Growing old in Cairo (2041-12)

[Fat Nige]

Restocking the Chariots

It’s always hard to analyse the UMEBA draft and the future impact of the available players simply because the draftees are so young, a lot of those available are in the 16 & 17-yr-old bracket with some even younger. Cairo’s ambition for the 2041 Amateur Draft was to major on improving the pitching prospects in the organisation, a no-brainer given their current pitching woes at UMEBA level. It didn’t 100% work out but the franchise are pleased with the eight players they drafted.

P Roger Mackey (Rd 1, 3rd overall) 16-yr-old Roger was the first pitcher off the board. He’s got a lot of growing to do but his year playing for the Sydney Devil Bears hinted at what might be to come. In eight starts he went 6-0 with a 1.05 ERA & a 0.60 WHIP. He struckout 66 batters in 51 IP, only allowed 22 hits and posted 3.0 WAR. Our scouts figure he’ll develop three elite pitches and could well develop into Ace material.

P Vern Kline (Rd 2, 11th overall) 17-yr-old Vern may only ever be a bullpen arm unless his circle change ever develops, but Cairo felt that his intangibles were worth the risk. It will probably come to nothing anyway as he seems determined to continue his education. The scouts though highly rate his pitch movement and control already, he put up 2.0 WAR in 10 games in Tarawa high school along with 35 K’s in 49 IP and a 1.09 WHIP. He has shown great leadership skills with considerable intelligence and a solid work ethic. If he does decide to sign he could have the potential to develop into a real closer.

SS Nigel Roberts (Rd 3, 21st overall) 17-yr-old Nigel was drafted as a favour to GM Laverick as he is a distant Australian relative. It wasn’t a massive reach though as he has some great defensive moves already, putting up a 3.55 range, a 5.2 ZR and a 1.064 eff in 80 games at Pago Pago high school. He’s also hit 9 homers and driven in 30 runs in that time.

1B Jake Williams (Rd 4, 29th overall) 16-yr-old Jake could be Cairo’s power hitting first baseman of the future. In just 30 games in Perth high school he muscled 12 balls over the fences and drove in 36 runs. He can hit for average too, hitting .301 & a .986 OPS, producing a 1.5 WAR.

2B Angelo Utting (Rd 5, 37th overall) 16-yr-old Angelo definitely has a lot to learn, he only had 6 AB’s in Suva high school which produced one hit and two walks; he did get credited with three runs driven in though. The scouts say he’s intelligent and hard working and may well make the grade.

P Bradley Pryor (Rd 6, 45th overall) 17-yr-old Bradley spent two years in Guam high school and the scouts weren’t too high on him, but we took a chance anyway. In 17 HS starts he posted a 7-2 record with a 2.74 ERA, struck out 82 batters in 82 IP while only walking 22. He is reputed to be an intelligent and hard-working young man who we thought deserved his chance, he has a reasonable feel for three pitches already (a curve, splitter and a cutter) and his effort might get him through.

P Rod Ralston (Rd 7, 53rd overall) 15-yr-old Rod is a long way from being anything but if he develops as the scouts predict he could be the steal of the draft at 53rd overall. A hard-working intelligent student at Perth high school, he’s a real groundballer, producing nearly 60% of his outs on the ground. In nine starts he went 2-1 with a 2.40 ERA, a 3.08 K/BB and 40 K’s in 41IP. Fifteen’s a long way away, but continue as he has and . . .

3B Drew Creswell (Rd 8, 61st overall) 16-yr-old Drew was another Suva student who played with Utting, and want the heck we felt like drafting a third baseman. He’s got a reasonable defense, posting a 2.0 WAR with a 1.043 eff in 41 games, his main trouble at the moment though is he just can’t find the swing. He only hit .179 in his 41 appearances, he’s intelligent and with the long hours he’s reputed to put in, he just might crack it.

The Chariot Archers will now open talks with the eight draftees and those that sign will be ticketed to Taipei for probably the next four years. They’re all young, mostly high schoolers, and so can have four to six years in A ball to properly fill out. Of course we’d like them to develop sooner, but in all honesty they will probably be at least 20-yrs-old before we would even think of sending them to Montevideo.

[DugoutDesperado]

Mackey was my favorite player in the entire draft. I think he will be a bonefide stud once he develops.