Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer 

June 8, 2021: Aurora, Colorado – Shortly after GM Will Topham announced the deal sending Aurora’s 1^st and 4^th round picks to Hartford for their two 2nds, two 3rds and 5^th through 10^th round picks, the 2021 PEBA amateur draft began – the first in the Topham era in which Aurora lacked a first round selection.

Instead, they found themselves holding three 2^nd and three 3^rd rounders and they made the most of them with pitching the order of the Day One agenda. As a result of the Hartford deal, Aurora walked home with a roster’s worth of players – 25 in all over the 15 round draft.

Aurora’s first pick came along at #19 in the second round (#55 overall) where the Borealis took Tulane left-hander Billy Taylor. Taylor is more of a control-type pitcher, not overpowering at all, topping out at 93 mph. What Taylor brings to the table is a plethora of pitches – fastball, curveball, change (scouts call it his best pitch), splitter, forkball and a knuckle curve. Aurora Head Scout Joe Horn is already on the record that Aurora will be asking him to focus on only a few of those pitches as to make him more effective. Taylor posted a 6-5 record and a 2.86 ERA for the 30-26 Jade Breakers. Although he only finished his career at 16-16, his career 3.12 ERA and .236 OAVG are promising numbers.

With the 21^st pick in the second round (#57 overall), Aurora took Purdue rightie Orlando Alarcon. Purdue may have had a reasonably successful season, but Alarcon finished the year 3-5, but had an outstanding 1.63 ERA, 5^th best in the USCBA along with a 0.85 WHIP that was 9^th best in the league. Alarcon brings four pitches to the mound (fastball, cutter, slider and change), none of which are overpowering. What he does show is the potential for excellent control and a calm presence in the clubhouse – a trait that he shares with Taylor. His main weakness – one that may destine him to the bullpen is a lack of stamina.

Aurora’s own pick in the second round, #23 and #59 overall, they took leftie starter Gustavo Cabrera. Out of the University of Arizona, Cabrera is a big, strong pitcher, with a solid fastball hitting 97 on the JUGS gun. Drafted in the Aurora mold of smart players, Cabrera’s best attribute may be his control. He may have had a career losing record (14-23), but a career 3.76 ERA and 1.25 WHIP suggests a better arm then the record indicates.

Aurora made it four straight starting pitchers when it was Tomás Moya, out of Michigan State, taken with the 5^th pick in the third round (#75 overall). Moya has an overpowering fastball that tops out at 101 mph and a slider that scout Joe Horn believes can be ‘just as good’. Horn went on to say, “Moya is reminiscent of Junior Cook and Arturo Jimenez, great, overpowering stuff – iffy control. His senior year he struck out 101 batters, walking only 18 in 79 IP. We project that Aurora will move Moya to the bullpen and possibly groom him as a closer by his second professional season.

Perhaps the biggest question – beyond will any of these arms make it to the Front Range, is will Aurora even be able to sign this players, as draft experts are all in agreement that these players are rated as extremely difficult for Aurora to sign. Should they sign, it’s reasonable to expect they will all begin the year in our 50^th State.

Speaking of hard throwing closers, with the 10^th pick in the third round (#80 overall), Aurora selected hard throwing closer Júlio Martínez of Washington State. Featuring a nasty fastball hovering shy of 100 mph, Martínez converted 25 of 28 save opportunities in his last two years as the Palouse’s closer. He struck out 50 v. 7 BB in 28.2 IP, to go along with his 1.26 ERA his senior season. The right-handed Martínez has an excellent pick-off move and it may just be possible he will begin the year at A ball.

It wasn’t until Aurora’s own pick in the third round that the Borealis drafted something other than a pitcher when they took CF Joe Harris (96^th overall). A speedy outfielder who covers a lot of ground with excellent power to the gaps, has had difficulty putting the ball in play – 53 K in 223 AB his senior season. It may be his senior season that saw his draft stock faulter after hitting around .350 his first three seasons at Villanova – a .269 senior season is certain to turn people off. It will be noted that the drafting of Harris may be a bit of nepotism, as Harris, out of Day Heights, Ohio, is actually a distant cousin of team owner Michael Topham and his GM son.

Aurora had no fourth round selection, so in the fifth, with the 6^th pick they stayed off the mound and took Louisville 2B Charles Duncan. A rail-thin Texan who had a banner junior season and a so-so senior year showed a decent eye at the plate and great speed on the bases – stealing 15 in 16 attempts those two years. Defensively, he has sure hands, but the problem for Charles is his mechanics are a mess and is most definitely a project. He’s a lot of work if he’s to leap-frog the depth Aurora has at that position.

With the 18^th selection in the 5^th round Aurora took left-handed pitcher Mike Hubbard out of Arizona State and with the 21^st pick took José Pomares, a right-hander out of Ohio State. Both had uninspiring college career and look to be projects and long-shots to make it to The Show.

Long Shots describes the rest of the draft class, some of whom will likely be released before they even get a chance to hope on that plane to Hawaii. The most interesting of the prospects in the lower half of Aurora’s draft is a high school catcher Vicente Durán, who looks to have the size (6’5”), but definitely needs to fill out – as high schoolers are want to do – a spindly 165 lbs. Strong armed, and nimble behind the plate is how the scouts described him, but he is expected to head off to college, with virtually little chance the Borealis will sign him.

Aurora took some risk this year – the first ‘merger draft’, trading down and, as Will Topham let slip during the post-draft presser, they tweaked their evaluation scheme some in an attempt to streamline their process. How effective that may be will only come to fruition over time. But for now, the tedious signing bonus season is upon us as the Surf and Snow season is quickly descending upon us.