Draft recap chatter

[Matt]

feel free to join in. Just going to recap my own draft.

Despite no selections until rd 6, the Calzones felt fairly decent about the 8 selections they had over the final 5 rounds. I barely made it to the draft, we fortunately finished up the majority of the moving in time for me to escape.

Rd 6, 133 overall
Jason Davis, Cf - my scouts generally view Davis as a 3* potential, with one scout rating him a 3.5. The Calzones felt a need in the organization for a centerfielder, and a leadoff type at that. There were a number of things to like about Davis. Great speed. His numbers at the college level haven't reflected that, but we'll see how well he puts it to use in the Calzones organization. Good gap power, making him a good fit for Elysian Fields. His eye at the plate is decent, and he is very tough to strike out. So a guy at the top of the order with blazing speed and and he'll work the count and not strike out (the Anti- Todd Hansen). Way above average defensive skills, good range, sure hands. Mediocre arm a slight drawback.

Rd 6, 137 overall
3b John Shaffer -- how did he fall this far? SISA might not like him, but my scouts think he is no worse than 4*. Near the end of round 6. I was shocked he was still there. Just 18, so lots of room for growth. After hitting .344 and .376 the last two seasons in HS, he projects as a very good contact hitter with GREAT gap power, and even moderate power and a decent though not great eye. The defensive tools are very good, love the arm rated at 80 from the hot corner. His 100 intelligence makes me think he will rise through the system quickly.


Rd 7, 147 overall
SS Adrian Romero - my scouts all feel he is at least 3.5* potential, a few think 4* potential. Another player I was shocked fell so far. Great speed and great gap power, and his HS numbers reflect this, with 32 sb and 29 2b over two HS seasons. Great defense for an 18 yr old, it should only get better. And 81 intelligence and 93 work ethic make for some nice intangibles.

Rd 7, 161 overall
1b Lee Kohler - 18 yrs old. Rated 3* by most of my scouts, though one is all the way out there at 4.5 * . The defensive tools are there, he just needs polish. And with a 93 arm he will probably be moving over to 3b. Good gap power and he can steal some bases. Decent intangibles as well. Drop in his numbers this year over last a concern, but 18 and still scouting well.

Rd 8 , 185 overall
LF Rafael Vasquez - 21 years old. The defense sold me here. Plus my head scout still thinks he has some upside. Love that 81 arm, and he can already collect the hits. Needs to develop his batting eye, and while most of my scouts say he won't, my head scout see's a little potential, so I rolled the dice. It was rd 8, why not.

RD 9, 209 overall
1b Rod Stewart - another 18 year old, which seemed to be my trend for the most part this draft. Scouts all hover around 2 to 2.5 stars on this guy, but I try to look between the lines. Very good defense for a high schooler, with some polish he might be a gold glove 1b. Blinding speed, 31 sb's the last two years. FROM A FIRST BASEMEN. My scouts right now think decent gap power, decent though not great eye, and roughly mediocre power. Now lets get to the good stuff. 92 intelligence. 99 work ethic. 6 hr, 47 rbi at HS this season. With 14 2bs and 20 stolen bases. Walked 27 times, to post .333 batting average and .411 obp. Why do I think I am looking at Jeff Bagwell here?

rd 10, 219 overall
2b Julio Lara - another 18 year old. Organizational need. Scouts think he will hit. He'll just strikeout a lot as well. Defense is good but needs polish. I like the 87 intelligence, maybe he can work through those patience at the plate issues.

rd 10, 233 overall
SP Edgar Fernandez - 21 yrs old. Only one of my scouts liked this guy when he scouted the draft pool. He thinks he is a 4.5 potential. This scout is also a perfect 100 in scouting pitching, and a perfect 100 in scouting pitching potential. RD 10, let's have a little faith in him.

[Alan Ehlers]

Number 1 Markus Hancock- without a doubt the best prospect out there, all my scouts graded him a 5 star. Has all the tools to be in the majors in two years

2ndround-
Bryant Duncan- this filled my need for a bona fide closer, all my scouts put him in my top 15 and he will be my closer of the future

4th round
Tomas Ramos- was shocked he lasted this long but I was happy to get him. Has all the tools to excel in Tempes ballpark, his defense is terrible but he can work it out in the minors

5th Heath Palmer was surprised he went this late , his defesne is like Ramos but his gap potential is over 90 in al my freports so he is great fit for my team

6th round

Doug Hinkle-

good defense and great gap potential will be a great fi to my lineup in a couple of years

7th Rich Cunningham

I love the name so had to get him. Actually his defense is horrible so he will be part of my spring training field camp. He has a lot of potential according to my head scout and should be a Bernie Williams type player

8th Bob Keller

I am always am on the lookout for a catcher and Keller looks like a good fit for the future. He is great defensively and two of my scouts have him rated 4 stars so he was a logical choice


9th 2b Joe Escamiile
can play a lot of differant positions and is versitile. My one scout has him rated a 5 star otential and he was the one who recommencded Will George so I had to take him

10th- Jesus Conception- decent fielder and I love drafting catchers. My one scout has him ranked as a 5 star so he was worth a shot

[Alan Ehlers]

What a great pick Calzones , my head scout had him as a 5 star and i completely dropped the ball on him

[John]

Great idea. I'll go a different way and post some of the picks that really stood out to me. Pretty much every team had at least one in that regard, but since it's late I'll just highlight a few that jump to mind...

MR Travis Hanson, REN (Rd. 4, pick 87) - Hanson took a real step forward last year with the Rice Puddings. He was downright untouchable, allowing just 21 hits and 6 walks in 33.2 IP. His pinpoint control compensates for his lack of velocity, enabling him to K 41 last year. IF you're a believer in performance-driven selections, this is a great one.

2B Pedro "Duck" Maldanoda, YUM (Rd. 1, pick 7) - Maldanoda was good enough to go #1 overall. If I wasn't so in love with Michael Burton, "Duck" would have been my man. That he fell all the way to #7 is a shock. This was a real coup for Yuma.

2B Rafael "Bingo" Suarez, WV (Rd. 1, pick 12) - Similar situation as with Maldanoda. While Suarez may not have quite as much upside, he's at least pretty close. There was an early run on starting pitching, allowing premier bats to fall. The Coal Sox weren't about to let this gem fall any further.

2B Mitchell White, ARL (Rd. 2, pick #38 ) - In a draft incredibly strong with 2B, it was a surprise to see some of the best fall. White, a wizard with the glove, would have been a quality selection 15 picks earlier. Besides being crazy-fast, he showed developing gap power last season. Looks like he could be a cornerstone to build around for Arlington.

2B Tomas Ramos, TEM (Rd. 4, pick #73) - See a pattern here? You know 2B was a deep position when Ramos falls away the to 73. With his on-base and bunting skills, I think he could be a very effective #2 hitter. Defense will be a questions, but that can be learned and his bat will certainly play if he can stick at second.

SP Felix "Bump" Ortega, FLA (Rd. 2, pick #32) - Ortega didn't play last season but was dominant the season before that. Had he posted his '07 stats in '08, he would have been a 1st half of the 1st round selection.

SP Xiao-peng Li, BAK (Rd. 4, pick #95) - The Bears zeroed in on the best remaining SP, and he's a nice find this late. He's a very intelligent player with great movement on his pitches. Li is raw and will need time to develop, but I like the risk.

MR Angel Garcia, KEN (Rd. 4, pick #89) - To my eyes, Garica has comparable stuff to relievers taken 2 rounds earlier. That makes him a steal in my book.

SP Jose Contreras, MAN (Rd. 2, pick #29) - Just a notch down from the top SP tier, he fell to the 2nd round while similar SPs were being selected in the 1st.

MR Ken McLaren, KAL (Rd. 3, pick #68 ) - Although I pooh-poohed San Antonio's height-based aspersions on Michael Burton, let's face it... size matters. McLaren is huge at 6'7", but he only weighs 210 lbs. If he can fill out that frame with muscle, he should be able to add velocity to what is currently just an average fastball. Rolling the dice with classic size is a good plan here.

[Duane]

I just want to say that the palyers taken this year are by no means the plan of mgmt ... we entrusted the AI (with lists) and the potential picks by the other 23 teams ... out plan was 3 to 4 pitchers (not 9) .... we submitted our list of almost 200, the first 27 were pitchers (we had pick 3, 21, and 27) ... then hoping to move onto position guys .,... well we ended up with 3,5,6,14,16,17,23,26, and 27 for our first 9 poicks. It's not that the AI did us wrong, it simply did not adjust when needed.

We have taken our step, hopefully it isn't a long step on a short cliff.

That is all ... you may go now

[Tyler]

Here's Patrick Bailey's own quick take on the first three rounds of West Virginia's draft.

2B Rafael Suarez (Round 1, 12th overall) - In a draft full of "I can't believe he fell this far"s, Suarez takes the cake. Rumor has it that GM Tyler Babcock delivered draft report sheets to his scouts with one name preprinted at the top of each sheet - Markus Hitchcock on the pitchers sheet, and Rafael Suarez on the position players. "Let's put it this way," said Babcock shortly after the draft. "PARTY AT MY PLACE TONIGHT! EVERYONE IN THE ORGANIZATION! Hell, everyone in West Virginia! BOOZE IS ON ME!"

CF Carlos Hernandez (Round 1, 17th overall) - With their second pick in the first round, the Coal Sox selected another college bat. The Sox are high on his ability to avoid the K, and he profiles to have the range and arm to handle the vast outfield of Allegheny Field. With a career OBP of .478, look for him to arrive in WV before the decade is out.

RF Monte Williams (Round 2, 36th overall) - The Coal Sox kicked off the first of their three second round picks by taking their second college outfield bat in a row. Williams received all of one at-bat in his senior year as a result of academic difficulties, but the Coal Sox are sold on his baseball skills and trust he will put forth the same effort in his baseball career that he did to stay in school.

2B Johnny Sloan (Round 2, 42nd overall) - The Sox continued their college pattern by taking the second sacker from Washington State with an eye towards developing him as a third baseman. He's shown he has the gap power to drive balls into the deep alleys in Charleston.

3B Larry Martin (Round 2, 46th overall) - The only real "gamble" in the WV draft was selecting Martin as their first high school pick. Martin will not play in 2008 as a result of a torn groin muscle suffered early in his senior year. "He would have fallen a lot lower," explained Babcock, "but with our extra picks we had the luxury of snapping him up early and guaranteeing we'd get him."

SP Santiago Sanchez (Round 3, 65th overall) - Sanchez has the tools but not the results. His career 5.41 ERA at Oregon State doesn't inspire much confidence, but Babcock cautions patience with the young righty. "Sanchez simply hasn't had the proper coaching to allow him to harness his ability. Our staff will be able to mold him into the quality major league pitcher he can be."

You can catch the future Coal Sox play their first professional games when the short-season Kauai Monsters begin play next week. You'll probably want to do so online, however, unless you fancy purchasing last-minute tickets to Hawaii.