by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer
June 6, 2033: Asheville, North Carolina – I suppose it’s a good thing that in the year where the pool of talent is so thin, you’ve lost – in some manner or other, most of your top-quarter picks. For the Borealis, they had a supplemental pick and a fourth-round selection in Day 1 of the draft proceedings – the first five rounds.
Most were not surprised when the Niihama-shi Ghosts selected John ‘Splits’ MacVurich, from Curtin University in Perth, Austrailia. The 3-time ICOL All-Star, 2-time Platinum Stick and 2-time MVP (in his junior and senior year) had most people drooling over his power, though some whispered his defense left a little to be desired. For the Aurora Borealis, they lacked a top pick in this year’s draft, having traded it to the Yuma Arroyos back at Thanksgiving, in exchange for Angel Silva – who is living up to his reviews: in 14-games at SLRC he hit .321 with 4 HR and now at Gatineau, over 31-games he’s at .292 (a recent slump has seen his average dip) with 8-2B and 5 HR. Realizing there was more to be had by trading the pick for a young, 1st-round talent, than keeping it – Aurora did just that. Aurora would subsequently lose their 2nd-round pick as a result of the February signing of Brian Coleman (who has spent most of the season on the DL and has played in just 11-games – and is hitting .222). Aurora’s third round pick was shipped to Niihama, in exchange for Scott Wiggins (who is hitting .300 in his 9-games with Aurora), and Aurora’s 5th- round selection was traded to New Orleans, along with Marcus Bell, in exchange for 2B/SS Yen-ti Yi – in a Rule 5 work-around deal to send Yi to SLRC, where he’s hitting .280 with 8-2B, 3-3B and 6 HR for the Rapidos Blancos.
Aurora did have a Supplemental Round pick, courtesy of the Havana Leones and their signing Nick Heath to a 6-year, $124M contract. With that pick, Aurora selected LF Toshinobu Nakao from Rikkyo University in Tokyo. Toshi is a 6’2”, 185 lbs right-handed batter (and thrower) who is a 2-time All-Star and 2-time Glove Wizard. A career .314 hitter, Nakao is coming off a .325 season. The draw back – and this continues to be a perplexing one, is his total lack of power – he hit 3 HR over the course of his 808 career AB. Possessing excellent speed, one expects he’ll chalk-up more than the 25-SB he had while at Rikkyo, and he uses that speed to great advantage in the field – though there is some concern about his glove-work on the defensive side of the ball. Coaches and scouts alike seem to think he’ll have success at Mokule’ia, where he’ll begin his pro career, and there’s hope on their part that by the end of July he may finish the season up at SLRC along side Tony Munoz and Jose Gonzalez.
Not picking again until the 4th round, Aurora went with organizational need – that of catching depth at Montserrat – and it is here where things went arye. With the 99th overall selection, Aurora picked Carmine Miller, an 18-year old from Palm Beach Garden High – and Aurora’s once-time ‘Boy Wonder’ GM admitted that this ‘wasn’t the man they wanted’. Pressed for time at their draft table – ‘papers shuffling about’, they took Miller as their turn was expiring – with Jason Bain sitting at the top of their ‘list’, undrafted into the 5th, 35 picks later going to Charleston. Miller is a beanpole of a player – not your prototypical catcher at 6’7” and 200 lbs. He was a career .183 hitter, but he did manage 18 HR in 589 AB – but he also struck out 201 times. He did excel defensively, commiting only 9 errors and throwing out 36.4 of prospective base-stealers. Assuming he signs with the Borealis (he has an offer to attend UAB) he will likely be joined by 18th-round pick, Lucio Pineda from Lakewood High – who has an offer from West Virginia. Pineda is much like Miller – decent defensive catcher with probably not much of a future, offensively – though he was an IFHS All-Star his freshmen year. They filled a need.
By the time the 6th round came about (and Aurora having two picks – one from San Antonio as part of the Jose Aleman deal), it was all about having a well-round – positionally, draft of… projects. No better example of that then 169th overall selcection Bobby Leach, a 6’4”, 175 lbs shortstop from Wilson Classical. What one notices about him first is how he fields his position. He gets to most balls, has smooth hands with a quick release at the bag when turning-two, though his powerful arm sometimes goes astray. He’s a fast runner, excellent on the bases, but his struggles to put the ball in play – though he somehow managed to hit 10 HR as part of his career .209. He’s eyeing playing time with Colorado, so we’ll see if the left-handed hitting Leach will even be with Mystique when their season begins in a week.
With their own pick in the 6th round Aurora picked up Hyobe Miura, a right-handed reliever from Delft University in The Netherlands, where he was a 2031 ICOL All-Star. The coaches love Miura’s ++ fastball, which is topping out at 97-mph at this point, which he mostly pairs with a decent forkball. The 6’2”, 190 lbs right-hander struck out 212 batters in his 177.1 IP over 55-games – 23 of which were starts, as Hyobe has the stamina to be a decent starter – but all of Aurora’s scouts feel he’s better served pitching out of the ‘pen. His career WHIP is 1.10, an encouraging sign for someone who tends to throw a flat ball with modest control. Perhaps the real key is how he relates to his teamamtes – his college coaches raved about his presence in the clubhouse and his willingness to talk ball with his teammates on and off the field. Whether or not he’s a success at Mokule’ia, the team may be better for his presence, regardless.
Taken in the 7th round – 205th overall, was 18-year old Dave Gregory, a right-handed reliever from Puerto Rico, by way of Annapolis High. Gregory played only three-seasons with the Jags and over 43-games he posted a 1.91 ERA and 0.72 WHIP. He features a nifty fastball-splitter combo that resulted in 88K and just 9 BB iver 56.2 IP. His senior year saw him pitch only 12.2-innings, but he struck out 20 and walked none. The 6’3”, 180 lbs pitcher will be a project with some interesting potential – and he’ll have time at Montserrat to show his worth – but the word out of Annapolis is that he’s not the easiest of players to work with.
In the 8th round the Borealis selected a Cuban CF from Meiji University. Felipe Rameriez is a switch-hitting, speedy outfielder with above average defensive skills. Felipe was a career .261 average, but he did post a .336 OBP and .358 SLG despite striking out as often as he got a hit – which will be the coaching staff’s primary goal right out the gate – cut those K’s in half. That will be the mantra for Aurora’s 9th round pick, Noboru Yamasaki out of Hamilton Canada, who struck out 179 with 149 hits. The third outfielder taken is defensively excellent and possesses great speed, but it’s hard to imagine either of these players from continuing past Short A.
Mid-way through the draft the Borealis selected a closer out of Michigan State, Victor Smith – a 6’9” right-hander. After starting his first two-seasons with the Persians, striking out 111 and walking 26 in 22 starts with a 2.43 ERA, he was moved to the ‘pen, where he saved 30 games with a 1.75 ERA, striking out 63 in 51 IP. Victor’s repitoire features a fastball and cutter, while playing around with a change and forkball. He has the make-up to pitch in either capacity – though coaches feel his stamina is more suited to pitch in relief. Like Miura, scouts rave about how it relates with others, giving Mokule’ia pitching coach George Thompson a pair of positive attitudes to work with.
The remainder of the draft will likely pass into history with no more than a footnote. Of interest, if for no other reason than these players may find themselves at positions other than their norm – 2B Jeff Farrell (who was on the 2031 USCBA Champion Rutgers team – though he didn’t play) and SS Justin Morgan (twice previously declared and twice previously undrafted out of Ohio State– both who have great promise in the outfield and 2B Julio Ortiz, who declared for the 2032 draft, but went undrafted and returned to UCF. Ortiz may find his best option on the mound – word is he has a fastball at 92, with a major league quality change. In 38 rellief appearances in his four years at Central Florida he posted a 3.38 ERA and struck out 79 in 79.2 IP – though he did allow 9 HR.
It seems clear that this year will be remembered more for Aurora doing their ‘drafting’ early – bringing in the likes of Silva, Aleman and Yi, using 2033 draft capital to do so – Aleman and Yi are 21 and Silva is 19, so all of ‘draft age’. These three are well on their way towards seeing time in The Show in the not to distant future – and with Aleman and Yi, Aurora’s old infield can’t wait for the influx of youth – if they can just hold on for 1-more year, as 2035 seems to be the bet.
In the meantime, Aurora has plenty of projects to tinker with.
