Bandit Post 2002 Vol 1: Bandits Grab 3 in Rule 5

[aaronweiner]

The Birmingham Bandits drafted a few players in the Rule 5 Draft that were largely under the radar, and at the same time managed to protect one of their own.

Birmingham chose to protect AA lefty Christian Hoey, who just became the Bandits' eighth player on the top 100 prospect list. Hoey struck out a spectacular 149 batters in 110 innings last year in AA, and may find his way into AAA by next year.

"It wasn't a tough decision; few lefthanders have the raw power of Chris," said Bandits GM Aaron Weiner. "We already had Larry Crawford on the 40-man roster, so the last guy we really had to protect this year was Chris."

In addition to keeping Hoey, the Bandits also drafted three players that can help immediately in the Rule 5 draft. Birmingham drafted first baseman Mark Nichols from Santa Cruz, the Phoenix AA affiliate, veteran pitcher Paul Kindel from San Jose, Valencia's AAA affiliate, and an under-the-radar Sidney Moulds from Santa Barbara, the Washington Bobwhites' A-ball affiliate.

"Each of these guys has something to offer," said GM Aaron Weiner. "They're all very solid individuals and we look forward to having each on our ballclub."

When asked why the team would draft Mark Nichols when they already have two top 100 prospects at first base, Weiner smiled.

"Mark Nichols may contribute to the logjam we have going at first base, but we think that's a good problem to have," Weiner said. "A little competition often goes a long way in our business. Nichols might be the best first baseman we have - we think he's certainly been underrated. He'll push players like Larry Crawford and Hank Rayman to be the best players they can be."

Kindel, on the other hand, might be an attempt to get a sneak preview at Carl Wright's future. Wright, the #53 prospect in the MBBA, has a similar makeup to Kindel.

"We think that Paul's got a lot to offer this team, and there's a good chance he'll break camp as the #5 starter," said Weiner.

Finally, Sidney Moulds might not look like much, but that's because you haven't seen his pitching potentials. Moulds projects to a solid bullpen performer over time.

"We have no idea why Washington was using Moulds at second base, but we're happy to liberate him," said Weiner. "This guy's got a live arm and we'll probably hold onto him for the year and see if he can't stick in the pen for the long-term."

[Al-Hoot]

Yeah Nichols looks like a real Rock Em Sock Em guy. Probably should have had him higher on my list. Moulds as P sounds interesting.

[aaronweiner]

Moulds was like, way under the radar.