Upper Deck Power Ranks #2

 

Commentary:

NL East - By far the strongest division, London continues to surge forward, winning 8 of 10 on the backs of Jose Baez (.306/.377/.527) and Albert Candelaria (.353/.407/.728) for the division lead. After a strong start, Trenton has played .500 ball, but ultimately relinquishing the top spot. Scranton and Buffalo are keeping pace, with Scranton putting together a good 7-3 record over 10. All four teams have strong lineups and above average pitching, this division will go down to the wire once more. 

Cincinnati Boom Sticks - After a disappointing second place season last year, the Boom sticks have regained there former hitting glory and name sake. The team is slashing .269/.331/.421 and leads the AL in home runs (73) and RBI (220). With a clean sweep @ Indy and a potential split @ Tampa, we will see if the Boom Sticks can replicate or exceed past performances in front of their home field crowd against said teams. 

Jackson Generals - IT...IS....ALIVEEEEE, yes the Generals have exited their early season slump and rumor has it commissioner cshake  has order drug tests to be conducted by all players. Exited the last ten with a 9-1 record, the Generals have reached .500 and are only 5 games back of New Orleans. The road ahead looks tough. Matchups against Montreal, Milwaukee, London and Buffalo are going to test whether the generals are back and read to reclaim the division lead. 

Las Vegas Desert Dogs - Those Las Vegas Deserts not only help cool the nights, but also cools their baseball team. Las Vegas has went in the opposite direction as the Generals. The Dogs dropped 9 of 10 earlier in the week, and as of late are playing .500. Hopefully in the coming weeks JT can see increase production out of Peters (.239/.294./.422) to help jump start that lineup game in and game out. 

Upper Deck Power Rankings #1

 

Highlights: 

Las Vegas Desert Dogs - After a disappointing 7 year run, Las Vegas is off to a hot start. Strong starting pitching and a heavy use of the long ball propelled them to first place. It remains to be seen how long JT can rely on Dutch Gagne and Bobby Allen to anchor the middle of his lineup, and an injury prone Lloyd Forbes to head his rotation. 

Jackson Generals - After being one of the most consistent teams in the league, Jackson finds themselves in a 7 game slump and second to last in the power rankings. Barry oversaw the departure of his top pitchers Felipe Gomez and Miles Matthews in favor of younger, more controllable players. So far the Generals have posted a team ERA of 5.45, A number his newly acquired bats just can't make up for. 

Anaheim Anteaters - A .500 record is a sight to behold for the 3 time World Series winner. MJD traded long tenured CF Oswaldo Cruz and others who are on the wrong side of 30 for cheaper, more controllable players. A bit of karma? we will see, but I'd put my money on Anaheim reclaiming the first ranked mantel sooner, rather then later. 

Upper Deck Season 45 Hall Of Fame Inductees

Slim McGowan (RP)  23 Votes,  Slim had been on the ballot for several seasons and finally got the respect that so many of us thought he deserved.  While his awards cupboard is very modest (4 X All-Star and nothing else) he was one of the most consistent and dominate relievers our world has ever seen.  Drafted 15^th overall as an 18 year old out of high School in season ‘15 he reached the majors in season ’18 and saved 16 games.  He would never save under 10 games in his 20 year career until his final season when he saved 7.  With 481 career saves (3 times saving over 40 games, twice with a career high of 44) he was a model of a consistent bullpen arm.  Didn’t get much chance to pitch in the post season (15 games with 8 Saves) but did manage to hit 1 homerun with only 4 career hits in 55 AB’s.

 

Howard Rolls (RF) 20 Votes, First time up for vote and he went straight into the Hall. A 6 time All-Star and 1X Silver Slugger while playing 3^rd base. Spent most of his career in RF where he was less then average with the leather.  Was a solid fielding 1^st baseman and a adequate Left Fielder in about 400 games at each of those positions. With the bat is where he really shined, 3230 career hits including 632 Doubles and 429 Homers. He also stole 272 bases and hit an even 300 for his career. Was the perfect #3 hitter blending power/speed/and the ability to draw a walk.  Was drafted 1^st overall in ’23 and reached the majors just two years later hitting .314 in 48 games and never looked back on his way to Cooperstown.

 

Yonder Lopez (SP) 22 Votes, ROY, Gold Glover, 2 X CY, 3 X AS.  Yonder has the hardware our other two nominees don’t. Signed as an International Free Agent for 9.8 Million in ’21 he took his time reaching the bigs.   But in ’25 burst onto the scene going 15-5 with a 2.81 ERA and won the Rookie of the Year. Would make his first All-Star team in ’27 when he went 20-5 with a 2.75 ERA but wouldn’t win his 2 Cy Youngs until ’36 –’37 when he went a combined 35-11 with a 2.69 ERA.  In 24 post season starts how ever he was a disappointing 4-10 with a 4.68 ERA.

Upperdeck Season 25 Rule Five Draft Recap

 

Upperdeck Season 25 Rule 5 Draft Recap

10. Yamil Alvarez-SS-Salem  Auggieward selected three times in this draft and all three made the top 10. Yamil was the last player he took, 25^th overall and was a solid defender. He won 5 Gold Gloves in the Minors and if not for a torn ACL in season 34 might have won one in the majors. Hit a career hit 15 homers in season 32 while also making 8 + plays at SS.

9. Miguel Martin-C-Indianoplois   Probably better suited to DH Martin did play almost 2000 innings behind the plate. Threw out 27% of base stealers but had a high CERA of 4.54.  Part time player for 4 seasons, would have hit 32 homers and 85 RBI with a .269 AVG over a full season. Once it was time to sign a Free Agent contract he was out of the league. Currently coaches LoA  ball in his home town with the Swift Current River Monsters.

8. Luis Tapies-SS-Montreal    The 2^nd player taken in the draft, Tapies spent most of his time at SS where he made 19 Negative plays or about 1 every 100 Innings, and about 1000 innings at 2^nd where he made 4 Plus plays.  Was a pretty solid power hitter with 37 career homers in 1200 AB’s including a career high 18 in his last season.

7. Yoenis Fernandez-3^rd-Chicago (NL)   Was by no means a good 3^rd baseman (32 Negative plays)  but was a fairly solid hitter. In his last season had a career year with 25 doubles and 15 homers while driving in 77 Runs and batting 282. Didn’t play another game in majors after that season and now teaches baseball at a Youth Camp in the Dominican

6. Peter Williams-C-Salem  The 2^nd player taken by Auggie, Williams had a much longer career spending equal times at Catcher and at DH.  Mostly played against Lefties and hit 91 homers in just under 1800 AB’s with a very solid 800 OPS. Threw out 36% of runners and had a very good 3.72 ERA for his career in 1700 Innings.

5.  Sergei Mohler-CF/2^nd-Las Vegas   A strong defender, the first generation American of a famous German Hockey player made 25 Plus plays at CF and 2^nd and another 15 in limited time at LF/1^st and 3^rd. Not much of a batter (252AVG with 8 career) but could run, and stole 134 bases in his career against just 24 times caught. For his career was claimed off waivers 4 times as well as his rule 5 selection.

4. Eliezer Gonzalez-SS-Anaheim  Won 2 gold gloves for his play at 2^nd but was equally good at SS and 3^rd that saw him make 66 Plus plays. Less of a an offensive threat then Mohler or Tapies he none the less was pretty good at getting on base with a .318 OBP

3. Tony Tateyama-LF/RF-Salem  The highest ranked player taken by Auggie, Tony was a pretty solid hitter winning a SS in ’34 when he hit 342 with 20 steals. With just over 1000 hits for his career, Tony is one of the few Rule 5 players to play for a long time and rack up solid career numbers.

2.  Evan Vick-3^rd/2^nd-Sacramento   Better at 3^rd then he was 2^nd base, but mostly stuck around for being a solid hitter with 117 career homers and 232 steals. Made 1 AS team and for his career was pretty solid table setter and spark plug.

1.  Edward Phillips-C-Anaheim  The biggest bopper selected, Phillips was mostly a platoon player he did manage to hit 208 career homers as he topped 20 homers 7 times.  Was a top flight defender as well throwing 34% of runners and catching pitchers to a 3.47 ERA. Does color commentary for the Dixieland Jayhawks of the Carolina League

Upperdeck Season 44 Rule 5 Draft Recap

 It’s time to go back and take a look at the top 10 selections from this years Rule 5 draft.

A lot of players had great seasons with some getting serious looks at ROY and several other being almost good enough.  This season also saw a lot of movement from the players selected some in Offer backs others in straight up trades.

10. Khris Heffner-SP-Sacramento/Toosmooth- Didn’t have a great season but honestly looks like he could be a real good pitcher at the Major League level. Went 7-15 in 32 starts with 134 k’s in just 167 IP, Only allowed 47 walks in that same period.

9. Preston Dorsey-RP-Sacramento/Toosmooth- The 2^nd of 3 players selected by toosmooth and the last to rank in the top 10. Pitched to some bad luck that saw him with a very low 1.17 WHIP but a fairly high 4.76 ERA.

8. Erv Banwart-C-Anaheim/MJDsupporter-The second catcher selected by Anaheim he had the better season. Was traded after a very hot and finished the season with Montreal. Batted .312 on the season with 9 homers in just 141 Ab’s

7. Geraldo Cruz-RP-Minnesota/dflom2008- Solid season out of the bullpen, looks as though he has the goods to potentially move into the starting rotation in the next season or so. Went 2-2 with 1 save over 64 innings with very solid ERA and WHIP, 3.96/1.13.

6. Peter Roth-1^st-Salem/Auggieward- The oldest player selected (30) was shipped off from Salem after a very slow start 2 hits in 26 AB’s. Found his legs in Arizona and after a brief stop over with the Brewers. Finished the season with 18 homers 26 steals and very respectable .793 OPS

5. Juan Martinez-SP-Chicago/timyer-Pitched poorly for Chicago in Spring training and that may have been the reason he was put back on waivers and ended up in Detroit. Was a very solid 12-9 in 32 starts but the ERA (4.66) and WHIP (1.42) could have been better.

4. Nathan Teagarden-RP- Montreal/Goldenboy00- “Wildthing” was the 2^nd last player selected (25^th) and despite being one of the most inaccurate pitchers to take the mound this season had a really strong season. 82 Games, 110 IP, 83k’s and a 3.83 ERA. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain his success going forward

3.  Rougned Hernandez-SS-Vancouver/Casperthegm- You could make a case for any player in the top three to be the #1  Traded to Mexico towards the end of the season but played pretty well for both teams. Finished with 17 homers 68 RBI 7 steals and a 708 OPS. Really shone on the defensive side making 27+ plays at SS

2. Victor Guillen-LF-Montreal/Goldenboy00- I almost did it again, not only did I select one of the best Rule 5 players…I couldn’t find a space for him and he did all his damage with another team. Had 68 extra base hits including 37 homers to help him finish with a 845 OPS. Played a pretty smooth LF making 11 + plays against just 6 negative ones.

1.Joakim Gonzalez-LF-Boise/Carlbuzz-  A real monster at the plate, 38 homers-30 doubles, 96 RBI and 103 Runs scored. Hit 315 with an awesome 929 OPS. Not a great fielder in LF making 14 errors and 10 Negative plays

Season 24 Draft Rankings and Recap

 

Upperdeck Season 24 Amateur Draft Recap/Rankings

1.       Madison A-                                         12. Indianoplis B+                            23. Sacramento C+

2.       Boise A-                                               13. Iowa City  B+                              24.  Scranton  C+

3.       Vancouver A-                                    14. New Orleans B                           25. Anaheim   C

4.       Detroit A-                                            15. Houston B                                    26. Salem  C

5.       Syracuse A-                                        16. Las Vegas  B                                27. Helena  C

6.       Philadelphia A-                                 17. Trenton  B-                                  28.  Montreal C-

7.       Jackson A-                                           18. Chicago  B-                                  29. Richmond  C-

8.       Arizona B+                                          19. Atlanta B-                                    30. Baltimore D

9.       New York Empire B+                      20. Pawtucket B-                              31.  Minnesota D-

10.   Louisville B+                                      21.  Pittsburgh C+                            32. Cincinnati  F

11.   Tampa Bay B+                                   22. Mexico City C+

 

Top Five Best Players Taken: 1. Bart Drese (VAN) 2. Nathan Harris (LOU) 3. Billy Ray Washington  (MAD)  4. Wilt Schimpf (SYR)  5. Albert Duff (JAC)

 

Top Five Best Value Picks: 1. Trayce Alexander 11-365 (BOI) 2.Frank Cordova 4-147 (NYN) 3. Alex Martis 11-370 (IOW)  4. Alex Eusebio 8-278 (ATL)  5. Hong-Chih Hiro 11-381 (RIC)    

AL NORTH

Madison Bombers (Rochester Redwings)-jwperry   1^st Rnd Picks (1^st-41^st) (28 years ML Service time)

1-1   Billy Ray Washington-Gold glover and an All Star, Wash is still kicking around actually hitting 354 last season in 79 AB’s with 7 HR and 20 RBI. With over 500 career homers and solid defensive numbers he might be bound for Cooperstown in a few seasons.

1-41 Luke Baltz- A solid table setter with 238 career steals. Didn’t have the glove to play CF or 2^nd but not really the bat to play anywhere else.  Also he was born in North Pole Alaska so that’s pretty awesome.

2-60 Amp Casey- Made a run at ROY in ’35 going 13-8 with a 3.96 ERA  After that he was nothing to write home about

Draft Grade: A-  A pretty good draft for jw, grabbing a potential HOF’er and two other ML caliber players.

 

Cincinnati Boom Sticks (Sioux Falls Skywalkers)-Kylo_Ren  1^st Rnd Picks (0) (0 years ML Service Time)

Draft Grade: F  No pick..again. They won the WS that year by going all in on Free Agents in back to back seasons. It doesn’t work forever however.

 

Minnesota Millers-dflom2008- 1^st Rnd Picks (51)  (0 years ML Service Time)

1-51 Tom Dresden- Was a minor league beast, hitting 301 with a 927OPS.  Could never make it to the show

Draft Grade:  D-  I mean they got a guy who almost made the majors…

 

Pawtucket Terriers-burk  1^st Rnd Picks (4-43)  (13 Years ML Service Time)

1-4 Juan James- JJ was a pretty solid mid rotation started. Racking up 129 Career wins and even making a couple of All Star games. Tossing over 2000 innings and striking out over 1500 batters. A good but not great pick at #4

1-43 Lars Joy- Made 73 appearances in the majors but didn’t achieve much

3-97 Farmer Knotts- Pitched parts of 3 seasons winning 3 games with a 4.98 ERA

Draft Grade: B-, James was a solid pick but I think its safe to say at number 4 a lot  more was expected of him.

 

AL EAST

Pittsburgh Pilots-cshake  1^st Rnd Picks (38-53) (14 Years ML Service Time)

1-38 Piper Simas-A scrappy 2^nd baseman that took 8 seasons to make it to the majors and when he did never amounted to much more then a somewhat versatile platoon player.

1-53 Aurelio Belisario-Auro burst on the scene by hitting 145 of his 159 career homeruns in his first 5 seasons. He also stole 109 bases and was a pretty solid Right Fielder. In his next two seasons hit 14 homers and was gone from the league.

10-343 Thad MacDougal- a solid power hitting catcher in the minors he only got 1 season in the bigs which saw him hit 3 homers in 84 games

Draft Grade: C+  A couple of solid if not spectacular players taken that late in the 1^st round is about all you can hope for

 

Baltimore Dry Docks-krisr  1^st Rnd Picks (19^th) (3 Years ML Service Time)

1-19  Raul Bennett- Nothing more then a bit player who didn’t hit, run or field well enough to make an impact.

Draft Grade: D, this is two less then stellar drafts for krisr. I am thinking he built this team through free agency?

 

Iowa City Small Bears-rschaitkin   1^st Rnd Picks (21^st) (19 Years ML Service Time)

1-21  Osvaldo Samuel- The Wiz was a solid all-around player with fairly good pop and speed. Also played 3^rd base fairly well.

2-81 Vidal Del Rosario- Won an MVP at AAA but couldn’t get it all together in the bigs where he was a 241 hitter with just average power in limited playing time.

11-370 Alex Martis- A very nice late pick, twice won 14 games while throwing at least 195 inning 5 times

Draft Grade: B+  Love the late round pick and Osvaldo was a solid player also drafted outside of the top 20

 

Indianapolis Swinging Hoosiers-egide10  1^st Rnd Picks (14-36-47-57) (33 Years ML Service Time)

1-14 Sammy De Paula- 170 career wins with a career high of 21 in his sophomore year. Several years later won 18 and was for the most part a very solid SP

1-36 Larry Reid- Larry “The Need for Speed” Reid was a blazer. 445 steals in just 7 seasons. Played most 2^nd base and was a pretty good fielder as well.

1-47 Andre Hernandez- A decent LH bullpen arm that was never really good or really bad.

1-57 Kristopher Matthews- Was mostly a pinch hitter in the majors with 177 AB’s over 3 seasons

Draft Grade: B+  De Paula was solid pick and Reid was a “steal” at 36. A huge improvement over last season.

 

AL SOUTH

Mexico City Diablos-ACEROTHSTEIN  1^ST Rnd Picks (27) (14 Years NL Service Time)

1-27 DeWayne Thomas- DT was a pretty solid masher, with 7 seasons picking up over 20 homers he also hit more then 30 two times. Not a strong fielder he was capable of handling 3^rd base fairly well

6-216 Tom Spencer- After a solid rookie season, 10 homers 12 steals in just 349AB with solid defensive numbers, he faded away just two seasons latter.

Draft Grade: C+  A step down from last years strong draft, Thomas was a solid pick at that spot but beyond that nothing special

 

Atlanta Mental Patients(Oklahoma City Cowboys)-Rkdixon 1^st Rnd Picks (25-52) (24 Years ML Service Time)

1-25 Joe Borowski- Sometimes SP sometime LR, picked up 40 wins but lost 55 games while holding an ERA just under 4.70

1-52  Arlie Whithead- Solid power speed combo who could hit 10+ homers and steal 20+ bases. Was never able to put it all together on a consistent basis.

8-278 Alex Eusebio- Gold Glove Catcher in the minors was able to hit 14 homers one season and twice drove in over 50 runs in the majors.

23-758 Dave Gentry-Pitched parts of 9 seasons in the big leagues. Twice struck out over 100 batters while working mostly out of the bullpen. His career ERA was over 5 though.

Draft Grade: B-, had much better luck with the late picks getting 2 solid DITR

 

Tampa Bay Waterdogs-jmaese  1^st Rnd Picks (18-50)  (31 Years ML Service Time)

1-18 Rafael Andrus- Not a bad pick, made one AS game as well as a winner of a World Series Ring. Good innings eater with almost 2500 career IP 123 Wins and 1800+ K’s

1-50 Doc Rose- Won 8 games in his rookie season but after that was pushed to the bullpen and was at best a mop up arm

2-78 Alen Green- Mostly a DH where in season 31 he swatted 46 homers with 105 RBI. Topped 30 homers several other times but as a career 255 hitter his value was limited.

20-655 Douglas Wells- Got called up in ’29 and actually played pretty well with 8 homers in 262AB’s. Since then has been in AAA and is still there today where he has been a 1^st rate catcher for 14 years.

Draft Grade: B+  With a solid early pick and some solid selections outside of the 1^st round.

 

Louisville Horseman (New Orleans) Geedub- 1^st Rn Picks (2) (23 years ML Service Time)

1-2   Nathan Harris- Sill going strong at 38, Nate has won 221 games and struck out almost 3000 batters. ROY/CY/GG and several All Star selections his plaque at Cooperstown is getting the finishing touches.

2-62 Tony Ferguson- A stop gap type CF that at his very best just good enough to play everyday. Stole 20 bases once and hit 12 homers. But was weak with the glove.

Draft Grade: B+, One hall of famer and a mid range player…cant always expect more

 

 

 

AL WEST

Salem Witch Hunters-Auggieward- 1^st Rnd Picks (13) (20 Years ML Service Time)

1-13 Joakim Bautista- A better then 500 record  (94-85) with a 4.07 ERA  A decent back end SP

3-106 Cla O’Leary- about 40% of his ab’s ended with either a Homer or a strikeout. A career 214 hitter

5-170 Dave Charles- Hit .149 in 303 At Bats. No amount of plus plays could make up for that

13-426 Ronnie Plawecki-Pitched for parts of 4 seasons. And while he did go 7-8 with 4 saves he sported a 5.26 ERA

Draft Grade: C, I love the effort but there really isn’t much here to write home about

 

Helena Roughnecks/Albuquerque-Tomcecil-1^st Rnd Picks (30-39-55) (23 Years ML Service Time)

1-30 Lyle Mesoraco- Solid rookie season saw him hit 14 homers as a part timer. Hit 15 more the next season but only a 176 AVG

1-39 Howard Mecalfe- did get 223 AB’s but hit only 211 with limited power and suspect defence

1-55 Joe Dunham- Best of the 1^st round picks by Helena, won a GG and made one All Star team. Overall not a great player but for this late in the 1^st round he was a steal.

7-251 Dean Lewis-Played 1 full season (all 162 games in season 30) hit 21 homers with a 659 OPS. Was a solid defender behind the plate. A little surprised he didn’t get more of a shake in the majors.

10-347 Clarence Olmos-String armed RF’er (10 assists in 288 games)  Hit 21 and 22 homers in his best two seasons but only 15 in his other three.

Draft Grade: C, so much promise with the 3 first round picks. Best player selected came all the way in the 10^th Round.

 

Boise Potatoes/Fresno-Hofstad  1^st Rnd Picks (16) (42 Years ML Service Time)

1-16 Alex Severino- Big time slugging 1^st baseman. 514 career homers. Also hit 30 more in the post season as he was part of 3 WS winning teams

2-76 Malcolm Siegrist-Just made his first All Star team as he saved 36 games at the age of 37. Amazingly only has 39 saves for the rest of his career.

11-365 Trayce Alexander- One of the truly great openers in this world. Has pitched in 832 games making 347 Starts. In his almost 2000 innings has managed to keep his ERA at 3.79 with a 1.23 WHIP.

Draft Grade: A, great draft, Severino was a huge bat and the two later picks have been very solid major leaguers for a long time

 

Vancouver Hikers/Honolulu-kkrab   1^st Rnd Picks (3) (15 Years ML Service Time)

1-3   Bart Drese- After a big miss in last years draft, kkrab came through with the 3^rd pick this season. Drese hit 516 homers and stole over 300 bases. Never played a full season in which he didn’t reach double digits in both those stats. Good fielder at 3^rd, great at RF/LF.

Draft Grade: A- Just the 1 ML Player but he is a Hall of Famer

 

NL NORTH

Detroit Motors/Chicago-Alogman1  1^st Rnd Picks (8-34) (41 Years ML Service Time)

1-8 Patrick Wolf- Took a few seasons to get going but once he did was one of the leagues better all around hitters. 390 career homers with more walks then k’s

1-34 Bud Whelan- Dynamite rookie season, 18 homers 33 steals 827 OPS. Kicked around for a several seasons after that never really getting a chance to play. Finally in his last season hit 12 HR with 23SB and a 788 OPS

2-66 Curt Ardoin-2 fairly strong seasons as a SP then 5 decent seasons out of the bullpen. Solid pick

2-68 Danny Norton-Was a pretty horrible 3^rd baseman but had some big seasons with the bat. 119 homers in his last 3 full ML seasons

3-101 Elier McDonald- Was a solid fielder but his bat had a pretty big hole in it, 229K’s in under 1000AB’s

8-261 Johnny McMurtry- Pitched 1 solid season 79 games 123IP with a 4.02 ERA, but has never gotten another chance, despite pitching 845 Minor league games and almost 2000 Innings.

Draft Grade: A-, Wolf and Norton are a solid 1-2 hitting combo. The other players are just extra added value

Chicago Fighting Owls/Dover-Gogogiants  1^st Rnd Picks (6-44) (22 Years ML Service Time)

1-6 Joey Sappelt-Never had a season with an ERA under 4.08 but did win 104 games with a single season high of 15.

1-44 Yohan Telis-Once he got settled in become a pretty solid bullpen arm. Best season was in ’34 when he threw 101innings with an ERA of just 1.78

Draft Grade: B-, I like the pick at 44 much more then the pick at 6. Sappelt all things considered was a bit of a bust

 

Syracuse Stars-Hatton98  1^st Rnd Picks (5) (19 Years ML Service Time)

1-4   Wilt Schimpf-Just got voted into the HOF after a few years of being on the ballot. Finished his career with over 2500 hits, 830+ of them for extra bases. Also stole 429 bases for good measure.

2-65 Jackie Lowe- Used mostly as a long relief he was never any good and finished his playing time with a 5.86 ERA and WHIP of 1.79

Draft Grade: A-, Once again another HOF player selected this draft, Much better then last season when Hatton selected 5^th and got almost nothing.

 

Montreal Smoked Heaters/KC-urbanwarrior  1^st Rnd Picks (10) (18 Years ML Service Time)

1-10 Ernest Anders- Won a respectable 119 games, but lost 167 games at the same time. More of a back end rotation pitcher as he had a career ERA of 4.36

2-70 Tim Vandenhurk- 177AB’s over 4 seasons with a .192 AVG and 1 HR it was probably too many at bats

Draft Grade: C-. Anders pitched a lot of innings, but with all the Hall of Famers being selected this draft is another bust for urbanwarrior

 

NL EAST

Trenton JakeJokers/Charlotte-DWobble  1^st Rnd Picks (7-28-33) (37 Years ML Service Time)

1-7 Joe Page- Threw a perfect game in his rookie season but went 9-15 that year with a 5.33 ERA. 84-100 for his career

1-28 Rob Riley- Smooth fielder at 2^nd and CF where he won Gold Gloves at each position. Not much of a hitter but did steal 322 Bases.

1-33 Felipe Falu- Was an okay Back up middle infielder who could swipe a bag or two. But not a great pick at 33

2-61 Gerald McInerrney- Won 3 World Series, in his best season hit 32 homers with 112 RBI. Had 204 more homers over the length of his career

6-196 Yean Carlos Stevens- Had 1 great season, winning 13 games out of the pen while throwing 124 Innings

Draft Grade: B-, If the first three picks had more value those could have been a great draft for dwobble

 

New York Empire/Cincinnati-tommymax  1^st Rnd Picks (22) (31 Years ML Service Time)

1-22 Victor Feliz- Became a star closer in the second half of his career. 3 X Allstar and a fireman of the year in ’38 when he saved 49 games

3-115 Caleb Millar- peaked with 71 homers in a three year period but only managed 40 more ib his other 6 seasons.

4-147 Frank Cordova- Won 2 Gold Gloves while also being a pretty solid hitter. 136 homers and 268 steals. Best season was in ’38 when he 21hr-74RBI-28SB with a 295/350/522 slash.

Draft Grade: B+, No superstars but three very solid players that exceeded their draft positions.

 

Scranton Schrutes/New York-tedwilliams1 1^st Rnd Picks (29-54-58-59) (16 Years ML Service Time)

1-29 Yunesky Mota- Looked like a future star after his 2^nd season 28 homers and 71 RBI, wasn’t a great fielder and struck out too much, about 25% of the time

1-54 Randall Thebeau- was a RL All-star in ’25 but never reached the majors

1-58 Bum Roosevelt- His mom took a risk naming him Bum, was actually a pretty good reliever for most of his career pitching 465 games with a 3.99 ERA

1-59 Joey Granger-4 minor league seasons and nothing more

Draft Grade:  C+, Welcome back Ted,  I was excited when I saw the 4 first rounders as I am sure you where when prepping for this draft.  Best laid plans and such though…not a great return at the end of the day.

 

Philadelphia Pennquakers/Boston-Xtrahits  1^st Rnd Picks (17-23-26-37-40-49) (60 Years ML Service Time)

1-17 Bill Rogers-Most of his time in the majors was spent pinch runner stealing 33 bases in 37 tries. The Spaceman mostly took up space on the bench

1-23 Jon Bay- Gold Glover and All-star finished career with 202 homers and 1700 hits. A solid pick

1-26 Hansel McDowell-Another All-star player this time at Catcher. Also hit 202 homers but with only 1515 hits. A very solid career and a nice pick

1-37 Robinson Cruz- Never reached the majors

1-40 Eduardo Alberro- Has had three seasons with over 20 saves and sports a solid 3.63 ERA in almost 800 games

1-49 Kid Ramsey-Has had a some truly incredible seasons. 43 saves with a 1.33 ERA, and an All-star game in ’35 being the peak

6-206 Ken Ford- A great AAA player, All-star, Gold Gloves, but in the majors couldn’t ever get it going but did manage to hit 10 and 12 homers in his two full seasons.

Draft Grade: A-, more of a quantity over quality grade here. No superstars but several players that were very good major leaguers

 

NL SOUTH

New Orleans Breeze/Mexico City-Feamster  1^st Rnd Picks (15-48) (33 Years ML Service Time)

1-15 Boone Johnstone- Winner of 2 Gold Gloves for his fine play in CF, was not much of a hitter and even worse on the base paths where he stole 9 bases while being caught 38 times.

1-48 Darby Delaney- I think someone screwed up and never gave this guy a chance to play. 366 homers and a 302  AVG mostly in AAA he batted a solid 264 with 9 homers in 254 AB’s in the majors.  Could have been someone…

2-75 Milt Robinson- Pretty solid SP for the bulk of his career, with an outside shot at 2000 K’s. Winner of double digits 11  times.

3-108 Nicholas Henry- This guy was pretty solid when given a chance. 9-2 with a 3.60 ERA in 80 career innings. Shame he didn’t get to pitch more often

8-268 Yean Carlos Franco- The second Yean Carlos drafted (see Trenton) finished up his career with 2 pretty good years averaging 12 homers 18 steals and a 263 avg.

Draft Grade: B, 5 solid players who if they had been given a better chance could have bumped this grade up.

 

Richmond Brewers-Trubrecrew   1^st Rnd Picks (32-56) (7 Years ML Service Time)

1-32 VicJ ohnson- Won a gold glove in the minors but never played in majors

1-56 DJ Randall- Was a reliever I guess, also never reached the majors

11-381 Hong-Chih Hiro- Made the All-star game in ’34 when he pitched 110 innings with a 2.78 ERA out of the pen. All in all a pretty solid bullpen arm for his career.

Draft Grade: C-, Nice late DITR pick but two wasted 1^st rounders, two years in a row with lackluster drafts

Houston Colt 45’s-andyr104  1^st Rnd Picks (12) (22 Years ML Service Time)

1-12 Farmer Wall-Was a very good fielder, 2 gold gloves at 3^rd base.  Could steal a base (234) but was really only an average hitter.

2-72 Anthony Sweeney- Was a masher for a very short window. 127 Homers over a 4 years period out his career total of 184. Was a horrible fielder however

Draft Grade: B, I like Wall and Sweeney but they probably will never be considered game changing players

 

Jackson General-berrysboys  1^st Rnd Picks (9-45) (37 Years ML Service Time)

1-9 Albert Duff- Won himself a Cy Young award and has been an All-Star several times. Still pitching today and could maybe find his way to Cooperstown some day soon.

1-45 Bill Colbrunn- Not as acclaimed as Duff, but none the less a solid bullpen pitcher. 1200+ Innings and 3.65 ERA

22-710 Vin Bravo- Pretty amazing for a player taken this late to make it to the majors but he did…wasn’t a bad 4^th outfielder for a few years but nothing more.

Draft Grade: A-, big step up in the draft for berrys, A potential Hall of Famer and a really solid reliever

 

NL WEST

Anaheim Anteaters/Santa Cruz-bigpop34  1^st Rnd Picks (24) (17 Years ML Service Time)

1-24 Jonas Hodges-Solid platoon catcher that even won a Home Run Derby and a Gold Glove.  282 Career homers with a single season high of 36 the year that he won the derby.

2-84 Cody Olsen- A middling bullpen arm that had his moments of being okay

Draft Grade: C, better then last season but still nothing to write home about…but feel free to right about it on a blog

Sacramento Stingers/Omaha-wxscott   1^st Rnd Picks (11-35-46) (14 Years ML Service Time)

1-11 Tony Marquis- Monster season in ’35  45 doubles 24 homers, 107 RBI while stealing 19 bases.  Was mostly just an average player in every other season

1-35 Wendall Ventrella- Was a great minor leaguer from what I can but never reached the majors

1-46 Walter Smith- another top tier minor leaguer but couldn’t crack the AAA ceiling

2-71 Travis Ball- dynamite rookie season 104 IP with a 3.11 ERA,  finished his career 4 seasons later with a 4.52 so do the math.

Draft Grade: C+, Marquis and Ball are fine players but the other two 1^st rounders are a waste

 

Las Vegas Desert Dogs-Jtpsops   1^st Rnd Picks (20)  (19 Years ML Service Time)

1-20 Trayce Cartwright- Better pitcher than his record indicates, 138-162, only twice pitching better then .500.  Had a career 3.76 ERA with  over 2000 strikeouts. A very good workhorse

2-80 Brian Ryan-What happened here, 153 homers over 4 seasons with a season best of 52. Was also a really good 1st baseman, not sure why his career at the major league level ended so soon?

Draft Grade: B, Cartwright is better then his numbers show and Ryan was probably not as good as his numbers would make you think.

 

Arizona Werewolves/Scotsdale-alexkluge  1^st Rnd Picks (31) (27 Years ML Service Time)

1-31 Ernie Lowe- Best known for being a slick fielding SS, also hit well enough to make a few All Star games.  4 times he popped over 20 homers was pretty quick (147 steals) but got caught a fair share of times as well (82). Still  a great pick at 31

2-92 Darrel Henley- Just saved 39 games last season, a career high. Spent most of his career as a long reliever, working many seasons over 100 innings and will pitch in his 1,100^th game sometime this year.

17-572 Charles Strong- Finished his career with an ERA close to 7.00 in 65 games

Draft Grade: B+, considering how late he was drafting in each round alex did a great job of getting two very solid players

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Season 24 Rule 5 Draft Recap

 

10. Bobby Straily-1^st Rnd/11^th Pick Overall-Oklahoma/  -rkdixon-Straily was a light hitting, fairly slow footed, defensively awesome infielder. Twice stole double digits in bases but never did much with the bat sporting a career 228 AVG and a 289 OBP. Made 48 career Plus plays against 0 negative plays, mostly playing SS/3^rd and CF

9. Herman DiSarcina-2^nd Rnd/12^th Pick Overall-Rochester/Madison-jwperry- Herman swiped 91 bases over his last three season in the majors. His career ended shortly after that which is a bit of a shame as he was starting to become a solid table setter

8. Ernie Jordan-1^st Rnd/7^th Pick Overall-Mexico City/New Orleans-Feamster- The big lefty only played parts of 5 seasons in the majors but did have 2 pretty good years going 8-14 as a starter in season 25 while throwing over 200 innings. Moved to the bullpen the next season and went 4-1 with a 3.89 ERA

7. Julian Sierra-1^st Rnd/4^th Pick Overall-Charlotte/Trenton-Dwobble- Not much of a starter, but did enjoy a decent amount of success when used as a bullpen arm. His 3 best seasons saw him pitch 101 games with a 10-6 record and 10 saves and a 3.83 ERA.

6. Tony Alvarez-2^nd Rnd/18^th Pick Overall-Oklahoma/  -rkdixon- A very bad hitter (202 Avg-547 OBP)  Did hit 10 homers one season while also stealing 12 bases. Mostly known for his superior glove work as a SS he made 77 Plus plays and 16 more while playing CF/2^nd/3^rd/LF.

5. Dallas Bolsinger-2^nd Rnd/16^th Pick Overall-Fresno/Boise-hofstad_c- Won himself a Gold Glove at Catcher a year after winning a World Series Ring. Three times he popped off for over 11 homers. Pair that up with a solid 274 AVG and plus glove skills you have a steal of a pick in the Rule 5.

4. Joaquin Cairo-2^nd Rnd/15^th Pick Overall-Charlotte/Trenton-Dwobble- Worked as a pretty solid back end SP for Charlotte, Double digits in wins twice and sported a career 4.25 ERA.  With over 1000 innings in the majors he could be counted on to be a solid contributor while pitching

3. Clint Norton-1^st Rnd/1^st Pick Overall-Rochester/Madison-jwperry- Rochester 2^nd player to make the top ten. Norton had the longest major league career of any player selected. Hit and stole a matching 100 homers and 100 bases. While not a great fielder at either SS or CF the Walla Walla native was a solid producer.

2. Doc Spivey-1^st Rnd/5^th Pick Overall-Jackson-berrysboys- An All-Star the year he was selected while hitting 25 homers with an ops of 875. Between season 25 and 31 was just very average but did break out in his second last season when he hit 26 more homers while driving in 90 runs. Also made 40 plus plays at 2^nd base for his career.

1. Tomas Polonia-1^st Rnd/6^th Pick Overall-Salem-Auggieward- While only a 255 hitter on his career Polonia was good for 189 homers and 125 steals.  6 times he went over 20 homers while also playing a very solid CF (33 Plus Plays) for his career. This marks back to back seasons where Salem has picked the best player in the Rule 5 Draft.