This span has seen Yellow Springs become a bit of a program, winning big most seasons, but then somehow always falling short in the post season. Sigh. As a drafting entity, the team is generally in the back end of the process, a situation that will often mean they focus on a position as much as a “best player available” kind of thing. It’s also worth noting that this half decade saw the changing of the guard when it comes to the team’s pitching, and to a slightly lesser extent, it’s position players.The Nine of 2040 looked considerably different than the Nine of 2035.
Let’s see how they did.
2036: Angel Hernandez, LHP/RPPlayer Page
Hernandez is a nasty, nasty relief pitcher. After three seasons skipping his way through the minor leagues, Hernandez arrived in Yellow Springs at age 20, and tossed 33 innings of 3.27 baseball. He’s never been that bad since. Combined with Curt Phillips (an earlier #1 pick) he’s a key reason that the Nine bullpen has been as good as it has been, and in a sense he and Phillips represent an overall approach the team has taken over the past several seasons. Knowing the club will not be getting big rotation arms out of the draft, they’ve broken with tradition a bit, and focused on elite relief pitching.
The results have been pretty good. Hernandez is an Egan quality reliever if he’s used in a bigger role.
Draft Assessment: Good pick
Value Achieved for YS9: Considerable, and could be more soon.
2037: Raul Luna, RHP/RPPlayer Page
Technically, Luna was drafted as a starter, and was given every opportunity to grow into one. The control, however, never really developed, and this season—as many expected he would be when drafted—the kid was formally converted to the bullpen where he can just air it out. The move was successful in that his K-rate has sky-rocketed. Still, however, he’s yet to break into the bigs. Of course, he’s only 21, and of course folks are talking about him arriving in Spring Training with a serious shot at heading north with the parent club. So time will tell.
Update: 2041 - Luna was traded to Omaha in a package trade that brought Bret Powers and Ernesto Martas. He's gong on to have a productive, but uneven first few seasons in the BBA.
Draft Assessment: Reasonable pick
Value Achieved for YS9: Traded for more useful players.
2038: Frank Cameron, RHP/SPPlayer Page
Kind of Raul Luna in reverse. Cameron was drafted as a reliever, then converted to a starter. For awhile it looked like it might work, and that the Nine might have created a mid-rotation or better arm out of the draft. Alas, Cameron’s 2041 has left people thinking he’s looking pretty busty right now.
Update: Cameron got hurt, and lost effectiveness.
Draft Assessment: Bust
Value Achieved for YS9: None
2039: Rex Foster, OFPlayer Page
Amid a solid draft, Foster dropped to the Nine presumably due to signing concerns. When the club named him their top draft choice, he made it known he wanted the house, and when the team actually gave it to him, they became the laughing stock of the community. Needless to say, some are now considering that $14M of the best bucks the team has spent. Foster was called up early in the season, and has gone on to club 28 homers while posting a .304/.384/.607 slash line that includes some limited time against RHP. At 21 years-old, he’s got room to grow. It’s not completely impossible to see him as a generational kind of player—or at least a guy who finds his way to a whole lot of post-season games.
Draft Assessment: Good pick
Value Achieved for YS9: Some already. Let's See What Happens
2040: Jerry Bourque, RHP/SPPlayer Page
I admit I’m not a fan of semi-dumb baseball players, and maybe Jerry Bouroque will wind up having the last laugh, but here’s a borderline talent kid selected high in a draft with slim talent who turned down $6m to sign a baseball contract. At the time of this writing, the kid is still in College, hopefully getting smarter.
Update: 2045 - The team drafted Bourque again in 2043, this time in the 4th round, and this time paying him $370K. He's currently looking like a fairly decent prospect in AAA.
Draft Assessment: A bust—though by not signing him we picked up Kandy Soufax as a supplemental.
Value Achieved for YS9: None
Overall assessment:Obviously, it’s very early for these guys. Ultimately, Hernandez and Foster are pretty clear star players, though, and Luna is looking like he’ll hold down a solid bullpen slot really soon. With Cameron’s fade, and complete uncertainty around the 2040 pick, the best we can say is the team seems to have gone 3-for-5, which doesn’t suck.
