The Blotter 1995.2

[pedersenkirk]

Mounties take a fireballer in round one

There are a lot of things about the Vancouver Mounties that would make the average owner shake their heads. A complete lack of attention paid to player development, a team OBP that would make Sal Damiano blush, players not playing defense, and.. well, having Kirk Pedersen as their owner.

But the team made the first step toward becoming a contender for the future with the seventh overall pick in the 1995 MBBA Draft. We were almost auto-picked as we took too long to deliberate between two players for our selection.

Those players were infielder John Neely, whom we really liked and could potentially step in right away and starting pitcher Ben Walsh, who is a couple years away but has the makings of a front-line starting pitcher.

After several hours of deliberation, many cigarettes and burning Tony Lawnmeier in effigy, we went with Walsh. This team is still a ways off from contending, but when we get there, a guy like Walsh could potentially help us as much as anyone in this draft, including Neely, who slipped down to 12, where he was gleefully picked up by Montreal.

Next up, our second-round pick.

[PlinyTheElder]

I love MArtini, thought that was a great pick, especially with that stamina and wicked pitch combination.

[recte44]

The only thing I don't like about Walsh is his low GB pct. He's a durable fireballer with THREE elite pitches and the ability to be an innings workhorse. I'm surprised he lasted that long.
I'm still trying to figure out Seattle's pick of "Boxcar" at #3. Both Bacher and Walsh would have been better picks, IMO, although "Boxcar" does have the ability to be the quickest contributor.