Omaha's first 4 draft choices reviewed(38.48)

[niles08]

After several years of selecting each round’s first half in the beginning of the 2030’s, Omaha has found itself over the past 5 years to be selecting near the end of at least in the mid 20’s. With that, comes some finesse, as Omaha doesn’t have the best history of drafting as shown in the “” discussion.

To make matters worse, with Omaha drafting later and later each season, the team can’t just pick one of the top 2 of 3 standouts and assume they will work out. Now, they must analyze each individual aspect of any player they consider.

This year’s first 3 round picks are in, let’s see who they selected:

In the first round with the 26th overall pick, Omaha selected pitcher Gilberto Navarez.

The 17 year old projects to have from of the rotation make-up and has the ability to pitch deep into ball games. While some see him as a potential reliever, most view him as a starter with 3 solid pitches. His changeup has the potential to be his best pitch, with the sinker and slider not far behind. Solid movement on all 3 pitches should help to keep the ball in Hawks Field assuming he reaches that point.

In the second round, with the 66th overall pick, Omaha selected shortstop Roberto Puente.

The 17 year old with an excellent glove is projected to hit for very solid contact, with very little power. He also does a great job of putting the ball in play rather than striking out. Some scouts aren’t as high on Puente’s ability but Omaha obviously felt he had enough to take him in the 2nd round.

In 80 games over 2037-2038, Puente had a .355/.411/.515 triple slash line with 10 home runs and 54 runs batted in. He had a ZR of 1.7 and EFF of 1.008 in 2038.

In the third round, with the 110th pick, Omaha selected pitcher Ernesto Martas.

Martas, currently out with a torn triceps is expected to be a very decent relief pitcher in the big leagues, with excellent movement and control on his 4 pitch arsenal. Martas, however has had issues staying healthy as he missed 3 months in 2037 and as mentioned, is currently out with a torn triceps in 2038.

Also in the third round, with the 116th overall pick, Omaha selected 3rd baseman Alfonso Trinidad.

Trinidad, 17 years old, has the tools to be a big league hitter and the arm to be a force at third base. He projects to have a very good contact rate and ability to place the ball in the gaps, and he should punish pitchers who make mistakes by knocking the ball out of the park while avoiding striking out.

In 2038, Trinidad had a slash line of .346/.428/.787 with 18 home runs in 37 games played.

That wraps up Omaha’s first 4 picks, covering the first 3 rounds of the draft. Omaha seems to be off to a solid start in retooling it’s minor league system after the revamp started during the 2037-2038 off-season. These 4 players alone should provide a good base for Rookie League Denison to build off of.