2062 Shark Bites TN No. 3 - DRAFT DAY
Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2025 11:53 pm
It's not looking so good, fellas.
Thanks to a constant and insistent barrage of injuries at key positions, Sydney has fielded its starting lineup about three times. I wish that were an exaggeration. As a result, we suck again!
But when the present sucks, we look to the future. And the future of Sharks baseball is found in the annual amateur draft. But even this came with its own troubles as a certain organization that won't be named (SAO PAOLO) held up the draft so much that the back half of the event was completely auto'd. Awesome.
Regardless, we came in with a simple strategy and we feel like we executed it well. We wanted pitching, so pitching we got. The first eight picks of the draft were spent on pitchers in order to stockpile our organization with staffing depth. Here's a quick breakdown of the top of our 2062 draft.
1.5 SP Wahyu Prawiranega
Prawiranega comes straight out of high school with league-ready command and an advanced arsenal of pitches for his age. The soon-to-be 18-year old has a three-pitch bag with plus movement on his fastball and cutter. A developed changeup and an improved ability to keep the ball in the yard will lock him into the future rotation.
2.5 SP Norman Durney
Stormin' Norman stays on his home continent with plus control and a velo in the mid-to-upper 90s. At 17, Durney isn't far off from competing in the upper minors with a three-pitch mix that appears poised to improve quickly.
3.5 RP Kepakiano Kuauli
Our most expensive addition, Kuauli brings an absurdly powerful arm into the fold with a fastball that currently reaches 99 MPH at 17 years old. That's accompanied by a plus-plus splitter and impeccable command of the basepaths.
4.5 SP Ming Zhang
Our first college selection is coming off a fantastic junior season and enters our system with six pitches, a GBC-level ability to hit the zone and enough movement to compete for a spot in the rotation sooner rather than later.
Eleven pitchers were added to the Sharks' system through the draft this year, along with a number of sneaky positional prospects like 1B Setia Ananas (9.5) and C Jasapala Sunanda (11.5).
Thanks to a constant and insistent barrage of injuries at key positions, Sydney has fielded its starting lineup about three times. I wish that were an exaggeration. As a result, we suck again!
But when the present sucks, we look to the future. And the future of Sharks baseball is found in the annual amateur draft. But even this came with its own troubles as a certain organization that won't be named (SAO PAOLO) held up the draft so much that the back half of the event was completely auto'd. Awesome.
Regardless, we came in with a simple strategy and we feel like we executed it well. We wanted pitching, so pitching we got. The first eight picks of the draft were spent on pitchers in order to stockpile our organization with staffing depth. Here's a quick breakdown of the top of our 2062 draft.
1.5 SP Wahyu Prawiranega
Prawiranega comes straight out of high school with league-ready command and an advanced arsenal of pitches for his age. The soon-to-be 18-year old has a three-pitch bag with plus movement on his fastball and cutter. A developed changeup and an improved ability to keep the ball in the yard will lock him into the future rotation.
2.5 SP Norman Durney
Stormin' Norman stays on his home continent with plus control and a velo in the mid-to-upper 90s. At 17, Durney isn't far off from competing in the upper minors with a three-pitch mix that appears poised to improve quickly.
3.5 RP Kepakiano Kuauli
Our most expensive addition, Kuauli brings an absurdly powerful arm into the fold with a fastball that currently reaches 99 MPH at 17 years old. That's accompanied by a plus-plus splitter and impeccable command of the basepaths.
4.5 SP Ming Zhang
Our first college selection is coming off a fantastic junior season and enters our system with six pitches, a GBC-level ability to hit the zone and enough movement to compete for a spot in the rotation sooner rather than later.
Eleven pitchers were added to the Sharks' system through the draft this year, along with a number of sneaky positional prospects like 1B Setia Ananas (9.5) and C Jasapala Sunanda (11.5).