Sticking Points 2038.11: Rockville Drafts Barajas, Pitching

[aaronweiner]

The Rockville Pikemen fully intended to go into the 2038 draft and grab some starting pitching prospects for an organization that lacked them completely. So, naturally, their first round pick was Julio Barajas, an outfielder. With their first round pick already devoted to a hitter, their mission was in question, but: mission accomplished. While there's no guarantee that any of the five starting pitching prospects the Pikemen drafted in the 2038 draft will make the major leagues, the franchise now has a number of players who may be able to fill in rotation spots in the major leagues.

"We knew we needed to draft pitching, and that's what we did," said GM Aaron Weiner. "We had to take Barajas, but after that, we were almost all about the pitching."

Barajas was a special enough prospect that the Pikemen threw their plans to the side. While not fast, Barajas possesses all the other four tools and should field enough to play a corner outfield position.

"Julio's not the sort of player you usually get late in the first round, so we felt like we had to strike while the iron was hot," said Weiner. "He's a very special young man who could really be a franchise cornerstone in a few years, if he does what he's supposed to do."

Two of the Rockville starting pitching prospects are not the sort of player they're usually prone to drafting, but Guillermo Sanchez and Ken Dishman should both be productive pitchers even if they never master the fine art of the changeup. Two of them, Yasuhiro Nagai and Dwight Dunn, won't have to rely on their changeup. And one of them, Jason Hone, might end up being a reliever but could become a starting pitcher if his velocity improves over time.

"There's a lot of variety here, but what the bottom line was is that we needed some players in the organization who could someday fill starting pitching jobs in the majors," said Weiner. "People are wrapped up in our on-field success pitching, but the bottom line is that while we have some good relief prospects, we had zero players in the minor leagues that we felt could be a productive major league starting pitcher. Now we have at least four."

The Pikemen also stealthily drafted outfielder Claudio Ledezma, a lefty bat who might end up being a first baseman or DH as his glove is not likely to be major league quality. Ledezma is not as highly regarded as Barajas, but could be a productive starter in his own right.

"We were really pleased to get Claudio," said Weiner. "There aren't a lot of people blocking the way in our major league outfield, so the fact that we now have a nice group of young outfielders like Gilberto Falchonelli, Manuel Rivera, Pedro Ruela, Man-keung Sui, and now Claudio and Julio - well, that's the sort of thing that keeps a team relevant when they lose free agents."