2037 Post-Draft Analysis

1. Minnesota Twins - SP Harry Winks          Grade: C-

An argument can be made that Winks is the best pitcher in the draft, but passing on Gilster Jr. is completely inexcusable, and according to Sirburt was the result of a bad computer glitch in the Minnesota draft room.


2. Montreal Expos - CF Brandon Gilster Jr.          Grade: A

"Oh look what I found."


3. Washington Nationals - SP Daryl Janmaat          Grade: B-

Janmaat was probably the top pitcher on a lot of draft boards, but I think he's hit or miss, and with Washington in a full rebuild the 21 year old Frist would have been a better fit.


4. San Francisco Giants - 1B Ervin Gore          Grade: B

The Giants felt Gore was just too good to pass up, and that's understandable - he may put up even better numbers than Gilster Jr. as a rookie. But the Giants have almost nothing in their rotation, and Gore will most likely be a career DH. Time will tell if San Francisco can build a good enough rotation to make this a good pick.


5. Detroit Tigers - RP Pat Woodcock          Grade: D-

Auto pick screws over Detroit. An RP at #5 overall is already garbage, and Woodcock isn't even the best RP in the draft.


6. St. Louis Cardinals - SP Gaston Frist          Grade: A

The Cardinals are the lucky beneficiary of Frist dropping out of the top 5. He could very well progress to be the best pitcher in the class.


7. Chicago White Sox - SS Khalil Greene Jr.          Grade: B+

Beansnap got his guy here. There may have been better hitters on the board, but Greene Jr. is elite defensively and only 22 years old. I really like this pick.


8. St. Louis Cardinals - SP Jan Vertonghen          Grade: A

St. Louis gets their 2nd star pitcher. Vertonghen is a future Cy Young winner if he gets slump busted.


9. Philadelphia Phillies - LF Aries Matterhorn          Grade: C-

Philly didn't get screwed by this auto pick nearly as bad as Detroit did, but it's hard to justify this one with Sortino, Craffa and Howard still on the board.


10. New York Mets - 3B Manlius Howard          Grade: B-

Howard was expected to go somewhere in the 9-12 range, but the Mets have to find a way to play both he and Tejera, and their rotation is still in shambles.


11. Washington Nationals (from Astros) - CF Joshua Kincade          Grade: B+

Washington traded up to get this one as the Dodgers were almost definitely going to draft Kincade. Kincade was a sleeper pick who flew up draft boards recently due to his speed. This is a really good pick for Washington, even though they had to give up a good young RP for it.


12. Los Angeles Dodgers - 1B Darnell Sheets          Grade: D-

In what was already a crazy draft, this one was the most baffling pick to me. Rxk is almost too good of a GM to be questioned at this point, but the only explanation I can think of for this pick is that either Rxk or Pennantchase screwed up the user list. I'm 100% sure he wouldn't have chosen this guy if he were present for the draft.


13. Los Angeles Angels - SP Michael Vorm          Grade: C

Vorm is one of the most interesting prospects in this draft. His H/9, K/9, and Fire are all excellent for a 20 year old, but his walks makes him completely undraftable to some GMs. Evaluating this pick comes down to how much you value the BB/9 stat; some GMs disregard it entirely, and to them this is a good pick. I personally like Vorm as a prospect, but the Angels should have done whatever they could to trade down if they wanted Vorm, because he almost definitely wasn't going in the top 20. Harry86 is going to look like either an idiot or a genius in a few years.


14. Shanghai Crowned Cranes - RF Carlos Sortino          Grade: A

This is a great value pick for Shanghai, and Sortino is an immediate upgrade to their OF.


15. St. Louis Cardinals - SP Cha Du-Ri          Grade: B+

I love Du-Ri, and the Cardinals once again got lucky with a great pitcher falling to them. The only reason this pick isn't an A is because they now have 3 excellent SPs and nothing on the offensive side.


16. Houston Astros (from Nationals) - C Matthew Craffa          Grade: A

Craffa at 16? You have to be kidding. If Houston wasn't already on the brink of being a serious competitor, they sure are now.


17. Texas Rangers - 3B Gabriel Lowry          Grade: C+

I expected Lowry to slip further down because of his abysmal OBP. Good player, but Texas needs pitching.


18. Vancouver Canadians - 2B Aacosh Shah          Grade: B-

Shah has the makings of a great leadoff hitter, but 18 is a bit high, especially with House still on the board.


19. Baltimore Orioles - SP Erik Lamela          Grade: B

Lamela has a high ceiling, and the O's have the luxury of having a good enough team to let him sit and develop. I would have liked to see Baltimore go for a win-now pick at this spot (Garfunkel) but this is a good pick.


20. Boston Red Sox - 2B Mercury House          Grade: B+

Boston already has two great 2Bs on their roster, but House at 20 is outstanding.


21. Seattle Cascades - SP Danny Rose          Grade: B

Rose doesn't have an extremely high ceiling, but Seattle wanted a young SP and Rose is a better than average one.


22. Baltimore Orioles - RP Simon Garfunkel          Grade: A

Baltimore gets Garfunkel at 22 after passing on him at 19, which would bump that Lamela grade up to at least a B+ if hindsight were 20/20.


23. Arizona Diamondbacks - 1B Longi Tang          Grade: B+

Arizona has a plethora of 1B already on their roster, but Chipman is old and De Zurbaran is better off as a DH. Tang is a young power hitter who could have realistically gone top 15.


24. San Antonio Alamos (from Yankees) - 3B Danilo Medina          Grade: A

Finding Medina this late is already great value, and it comes at San Antonio's weakest position no less.


25. Washington Nationals - SP Cleet Lars          Grade: B

Washington has so many needs that it's hard to go wrong here. Whether Janmaat and Lars excel or bust will make or break Washington's future.


26. Montreal Expos - SS Fabian Correa          Grade: A

Montreal fans will be talking about Gilster Jr., but there's a lot to like about Correa too - 20 years old, switch hitter, good speed.


27. Cincinnati Reds - 2B Kota Mori          Grade: D

Hollinn has proven himself to be one of the best GMs in the league, and Mori fits right into his strategy. But this feels like a complete waste of a 1st round pick, as Mori is unplayable offensively and Hollinn could have traded a bag of baseballs to get him in the 2nd round.


28. Toronto Blue Jays - SP Marco Dempsey          Grade: C-

I can see the potential in Dempsey, but this is a reach, especially with the depth of offensive talent left on the board. I might like this pick more if he were 20 years old, but this isn't a 1st round pitcher.