2030 Draft and Follow

[Lions]

The 2030 draft was extended to 20 rounds in order to ensure that teams had enough bodies to fill their new IBC teams. The Badgers have been active in free agency, looking to fill the North Sydney Kookaburras roster. As such, they were well poised to pick from what they already had and what they were able to nab in the draft. The downside is that a number of players who thought they were lined up for a job in professional baseball will likely be out of that job before throwing or facing one pitch.

1.3 (3rd overall) - SS Alexander Craig
This was the 3rd consecutive top 3 pick the Badgers have had and they've used it on starting pitching each of the last two years. This year, the team decided to draft another position of need by focusing on shortstop. Craig was the highest ranked position player by some observers, and easily the highest ranked middle infielder. Kalamazoo officials confided that Craig wasn't the top player on their draft board as far as his bat is concerned, but his all-around profile put him over the top as the player they most wanted. Craig has good bad to ball skills and projects to hit for a decent average. He bats from the left side of the plate and has excellent speed and baserunning skills. Defensively, he already looks like an above average fielder. Whether or not he can take the next step to challene for All-Leather awards remains to be seen, but he'll make some highlight reel plays here and there.

S1.1 (27th overall) - RHP Matt Bates
The Badgers were given the first pick in the supplemental round of the draft as compensation for SS Juan Hernández signing with New Orleans in the offseason. Having already drafted a replacement shortstop, the team went back to the well for more starting pitching in Bates. He's an extremely hard thrower, approaching 100 mph on the radar gun, and sports three pitches that look like they'll be enough to carry him to a PEBA rotation someday.

2.2 (37th overall) - LHP Cliff Couch
Couch entered the PEBA draft in 2027 after a challenging high school career at Chatsworth. He was passed up and went to Southern Miss to hone his craft. Three years later he's the second pick of the second round, and some are wondering if that wasn't a bit of a reach. He throws nearly as hard as Bates, and has a reaonsbly well developed arsenal of pitches, but he has two things that count against him. First is that he has a history of struggling with his command. More concerningly, though, is a history niggling injuries. Will he be able to stay healthy enough to develop into the pitcher a 2nd round pick warrants? Only time will tell.

3.3 (62nd overall) - SS James Starr
Starr was an interesting pick at this point in the draft as his college numbers at Seton Hall are not particularly good. Over 3 seasons he batted under .200 and failed to hit a single home run. He did develop into a positive defender, but there's a lot of growth needed for him to even sniff a bench role in the majors.

3.21 (80th overall) - RHP Lyndon Hoath
Hoath is the first high schooler taken by the Badgers. He was drafted from Chatsworth, where he teamed up with 2nd round pick Couch when he was a freshman and Couch a senior. Hoath had much better numbers, which is why he got drafted out of high school and Couch went on to college. Hoath has a strong fastball and the makings of a devastating curve, but his change up looks like it won't be enough to get him regular starts. That puts Hoath in the category of future swing man or bullpen ace. Don't be terribly surprised if it's the latter.

5.3 (117th overall) - LHP Kensaku Kiyomizu
Kiyomizu was the closer for the Gonaives HS Freedom Fighters who had the best record in the IHS and nearly won the IHS championship, losing in 7 games. He recorded 18 saves, which was 3 more than any other pitcher in the league, striking out 29 batters in 20 1/3 innings. It's his only season of organized ball, so there's not much track record, but he looks like a legitimate relief prospect. That said, he also looks like the type of pitcher that could be stretched out into a starting role, in which case a 5th round pick for him might be a steal.

6.3 (145th overall) - C Carlos López
An extremely raw talent with some power potential, López never hit over .160 in high school. Supposedly will put in the effort to improve.

6.11 (153 overall) - RHP Fred Price
A just below league average pitcher in high school, Price was a tinkerer who throws 5 different pitches.

7.3 (172nd overall) - C Chris Fish
A bit of a head case, but a good name for a catcher. That's probably what got him drafted.

8.3 (199th overall) - RHP Ralph Cusack
A local kid, "Bootleg" is from Wagga Wagga, which is less than 5 hours drive from where the Kookaburra's play. He should bring in at least 3 extra fans. He was drafted purely on his play in Cricket, having never played organized baseball at the high school level.

9.3 (227th overall) - RF Theo Shields
The last position player drafted by the Badgers, Shields hit 7 home runs and led Montego Bay position players with 1.7 WAR.... as if anyone really cares about high school WAR.

10.3 (255th overall) - RHP Keita Morita
Morita was Shields teammate at Montego Bay, posting a 0.78 ERA in 9 starts. He averaged just over 5 innings pers start, never allowed more than 2 runs in a start, and only once allowed 2 earned runs.

11.3 (283rd overall) - LHP César Campos (Released 6/10/30)
By all accounts, Campos is difficult to get along with and just as difficult to envision having any sort of professional career.

12.3 (311th overall) - LHP Raúl Sierra (Released 6/10/30)
Sierra is a guy who's had some success, pitching both out of the pen and the rotation. On April 2nd, he pitched a no-hitter against Theo Shields and the rest of the Montego Bay lineup. He struck out 7 and didn't walk anyone. It would've been a perfect game if not for an error by shortstop Tony Guardado. His previous outing was a complete game 1-hitter that he lost due to a 7th inning home run by first baseman Maurice Lindeboom. In the start after the no-hitter, the very first batter hit a triple.

13.3 (339th overall) - LHP Ignacio González (Released 6/10/30)
He struck out 58 batters in 51 innings, but gave up at least one run in all of his starts.

14.3 (367th overall) - RHP Denie Traas (Released 6/10/30)
What he lacks in talent he makes up in hard work.

15.3 (395th overall) - RHP Hirotada Nakano
While Traas is from the Netherlands and played high school ball in Japan, Nakano is Japanese and played high school ball in the Netherlands. Go figure!

16.3 (423rd overall) - RHP Iván González (Released 6/10/30)
González has lots of different looks on the mound, having worked on a wide variety of pitches throughout high school. None of them look promising at this point.

17.3 (451st overall) - RHP Félix Morales (Released 6/10/30)
Morales has seen his playing time drop over the past three seasons, getting just 3 appearances this year. When you come out of a game with a sore thumb, you don't get many more opportunities.

18.3 (479th overall) - LHP Jordan van Dalen (Released 6/10/30)
van Dalen's scouting report says "Advocates a regimen of gradual accumulations. Won't force it." That's just weird.

19.3 (507th overall) - LHP Lonnie Jones
Most of the late round picks are likely to be released before even getting a chance to play ball. Jones is likely to avoid that fate as he had Tommy John surgery and can be safely stashed on the DL for sometime. Drafting late round injured players to deal with roster crunches... BRILLIANT!

20.3 (535th overall) - LHP Jason MacIvor (Released 6/10/30)
He was on the same Montego Bay team as Shields and Morita, but couldn't MacGyver his way out of the bullpen and onto the mound. Not so good at living up to his name.

[Lions]

Signings Log:
6/7/2030 - Draft Day
6/8/2030 - S1.1 - RHP Matt Bates - $1,350,000
6/8/2030 - 5.3 - LHP Kensaku Kiyomizu - $175,000
6/12/2030 - 1.3 - SS Alexander Craig - $3,000,000

Total Spent: $4,525,000

Unsigned:
2.2 - LHP Cliff Couch
3.3 - SS James Starr
3.21 - RHP Lyndon Hoath

[Lions]

With just over a month since the draft, it's time for our first check in on the 2030 class to see how they're adjusting to professional ball.

1.3 - SS Alexander Craig (SS-A)
While Craig's bat looked like it might be ready to handle single A pitching, the team decided to let him get his feet wet with short season Ketchikan. The thinking was that he could get used to the minor leagues, hopefully have some early success, and spend more of his energy on learning to play second base. Yes, the slick gloved short stop had never really spent any time at second, and the feeling was that now was the best time to see if he could pick it up. There's not a lot of pressure to move him up the ladder yet, so why not. How has it gone? Well... let's just say he's not All-Leather caliber just yet. He's picking it up, though, and the feeling is that by the end of the year, he'll be good enough that he could play there if needed. As for his bat, it's been terrific. He's hitting .345 with a pair of home runs and 13 walks in just under 100 PA's. He's got a .940 OPS.

S1.1 - RHP Matt Bates (SS-A)
Bates has been a solid #1 for the Salmon so far. He's just 2-3 but has a 2.52 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. He's striking out more than a batter per inning. It's not dominant, but right in line with expectations and gives the team reason to think that he'll develop the way they envision.

2.2 - LHP Cliff Couch (unsigned)
3.3 - SS James Starr (unsigned)
3.21 - RHP Lyndon Hoath (unsigned)
The Badgers and their 2nd and 3rd round picks have yet to come to agreement. It's starting to get late in the process, and there are some questions as to the level of true interest on both sides of the negotiating table. It will be interesting to see if they team locks these guys up or if they'll end up taking compensation in next year's draft.

5.3 - LHP Kensaku Kiyomizu (R)
Kyomizu has 5 relief appearances and the results have been pretty much disastrous. Batters have teed off on him to the tune of a .476 BABIP. He's only allowed 1 home run and 2 walks, but he's got to see the script flip if he's not going to completely lose confidence in himself.

Quick Hits:
6.3 - C Carlos López (SS-A) - López is doing very little with very little playing time.

6.11 - RHP Fred Price (R) - Price has the lowest ERA of any North Sydney starter, at 2.59. The WHIP/FIP is lousy thanks to 9 walks allowed and a .343 BABIP against.

7.3 - C Chris Fish (R) - Fish hasn't looked good so far, hitting just .129. He's been ok defensively, throwing out 33% of base stealers.

8.3 - RHP Ralph Cusack (R) - Like Price, Cusack's got a 1.59 ERA despite lousy peripherals.

9.3 - RF Theo Shields (R) - He's only appeared in 7 games, but has done alright in those. Nothing exciting, nothing terrible.

10.3 - RHP Keita Morita (R) - He's 0-3 with 7 saves and a 7.59 ERA. Not hard to get saves now and then even if you're pitching poorly.

11.3 - LHP César Campos - Released 6/10, picked up by Reno.

12.3 - LHP Raúl Sierra - Released 6/10, picked up by San Juan.

13.3 - LHP Ignacio González- Released 6/10, picked up by Florida.

14.3 - RHP Denie Traas- Released 6/10, picked up by Aurora.

15.3 - RHP Hirotada Nakano (R) - Struggling bit, but his FIP is better than it ever was in high school.

16.3 - RHP Iván González- Released 6/10.

17.3 - RHP Félix Morales- Released 6/10.

18.3 - LHP Jordan van Dalen- Released 6/10, picked up by West Virginia

19.3 - LHP Lonnie Jones (R) - On the DL for all of the year. Hasn't appeared in a game.

20.3 - LHP Jason MacIvor- Released 6/10, picked up by London.

[Lions]

11/9/2030
The 2030 draft class is now done for the year, having had their first taste of professional ball. Who's looking good, and who's not?

1.3 - SS Alexander Craig (SS-A)
Despite being drafted as a shortstop, Craig spent all of 2030 playing second base for Ketchikan. This wasn't strictly because the team had Elias Simmons (who would win the Glove Wizard award at SS this year) manning short, but rather because the team felt Craig could easily play either position if given a chance to play them. By the end of the season, the team felt he was PEBA quality at both spots. Offensively, his numbers were superb, so the defensive training had no negative impact on his bat. He slowed down a bit in September, but hit well in his brief postseason and earned Platinum Stick at 2B. He also finished 3rd in the SS-A AL Outstanding Hitter voting.

- 2030 Assessment: Highly Positive

S1.1 - RHP Matt Bates (SS-A)
Bates missed about a month, but overall had a good year for the Salmon. He went 4-4 with a 2.75 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 13 starts. He didn't pitch well in his one postseason start, but the exposure was good. Don't be surprised to see him start next year with single A Nampa, or make the transition there relatively quickly.

- 2030 Assessment: Positive

2.2 - LHP Cliff Couch (SS-A)
Couch finally signed with Kalamazoo in late July, and managed to get 10 regular season starts. He walked too many hitters, but still went 4-3 with a 2.77 ERA. He kept the ball in the park and struck out more than a batter an inning. It's not bad for a start, but he'll need to show a bit more next year. Like Bates, he'll likely start 2031 in Ketchikan with an eye toward a quick promotion.

- 2030 Assessment: Neutral

3.3 - SS James Starr (did not sign)
3.21 - RHP Lyndon Hoath (did not sign)
The Badgers and their 3rd round picks nevery quite connected.

5.3 - LHP Kensaku Kiyomizu (R)
A terrible start to the year was followed with a forearm injury that ended his season at the start of August. Nothing really to do other than look to next year.

- 2030 Assessment: Negative... but he only had 7 innings.

Quick Hits:
6.3 - C Carlos López (SS-A) - Not a good start to his pro career, hit .082.

6.11 - RHP Fred Price (R) - A great start to the year saw reality smack him in the face in August. His true ability is probably somewhere in between.

7.3 - C Chris Fish (R) - Fish has continued to hit poorly and throw out would-be base stealers at a good clip.

8.3 - RHP Ralph Cusack (R) - Really nothing special to say about Cusack. He didn't pitch much, and didn't stand out good or bad when he did.

9.3 - RF Theo Shields (R) - A younger draftee, Sheilds hit poorly.

10.3 - RHP Keita Morita (R) - He pitched less often and less terribly when taken out of the closer role.

15.3 - RHP Hirotada Nakano (R) - His 5.06 ERA and 4.10 FIP were an improvement on this high school numbers.

19.3 - LHP Lonnie Jones (R) - On the DL for all of the year. He's not due to be ready till March.