Nine Draftees Still Unsigned
One year after selecting Sergio Campos with the #13 overall pick in the PEBA Draft, Duluth uses their second overall pick on another college corner outfielder Jacob Gill.
Out of UConn where he was a two-time All-Star and Platinum Stick winner, Gill brings the same skill set as the Warriors 2031 top selection; that would be a big bat with
average defense and little speed. Last season, Campos joined SA Kailua and contributed 16 homers in 251 at-bats after banging 77 long balls during his 4 seasons at Purdue. This season at A Rapid City, the left fielder has matched that total in just 163 at-bats. With 85 college homers, Gill looks to have a more advanced bat than Campos coming into professional ball and improved his outfield defense while in school. Both might be in the same outfield in 2033 with AA Medicine Hat a possible landing spot.
With the 35th overall selection, the Warriors may have reached a little in taking Richard Gonzalez out of Seton Hall. As a Starting Pitcher for four seasons with the Rampage, the sidearm left-hander managed just 20 decisions over 51 starts going 10-10 averaging less than five innings in his college career. His velocity tops out at 97 mph without throwing a true fastball (cutter, slider, changeup) while his K/BB ratio was around 4.6:1 and his career WHIP was under 1.00. Finding a fourth pitch while stretching out his innings should help Gonzalez realize his projected talent.Picking again in the second round, Duluth followed the Gonzalez selection with another college left-hander when they took Vic Munn after his 2032 ICOL All-Star selection.
With a triple digit fastball, Munn improved his WHIP, K/9, and BB/9 every season over his 4-year college career and he just turned 21 June 3rd. Munn finished his senior campaign with a 10:1 K/BB ratio making 10 starts after 2030 and 2031 seasons that ended early with rotator cuff issues. With only 118.2 total innings of work the last four seasons, Munn has a fresh arm and hopes are that he can stay strong.
Andrew Rivas was the 66th selection in the PEBA draft after putting together a second productive college season with Tulane. Rivas combined 2031 and 2032 seasons to hit .289 with 26 home runs while striking out just 14 percent of the time. When it comes to run, hit, and throw Rivas looks like a solid selection in the third round and should Duluth sign their selections Rivas will be a nice right-handed compliment to Gill.An organization lacking in quality left-handed pitching, Duluth rounded out their five top-100 picks with another college southpaw at pick 99.
Ronald Williams did not pitch at all in 2031 or 2032 after the Oregon State pitcher suffered through a rehabilitation program that prevented him from pitching since April of 2030. A high-risk selection by the Warriors, Williams has a chance to have five above average pitches if he can stay healthy. Duluth hopes that Williams’ quality work ethic will help him stay strong and he will reward the Warriors with some solid seasons on the mound.
Along with the five unsigned college draftees above, the Warriors also have four high school picks that continue to study their options. Sumio Tanaka, a Waseda commit, is a catcher taken 129th overall after DH’ing most of 2032.Dermot Tuffin (Cambridge) is a big, strong right-handed pitcher taken 188th. Arnold Kent is a 6’5” shortstop out of Australia who has committed to University of Sydney. Taken 248th, Kent has some tools that would really help the lower levels of the Duluth system. Honoring a Ciefuegos commitment might be the best option for Enrique Rangel (342nd overall) who did not play defense his senior year of high school. He has some ability and college might help him develop more than pro ball at this point. Maybe that is why before the draft Rangel told teams, “Don’t draft me.”
That is a total of nine unsigned picks for the Warriors, so they still have some work to do before celebrating the 2032 draft. Finding some nice projects after round five, Duluth took Adam Bell in the sixth round (158th) providing some insurance against Rivas not signing for some reason. Bell looks like a nice player hitting left-handed and playing a solid third base (5.7 ZR in 2032) for USC and clubbing double-figure homers three straight seasons. Catcher Will Brown (218th) out of Louisville has some developing power and should get playing time at Kailua in 2032.
At pick 278, Guy Toole was one of the favorite selections on Day 2 when his selection brought an almost orgasmic response throughout the room. A well-developed package at 6’6” 200 pounds and just 18 years old, it may be a bit pre-mature to erect a monument for Toole but expect his game to develop as he sees more action.