The Bears had the 16th pick in the 2059 BBA amateur draft. There was a concerted effort on our part to land some position player talent—particularly infielders—at the top of our draft after the quick rise of Rick Marriott from 2058’s draft already landing him in our big league rotation. Below is a summary of the team’s top five picks. Note, one other player, Russell Pinkerton, required a signing bonus negotiation. The 7th round pick received a $430K bonus and honestly doesn’t distinguish himself from the other teenage catchers already in my system.
Round 1 / Pick 16 ($2.285M)
IF/OF Jorge Reyes
B/T: S/R
Age: 19
Current: 5/4/4/4 (Con/Gap/Pow/Eye)
Potential: 7/5/6/5
IF/OF Range: 6/5
IF/OF Error: 7/5
IF/OF Arm: 7/7
Staying with the plan, we selected the best hitting player we thought had a chance at sticking at one of the infield positions other than first base. Reyes is a bit of a tweener at either 2B or 3B which I used to despise but with the development lab now in the game I’m more open to leaning towards strong hitters and fixing their defensive shortcomings via a training program. If he can bump an infield range point he can play second, while bumping a point in error or arm should make him adequate at the hot corner. If he lumps in the infield he could even be a bat-first outfielder. The offensive upside here is a switch-hitter who can hit .300 with 20 homers. I also noted Reyes was both the offensive and defensive player of the year in his last season of amateur ball. Still a teenager, Reyes will start in SA. He’s fairly well developed but will need a few years of seasoning.
Ceiling: 55 - .800 OPS 3B
Likely: 50 - .750 OPS 400 PA utility guy
Floor: 45 - .700 OPS bench player
BBA ETA: 2062
Round 2 / Pick 50 ($1.7M)
SP Juan Silva
B/T: R/R
Age: 17
Current: 4/4/2 (Stu/Mov/Con)
Potential: 5/6/5
STM: 6
FB 6/7
SL 5/6
CU 4/5
CH 4/5
SI 4/6
SP 4/5
Deviated from my plotted course a bit here because after the 1st round bats were gone I liked the pitching board better in rounds 2-4 so I didn’t want to lose any value and grabbed one for myself. That meant teenager Juan Silva, a starting pitcher with a deep pitch mix and movement as his best graded tool. Silva needs a lot of polish and for his stuff to bump if he’s going to be a starting pitcher in the BBA. Such improvement will likely have to come from his offspeed offerings since the relatively short pitcher already throws 97-99 MPH. He’s multiple years away from even reaching the full season minor league levels.
Ceiling: 50 – mid-rotation SP
Likely: 45 – borderline SP or relief conversion
Floor: minor league filler
BBA ETA: 2064
Round 3 / Pick 87 (no bonus thanks to glitch)
IF Wasim Nasser
B/T: R/R
Age: 16
Current: 2/2/2/1 (Con/Gap/Pow/Eye)
Potential: 6/5/6/4
IF Range: 7
IF Error: 5
IF Arm: 6
The most interesting aspect of this pick was the controversy it caused when we realized Nasser was already signed by the Vancouver Mounties organization. Nasser would have benefitted from such a situation too because he’s so raw a year in the international complex might have done him some good. Instead, the teenager looks destined to spend multiple years on my rookie ball team developing his base hitting ratings. Nasser could develop into a bat-first starting second baseman long-term.
Ceiling: 50 - .750 OPS 2B
Likely: 40 - tweener AAAA guy
Floor: minor league filler
BBA ETA: 2065
Round 4 / Pick 119 ($1.1M)
IF Justin Rainer
B/T: R/R
Age: 16
Current: 2/3/4/3 (Con/Gap/Pow/Eye)
Potential: 6/5/6/5
IF Range: 4
IF Error: 4
IF Arm: 7
Compared to Nasser, Justin Rainer has slightly higher offensive upside and similar defensive improvements needed to play his destined position, albeit a position lower on the defensive spectrum in third base. This teenager should benefit from being slightly further along in his development towards his potential. I was pleased Rainer was still there for my fourth pick because I considered him in the third round. After the draft I realized part of the reason was Rainer had an over-slot bonus demand but still it was nothing too crazy.
Ceiling: 50 - .750 OPS bench corner infielder
Likely: 40 - tweener AAAA guy
Floor: minor league filler
BBA ETA: 2064
Round 5 / Pick 151 ($245K)
IF Yoshifumi Yoshida
B/T: S/R
Age: 20
Current: 2/3/5/4 (Con/Gap/Pow/Eye)
Potential: 4/4/6/5
IF Range: 8
IF Error: 6
IF Arm: 7
I remember this being the pick where it felt like the talent really dropped off. Without time to do a ton of research I went with my gut and took a guy who plays to my taste these days—a switch-hitting capable defender with some pop. Unless you were willing to draft a guy with no offensive potential Yoshida represents the high-water mark for infield defense in the 2059 class. If he can play the middle infield and do some damage with his 6 power he could reach the BBA, but 4 potential contact is usually a deal breaker. Yoshida will need some help.
Ceiling: 45 - .700 OPS SS
Likely: 40 – cup of coffee otherwise minor leaguer
Floor: minor league filler
BBA ETA: 2064