New Owner, New Year, Same Old Draft Options

[Borealis]

New Owner, New Year, Same Old Draft Options
by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer

June 4, 2035: Asheville, North Carolina – Actions have consequences, or so the saying goes. For the Aurora Borealis, those actions are trading draft picks and those consequences are a reduction in draft capital and a reduction of quality in the farm system. But what if the quality is poor from the git go? That becomes a whole different enchilada. The 2035 Draft will be remembered for some maneuvering that brought in a variety of enchiladas and a burrito or two – just because. The draft class may not leave the fans with a lot of memories, but movements the club took to improve their draft (overall) standing speaks volume about how the GM and his new ‘Lady Boss’ will work together.

Going into the offseason, the Borealis ended up having dealt away their 2nd round (to Okinawa for Claudio Hernandez), 4th round (to Madison for C Lan-quing Qing) and 5th round (to Neo-Tokyo for INF Juan Rodriguez) picks. They would ultimately traded away their 1st round pick to Yuma (stay tuned) – but Aurora also went on a trading spree that saw them pick up Arlington’s 2nd and 5th round picks (for Domingo Gutierrez), essentially buying Crystal Lake’s 3rd round pick from Yuma (for $6.5M and Howard Joyce), and sending their aforementioned 1st round pick and a couple of prospects to Yuma for Yuma’s 2nd and 3rd, Crystal Lake’s 2nd and Niihama’s 4th – a trade motivated by the pending signing of SS Francisco Montoya (who thus far has been a bit of a disappointment – but that’s a tale for another day). The Borealis would end up losing that Yuma 2nd rounder as compensation – they knew they couldn’t avoide that – but between Yuma and Arlington, Aurora brought in seven picks to make up for the four they lost – a +3 on the pick side, all in the top 5 rounds.

Thus it wasn’t until the 48th overall pick that Aurora found themselves on the clock and they came up with CL Vince Rayner aa Austrailian high school kid (a theme early on) from Port Lincoln High. Vince is a 6’ 2”, slender right-hander who sports a quality fastball that already tops out at 98 and complements with an above average curve and a circle change. Over two seasons with the varsity at Port Lincoln he appeared in 32-games and picked up 15 saves. What Vince does provide is a ‘type’ that is familiar to Aurora fans – hard-throwing, with the quality of the pitch outweighing the placement – at least at some level. Rayner does have a letter of intent to attend the University of Sydney, but reports suggest that he’s not the best student in the world, so he may be more willing to begin his pro career.

Eleven picks later in the 2nd round, at 59th overall, Aurora selected a swingman pitcher – Ken Berrios from Lakewood High School – used as a starter in his four seasons with the Lancers, but possibly more suited for the ‘pen. Built much like Rayner, Berrios features a hard fastball, topping the radar at 97, with a curveball that scouts believe can be equally devastating. His career numbers are encouraging – a fine K:B ratio, low WHIP, although his Lancer team lost in the 2nd round of the Interscholastic Federation playoffs to the champion Jesuit team. In that series Berrios was used as a reliever, and had pitched well until game 7 where he allowed the deciding three runs in the B8 of an 8-5 loss to the Corsairs. Ken is known to be a quiet one, and he has a commitment to Seton Hall, but Aurora feels confident they can lure him (and Rayner) to the glorious beaches at Montserrat.

With the first pick in the 3rd round Aurora selected the first Frenchman in the club’s history – SS Robert (pronounced ROW-bear) Godefroy, from the Lycee Fenelon in Paris. Two things stand out for Godefroy – his great ability to make contact with the ball and his outstanding skills at short – a position if need in the lower minors for Aurora; a true shortstop, and what the coaches hope is a quality set of hands at the plate, and the innate ability to put the ball in play. He was an IHS Glove Wizard last season for Fenelon. He was a four-year starter for the Linguists – with respectable freshmen and senior seasons, which Aurora hopes is more indicative of his ability, as the club drafted for organizational need. Robert has a commitment to Ohio State, so the Borealis will need to convince this youngster to eschew the Brutes and play for the Borealis – honing his professional skills at Monserrat this year (and next).

Aurora made it 2-for-2 on the French side, as with the 21st pick in the 3rd round they took C Joshua Lemercier out of Aix-Marseille University – the first college player of their draft. Josh is a tall, lanky body – not your typical catcher, who has average skills behind the plate. He had a breakout season for the Geckos, hitting .317, with 7 HR and a .905 OPS. One thing that works in Lemercier’s favor is his college coaches raving about his lockerroom demeanor and behind the plate – “A natural leader” said Gecko’s head coach Norio Heida. Joshua is a 4-year senior, with a modest bonus request. Currently there are three catchers on the roster at Mokule’ia, so there will need to be some organizational shuffling to make room for a catcher who really needs to play to make his abilities shine.

One position the Borealis is short at in the lower minors is at first, and with their third pick in the third round (27th in the round), Aurora sought to solve that problem. Drafting left-handed hitting Josh Whiskin from Rockingham High School in Perth. Whiskin led his Settlers team with a .287 average and 12 HR – after cutting his swing down from his junior year where he swung for the fences – hitting 14 HR, but checking in with just a .160. He’s not the best of fielders, and he still has a lot to learn to improve his contact rate and take advantage of a good sense of the strike zone – but he’s young and will have the advantage of getting at least two full seasons at Rookie Ball before gazing up towards A Ball play.

With the first pick in the 4th round, the Borealis selected a young shortstop out of Chatsworth High – Roger Miller – a physical specimen that will remind fans of an Aurora favorite – Nick Giles. The muscular right-handed hitting shortstop is a month shy of his birthday, with sure-hands and a strong arm – but his somewhat plodding natures prevents him from covering a lot of territory and might be more suited to 3B. He’s a hard-worker and his demeanor encourages others to follow suit. He’s averaged 5 HR a season, and in the true Aurora fashion, does a good job of putting the ball on the bat. Miller is the 5th high school player out of Aurora’s top six selections, and Roger is commited to Colorado, but he’s reported to be ready to begin his pro career in the ‘right place’. Might Aurora be that place?

Aurora used their second pick in the 5th round on a Cuban CF – Carlos Martinez out of Matanzas High, where he led the team in HR and RBI, while hitting .272 with a .780 OPS. Possessing average speed and baserunning abilities, he also possesses above average defensive skills, with the potential of one day being a quality CF – if he can overcome what scouts say is his glaring weakness – laziness. One thing that Aurora can count on is he is. likely to sign with the club – Carlos has no plans to attend college. Carlos also has also won some honors – he was the first round MVP in the 2033 IHS playoffs and an All-Star this past season. Martinez will begin the season at Montserrat, but for now, he’ll find himself behind Masamichi Daikawa – until Masamichi is promoted to Short A – an action that is expected to happen before the major league trade deadline.

The Borealis finished the five round opening day of the draft by selecting another shortstop – this one for depth at Short A. Spanaird Gabriel Galvan was the 148th overall pick, and is a smooth fielding, speedy player who was a four-year starter for Atletico Castille Sociedad Deportiva . He was an All-Star in 2033 and a Glove Wizard for this season. Duing the course of his four-years as a starter, Gabriel was able to reduce his strikeouts and stole 13 bases in 17 attempts. Born in Seville, where he grew up at the bullring, Aurora is hoping that he will bring the same grace and tenacity to his place on the field. Currently Luis Gomez is leading the way for Mokule’ia at short with a .314 average, so Gabe will have to take advantage of his chances, or hope for Gomez to get a mid-season promotion, if he has hopes of proving his value to the organization.

The remainder of the 2035 draft will happen tomorrow, and the Borealis will be managing with just their own picks, and they’ll be tasked with wading through a deep cesspool of mediocrity, and if nothing else, draft for organizational balance – which if nothing else, looks to have been the main plan on day one.