2064 Nokes Draft Grades

[mattynokes]

This is the 10th installment! So, we'll be getting to re-reviews after the season as we start looking back at the 2055 draft. For now, a look at the 2064 1st round.

I think this draft was over hyped a bit. There was certainly talent to be had early on, but it quickly faded out in the mid-1st and lost a lot of luster heading into the 3rd round, even in the last goings of the 2nd round. Still a draft is a draft and we'll get some late picks who surprise and some top picks that fail.

01. :lad2: SP Guilherme Cerillo
This draft seemed to feature a good number of pitchers with really good control and movement that lags a good deal behind. By the projections Cerillo's movement will still peak out a decent amount behind his control and that's worrisome as those types are sometimes plagued with high HRs or OBAs.

Other than that, he looks great. Good Fastball-Slider combo to go with what could be elite control and damn fine strikeout ability. It's the balls in play that remain a question.

Grade:
Future Skills: 98 Con, 87 Pow, 91 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 2
Scouting File Score: 91.22

02. :cin2: CF Andy Ligonier
He's every bit of Ray Vizcaya 2.0. The build is nearly exactly the same and the potential is indeed exactly the same. He should be an elite leadoff threat and the buzz around him probably suggests he should have been the number 1 pick no matter what team you are or who you have in your minors.

Grade:
Future Skills: 97 Con, 68 Pow, 87 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 3
Scouting File Score: 90.35

03. :nyy2: LF Greg Watson
Watson is a good player, but not an awe-inspiring type of player. He's not overly fast or have great power potential. He's a guy that's more likely to make for a good 5 or 6 hitter rather than a 3 or 4 hitter. At this point in the draft, I think there were players with higher value on the board.

Grade:
Future Skills: 93 Con, 86 Pow, 82 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 7
Scouting File Score: 88.35

04. :oak2: SP Homer Smith
He may be my favorite pitcher in the draft. A few others have flashy vitals right now and look more appealing, but I think Smith is the right blend of draft day build and future projection. Low HRs in all years but one don't hurt either.

Grade:
Future Skills: 87 Con, 75 Pow, 95 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 6
Scouting File Score: 91.22

05. :sdp2: SP Victor Ramirez
In Ramirez, I see shade's of Kyle Arrington. Ramirez has that same beautiful build that screams convert to starter. He should have a very good Fastball and has three years of sub-.250 OBA all while being just 17. Ok, so he's my favorite pitcher in the draft.

Grade:
Future Skills: 90 Con, 72 Pow, 97 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 1
Scouting File Score: 91.22

06. SP Ryan D'Amato
He could be very good, but I could see some of the same HR or OBA issues, like with Cerillo. Whenever the gap of control to movement is more than 10, it's always a concern. He'll have great vitals, though, and may pitch past any of the concerns.

Grade:
Future Skills: 97 Con, 80 Pow, 90 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 5
Scouting File Score: 89.30

07. :min2: RF/CF Geoff Holliday
I think he projects better as a RF, but he may have good enough range to roam central. His bat should be pretty solid, but I don't know that he'll walk much. He has a nice profile, but the projections leave a little to desire for a top 10 pick.

Grade:
Future Skills: 90 Con, 85 Pow, 77 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 9
Scouting File Score: 86.94

08. SP Carlos Serpa
He's vastly underrated for his vitals. He projects to have very good vitals and will be pretty good if he can manage to limit home runs. A few years he's kept them quite low and some others he's been lit up.

Grade:
Future Skills: 86 Con, 71 Pow, 90 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 10
Scouting File Score: 86.31

09. :chc2: SP Justin MacLeverty
He's another guy who's underrated. He has maybe the optimal blend of draft day vitals. His control is a good amount above his overall and movement, but not too far above his movement that he get battered around. Then he's not completely void of strikeout ability and he has a pretty nice arrangement of pitches to throw.

Grade:
Future Skills: 90 Con, 80 Pow, 89 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 4
Scouting File Score: 89.89

10. :tor3: 3B Ricardo Ramos
He's alright. He'll obviously hit for a lot of power and walk a lot as well. Where I question him is his contact. It should get above the 70 mark vs RHP, but just barely so I question his ability to be a consistent threat.

Grade:
Future Skills: 73 Con, 91 Pow, 89 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 17
Scouting File Score: 84.94

11. :hou3: RP Mark Vanrijn
I thought he was going to be the dreaded auto-pick of the first round. No doubt his movement will be top notch, and that's what saves him from being a total lost pick. However, with his build his control is, and will always be, terrible. It may get into the low 70's, but even the mid 70's is highly unlikely and anything 80+ is virtually impossible.

Grade:
Future Skills: 69 Con, 84 Pow, 100 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 22
Scouting File Score: 83.93

12. :cin2: 2B/3B Eric Lindsay
With single digit strikeouts in every year but one, I quite concerned with just how inflated his contact is. If he had contact around 70 would you still like him? Because that's where his true contact may actually be. He's great defensively, but I think his risk of being a black hole offensively is too much to take in the first round.

Grade:
Future Skills: 88 Con, 72 Pow, 73 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 11
Scouting File Score: 86.18

13. :nym2: DH Ephraim Samano
Not only does being a lefty help his contact, but also that he looks to strike out a lot - which means his contact is a bit under valued. Still he's not going to hit for a great average and he'll be much reliant on the longball for value.

Grade:
Future Skills: 74 Con, 95 Pow, 81 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 36
Scouting File Score: 82.06

14. 3B Eric Barton
He dropped 7 or 8 points when he aged and when you factor in the career window boost, he really only has 8 points of upside. So, if you've been able to follow along, that means he very likely has this one season to jump and then he'll peak out (or show something like 74/78, which for him would be peaked, but not yet hit his career window). There's just too little upside and very small room for error.

Grade:
Future Skills: 74 Con, 84 Pow, 97 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 34
Scouting File Score: 82.32

15. 3B Jorge Alvedrez
Despite middling offensive vitals, I like him a good bit. Third basemen in FCM seem to either be very good defensively and average offensively or very good hitters and average defensively, but not both. He has a good deal of upside for a 21 year old, so it'll be interesting to see if he has many years to develop or if the upside gets eaten up quickly with 5+ peak drops when he ages.

Grade:
Future Skills: 87 Con, 81 Pow, 77 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 15
Scouting File Score: 85.14

16. :hou3: RF/CF Chad Walker
He has some nice projections. He should develop into a good top of the order bat with his speed and contact. His defense may be good enough for CF, but I'm not quite sold on his range just yet. If I felt more confident in his ability in central he'd be a four-star pick.

Grade:
Future Skills: 88 Con, 72 Pow, 79 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 24
Scouting File Score: 83.28

17. :phi2: SP Zack Young
Poor control, high homers, high health, and a sim 5 b-day all play against him. He may overcome that and be major league material, but at best he'll be a middle reliever. Bleh.

Grade:
Future Skills: 69 Con, 85 Pow, 82 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 87
Scouting File Score: 76.32

18. :tor3: RP Jesse Hutson
His ultra low HRs and being just 17 look very nice, but I'm taking back a bit by his vitals and repertoire compared to his overall. However, reliever development can be quite sporadic, so it's possible that he develops just fine. Though, another issue is his power and wondering if he'll ever be able to get anyone out.

Grade:
Future Skills: 74 Con, 54 Pow, 82 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 142
Scouting File Score: 70.64

19. :hou3: CF Jory Gardenas
He lacks contact now, but it should develop to decent levels and with his good speed + walk combo, he'll be a good batter. His quality range makes him a good candidate for CF.

Grade:
Future Skills: 82 Con, 78 Pow, 81 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 14
Scouting File Score: 85.28

20. :det2: 3B Doug Cannell
Doubtful to be a great hitter, but will be very strong defensively. Though he is young enough to break out into a good hitter. Someone that's definitely interesting to watch

Grade:
Future Skills: 81 Con, 78 Pow, 82 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 12
Scouting File Score: 85.78

21. :stl2: RP Mike Lewis
High health and endurance hurt his true upside and I doubt his control will develop much, so he'll have to come out of the bullpen.

Grade:
Future Skills: 71 Con, 88 Pow, 85 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 63
Scouting File Score: 78.68

22. :mil2: SP Dale McKenty
He's a nice underrated arm who should easily find a rotation spot and could be as good as a middle rotation guy.

Grade:
Future Skills: 83 Con, 67 Pow, 89 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 42
Scouting File Score: 81.31

23. :chc2: RF/DH Tom McElveen
His bat projects just as good as Geoff Holliday and Greg Watson and he could be an option in RF with his solid arm. Quite surprising to see him fall this far.

Grade:
Future Skills: 95 Con, 88 Pow, 84 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 18
Scouting File Score: 84.93

24. :hou3: RF/DH Patrick Weber
He already jumped, but he still has a good bat projection. He might have to DH with the lack or range or an arm, but still a quality player.

Grade:
Future Skills: 88 Con, 83 Pow, 84 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 35
Scouting File Score: 82.07

25. SS Kyle Fitzgibbon
He has amazing speed, but it's his lack of an arm that has me questioning his defensive abilities. And it's a shame that he's a boom or bust defensively with how Mogul currently works. Otherwise, you could stick him in LF or RF, even 1B and be fine.

Grade:
Future Skills: 80 Con, 76 Pow, 77 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 26
Scouting File Score: 83.17

26. :bal3: DH Tony Diemer
Without much range, there's little hope for him to hold up in LF and he's terrible at 1B. Given his peak and power potential, I'm a little surprised he lasted this long. Though, he may be a one-trick pony and it may be appropriate value for a bat like his who can only DH to fall this low.

Grade:
Future Skills: 85 Con, 93 Pow, 73 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 19
Scouting File Score: 84.51

27. :bos2: LF Eric Wiggins
This is quietly a good pick. He doesn't have the range to stick in center, but he's very fast and great on the bases. He'll be a good contact and speed threat as a #2 hitter candidate.

Grade:
Future Skills: 87 Con, 72 Pow, 77 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 33
Scouting File Score: 82.32

28. :mia: DH Pat Krigsfeld
He's worthless in the field, but has a chance to be a very high contact hitter with decent power and decent ability to walk.

Grade:
Future Skills: 97 Con, 83 Pow, 81 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 13
Scouting File Score: 85.75

29. :det2: SS Jaime Alcocer
This draft seemed to be a tease with the faster guys. All that speed and not up to par defensive. It may take a miracle, but he's certainly a boom or bust defender at SS. His speed and overall baserunning ability is some of the best we've seen in years, so he's worth the risk.

Grade:
Future Skills: 78 Con, 77 Pow, 79 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 20
Scouting File Score: 84.39

30. :mil2: RP/SP Clay Genge
I like his profile, but I'm concerned with what looks to be too little time to develop to be trusted as a starter. I think he was mid-to-late 2nd value. He does look to give up ultra low home runs and will have good movement because of that, but I think his control falls just short.

Grade:
Future Skills: 78 Con, 66 Pow, 85 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 92
Scouting File Score: 75.65

31. :mil2: LF D.J. Roberts
He could wind up being a tremendous player. He projects well as of right now and has a good blend of offensive skills that could make him a very valuable player if he hits even just close to 90.

Grade:
Future Skills: 90 Con, 86 Pow, 80 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 27
Scouting File Score: 83.07

32. SP Paul Tobey
This is a guy that I would have been eyeing if I kept my pick at #22. He has a great starting build and even if he hits around his draft day peak, he should be a very reliable and underrated pitcher.

Grade:
Future Skills: 91 Con, 79 Pow, 88 Mov
Scouting File Rank: 8
Scouting File Score: 89.89

33. :pit2: LF Jarod Wood
We're on a roll with value picks. He won't be able to hang in CF, but he should have a solid bat. His projections aren't quite inspiring, but considering he's a lefty, he should easily find a lineup spot even at those vitals.

Grade:
Future Skills: 85 Con, 79 Pow, 78 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 44
Scouting File Score: 80.80

34. :oak2: CF Richie Evans
Since it doesn't appear he'll have great hitting vitals, he'll need to steal bases to be a real valuable piece. That's a bit of an issue as Evans profiles like a guy who's just fast, but doesn't use his speed to its full capabilities.

Grade:
Future Skills: 79 Con, 78 Pow, 75 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 29
Scouting File Score: 82.82

35. :sea2: RF Nick Ports
He profiles to have pretty good contact, but is slow as molasses and doesn't have much pop. His defense is fine for RF, so he'll be starter worthy. Just not a great starter without at least decent speed or power.

Grade:
Future Skills: 87 Con, 79 Pow, 78 Eye
Scouting File Rank: 50
Scouting File Score: 79.89

[mattynokes]

All Done