Quick rundown of my draft picks with my own thoughts (no cut and paste scouting reports here, too cheap to pay for BA or BP). I'll try to update this pick by pick from here on in.
Pick 25 Blake Beaven RHP 6'6 205 1/17/89
I couldn't believe I'd be lucky enough to have Bumgarner fall to me, and it turns out I wasn't. The obvious Moneyball pick would have been Casey Weathers, and I thought about him long and hard, but I also gave up Ryan Garko for Chad Cordero, and as the DBacks traded Valverde is seems like there's a decent chance for Qualls to close in Arizona, so that pick just didn't fill a need for me. Beaven is a huge talent who is already being clocked at 96 with command, and I love the attitude he seems to have. Best case scenario the big Texan follows in the footsteps of flamethrowers like Ryan, Clemens, and Beckett, plus he's got a much cooler sounding name than Madison Bumgarner (seriously, what ace is ever going to be named Madison? This is also why I'm skeptical of Jo-Jo Reyes). Hopefully we'll see him in the IBC rotation in 2011, when Haren and Lowry should still be solid starters.
A's Draft Picks AKA I can't find anything productive to do.
Moderator: Giants
Pick 55 Clayton Mortensen RHP 6'4 180 4/10/85
I really wanted Michael Almanzar with this pick, was planning to pair him with Angel Villalona as a tag team of bonus baby 3rd basemen. Well that didn't work out so well. Anyway, Mortensen is definitely more of a Moneyball type pick as a college senior who could move quickly. He is a ground ball pitcher who had an incredible debut, with a 3.57 K/BB ratio (5.63 at Low A, where he pitched the majority of his innings), and he had a 3.31 GO/AO ratio, which means he's pretty good at keeping the ball down (and that I might need some better fielders). I also factored in the lack of depth in the Cardinals rotation (with Carpenter out Braden Looper might be the ace at the beginning of the year, and he right now projects in my bullpen), which could speed his ascent. I expect him to start the year in High A, and if he handles it they could move him up again. Either way with my first two picks you can tell that I'm not thrilled about the future after Haren, Lowry and hopefully Mulvey in my rotation.
I really wanted Michael Almanzar with this pick, was planning to pair him with Angel Villalona as a tag team of bonus baby 3rd basemen. Well that didn't work out so well. Anyway, Mortensen is definitely more of a Moneyball type pick as a college senior who could move quickly. He is a ground ball pitcher who had an incredible debut, with a 3.57 K/BB ratio (5.63 at Low A, where he pitched the majority of his innings), and he had a 3.31 GO/AO ratio, which means he's pretty good at keeping the ball down (and that I might need some better fielders). I also factored in the lack of depth in the Cardinals rotation (with Carpenter out Braden Looper might be the ace at the beginning of the year, and he right now projects in my bullpen), which could speed his ascent. I expect him to start the year in High A, and if he handles it they could move him up again. Either way with my first two picks you can tell that I'm not thrilled about the future after Haren, Lowry and hopefully Mulvey in my rotation.
Pick 67 Brian Rike LF 6'2 200 12/13/85
I had a vain hope that Kelvin De Leon would fall to me here, but after Bumgarner and Almanzar I knew it wasn't going to be, and sure enough he was gone 6 picks before me (and probably someone else would have taken him before 67 regardless). For some reason I kept reading that he went to LSU instead of La. Tech; I really really really hate LSU, but I really really really love power hitting lefty college bats so I gave him a more serious look, and to my great relief it turns out he's not a Tiger. Rike, a former walk-on, had a ludicrous junior season with a .346/.471/.705 line, and he continued to hit in the Northwest League, posting a .296/.404/.441 line. By the way, if you want to see some flukey stats check out the NWL, all but one team finished with a losing record (which I didn't know was possible) and the two top OBP'ers in that league finished with more walks than hits (the guy at the top of that list hit something like .211 with a .442 OBP). Anyway, the concern about Rike is how much power he'll have on the MLB level, but he is going to Colorado so that should help. He should start next year in Low A, with a promotion if he continues to hit well. What really excites me about him is the plate discipline, if he continues to show that he should continue to advance. He is reputed to have a good arm, and could probably handle both corner OF spots. Best case scenario Holliday and the Rockies can't reach an extension, Boras takes his boy to free agency and Rike is there to fill the void. MLB.com's draft analyst calls Rike a "real baseball player," as opposed to the pretend 71 baseball players drafted before him I suppose. Should also add here that I think Rike is an awesome baseball name, he should get good karma from that.
I had a vain hope that Kelvin De Leon would fall to me here, but after Bumgarner and Almanzar I knew it wasn't going to be, and sure enough he was gone 6 picks before me (and probably someone else would have taken him before 67 regardless). For some reason I kept reading that he went to LSU instead of La. Tech; I really really really hate LSU, but I really really really love power hitting lefty college bats so I gave him a more serious look, and to my great relief it turns out he's not a Tiger. Rike, a former walk-on, had a ludicrous junior season with a .346/.471/.705 line, and he continued to hit in the Northwest League, posting a .296/.404/.441 line. By the way, if you want to see some flukey stats check out the NWL, all but one team finished with a losing record (which I didn't know was possible) and the two top OBP'ers in that league finished with more walks than hits (the guy at the top of that list hit something like .211 with a .442 OBP). Anyway, the concern about Rike is how much power he'll have on the MLB level, but he is going to Colorado so that should help. He should start next year in Low A, with a promotion if he continues to hit well. What really excites me about him is the plate discipline, if he continues to show that he should continue to advance. He is reputed to have a good arm, and could probably handle both corner OF spots. Best case scenario Holliday and the Rockies can't reach an extension, Boras takes his boy to free agency and Rike is there to fill the void. MLB.com's draft analyst calls Rike a "real baseball player," as opposed to the pretend 71 baseball players drafted before him I suppose. Should also add here that I think Rike is an awesome baseball name, he should get good karma from that.
Pick 73 Michael Stanton CF 6'5 205 11/8/89
It's one thing to sign a super young bonus baby, because everyone acknowledges how young they are, it's another thing entirely to draft an MLB draftable kid who's younger than my little brother, Stanton is the first and it makes me feel old. Anyway, after missing out on Almanzar and De Leon I finally get my raw talent almost ceilingless hitter in Stanton, a beast who was offered a baseball scholarship and football walkon at USC, as well as a football scholarship/baseball walkon at UNLV. BA has already dubbed him a top 10 prospect in the Marlins system, and named him the top power hitter and best athlete. He'll need a ton of polish before he's ready to play, but the Marlins have a history of producing serious players and they liked him enough to promote him even though his numbers weren't superb. The last hitter I took who needed this much work with this much potential was John Mayberry (which didn't work out so well), but in this case we have a kid who will just be voting in this year's election for the first time rather than a college junior. Best case scenario in 3-5 years he'll have joined Villalona, Chris Davis, and Sebastian Valle as cornerstones in an ultra young and ultra powerful lineup, worst case scenario I cut him in two years and take the next guy with that much potential.
It's one thing to sign a super young bonus baby, because everyone acknowledges how young they are, it's another thing entirely to draft an MLB draftable kid who's younger than my little brother, Stanton is the first and it makes me feel old. Anyway, after missing out on Almanzar and De Leon I finally get my raw talent almost ceilingless hitter in Stanton, a beast who was offered a baseball scholarship and football walkon at USC, as well as a football scholarship/baseball walkon at UNLV. BA has already dubbed him a top 10 prospect in the Marlins system, and named him the top power hitter and best athlete. He'll need a ton of polish before he's ready to play, but the Marlins have a history of producing serious players and they liked him enough to promote him even though his numbers weren't superb. The last hitter I took who needed this much work with this much potential was John Mayberry (which didn't work out so well), but in this case we have a kid who will just be voting in this year's election for the first time rather than a college junior. Best case scenario in 3-5 years he'll have joined Villalona, Chris Davis, and Sebastian Valle as cornerstones in an ultra young and ultra powerful lineup, worst case scenario I cut him in two years and take the next guy with that much potential.
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Here's a thought: Don't read it. Usually when there's a title like "Pats" or "Booing at a 15 year old girl at a Colts game," they aren't talking about baseball. Just a thought...Thank you. Baseball talk. I'm always a little stir crazy the last month before spring training. Valentine's day this year. 28 Days! If I had to read one more "My QB's shit stinks less than your QB's does." post I was going to puke.
Pick 85 Travis Mattair 3B 6'4 205 12/21/88
I was really hoping to take Arencibia with this pick, but we all know how my draft has gone in that regard. So instead we grab another high ceiling toolsy player in Travis Mattair, a big strong kid who didn't hit so well in his GCL debut, but oozes projection and has the benefit of being blocked by no one in the Phillies organization. He is also known for his defense, and with both of my big 3B prospects likely to move to other parts of the diamond (Davis to 1B, perhaps as soon as this year, and Villalona to a corner OF spot) this seems like a worthy gamble.
I was really hoping to take Arencibia with this pick, but we all know how my draft has gone in that regard. So instead we grab another high ceiling toolsy player in Travis Mattair, a big strong kid who didn't hit so well in his GCL debut, but oozes projection and has the benefit of being blocked by no one in the Phillies organization. He is also known for his defense, and with both of my big 3B prospects likely to move to other parts of the diamond (Davis to 1B, perhaps as soon as this year, and Villalona to a corner OF spot) this seems like a worthy gamble.
Last edited by Giants on Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Pick 115 Travis d'Arnaud C 6'2 195
Really? The 37th pick in the draft who's an incredibly athletic 18 year old catcher with no questions about his ability to stick at the position, a strong arm, and the possibility of becoming a good hitter is available? Sign his ass up. D'Arnaud becomes my second Phillies prospect named Travis, and like Mattair didn't hit a ton in his debut but has a reputation for his glove and bat from his high school days. He was also among the top rated athletes and by far the best catcher in the SPARQ ratings. Several prospecting sites called him the best defensive high school catcher in the nation, and with the Phillies catching situation currently unsettled with several interesting prospects at different levels in the system d'Arnaud should have the opportunity to do something positive, either in their organization or traded somewhere else. You can never have too many good catching prospects, and as the venerable career of Mike Piazza is probably over its about time to start looking for another one.
Really? The 37th pick in the draft who's an incredibly athletic 18 year old catcher with no questions about his ability to stick at the position, a strong arm, and the possibility of becoming a good hitter is available? Sign his ass up. D'Arnaud becomes my second Phillies prospect named Travis, and like Mattair didn't hit a ton in his debut but has a reputation for his glove and bat from his high school days. He was also among the top rated athletes and by far the best catcher in the SPARQ ratings. Several prospecting sites called him the best defensive high school catcher in the nation, and with the Phillies catching situation currently unsettled with several interesting prospects at different levels in the system d'Arnaud should have the opportunity to do something positive, either in their organization or traded somewhere else. You can never have too many good catching prospects, and as the venerable career of Mike Piazza is probably over its about time to start looking for another one.
Pick 145 Drake Britton LHP 6'2 200 5/22/89
With my first pick I grabbed the top righty high schooler in Texas, and with my last I grabbed the top lefty. Britton was considered a tough sign with a strong commit to Texas A&M, he throws a 92-94 fastball with a plus curve that scouts think could be dominant and a solidly developing changeup in the 80 MPH range. His high bonus demands led the Red Sox to draft and follow him through the summer, and after his performance in the Texas select league he got his money, garnering the second highest bonus in the Boston draft after Will Middlebrooks. (and $149,000 more than 1st rounders Nick Hagadone and Ryan Dent, needless to say they went a little bit above slot on this one). I'm stoked to get a pitcher that advanced with that much projectability this late in the draft. Good thing Boston didn't give up the farm to get Santana, they have their lefty ace right here.
With my first pick I grabbed the top righty high schooler in Texas, and with my last I grabbed the top lefty. Britton was considered a tough sign with a strong commit to Texas A&M, he throws a 92-94 fastball with a plus curve that scouts think could be dominant and a solidly developing changeup in the 80 MPH range. His high bonus demands led the Red Sox to draft and follow him through the summer, and after his performance in the Texas select league he got his money, garnering the second highest bonus in the Boston draft after Will Middlebrooks. (and $149,000 more than 1st rounders Nick Hagadone and Ryan Dent, needless to say they went a little bit above slot on this one). I'm stoked to get a pitcher that advanced with that much projectability this late in the draft. Good thing Boston didn't give up the farm to get Santana, they have their lefty ace right here.
