Monday, March 2, 2015

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.


Saturday, February 28, 2015

Pence's 2037 Mock Draft

1. Minnesota Twins - CF Brandon Gilster Jr.

Gilster Jr. is that once in a lifetime, can't miss prospect. The Andrew Luck of Visionary. Minnesota has a ton of work to do but they get the future GOAT to build around.


2. Montreal Expos - SP Daryl Janmaat

The Expos are in a position to win now, and adding Janmaat to a rotation which already includes Hiroshi Chen and Jesus Medina could make it one of, if not the best in the league.


3. Washington Nationals - SP Gaston Frist

GM Jabarwick, after taking San Antonio from a cellar dweller to a legitimate title contender, takes over a team that doesn't have a whole lot going for it. Frist, along with SP Aonishi who Jabarwick brought over from San Antonio, gives Washington the foundations of a good rotation in the making.


4. San Francisco Giants - SP Harry Winks

San Francisco is in a tough division, but they have a lot of good offensive pieces to build around, and they can finally address an understaffed rotation with arguably the best pitcher in the draft falling to them at #4.


5. Detroit Tigers - C Matthew Craffa

Good catchers are scarce, and Craffa will immediately be one of the better defensive catchers in the league with a ton of upside to his bat. Detroit adds him to an offense that could be among the best in the AL if they can get a GM to stay active enough to manage it.


6. St. Louis Cardinals - 1B Ervin Gore


St. Louis has gone into a full rebuild, acquiring the #6 and #8 picks in the draft. They have many needs, but can't pass up a bat like Gore at #6.


7. Chicago White Sox - SS Khalil Greene Jr.

Greene Jr. is a defensive standout who hits for average, and GM Beansnap likes him so much that he's reportedly already agreed to a 7 year contract with him.


8. St. Louis Cardinals - SP Jan Vertonghen

St. Louis is already spending a ton on SPs, but with the franchise rebuilding the Cardinals grab a young pitcher with probably the most upside in the draft.


9. Philadelphia Phillies - RF Carlos Sortino

Philadelphia looks like a team ready to turn the corner. Without having many glaring needs, and with the top SPs already off the board, Philly adds another talented young hitter to their lineup.


10. New York Mets - SP Cha Du-Ri

How will the Mets follow Philly's pick as they look to stay competitive in the NL East? New York has some flexibility with this pick, but ultimately they need to address a rotation poised to struggle next year, and they do so with the flamethrowing Du-Ri.


11. Houston Astros - 3B Manlius Howard

GM Cubsfan wants to take Houston to the next level, and Howard can make an impact immediately as a DH and take over for Sierra at 3B next year.


12. Los Angeles Dodgers - CF Joshua Kincade

No one really remembers where this franchise came from or how it got to LA, but Dodgers fans have reason to be excited about their new team with legendary GM Rxk192 coming over from Toronto after winning 5 titles. With his first pick with the new LA Dodgers, Rxk surprises everyone and goes for a bit of a reach by picking up the speedy 20 year old at #12.


13. Los Angeles Angels - SP Erik Lamela

With the crazy amount of offensive depth on the "other" LA team, they might be one SP away from being a legitimate title contender. They won't find that impact arm at #13, so instead they decide to go the patient route and hope the 20 year old Lamela develops into a star.


14. Shanghai Crowned Cranes - 2B Mercury House

Shanghai seems to always put a competitive product on the field, and Wcp has quietly assembled a team capable of great things. Stud RP Garfunkel is tempting at this spot, but with the potential of House and 2B being Shanghai's only weak position, this is too good of a fit to pass up.


15. St. Louis Cardinals - LF Aries Matterhorn

Matterhorn's age may be a bit of a concern to St. Louis, but the 2nd best OBP in the draft is hard to pass up. The Cardinals go best hitter available with their 3rd pick of the first round.


16. Washington Nationals - 1B Longi Tang

The Nationals are on the clock for the second time, and this time they add a 20 year old power hitter who could potentially hit a ton of home runs once he hits his prime.


17. Texas Rangers - RP Simon Garfunkel

Texas' offense carried them to the postseason last season, but they need to improve their pitching if they want to remain competitive. In Garfunkel, they add a power arm who can anchor their bullpen for years to come.


18. Tokyo A's - RF Niles Drake

Drake's bat may need some time to develop, but he's a potential star in the making and gives Tokyo a future upgrade to their aging outfield.


19. Baltimore Orioles - RP Pat Woodcock

Baltimore has the bats and the rotation to make a run for the title, and Woodcock will make an immediate impact out of the pen.


20. Boston Red Sox - SS Eric Westphal

The 24 year old Westphal comes ready to play, and can step in whenever Boston decides SS Ando's better days are behind him.


21. Seattle Cascades - SP Danny Rose

Seattle is desperate to add some youth to their rotation, and Rose looks like good, safe value at #21.


22. Baltimore Orioles - 3B Gabriel Lowry

The O's may already have a stacked offense, but a .300 hitter at #22 is just amazing value.


23. Arizona Diamondbacks - SS Fabian Correa

Arizona already has a young SS they like in Bulajic, but aclilly17 loves fast switch hitters too much to not pick Correa here.


24. New York Yankees - SP Cleet Lars

The talented Lars' inability to find the strike zone has him dropping to #24, but no further as the Yankees snatch him up to solidify their rotation.


25. Washington Nationals - LF Jesus Suarez

With their third 1st round pick, the Nats add another 20 year old brimming with potential in Suarez.


26. Montreal Expos - 3B Danilo Medina

Montreal has Ripken locked up at 3B, but finding Medina at #26 is a steal.


27. Cincinnati Reds - 2B Aacosh Shah

Cincy is coming off its 3rd straight world series appearance, and has a historically great pitching staff but an underwhelming offense besides their outfield. Shah gives the Reds a future top of the order standout who can take over for the retiring Raul Silas at 2B.


28. Toronto Blue Jays - LF Dwight Rogoff

Toronto loses their legendary GM Rxk192, but the franchise appears to be in good hands as they've replaced him with veteran GM wallercrawler. Wallercrawler continues the Toronto tradition of finding gems at the end of the 1st round, as Rogoff might be the steal of the draft as the final pick in the 1st round.