Hold My Log - 57.28 - Portland Goes Pitching Heavy in Rounds 2-6

[7teen]

After landing their top pick in round 1 of the ammy draft in Mynorli Gaajlimitz, Portland went heavy on arms with their next 6 picks in the draft. From rounds 2 through 6, which included a supplemental pick in round 2, Portland drafted five pitchers with those 6 picks in hopes of replenishing a farm system that is a little short on arms at the moment. Here are those picks:

Gene Cousineau
Round 2, Pick 5
Gene is an odd player to get a handle on. Some scouts (in game) have him rated fairly highly with as much as a 60 potential ability. He throws hard (96-98) with 4 solid pitches and a devastating changeup. Some scouts on the other hand (the HTML version) only rates Gene as a 50 potential pitcher focusing on his lack of movement potential (4) and a weaker curveball rating (6). So the front office is torn on who they really drafted. A major drawback to Cousineau is also his signing bonus demands which are rumored to be upward as much as $8 million which is insanely high for a second round pick. So there are some who think Portland may fail to sign Gene. We'll have to wait and see. Gene projects as a potential bottom of the rotation guy if the movement doesn't hurt him too much. He could also be a possible RP conversion candidate.

Byung-gyu Kim
Supplemental Round 2, Pick 1
Kim is the lone non-pitcher in this team news. The Lumberjacks took Kim with the mindset of you can't have enough solid CF types in your farm. Perhaps its a quantity move in hopes one or two of them eventually pan out. Kim does rate as a 50 potential player and would have likely been a top 10 pick in years past. He's a right handed bat with a solid hitting ability. Defensively, he likely projects more as a corner outfielder which could limit his future due to the bat. He's on the slower side speed wise as well. Kim likely projects down the road as a AAAA guy or perhaps a negative platoon guy as a 4th or 5th outfielder.

Mauro Esperanda
Round 3, Pick 5
Esperanda was the first pick that AGM Kate Fiscus (auto-pick) made for the Lumberjacks and instantly received praise from rival GMs. It's odd considering Esperanda only projects as a 30 potential player but has some positive attributes that will make him a possible player down the road if he bumps. He has a high movement rating according to scouts at 11 and very good control that rates as a 10. The major down side to Mauro is his pitches rate barely above average and his stuff is on the lower side of anything that would make him a viable BBA option. As of now, Esperanda projects to be a career minor leaguer but Portland will sit back and hope the 17 year old kid with a high work ethic and leadership ability can find some velocity through the minors and perhaps bump his way into a possible big league pitcher.

Stanton Brown
Round 4, Pick 5
I really like his name. In fact, I feel his name was wasted on a guy that will likely never be a big league pitcher without some boosts in talent. Stanton Brown just looks like a name that should be on many leaderboards in his career. The 17 year old Brown resembles Esperanda to a degree with some higher movement and control ratings, though not quite as high as Mauro's. He throws slightly harder and has 4 pitches rather than 3 in his repertoire. But barring some boosts, Brown will likely never make it above AAA ball.

Reed McWilliams
Round 5, Pick 5
Reed is your run of the mill minor league arm. He is a lefty which is something we like in Portland. But at 6-8-7 projected ratings and 3 pitches that rate at 6-6-7 and velo that tops out at 94, Reed will need to find a little something extra to ever make it to Portland.

George Hanson
Round 6, Pick 5
Hanson is the oldest guy of the ones we've selected in these first 6 rounds at the age off 22. And He's pretty much fully developed which is a knock considering he'd have to boost some to ever be a big league arm. He's a soft throwing lefty, topping out at just 93 on the gun. All 4 of his pitches are pretty much topped out and his ratings set of 7-7-7 are pretty much topped out as well. Hanson, due to his age and maturity, will likely help our minor league pitching staffs at the lower level for years to come. He'll likely dominate the Single-A circuit until his age requires him to bump up to Double-A.