July 23, 2012: Asheville, North Carolina — It was the best of drafts, it was the worst of drafts, it was two days of wisdom, it was two days of foolishness, it was a time for belief, it was a time for incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the draft of hope, it was the draft of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to the playoffs, we were all sinking to the cellar.

When it was all over, when all the decisions were made, choices chosen and picks picked, the PEBA General Managers agreed… on almost nothing about the 2012 Amateur Draft.

Florida Featherheads GM Kevin Lewis said, “I guess this draft will be known as the ‘Matt Draft’,” because of all the pitchers San Antonio Calzones of Laredo GM Matt Higgins drafted in the early rounds.  But Higgins wasn’t happy with his choices.  “I can tell you this; I won’t ever draft a pitcher in the third round again.”  Asked why, Higgins explained, “In 2009, [we] lost Valdés for 11 months.  In 2010, [we] lost Peterson for 12 months… Now Becker in 2012.  All third round picks.”

Disagreements flourished and perceptions varied.  One GM’s source of hope was another’s cause for despair.  Or in the case of Lewis and Higgins, what one perceived as a coup, the other dismissed as a boondoggle.  In the end, 2012 may be known as the Year of the Disagreeable Draft.

Though no one raved about the talent pool available for this year’s draft, several characterized it as typical.  Most optimistic was Lewis’s assessment that the 2012 draft pool was “fairly solid”.  The Fargo Dinosaurs, who traded away their first round pick, were pleased with their second round selection, Héctor Cruz.  Fargo’s head scout Scotty Ross went so far as to praise the pitching talent in the pool: “We felt there were some very interesting arms that would fall to us in the later rounds.”  New Jersey manager Tracy Evans felt his Hitmen, “…had a pretty solid draft this year.  Not as jaw dropping as in 2011, but we filled some holes and grabbed some great kids with potential.”

Not everyone was so sanguine.

Aurora’s “Boy Wonder” GM, Will Topham, was the most pessimistic, describing this year’s talent as “the weakest in years”.  After the first day of the draft, Topham was heard to grumble that he was afraid the second day would “feel like wallowing in the mud”.

Others, though critical, were not so extreme in their evaluation.  Yuma’s veteran scout Lúcio Carvajal said he’d seen better, and Takeichi Kondo, scout for the West Virginia Coal Sox, typified it as a “weak draft class”.  Kondo explained that, “[The Coal Sox] entered the draft with low expectations, and sure enough, that’s also what we left the draft room with.”

But in a pre-draft interview, PEBA Commissioner John Rodriguez pointed out that what seems to be weakness may emerge in time as strength.  He cited as his example an 8^th round selection from the 2008 draft, June IL Rookie of the Month Ed Williams.  “Proof,” the Commish noted, “that talent can be found at any point during the draft.”

Different GMs saw different players as the hidden talents of the 2012 draft.  Aurora’s Topham thought Virgil van Horssen, drafted in the 13^th round, was the sleeper of the draft.  Topham expects the right-hander from Arizona State to develop into a starting pitcher.  “We like his work ethic.”

Florida GM Lewis thought Carlos Bercerra was the #1 hidden talent this year.  Drafted at the end of the third round by Crystal Lake, Bercerra was passed on by other teams because of his lack of power and limited experience coming out of Rice University, but Lewis thinks he will perform well for the Sandgnats.

Canton GM Shawn McGrath was pleased with the first round pick of the Longshoremen, pitcher Julián Olivares: “We think that kid is gonna be somethin’ special.”  But beat reporter Patrick Bailey for the Charleston Gazette was proclaiming the defensive skills of West Virginia’s second round pick, second baseman Edward Buckner.  “He’ll need remedial plate discipline courses… but [Buckner] has solid defensive skills all around the diamond.”

Curiously, none of the managers, scouts or reporters identified the same hidden gems in the 2012 draft as Nate Manuel, veteran analyst for American Baseball Perspective.  Manuel listed a crop of young players, none of whom were selected in the earliest rounds of the draft, all of which Manuel thought were “steals”.  They included two third basemen – Pi-ao Chen, drafted by the Gloucester Fishermen, and Xavier Fiset selected by the Arlington Bureaucrats – and two outfielders – Pancho Gonzáles, picked by the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo, and Martin Smith, drafted by the Connecticut Nutmeggers.  Each, Manuel thought, showed more promise than their position in the draft might seem to merit.

Among pitchers, Manuel identified some gems selected as late as the eighth and ninth rounds during the second day of the draft – when Will Topham expected to be “wallowing in the mud”.

The Bakersfield Bears’ 8^th round selection, 18-year-old right hander Leonard Turkington, may have been overlooked because of what Manuel called a “nagging non-arm-related injury”, but his ability to limit home runs and induce groundouts at crucial moments may make him a valuable member of the Bears’ staff in the future.  In Manuel’s opinion, the deftest “steal” of all was Fargo’s pick in the ninth round, lefty Chris Taylor.  His 97 MPH fastball and mixture of pitchers makes it a mystery why such a talented player wasn’t chosen in an earlier round.

Why were none of the “sleepers” Manuel named drafted earlier?  The answer may lie in the various purposes managers had in mind as they approached the 2012 draft.  Many clubs followed the philosophy articulated by Scott Miller of the London Underground: “We just took what we thought were the best players available at the time.”  Others came to the draft with specific positions targeted.  Aurora was looking for pitching; Florida for a first baseman and help in center field.  Fargo’s Ross said, “We really looked to strengthen our pitching, as it has been a bit neglected over the past few drafts, and we felt there were some very interesting arms that would fall to us in the later rounds.”

Still, a few clubs have very different approaches.  Jay Harvill, GM of the Reno Tenpinners, admitted that he had “sold away”  his top draft picks for “financial stability”.  That left the Tenpinners hoping to grab up a couple pitchers who, in Harvill’s words, “…might be able to turn into something some day.”

And then there was New Orleans.

Former outfielder Cooper Scott ousted Paul Tanner as the Trendsetters’ GM and immediately introduced what he called “a new system” for the 2012 draft.  The idea apparently came from former shortstop Jack Cobb, whom Scott claims, “…made me aware of newer ways to look at stats.  Something called ‘sabertooth-metricals’.”  The system, ostensibly based on statistical analysis, sounded more like Nominalism than Bill James-ianism, at least in Scott’s rambling explanation.  “Hubert Lee was just the best available hitter… as far as stats and intangibles were concerned.  A .391 average, even though it is high school ball, is certainly nothing to sniff at.  Quite frankly, head scout Flores kept saying ‘leader’ so often that, for a few picks before he fell to us, I thought his full name was Hubert Lee Leader.  I like people with Lee as a middle name, like Tommy Lee Jones – but not people who have it as a first name, like Lee Harvey Oswald – but by the time Flores explained things to me, the pick was already made.”

Scott later revealed that right fielder Warren Turner had been selected to provide first baseman Rob McGrath with a friend from New York City, creating a mini-gang of New Yorkers.  As Scott sees it, “They should get along just fine, talking about apples of a larger size, statues named for virtues and all that jazz.”

General Managers, apparently, came to the 2012 Draft with a variety of goals in mind (or in Scott’s case, no goals – and perhaps no mind – at all).  Yet for all the disagreements about objectives and hidden talents and the quality of this year’s pool, there was surprising agreement – almost consensus – among GMs about one particular player: Steve Scherer.  Amazing for a player not selected until 15^th in the first round that such unanimity of opinion should prevail.  Six hitters were chosen ahead of Scherer: Patrick Williams and John Taylor (both picked by Crystal Lake), Rob McGrath (by New Orleans), Dean Morrison (by London) and Jeff Tolbert (by Gloucester).  Yet it was the shortstop from Arizona State who had tongues wagging.

Florida’s Lewis was pleased to add Scherer to his talented minor league system.  “The main reason I chose Scherer was his pedigree.  I know that is silly to say, but that’s why I chose him.”  Lewis pointed out that Scherer’s abilities were no better than many other players, and defensively, he was (in Lewis’s words), “A mixed bag.”  But Lewis saw “good intangibles” in Scherer’s performance in college and expects, “[He] will develop into a fine pro player.”

It’s no surprise to find the manager who drafts a player singing his praises, but what about all the other GMs who pointed to Scherer when asked whom they had targeted in the draft?  Palm Springs GM Denny Hills said he would “definitely” have taken Scherer if Florida hadn’t already grabbed him up two picks before Palm Springs’ turn.  Dan DiVincenzo of the Arlington Bureaucrats said Scherer was “the top ranked position player” on their draft list, while Paul Tanner, former Trendsetter GM, said Scherer “…may be the next George Riley.”  Yuma scout Carvajal rated Scherer “…the best hitter in the draft,” while scout Martín Diharce of the Hitmen said, “Getting a versatile infielder of his caliber with the 15^th pick of the first round is a steal, in my opinion.”  Reno GM Harvill summed up the opinions of his fellow managers when he described Scherer as, “…a guy who will be able to play any infield spot well, can run, is smart and works hard, and will be a high average and high OBP guy.”

A draft of contrasts, a draft of contradictions.  For some, the best of drafts; for many, the worst of drafts.  In all, a Dickensian year of disagreements.  And yet, in the final analysis, PEBA cognoscenti could agree on one thing: Steve Scherer is, in the words of the Reno GM, “A very, very valuable player.”

Only time will tell if Scherer lives up to his billing, who made off with the best “steal” or whether this year’s draft class proves to be as inferior as some believe or as typical as others insist.  It should make for interesting watching in 2013 and beyond.

I would like to thank the GMs of Florida, Aurora, London, New Orleans, West Virginia, Canton and Yuma for generously contributing to this article.  Thanks also to the GMs of San Antonio, Crystal Lake, Reno, New Jersey, Palm Springs, Arlington and the Seoul Crushers of the LRS for their additional comments.