by Nes Lessman
Despite the fact that all expectations for the Nine are close to an all-time low and so there should be plenty of room for Rule 5 Draft picks, Yellow Springs only opted for two players, neither of whom are likely to become household names.
On the other hand, as one might expect from a farm system that, despite winning games, is not highly regarded, the team only lost one player that was almost certainly never going to factor into a single day of the 2062 major league season.
Who's in and who's out? Let your award-winning Farm Reporter tell you...
IN:
P Pancho Andres, formerly of the Sacramento Mad Popes organization. Andres, 24, cannot possibly be the first person who was on the Nine's list, which by league rules is prepared before final 40-man rosters are set. While there's nothing wrong with him scouts put him at a solid 45, so above average there's very little reason to think he should be kept on a major league roster for a whole year in anticipation of something greater, like GM Rob McMonigal did with Don Anderson or, before he kept getting hurt, Cory McGuire.
Andres has stuff for days, with a very good splitter and circle change that exceed his above-average fast ball. But his movement is only on par with what is needed to avoid having to call up Moscow in the GBC to keep your career going, and his control, well let's just say it can use some serious work. A 4.2 BB/9 at AA Bismark doesn't exactly instill confidence for the future. While the young man is a 2-time minor league All Star and also was a runner up in 2059 for pitcher of the year in the Drake, I don't see him doing much in a Nine uniform.
Believe it or not, this was the first overall pick in the Rule 5 draft. What it says about either who was available or McMonigal's choices, I'll leave up to you.
C Talib bin Jawad, formerly of the Austin Shredders. In the second and final round of picks for the Nine, McMonigal selected this 21 year old, fresh out of Short-A. I can definitely see why he can field the position better than most prospects in the Nine organization but the problem here is going to be his youth and inexperience. If the Nine had a solid starting catcher capable of playing 130 to 140 games, he would be a potential steal. But they do not. That means this poor kid is going to be exposed and possibly ruin a good development path.
Bin Jawad is said to have off-the-chart power, but his power to play in the BBA right now is absolutely suspect. This was a total reach by McMonigal.
OUT:
P Jose Costello, formerly of the Indianapolis Downforce. Castello was solely a depth piece for the Nine, stashed away in AAA to eat innings until a younger or better player came along. A swing man who is basically the definition of average, Castillo had a 4.46 ERA in 24 games, 8 of which were starts. He's 35 and won't be missed, as there are a ton of these on the open market every year. Don't believe me? Just look at the Yellow Springs Nine transaction logs from the past few seasons.
Overall, this is a really blah draft for the Nine. Maybe the other GMs are getting smarter or maybe the talent available right now (basically mostly players from the mid-50s drafts) just aren't as good as their predecessors. Either way, it wouldn't shock me if they aren't returned before the season ends.
