Ron Blogs the Draft

[ronzonie7]

Holy cow, this is a loaded class...I smell some Rectehacking!

The official order has been introduced, and the buzz is all around over who Buffalo will take first. I'm assuming that's Squiz. If so, I don't think there's any way he can pass up on Cletus Bullrush Jr. That redneck has it all...to see an ammy with that kind of command of his control is just too hard to pass up. He's one of those straight to AAA type prospects...huge potential impact.

I'm virtually certain, unless Buffalo is loaded at SP, that Cletus will go #1. So who goes to Greenville at #2?

[mad0die]

squiz <> Buffalo b/c I had to look up who Buffalo was to send him a PM! Look at LF Labrie. I rate has as the #3 most talented hitter and his development is rectehacked off the charts!

[ronzonie7]

squiz <> Buffalo b/c I had to look up who Buffalo was to send him a PM! Look at LF Labrie. I rate has as the #3 most talented hitter and his development is rectehacked off the charts!

Hm.

Other guys I like as potential Top 5 picks are Bacher, Ginn, Empire, Puckett, and Labrie...You are dead on about him. Straight to the majors type of guy. I think he's a stretch at #1, but I'm going to look at my needs for the second pick, and consider him. Neely is interesting, too. Hard to ignore all those 10 contact hitters...

[ronzonie7]

I think one of the most interesting things about this draft is how good the Catchers are. If you need one, there are 4 potential first round guys. Hope and Bloomquist are both guys that could go in the Top-10 (maybe Top-15, if people take fliers on these swingman type pitchers). But I'd be real happy to snag a catcher like John Baldwin down in the second half of the First Round.

[mad0die]

Puckett suffers a bit b/c of his range. Empire will make a better SS than Puckett will. The top hitters are pretty right-handed heavy as well. I only count 3 lefties and 3 switchies among the top 20 or so hitting prospects.

[ronzonie7]

Another interesting selection will be that of Boxcar...he is an immediate impact closer; think John Rocker type guy. If there is a team that has seen their team take off, but are lacking that one little piece in the bullpen, this guy could wind up going very early on. I'd be very curious to see what he might do with a season in AAA, as a starter. He's got two knock down pitches, a high GB%, and has 'borderline' stamina. If he could give you 6 innings of 2.50 ERA, that'd be about as valuable as you'd see in this draft.

[ronzonie7]

Puckett suffers a bit b/c of his range. Empire will make a better SS than Puckett will. The top hitters are pretty right-handed heavy as well. I only count 3 lefties and 3 switchies among the top 20 or so hitting prospects.

OOTP doesn't make enough Switch Hitters, IMO.

[mad0die]

Bullrush gone!

[lynchy34]

Geez, the development of some of these guys already is amazing. Makes me re-consider the value of my #1.

[ronzonie7]

Yep, as expected, Cletus goes #1. So much for my dreams of scooping him up.

Now, we have to make a decision...do we take on someone who can help us immediately, which might make sense, given our core...or do we plan a little bit for the future?

[ronzonie7]

Jesus, I'm seriously considering Martini at #2...

Great END, three top notch pitches, WE/INT is nice. I think he's a 250 K guy. There's not way his ratings in Stuff don't get to 19 (assuming no lumps, of course). Gonna pick soon...pondering!

[ronzonie7]

In the end, I had to go with Roman Empire. I Daniel Labrie's intangibles and relative age scared me off of him getting that power up. I couldn't choose between Bacher and Martini, and feel like my organization has great mound depth, anyway...

[mad0die]

Drafting via Statslab with bonuses on is leaving a big piece of the puzzle unavailable - player bonus demands.

[elligator]

Drafting via Statslab with bonuses on is leaving a big piece of the puzzle unavailable - player bonus demands.

I suppose we'll find out pretty soon how well that goes. If you don't want to sign your guys, we'll be happy to take them! Also, happy to trade cash for picks/prospects over here.

[ronzonie7]

Drafting via Statslab with bonuses on is leaving a big piece of the puzzle unavailable - player bonus demands.

Yeah, I went blind on that one...are the top level guys that different across the board?

[mad0die]

Sounds like they are slotted more or less by when picked, but they can have different greed factors.

[ronzonie7]

So who does 14 year old John Bowden take #3? They are freaking loaded on the mound, with 14 pitchers on their prospect board, including the Top-8 guys. I think Seattle goes offense with this pick. Labrie could immediately help them, but really, any of the top hitters would instantly become their top offensive prospect.

[ronzonie7]

Sounds like they are slotted more or less by when picked, but they can have different greed factors.

Thanks for that, Markus...why do we have that on?

[cramsey51]

I was tossing between Empire and Bullrush. I don't like the GB% with Bullrush too much, but I think I can look past it overall.

[ronzonie7]

I was tossing between Empire and Bullrush. I don't like the GB% with Bullrush too much, but I think I can look past it overall.

You made the right choice, not-Squiz. I think you'd have been crazy not to take Bullrush in this draft.