Hartford Harpoon 2025 Draft Review

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Hartford Harpoon 2025 Draft Review

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Hartford Harpoon 2025 Draft

The 2025 draft was a success for the Hartford Harpoon who have been looking to rebuild a top heavy farm system that was neglected during last season’s draft. GM Dylan Krupilis has been vocal about the importance of organizational development and building players to become future Harpoon starters. Hartford wanted to add a good mix of talent to begin development under the new GM.

1-17 With the number 17 pick in the first round, there was some uncertainty over who exactly Hartford would take. But the clouds parted and the top player on Hartford’s board fell to them at #17, 2B Ramón 'Slugger' Guzmán. Slugger was viewed by Harpoon personnel as the top batter in the draft who can provide excellent contact hitting ability, a natural eye for the ball, and immense speed on the basepath. Guzman was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico but moved with his family to the Netherlands where he played high school ball for the Hoorn Schooners. Over his 4 seasons with the Schooners, Guzman put up great numbers as a leadoff hitter slashing .300/.380/.417 along with 74 SB’s. During his senior season, Guzman’s batting average dropped to .244 but due to an incredible walk rate, finished with a .378 OBP. Slugger will need some seasoning in Waikiki and will follow in the footsteps of Luis Cedeno and could be a top talent in a few seasons.

2-14 The draft was packed full of pitching talent and Hartford shared in the spoils with their second round pick of P Mike Jones out of West Virginia University. Jones, a three-year starter at WVU, is a blueprint #3 starter in the bigs. What he lacks in a “wow factor” he makes up for with consistent pitching and composure. Jones will likely put up average K numbers but has great command and movement on his 3 pitch repertoire. The biggest question with his development will be building his stamina to go later into games, something he struggled with throughout his career.

3-17 Arguably Hartford’s most controversial pick in the draft, 2B Tommy McKnight was selected in the third round but will not impede the progress of prospects Jack Allen or Ramon Guzman. McKnight played one season of ball at Rice before a partially torn labrum would knock him out for the rest of his college career. Tommy managed 19 games at Rice where he put up respectable numbers (.365obp, 6 rbi) and was drafted largely because scouting director Abel Martin sees a bright future for McKnight.

3-22 With their 2nd pick in the 3rd round, Hartford went with pitcher Ralph Morris out of UCLA. Morris resembles second round pick, Mike Jones, in that his strengths are his stellar command and movement on pitches. Morris has a 3 pitch repertoire consisting of a mean slider supported by a changeup and a cut fastball. At UCLA, Morris spent his first two seasons as a reliever before transitioning into a starter role. Hartford was keen on selecting Morris for his superior work ethic and drive to get better. Morris has a ceiling as an end of the rotation starter who can eat up innings.

4-13 With their first pick in the fourth round, Hartford further tapped the deep pitching pool and selected Andrew Pearson out of Klein-Collins HS. Pearson pitched limited innings of relief in his 3 years of high school ball but had his best season as a junior. In that season he threw 28.2 innings and finished with a 2.51 ERA and struck out 35 batters. In Hartford, scouts believe he can transition to a full-time starter if he can develop his changeup to match his Cutter and Splitter. At the very least, Pearson should put up respectable numbers in relief and will likely register a good amount of K’s.

4-26 RF Siu-chung Duan was the Harpoon’s second pick in the 4th round. Duan played 4 years of college ball for Hamilton Canada but didn’t really put it all together until his senior season. He struggled for the first 3 years that was capped out by shoulder inflammation that caused him to miss the second half of his junior season. But in his last season, Duan looked like complete ball player hitting .277/.371/.445 along with 7hr 24 rbi and 9 doubles in 50 games. His defense needs some work but he can potentially play both corners in the outfield but he needs to beef up his throwing arm a bit. Duan is also the perfect example of a smart, hard worker. His work ethic is off the charts and his drive could see him become a PEBA regular.

5-13 C Dae-hyun Paek. Paek comes from the prestigious Cambridge where he was praised on and off the diamond. He hit .248/.354/.436 over his 4-year tenure to go along with 29 hr’s and 94 rbi’s. Paek is a natural catcher but can also play first base at a basic level. A lot of scouts don’t see him making it out of the minors and think he has a poor contact swing. But Hartford sees things differently thinking he can become a solid all-around player who could eventually make it to the bigs.

6-13 P Jorge Hart out of West Lauderdale HS. Hart was a lockdown reliever in high school but could transition into a starter if he can figure out a third pitch. If not, he will be valuable in relief with a mean FB/Curveball combo that can rack up K numbers. Hart has stated he wishes to attend college so whether he will sign with Hartford remains in question.

7-13 SS Sotatsu Kawano out of Chuo University. Kawano, a native of Himeji in the Hyōgo prefecture of Japan, is widely unknown having not played college ball and not having any stats from high school. Scouts say he is a defensive wiz at SS and could develop into a capable hitter as well.

8-13 1B Haywood Riley out of Osaka Toin HS. Riley was born in the US but grew up in Japan where he developed a “volatile” personality. Riley had a great first two season in high school before a steady decrease over the past 2 seasons hurt his draft stock. Riley is another player who wants to go to college and may not sign with Hartford.

9-13 LF Tetsuo 'Evil Ways' Adachi out of Cambridge. Adachi joins fellow Light Blue teammate Dae-hyun Paek in Hartford after the combo won 3 straight division titles and a college championship. Adachi tends to be a poor outfielder and is better suited as a DH, but with some development, he could fit in Left Field. What Adachi lacks in power, he makes up for with a consistent effective contact swing.

10-13 P Javier García out of UAB. Another former reliever with starter potential, Garcia is best known for his deceptive changeup that fools batters and his immense game knowledge. After being a liability for three years in college, Garcia stepped it up during his senior year pitching a respectable 3.18 ERA over 11 innings. He is still very raw for his age and will need more coaching if he wants to progress.

11-13 C Brendan Pérez out of Katy HS. Perez only played 2 years of poor high school ball and turned a lot of scouts away with his inability to hit the ball. But Hartford thinks he can develop his swing to match his advanced eye for the ball. He will also need to improve defensively which is why he will likely end up a project player.

12-13 RF Eduardo Riveraout of Seton Hall. Rivera is your run of the mill corner outfielder, with a good all-around offensive skill set and a goal-driven mentality. Rivera has the drive to improve though his ceiling may not be PEBA level.

13-13 P Chris Ramsey out of Tulane. Ramsey hails from the same hometown as GM Dylan Krupilis and was an average reliever in college. Not much upside to this guy but he could be a good innings eater in the minors.

14-13 CF José Borges out of Arizona State. Borges is a platoon outfielder with decent contact potential who will probably top out around AA or AAA.

15-13 P Cliff Geldof out of Delft. Geldof suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder in 2022 which knocked him out of contention for awhile. Looks like a future minor league starter.
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Re: Hartford Harpoon 2025 Draft Review

#2 Post by Alleghenies »

Harpoon wrote:Hartford Harpoon 2025 Draft



15-13 P Cliff Geldof out of Delft. Geldof suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder in 2022 which knocked him out of contention for awhile. Looks like a future minor league starter.

It's ok, his Uncle Bob is very RICH....
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