Mumbai Memos: 38.029: "Metro Stars Draft Review"

[HoosierVic]

By Sai Reddy
The Mumbai Mirror
06-25-2038

The Mumbai Metro Stars took a power-hitting outfielder and a promising high school starting pitcher in Thursday’s inaugural UMEBA amateur draft.

Mumbai, with the second overall pick, selected Rex Marriott, an 18-year-old left fielder who was born in Melbourne, Australia, but played his high school ball for the Guam Typhoons.

Then, in the second round, the Metro Stars took 17-year-old pitcher Damon Odgers, who hails from Shoalhaven, Australia, moved to the Gilbert Islands as a young boy and played for the Tarawa (H.S.) Sun Kings.

“We’re really pleased with our draft,” said Mumbai General Manager Vic Caleca. “There was a lot of talent at the front end of the pool, but we feel we got two of the best players out there – and there were a couple of lower picks that may surprise you.”

Here’s a look at Mumbai’s top 5 picks, and an assessment of their prospects for signing with the team:

Round One
Rex Marriott, 18, Guam Typhoons. Although he’s currently a raw talent, the scouts grade the left fielder’s potential as pretty much off the charts. His overall rating, relative to the Unified Middle East Baseball Association, currently stands at a 20, but grades out at an eye-popping 80 for his potential. His UMEBA potential skill ratings are: Contact 8; Gap Power 9; Home Run Power 8; Eye/Discipline 6; Avoiding Strikeouts 3. Relative to the BBA, those potential numbers are still good: 7, 8, 8, 6, 3, with an overall rating of 60. In his year of high school ball, Marriott slashed .284/.380/.432 with 6 homers and 19 RBIs. The OSA scouting report said he grades out as a “plus” contact hitter and, “as he develops, has the power potential to impact the game. He is expected to be a defensive asset as a left fielder. Marriott projects to be an above average big league left fielder.”

Rex Marriott

Caleca’s Take: “It was important to us that Rex actually had some success playing the game in high school. To be honest, there were a couple of players whose scouting grades were higher, but their actual playing history was terrible. That makes me nervous. I do trust our scouts and their grades, but I also trust successful experience. Rex had both, so that’s what we went with.”

Signing Prospects: Marriott is not expected to be difficult in negotiations, and initial conversations were characterized by those in the know as “easy.” Caleca said Marriott’s contract request was reasonable, “and we made an offer that actually went a bit beyond it in an effort to wrap this up quickly and amicably.”

Round Two
Damon Odgers, 17, Tarawa (H.S.) Sun Kings. Like Marriott, starting pitcher Damon Odgers is a raw talent with lots of upside potential. Scouts grade his skills, relative to the UMEBA, as: Stuff 7; Movement 6; Control 8. He has three pitches: a fastball, with 8 potential; curveball with 8 potential; and a changeup with 5 potential. His stamina rates as a 6, and his fastball ticks 98 mph on the radar gun. His overall rating, relative to the UMEBA, currently stands at a 20 with a potential of 80. The scout’s assessment: “He throws three pitches, with his bread and butter pitch a decent fastball. As he matures, he’ll need to improve his command and cut down on his walks. Odgers projects to be a solid bullpen contributor.”

Damon Odgers

Caleca’s Take: “The first thing you’ll notice is that Odgers did not have an especially impressive high school record (2-1 record, 5.74 ERA, 13 K’s, 9 walks). And it’s fair to ask why we didn’t use the same yardstick here as we did for the first round pick. The answer is that pitching prospects are difficult to come by for our league, and our scouts felt he was the best talent available at that point. We feel Damon has great potential, and we will do everything we can to help him develop it. And, for the record, we see him as a starter, not a reliever.”

Signing Prospects: Odgers, according to sources close to the team, is likely to be difficult to sign and his contract demands are well beyond what someone in his position would normally ask for. Still, Mumbai has reportedly made a strong offer and hopes to sign Odgers relatively soon.

Round Three
Nick Angwin, 17, Wellington (Australia) Mariners. The Metro Stars selected another pitcher in round three, this one a closer with decent potential – but considerably less than the first and second round choices. Angwin's potential skill grades: 8, 6, 4, with a 7 changeup and a 9 fastball who hits 96 mph on the gun. Angwin’s high school stats are impressive: 0.50 ERA, 1-0 record with 10 saves, 20 k’s and 10 walks in 18 games.
The scouts give him an overall potential grade of 45 and give him only an “outside shot at a mop-up role in the majors.”

Nick Angwin

Caleca’s Take: “Well, it seems unlikely we’ll be able to sign Nick, because he’s committed to going to college. We think he has potential, though, so we’ll do what we can.”

Signing Prospects: Dim. Insiders characterized the negotiations as “impossible” and said Angwin’s demands were “absurd.” The thought is that Mumbai will make a decent offer, but not necessarily pursue Angwin past that initial proposal.




Round Four
Darren VanKrimpen, 19, Brisbane Nuggets. VanKrimpen is a power-hitting left field prospect with potential skill grades of 6, 5, 7, 6, 5, with an overall ceiling of 65. He’s several rungs below, say, Marriott, in the eyes of the scouts, but still a reasonable UMEBA prospect. His high school slash line is not impressive, though: .175, .320, .596. The scouting report praises his fluid swing, but casts doubt on whether VanKrimpen can hit for average as well as power.

Darren VanKrimpen

Caleca’s Take: “We think Darren is well worth trying to bring into the organization. He needs to work on some things, but he’s a talented young man who we think could be a starter in this league.”

Signing Prospects: Although front office sources say negotiations could be hard, VanKrimpen’s contract demands were realistic and the team has made a generous offer it hopes he will consider.

Round Five
Wesley Moss, 18, Tonga Monarchs. Moss is a starting pitcher who scouts do not believe has much potential to make it in the UMEBA. His potential grades: 6, 4, 3, with a cutter that could reach a 7 and a curve that could also reach a 7. For a starter, his stamina grades out poorly – at a 3. His overall potential grades at a 20.

Wesley Moss

Caleca’s Take: “We were pretty much playing out the string here, and in fairness to Wesley we hope he considers going to college and working on his game there.”

Signing Prospects: Front office sources say Moss seems pretty disinterested in signing with Mumbai, and it’s unlikely the team will even tender an offer.

[recte44]

You actually got a few useful guys. Marriott should be a stud. Great draft!