Edinburgh News - 2028-06-07 - "Draft Edition"

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Edinburgh News - 2028-06-07 - "Draft Edition"

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By Hamish Campbell
Evening News Staff Writer
2028-06-07

Edinburgh, Scotland – The hurricane force winds that buffeted PEBA headquarters in Asheville, N.C. during the annual amateur draft last week have subsided, the storm detritus has been cleared away, and the general managers have gone home.

Amidst the sound and fury of Hurricane John, the teams created some sound and fury of their own as they drafted the young men they hope will form the future of their franchises.

So, now the questions begin.

Did they find their stars of the future? Or did they find a series of black holes that will create bitter disappointment down the line?

Those questions loom especially large for the Scottish Claymores, whose farm system has been virtually devoid of talent in recent years. In fact, when systems are ranked for talent, Scotland’s routinely falls dead last.

Did this year’s draft do anything to fix that? General Manager Vic Caleca and Scouting Director Yuji Nakayama certainly think so, but skeptics have voiced doubts about some of the picks.

Here’s a quick look at the top three in the Claymores’ draft class. You be the judge.

Keiji Honda, 21, Closer, first round, overall No. 6 pick.

This is actually the second time Honda has been picked in the first round of the PEBA draft – the first was in 2025, when he was taken at No. 18 by Duluth. He didn’t sign with the Warriors, and instead enrolled at Pontifica Universidad, a Catholic school in Peru, to finish up his degree in philosophy and theological studies.

Although Honda was a starter early in his high school career, he moved to the bullpen and pitched there throughout college – mostly in a closer role.

His career stat lines are impressive, although his ERA is a deceptively high 2.97 because of his freshman high school season, when it was 4.31. His highest ERA since then was a 2.61, however, and his WHIP has been consistently below 1 – 0.94 for his career. His command ratio (K/BB) is an excellent 7.96, and actually hit an astounding 16.50 in his first year of college pitching.

Honda could, of course, become a bullpen force for the Claymores, but Nakayama said the team has talked to him about again testing the waters as a starter.

“In high school, Keiji only had two pitches – his plus fastball, and a fairly weak changeup. Since then, though, he has added an excellent curveball to his repertoire, and we feel he has all the ingredients for success as a starter,” Nakayama said.

Can the Claymores sign him, though?

“We don’t anticipate any problems in that regard,” Caleca said via Skype from his home in central Indiana. “Our initial conversations have been very constructive and we anticipate reaching an agreement quickly.

“I don’t think Keiji was ready to face the rigors of pro baseball when Duluth selected him, but he’s got a couple more years of successful college ball under his belt and a very impressive university degree. He thinks he’s ready now, and so do we.”

Thomas Windus, 21, SS, fifth pick, third round, overall No. 63.

The elite-fielding right-hander from Plymouth, England, played his college ball in Australia for the University of Sydney Wallabies.

Windus' offensive numbers in Sydney were, well, fairly offensive, dropping off each year to a low of .219 in his senior year. But his fielding is outstanding, his speed and base running are top notch, and Nakayama said Windus’ batting tools are better than he’s shown so far.

“Thomas has good plate discipline, and we feel he can develop into a competent hitter. Couple that with his fielding and his difference-making speed, and we feel Thomas will develop into a big-league player,” Nakayama said.

Contract negotiations with Windus may be difficult, though.

“Well, his agent doesn’t quite have the most realistic view of Thomas’ current skill level, but we’ll see,” Caleca said. “We made what we feel is an eminently fair offer, and it’s now up to Thomas to decide how badly he wants to play in the Claymores system.”

Jorge Ramos, 21, C, fifth pick, fourth round, overall No. 90.

The Cuban left-hander played his college ball for Oxford University, which tells you all you need to know about Ramos’ intellect.

And those smarts carry over to his work behind the plate, where his reputation for game calling and working with pitchers is elite.

“He has the ability to make everyone on your staff look better,” said Nakayama. “We know his offensive numbers look terrible, but, again, he has better tools than what he’s shown. We will help him get better at the plate, and try to make the most out of his excellent abilities behind the plate.”

As for the rest of the Claymores’ draft, the selections were split evenly between pitchers and position players, many of whom have already signed.

The toughest negotiations figure to be with Keith Anderson, a first baseman out of Rice University who also has shown some pitching talent. He was an eighth round selection, the overall 194th pick, but sources have said he’s demanding $1.7 million in bonus money.

“I can’t comment on specific figures,” Caleca said, “but I can tell you that we’re not going to pay first-round money to an eighth-round selection.”

Hmm. Anderson’s future may lie somewhere other than Edinburgh.

One other notable stat from the draft: the Claymores signed two prospects from Scotland – Ewan Macinnes and Farquhar MacCrum, both first basemen.

“We made an effort to identify players with Scottish roots who we think could make it in our system,” Caleca said. “We’re excited to have Ewan and Farquhar aboard, and we look forward to seeing what they do with the opportunity.”
Vic Caleca
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Re: Edinburgh News - 2028-06-07 - "Draft Edition"

#2 Post by MikeB »

Honda looked like a good solid safe pick in the 1st.
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Re: Edinburgh News - 2028-06-07 - "Draft Edition"

#3 Post by Vic »

I was comforted that Duluth had taken him previously, so I figured he must have some talent. I’m really not good evaluating prospects - way more comfortable with the free agent pool. So, I relied on my scout pretty heavily and looked for indications like Honda being drafted previously to muddle my way through. By the end, I was taking players whose names I liked ...
Vic Caleca
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