by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer
June 9, 2031: Asheville, North Carolina – This may look a whole lot like it’s a case of ‘Ground Hog Day’ – and that’s not a good thing, but on the first day of the 2031 draft, the Borealis looked to have pulled from the 2030 draft playbook: Pitchers and outfielders. When one considers that only the top three selections from last year have made a name for themselves (15th overall 1B Raul Munoz, 31st overall SP Lewis Uige, and 32nd overall LF Gabriel Rodriguez) it’s not to far of a stretch to think that 2031 is looking like a ‘do-over’.
The day began with a tremendous amount of raucousness, primarily aimed directly at the Florida Featherhead contingent, spitballs and wads of paper flying in their direction – and at least one bowling ball seen rolling along the aisle, as the Featherheads had managed to find their hands on not one, not two, but the first three picks of the draft – with their larceny netting them big prizes: 1B Vito van Wondel, CF Gordon Knoop and 2B Michael Roberts. Florida wasn’t the only marquee team to whisk away top talent as Shin Seiki nabbed LF Chris Krebs and West Virginia collected 2B Ewan Kody. Aurora’s GM Will Topham was seen with his head hanging and shaking when SP Bartolo Baca was selected by Neo-Tokyo, a full 10 picks before the Borealis would take a turn – not that anyone expected him to last that long.
Aurora’s turn came in at 22nd overall and the Borealis took a gamble on a tough left-handed reliever out of Collegio San Carlos (Italy), an 18-year old Scotsman by the name of Connor Smith. The side-armed pitcher who features a cutter and slider that the scouts think have great potential to be devastating, had 12 saves and a 0.32 ERA, a 0.46 WHIP and 49 K in just 28 IP – a dominant effort that, should he sign, Aurora hopes will translate well in the IBC for Montserrat. Smith was an International High School All-Star and the 2031 Reliever of the Year. The Kings swept Canuck HS to win the IHS title. Connor wasn’t near as impressive in the post-season, being hit with a pair of loses to go along with 5 saves and a 3.12 ERA – though he did strike out 36 in 17.1 IP. It’s expected that Smith – should he sign, will begin as closer for the Mystique.
The Borealis had themselves a pair of selections - #33 and #34, in the Supplemental round, thanks to the signing of John Turner by Amsterdam and Paul Carlisle by Madison. With the first of the two picks, Aurora selected CF Bill Smith (no relation, as you might imagine), the leading hitter for the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Smith (Bill) is a three year starter for UAB, who hit .280 this season with 8 HR. Smith isn’t the flashiest of picks – no All-Star teams, no awards, UAB finished 3rd in the Heartland Conference, just a mere half-game out of the playoffs – having to play two tie-breaker games (beating East Carolina, before losing to Memphis). Bill is a speedy, strong-armed CF with what scouts call ‘a pretty good glove and pretty good range’. Aurora Head Scout, ‘Pac-man’ Pacheco, hopes that his power improves (we all know that’s something the Borealis desperately need) and he evolves to be more selective at the plate. Bill Smith will join Mokule’ia, should he sign, where currently only last year’s 16th round selection, Sean Reece, is hitting better than .200 in the outfield.
With the 34th pick, Aurora took another college outfielder, this one out of the University of Michigan – right-handed LF Marcus Bell. Marcus is a 4-year starter with very consistent numbers across his four years. He’s a career .265 hitter with 62 HR in 218 games, and in 2031 was the Red Dawn’s leader in AVE, HR and RBI. He may have a bit better eye than Smith, but he’s a step below him defensively and in the speed categories. Bell is a two-time USCBA All-Star, and was the games MVP in 2030. What he has in-common with the two players picked before him is that he grades out to be a tough sign for Aurora, but if he does sign, there’s little doubt he will begin his pro career starting in the outfield for Mokule’ia. Having finished a college career with a team that finished 8th twice, 9th and 10th, in their conference, you’d think he’d jump at a chance to play in an organization like Aurora’s. Fun Fact: Bell had two Grand Slams in 2030 and two in 2031.
Aurora’s 4th pick in the draft came along at #65, where they turned their attention back to the International High Schoolers, as they selected lefty SP Takashi Ikeda, a 4-year player (and 3-year starter) for Club Deportiva Zaragoza. For the Toro’s, Ikeda was 6-3 with a 1.96 ERA on the year, with 66 K in 55 IP – and a nifty 0.67 WHIP. For his career he is 17-10 (with 10 saves from his freshmen year when he pitched as a closer), with a 1.89 ERA, 217 K, 25 BB in 176 IP. His career 10:1 K:BB ratio looks like a keeper – though he may find himself in the bullpen, where he ended up wining the Reliever of the Year Award his freshmen year. He was also a two-time All-Star. The hard-throwing Ikeda features a sharp breaking cutter and what the scouts suggest is an adequate change for the quality of his cutter. Takashi is a tall, rail of a kid – but with great strength on the mound – and if Aurora can get him to learn another pitch, he should become a quality starter over time. Ikeda has already committed to Purdue, so once again, Aurora faces a tough challenge to bring home the bacon with this player. He will be expected to report to Montserrat, where he’ll likely be slotted as the #1 starter.
Aurora would finish the first day of the draft with a pair of 3rd round picks – one, 89th overall, being originally Florida’s, by way of Yuma, and the 96th overall, which was their own. The first of those picks was used on RF Tsugumichi Kawano, an 18-year old RF from Nassau HS, who – you guessed it, has committed to Hosei University and is another tough sign for Aurora. Kawano is a raw player – his defensive and base running skills need some work, but scouts like his power and feel that with time he will do a good job of keeping the ball in play. His big claim to fame, illustrating what the scouts hope for, was a 5-5 game last year, with 3 HR, against Chiben. Tsugumichi has been consistent in his two-years starting for Nassau, having 11 HR and 14-2B in each season, and 32 & 31 RBI (and 35 & 36 strikeouts). He will find himself starting for Montserrat should he sign.
Lastly on the day, at #96 overall, Aurora selected SP Jacob Briggs, a rightie out of Pontificia Universidad. A few things to know about Jacob – right off the bat. First off, we will not see Briggs pitch in 2031, as he was shelved with a torn flexor tendon 7-starts into the year (posting a 3-3 mark and a 2.06 ERA). Secondly, this isn’t the first tim ehe’s been drafted – it’s not even his second time. He was drafted out of high school by Palm Springs in 2027 (109th overall), but he opted to go to college. Last year he was drafted 53rd over all by West Virginia, but ultimately decided to go back to school for another year. The 5-time All-Star (between HS and college) has an impressive statistical resume – he’s 24-19 with a 2.17 ERA, 359 K, 55 BB in 399 IP – through his HS and college career. Briggs features a solid cutter, curve and slider, which he throws equally well. Lacking overwhelming speed on his pitches, he makes up for it by keeping the ball down in the zone, inducing a lot of ground balls. He will be expected to be in the Mokule’ia rotation in 2032 – if not SLRC.
Aurora lacked 4th and 5th round picks, having dealt them to Madison (for Mike Barton) and Charleston (Dave Parkinson). The Borealis have their full complement of picks available for day 2 of the Draft. My colleague, Ray D. Enzé, will have that for you, tomorrow in his blog. Until then, it will be an interesting few weeks to see how Aurora manages to negotiate with this year’s Draft Class.
