the dismantling of his once-fabled farm system. While the MLB team is chock full of good young players, it does lack some depth at the lower levels.
Scanning all available players, the potential to have Silverio's impact bat at a premier position was just too much to pass up. Compared to a (REALLY) young Miguel Tejada, Silverio flashes all 5 tools and held his own as a 16 year old in instructional league.
While it's going to take a few years, Silverio should be knocking on the MLB door about the time that current SS Michael Young hits a noticeable decline.
Royals Draft
Moderator: Yankees
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Yankees
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Second Pick: Brandon Hamilton - RHP - a very young 19
Roundup: Hamilton was a sandwich pick for the Tigers and flashes a legitimate first-round arm, but is very, VERY raw. After a very safe group of '06 talent, GM Zalaski felt comfortable taking projections in the '07 draft, and it doesn't come any more projectionable than Hamilton.
With a fastball that can touch 96, a tremendous spike curveball (talked about in the same breath as Porcello's slider), and a potential plus change-up, Hamilton has all the tools to be considered a potential #2 starter. He also went 2-7 in high school last year, though he did have a 1.83 era and over 1.5 k's per inning. Scouts talk about a game last year where Hamilton threw 5 wild pitches and apparently couldn't care less about the opposing team running all over the place on him.
After a lot of research on him (I even read John F'n Sickels - ask JP how much I love him), I decided his pure talent was too much to pass up at this point in the draft. After years of safe and solid drafts, it's, at the very least, going to be interesting to watch Hamilton and Silverio in the coming years.
Roundup: Hamilton was a sandwich pick for the Tigers and flashes a legitimate first-round arm, but is very, VERY raw. After a very safe group of '06 talent, GM Zalaski felt comfortable taking projections in the '07 draft, and it doesn't come any more projectionable than Hamilton.
With a fastball that can touch 96, a tremendous spike curveball (talked about in the same breath as Porcello's slider), and a potential plus change-up, Hamilton has all the tools to be considered a potential #2 starter. He also went 2-7 in high school last year, though he did have a 1.83 era and over 1.5 k's per inning. Scouts talk about a game last year where Hamilton threw 5 wild pitches and apparently couldn't care less about the opposing team running all over the place on him.
After a lot of research on him (I even read John F'n Sickels - ask JP how much I love him), I decided his pure talent was too much to pass up at this point in the draft. After years of safe and solid drafts, it's, at the very least, going to be interesting to watch Hamilton and Silverio in the coming years.
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Yankees
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Third Pick: Timothy Bascom - RHP - 23
Roundup: Bascom was taken in the 4th round, with the Orioles taking him over Arrieta in the hopes Arrieta would keep falling and not wanting to miss out on Bascom. Bascom sits in the low 90's, has hit 94, and features two plus off-speed pitches. Though a little older, Bascom will move quickly, needing only to get some movement on his fastball and refine his command a little. After the draft, who due to wacky decisions by his agent and Central Florida, Bascom, who had been playing independant ball, went straight to Low A and finished the year at High A.
He profiles as a middle of the rotation starter, more likely to top out in the back end of a rotation. He should start the year at HA, but could quickly move to AA based on perfomances. He is in the top 20 of every Orioles ranking I've seen.
Roundup: Bascom was taken in the 4th round, with the Orioles taking him over Arrieta in the hopes Arrieta would keep falling and not wanting to miss out on Bascom. Bascom sits in the low 90's, has hit 94, and features two plus off-speed pitches. Though a little older, Bascom will move quickly, needing only to get some movement on his fastball and refine his command a little. After the draft, who due to wacky decisions by his agent and Central Florida, Bascom, who had been playing independant ball, went straight to Low A and finished the year at High A.
He profiles as a middle of the rotation starter, more likely to top out in the back end of a rotation. He should start the year at HA, but could quickly move to AA based on perfomances. He is in the top 20 of every Orioles ranking I've seen.
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Yankees
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Fourth Pick: Collin DeLome - OF - 22
Roundup: Outside of Bascom, the theme of the draft is "upside" and "potential," and DeLome falls right in there. With a very projectionable frame and 5 tools evident, DeLome was the first Astros signed pick in the 2007 draft. Quickly sent to the NY Penn league, DeLome turned some heads w/ his .300 average, .867 ops, speed for center field, and arm for right field.
The team was very surprised with Collin's polish for his first run through professional baseball. He does have room for improvement, as he is more athletic then good in the outfield, and he strikes out too much (had a 5 k game). Another prospect where the sky's the limit, but the ground floor's the reality at the moment. Either way, he's another player with high ceiling potential for the Royals.
Roundup: Outside of Bascom, the theme of the draft is "upside" and "potential," and DeLome falls right in there. With a very projectionable frame and 5 tools evident, DeLome was the first Astros signed pick in the 2007 draft. Quickly sent to the NY Penn league, DeLome turned some heads w/ his .300 average, .867 ops, speed for center field, and arm for right field.
The team was very surprised with Collin's polish for his first run through professional baseball. He does have room for improvement, as he is more athletic then good in the outfield, and he strikes out too much (had a 5 k game). Another prospect where the sky's the limit, but the ground floor's the reality at the moment. Either way, he's another player with high ceiling potential for the Royals.
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Yankees
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Quick Look Back in Retrospect:
I pretty much dealt all my picks and was working with one high pick, and a few lower picks.
Silverio was dealt, and turned out to be a more massive project than originally realized. I dealt him while his value was still high - so no regrets on this pick.
Bascom was an unadulterated failure in his first full season. We'll leave it there. He's been released.
I will definitely consider Hamilton and DeLome 'hits' for now. Hamilton won't turn 20 until Christmas, and flashed his dominant pure stuff - but remained very raw. He dominated in the GCL, and struggled in the MWL - but hung in and proved he could pitch full season.
Collin advanced to HA, and swatted 22 homers in his first season of full season ball. Though he slowed down towards the end of the year, like Hamilton, he did nothing to dissuade people from "raw but talented."
I pretty much dealt all my picks and was working with one high pick, and a few lower picks.
Silverio was dealt, and turned out to be a more massive project than originally realized. I dealt him while his value was still high - so no regrets on this pick.
Bascom was an unadulterated failure in his first full season. We'll leave it there. He's been released.
I will definitely consider Hamilton and DeLome 'hits' for now. Hamilton won't turn 20 until Christmas, and flashed his dominant pure stuff - but remained very raw. He dominated in the GCL, and struggled in the MWL - but hung in and proved he could pitch full season.
Collin advanced to HA, and swatted 22 homers in his first season of full season ball. Though he slowed down towards the end of the year, like Hamilton, he did nothing to dissuade people from "raw but talented."
