Few Picks Early Brings Shallow Talent Pool
by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer
June 6, 2034: Asheville, North Carolina – There is always the risk. Trade your picks in a playoff push, and maybe you strike gold. Or, it’s a bomb and one is left with the fall-out. For the Aurora Borealis, the 2033 post-season push – that ended with a thud in Fargo, was a bomb.
And the 2034 Draft class will no doubt be remembered as a dud.
Trades that sent their #1 pick to Reno (Adrian Fuentes), their #2 to Tempe (Warren Manning), their #3 and #4 to London (Randy Love). If not for the trade that sent Jose Torres to Okinawa for a 3rd round pick, Aurora would have had just their 5th rounder on Day 1 of the draft.
With that 3rd rounder, the Borealis went for a 21-year old RH closer out of the University of Queensland (a 1st-year entrant in the International College Baseball Association) – the ‘Werewolf’, Toshikuni Kichida. The 6’4”, 205 lbs native of Kanazawa, Japan, posted a 1.82 ERA in 22-games, earning 13 saves for the Koala. Over 29 IP he struck out 37 while striking out 3 – and in his 7 IP in the ICOL semi-finals, he struck out 13 in 7-scoreless innings. In the first round he allowed a run (on a homer) in 6 IP, striking out 12 and walking 1. Featuring a strong cutter that tops out at 97 MPH, and a decent curve, coaches and scouts feel like ‘Werewolf’ may well be ready to begin his pro career at SLRC, but warn that he will need to focus on improving the movement on his pitches is he’s going to be more than a middle of the road reliever.
With their 5th round pick, ending Day 1, Aurora selected high school starting pitcher Huibert Kodde, out of Hunting Hills High. Kodde, a lanky 6’ 5”, 195 rightie, has enigmatic numbers. He was 0-6 for a club that played .300 ball, but he posted a 2.65 ERA in his senior year, and for his career a 2.14 ERA. In 40- career starts, he threw 210-innings and struck out 296 with a WHIP of 0.78. Kodde features a potentially devastating fastball that for now tops out at 97, with a curve that he’s been toying with that scouts say could be untouchable – if he ever managed to find the strike zone with it. A 2-time HS All-Star, Huibert has committed to UCONN, but expect the Borealis to make a strong offer and send him to Montserrat.
Aurora began Day 2 with a full complement of picks – plus an extra pick in the later rounds, thanks to a pair of trades of cash to West Virginia for their latter selections, “You never know when a blind squirrel might find a nut” said Aurora GM, Will Topham. That ‘nut selecting’ began in the 6th with Aurora taking a second member of the University of Queensland – CF Oda Kataoka. The switch-hitting 22-year old hit just .236 – but the ICOL as a while hit .210, and Oda posted a .314 OBP, and thanks to excellent speed, he was successful in all 10 of his SB attempts. The native of Osaka displays great range in the outfield with a steady glove and an average arm. Kataoka will begin his pro career at Mokule’ia.
With the selection of Oda, Aurora took two college players in their first three picks. That was about to change in round 7, as Aurora would select 10-straight high school players, and 21 of their final 24 picks were from the 18-and under set, beginning with SP Spencer Williams, a right-hander from East Rutherford – who was a 2031 All-Star. The biggest story about Williams is that on the 9th of April, he pitched a perfect game against James River – striking out 15 batters. Spencer is a groundball pitcher, with a quality fastball that tops out at 97, with an above average sinker and curve. Checking in at 6’ 4” and a buck-80, Williams is a strong young man, with great stamina. A four-year starter, Spencer was 11-10 with a 2.48 ERA for the Cavaliers, with 258 K in 214 IP, 40 BB and 0.87 WHIP. Aurora scouts and coaches are mixed on expectations for Williams – with the biggest complaint being his questionable work ethic. He has signed a letter of commitment with Seton Hall, but will begin his pro career in the Caribbean with the Mystique, should he sign with Aurora.
After selecting three pitchers and an outfielder, Aurora turned their eye on the infield by selecting Gijsbert Verboven with the 242nd overall pick in the 8th round. The left-handed hitting Dutchmen showed a mixed bag of success in his 4-years as a starter at Bowness High, in Calgary. Despite a poor .162 in 2034, he hit a career best 8 HR this year and, he did hit .242 his junior year. A quality defensive player – for a high school player, offensively he shows good pop to the gaps, and coaches and scouts alike say he’s a very coachable player who with a break or two could develop into a major league hitter. Verboven has expressed interest in continuing his playing career at the University of Michigan. Should he sign, like all the high school draftees, he will be headed to Montserrat.
Yorikane Kato, a starting pitcher from Montego Bay High was Aurora’s selection in the 9th round – a left-handed pitcher who features a fastball, curve and change that he controls with equal aplomb. A three-year starter, he set a career high 77 K in 55 IP this year as he posted a 1.63 ERA. For his career he struck out 230 in 175-innings with a 0.92 WHIP and an OAVG of .206. Kato has above average stuff, though he struggles with control and tends to leave his pitches flat. The coaching staff in Aurora envision Kato ultimately being a reliever. He has signed a letter of intent with Aoyama Gakuin, so we shall see if he gets a chance to start for Aurora, or if he hit’s the books.
Aurora would begin their collection of double picks in the 10th, where the selected SP Martin Reynolds, a RHP from James River HS at 24th in the round and RF Patrick MacLay, a LH hitter from Lycee Fenelon, at 26th. Reynolds, from San Francisco, spent three of his four seasons as a starter – pitching in relief as a closer his junior year – with a 1.33 ERA and 12-saves, but for his career he posted a 2.26 ERA with 217 K in 171 IP – and a .198 OAVG and 0.86 WHIP. He has a tall, 6’ 8” frame of a lot of skin and bones, as he weighs in at 195, but he has great stamina suggesting he may continue to start, but despite his gangly appearance, he has an excellent move to first. He is not an overpowering pitcher, but he features an arsenal of cutter, splitter and slider – and a change that could be a difference maker – if he can master the pitch. He has committed to Central Florida.
MacLay is an Englishmen from Houghton-le-Spring, who has excellent running skills and a powerful arm – and despite playing primarily RF, coaches think he just might find short to be his better position. Patrick will be the definition of a project – despite hitting .288 his junior year, he was not an overwhelming offensive player. But he’s a hard worker and his high school coach is quoted saying, “Pat would play every position on the field if you let him.” MacLay, at this point, has not made a commitment one way or the other to where he goes next.
Rounding out Aurora’s top ten selections are 2B Nakazo Shiotani out of Matanzas High, and LF Lucas MacHendrie, who graduated from San Felipe High. Shiotani is described as a hard working infielder who has a lot of work ahead of him to improve his defensive skills. Offensively, he’s much like MacLay, a solid junior year followed by a poor senior year. MacHendrie has great baserunning skills – 21-22 career SB. Neither he, nor Nakazo, plan on a college career. Whether they stick with the Borealis is to be determined.
With the large investment in high school players, it would seem there may be some upheaval at Montserrat – a club that posted their best win percentage last year (.467), out of their first four seasons. With the IBC season beginning in two weeks, the Borealis have a short window to make a lot if interesting decisions.
