05-15-2018, 10:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-17-2018, 03:56 PM by texas_tornado.)
2080 Draft Review
Most everyone agreed that the top of the 1st round was extremely strong, and there were some nice players even through the 2nd, but it fell off sharply after that. The 5th and 6th had guys going that I think would not have even been UDFA some years -- yes it was that bad -- with that in mind, I focused on rounds 1-3 for the most part.
ARZ
Grade: N/A - no picks
ATL
Grade: N/A - no picks
:bal3:
BAL
Grade: B-
Tavo Razo is an A+ name, but he’s got a ways to go to be an A+ pick. I will probably repeat this line a dozen times in this review, but it all comes down to where his control ends up. 80+ and he’s a #2 or better, in the 70s and you’re looking at an inconsistent back of the rotation arm. Milicia should be an effective short reliever someday. The other pitchers all have some pluses and minuses, but all have some intrigue and potential.
:bos2:
BOS
Grade: B
Wallace isn’t the top of the rotation arm you would like to grab in the top 10, but I feel that he should be a solid middle of the rotation arm for a long time, which isn’t terrible value, but there were some players I liked better at that spot. I loved Merritt at #59, as an elite defender at 2B, he should provide enough bat to make him worth playing, especially if he can get a jump or two. Leigh and Laird are a couple of sleepers to keep an eye on over the coming years, as each has potential to crack the BoSox roster at some point.
:chc2:
CHC
Grade: C
Only later picks for the Cubbies in as they spent their earlier picks to upgrade their roster for a WS run. I don’t particularly love any of those picks, but the two SS drafted could make for decent bench options eventually.
:chw2:
CHW
Grade: B
The Pale Hosers had a whole lotta picks in this one, unfortunately for them most of them were in the 3rd round and later, which was just about where this draft turned into garbage. I like the 1st round pick Levallier, he was a target of mine in the middle 2nd. He will be a solid defender and provide plenty of value on the bases, even if he won’t hit for a super high average. I liked the Duilach pick in the 3rd…. He’s got the contact, power, and eye to go with some speed, and can actually play the OF, with a jump he could be a starter or 4th OF.
:cin2:
CIN
Grade:B+
CIN was auto’d for the 1st round, fortunately for them, it looks like a good auto pick. Ponomar has future starting catcher written all over him. He’ll provide enough power to go with the good arm to play a starting role in CIN. 2B Annis may turn out a starting 2B eventually, the defense should be good enough, and he’ll do a little bit of everything at the plate which will be valuable at 2B.
CLE
Grade: A-
CLE had a nice draft. They got a possible star (and the best catcher in this draft) in Dresel, as well as the best RP in the draft in Rioux. I also liked SS Yuvienco as a sleeper late in the draft.
:col2:
COL
Grade: B+
Solid draft here as well. Hudgens was arguably the best arm in the draft, which is always nice to get at #5, then backed it up with a nice young RF spec in Barrientoz. While I think Westmoreland will be the better hitter, Barrientoz should be a decent fielder, which I can see making him more interesting to some teams. A nice sleeper pick here would be RP Onslow at #78, who I think will be a solid piece in the back of the bullpen some day.
:det2:
DET
Grade:B
Drafted 3B Young at #19 overall, who I think will be an average 3B. He’ll provide some power, an elite eye, and average defense at the hot corner which I think is pretty decent value out of the middle of the 1st round. Niita could be solid, more of a power build, so again will depend on where the control tops out, but GB usually gets the most out of SP picked in the late 1st/early 2nd rounds, so I would say Niita will be productive.
:fla2:
FLA
Grade: A+
I think for the 2nd season in a row, FLA had the best draft. Hopez was my top hitter, and Glodek was in the top 4 players for me in this one, so getting both with #1 and #7 was great value. Bowering at #44 was an absolute steal, and the power pitchers Balboa and Diaz each should be solid SP, if not top of the rotation arms if the control creeps up near 80.
:hou3:
HOU
Grade: N/A
Not going to grade my own draft.
:kcr2:
KCR
Grade:B+
I really liked Turney as a nice young power build, control above his overall by a good bit, and above movement, but not too much. HRs may be a bit of an issue, but the GB% and the quality of his 4 pitches has me convinced that he will end up as a quality rotation arm, with a ceiling of a good #2. Some interesting guys picked in the 3rd and 4th - Wise in particular is intriguing. He’s young, a lefty, and big power potential...if he can get into the mid 80s overall he could be a nice 1B.
:laa2:
LAA
Grade:B
I’ve seen mixed opinions on the 1B Howell, from “best 1B in this draft” to “worst of the 4 main 1B that went in the 1st round”. I had him as the 2nd best 1B in this one, behind Hopez, but really i think you could order Howell, Giuliano, and Vawser 2-4 in whatever order and not be totally wrong. I liked Harris a bit. Left handed, can play CF, and will hit for a decent enough average and plenty of power. If SS Turner wasn’t so old and so close to peaking, I would have marked him as the steal of rounds 3-6. As it stands, he looks like a great bench player, if he had some more upside you could be looking at an elite fielding middle infielder that wasn’t a total black hole with the bat.
:lad2:
LAD
Grade: C+
SS Galineo is intriguing as a power bat that can be an elite defender at SS, but I just don’t believe he will hit enough. If you value defense and can live with a .200 hitter with 15 HRs at SS, then he’s probably your guy, so it’s not terrible value at that spot in the 2nd. I’m down on Santos, as I think his movement is just too far off to get where it needs to be to make him an effective SP, but based on what the draft looked like starting around this spot, it’s a worthy gamble to see if his next jump can show some progress in that area.
:mil2:
MIL
Grade: A
This was a draft I liked a lot. Jmaine made the absolute most out of his plethora of 2nd round picks. I think Westmoreland is going to absolutely mash when he hits the majors, and he has as good of splits as you could ask for, for a righty power hitting COF. Poole might be the pick I liked the least for MIL, as he looks to have that overrated speed I notice every once in awhile in OFs --high speed, but poor baserunning vitals means, to me atleast, that he will probably either only steal 5-10 bags a season or steal 20+ but get caught just as often. Rendo, Styris, Ubeda, and Prado were all guys on my list and (ignoring jumps since the draft) all have potential to be middle of the rotation arms, with #2 or better ceilings.
:min2:
MIN
Grade: B
I liked the Lilburn pick at #19, and thought he could have easily gone higher. I know the GB% is a concern to some, and the HRs have shown to be a bit high in his amateur stats, but being 16, and so far from his peak, I’m not going to put too much stock into those, as his vitals are right where you want to see them for him to have a chance to turn into something really good. He also grabbed a couple other interesting arms for the bullpen, which is a great strategy for the middle rounds in a draft like this.
MON
Grade:B-
I’ve already mentioned that I think Giuliano was probably the 3rd or 4th best 1B in this draft, so #3 was a bit of a reach in my eyes, even though I think he’ll be pretty good. Cybulski should be a solid RP someday, although too early to say if he will be capable of closing.
:nym2:
NYM
Grade: B
I’ve gone back and forth on Verity since draft day. On one hand he’s a lefty (see what I did there?), but his vitals are right where you like to see them, with control/power each above his overall, and his movement not too far behind, plus the killer fastball and 2 other pitches just a bit below his overall. I think he’s got solid #3 written all over him, although a jump could put him into the rare category of a top of the rotation LHP. Claridge kind of snuck under the radar for me and probably some other GMs, not sure if it was the lower overall, or lower endurance, but he looks to be a solid middle rotation arm with some upside if he jumps.
:nyy2:
NYY
Grade: C+
Carter is interesting, and surprising that he fell so far, as I thought he had more potential than some of the other arms then went before him. Ultimately, the control will be the deal breaker, I think it gets to 80 in the end and he ends up an 80/90/90 LHP, which will remind me of Tom Little with a better GB% perhaps, although Little looked much different when he was drafted so not a great comp. I wasn’t super high on any of NYY other picks, they each have some intrigue, but overall not aton of upside with those guys.
:oak2:
OAK
Grade: A-
I think Doug should be ecstatic to get Vawser at #14, as he could easily have gone in the top 7 or 8 picks, and should turn out to be an excellent 1B. OAK was certainly a beneficiary of a deep 1B draft this season.
:phi2:
PHI
Grade: B
Pickens was an interesting guy at #41, looks like he will be able to play solid defense at 3B and probably not kill you at SS either. Plus some good power and on-base potential, even though he probably won’t hit for a high average...nice value for the 2nd round. The next 3 picks I really didn’t like, as I think they are high risk, low reward types that probably don’t become reliable SPs, although Whitsed and Hegarty could find a spot in the bullpen.
:pit2:
PIT
Grade: B
I wasn’t a fan of McQuartie so high in this draft, as I think he is going to be a very average-ish 3B. He’s not an elite fielder, and doesn’t look like he’ll be anything special with the bat. I think there was much better value at #9 overall in this draft. MacIlvain looks like he can be a starting catcher someday, he’s got the good arm, great splits, and looks like he’ll pretty well for average and power. Eliott is young, and all of his offensive vitals are above his current overall, so I wouldn’t rule out him developing into a potent bat, but he’ll be a DH. He has a high ceiling though, so probably a good guy to take a chance on.
:sdp2:
SDP
Grade: B
Valec should be a starting catcher someday, while he won’t be great with the bat, I think he is solid enough to start, and his defense will keep him in the lineup. Palin was a guy on my list. Even though he’s a lefty, he looks like he can turn into something useful, and maybe be pretty good with a jump.
:sfg2:
SFG
Grade: C
If Schmid looked like he could play in the OF, I would say he was a decent pick, since it looks like he should be a solid hitter with good power and eye, but I wouldn’t let him onto the field. Maybe you can try to hide him in LF, but that arm is bad, and the other defensive vitals aren’t much better.
:sea2:
SEA:
Grade: N/A
No picks
:stl2:
STL
Grade: B-
Wolverton was the pick at #16 for the Cards, and I don’t love the pick, as typically the high contact, lower power 1B need to have a good eye to be valuable (at least for my teams), and Wolverton looks like his eye may only get into the 70-75 range at his peak. He may hit for a good average, and 15-20 HRs, but I think he’s better off closer to the bottom of a contender’s lineup rather than the middle. Arangua was a sleeper pick in the 2nd. Another one of those speedy catchers we’ve been seeing in recent drafts. He will be a backup at minimum and if he can jump, the bat could turn him into a valuable starter with the rare SB threat for a catcher.
:tex2:
TEX
Grade: B+
I like the Benet pick. He should have a shot to be a middle of the rotation arm, with the ceiling to be a good #2 if he can get a jump or two. Wilcox is also interesting, he also looks to have a chance to contribute in the rotation, and a jump would make him a very intriguing SP, although the lower health could limit his value.
:tor3:
TOR
Grade: B-
I’ve seen some mixed opinions on Hillegas. I’m pretty neutral on him at the moment, as I see the potential, and the amatuer stats, GB%, and pitches are all great. However, at only 49/86, there’s 37 points of upside and he can develop in many different ways, so it’s a risky pick with plenty of upside it he pans out. Of course Spiderman also ended up in Toronto. A Lefty power build, that depends on his control, so he’s far from a sure thing. Personally, I don’t love him, but like Hillegas, he’s a ways off with the chance to be good, and with a pick at the end of the 2nd round in this draft, he could have done worse.
:was2:
WAS
Grade: A
Takahashi at #26 was a pick I liked. A good defensive CF, with good splits, and a chance to hit for solid average and 10-15 HRs per season (maybe more, taking the splits into consideration). The only thing more you could ask for is some speed, but I think he’ll be pretty good eventually. Amarillas I had as the 2nd best RP spec in this draft, behind Rioux, but I actually think he has the highest upside based on being only 16 and so far off from peaking. Huggins should be a useful RP someday. Bellingham was a sleeper pick in the 3rd, he has a chance to be an impact bat, especially with a jump.
Most everyone agreed that the top of the 1st round was extremely strong, and there were some nice players even through the 2nd, but it fell off sharply after that. The 5th and 6th had guys going that I think would not have even been UDFA some years -- yes it was that bad -- with that in mind, I focused on rounds 1-3 for the most part.
ARZ
Grade: N/A - no picks
ATL
Grade: N/A - no picks
:bal3:
BAL
Grade: B-
Tavo Razo is an A+ name, but he’s got a ways to go to be an A+ pick. I will probably repeat this line a dozen times in this review, but it all comes down to where his control ends up. 80+ and he’s a #2 or better, in the 70s and you’re looking at an inconsistent back of the rotation arm. Milicia should be an effective short reliever someday. The other pitchers all have some pluses and minuses, but all have some intrigue and potential.
:bos2:
BOS
Grade: B
Wallace isn’t the top of the rotation arm you would like to grab in the top 10, but I feel that he should be a solid middle of the rotation arm for a long time, which isn’t terrible value, but there were some players I liked better at that spot. I loved Merritt at #59, as an elite defender at 2B, he should provide enough bat to make him worth playing, especially if he can get a jump or two. Leigh and Laird are a couple of sleepers to keep an eye on over the coming years, as each has potential to crack the BoSox roster at some point.
:chc2:
CHC
Grade: C
Only later picks for the Cubbies in as they spent their earlier picks to upgrade their roster for a WS run. I don’t particularly love any of those picks, but the two SS drafted could make for decent bench options eventually.
:chw2:
CHW
Grade: B
The Pale Hosers had a whole lotta picks in this one, unfortunately for them most of them were in the 3rd round and later, which was just about where this draft turned into garbage. I like the 1st round pick Levallier, he was a target of mine in the middle 2nd. He will be a solid defender and provide plenty of value on the bases, even if he won’t hit for a super high average. I liked the Duilach pick in the 3rd…. He’s got the contact, power, and eye to go with some speed, and can actually play the OF, with a jump he could be a starter or 4th OF.
:cin2:
CIN
Grade:B+
CIN was auto’d for the 1st round, fortunately for them, it looks like a good auto pick. Ponomar has future starting catcher written all over him. He’ll provide enough power to go with the good arm to play a starting role in CIN. 2B Annis may turn out a starting 2B eventually, the defense should be good enough, and he’ll do a little bit of everything at the plate which will be valuable at 2B.
CLE
Grade: A-
CLE had a nice draft. They got a possible star (and the best catcher in this draft) in Dresel, as well as the best RP in the draft in Rioux. I also liked SS Yuvienco as a sleeper late in the draft.
:col2:
COL
Grade: B+
Solid draft here as well. Hudgens was arguably the best arm in the draft, which is always nice to get at #5, then backed it up with a nice young RF spec in Barrientoz. While I think Westmoreland will be the better hitter, Barrientoz should be a decent fielder, which I can see making him more interesting to some teams. A nice sleeper pick here would be RP Onslow at #78, who I think will be a solid piece in the back of the bullpen some day.
:det2:
DET
Grade:B
Drafted 3B Young at #19 overall, who I think will be an average 3B. He’ll provide some power, an elite eye, and average defense at the hot corner which I think is pretty decent value out of the middle of the 1st round. Niita could be solid, more of a power build, so again will depend on where the control tops out, but GB usually gets the most out of SP picked in the late 1st/early 2nd rounds, so I would say Niita will be productive.
:fla2:
FLA
Grade: A+
I think for the 2nd season in a row, FLA had the best draft. Hopez was my top hitter, and Glodek was in the top 4 players for me in this one, so getting both with #1 and #7 was great value. Bowering at #44 was an absolute steal, and the power pitchers Balboa and Diaz each should be solid SP, if not top of the rotation arms if the control creeps up near 80.
:hou3:
HOU
Grade: N/A
Not going to grade my own draft.
:kcr2:
KCR
Grade:B+
I really liked Turney as a nice young power build, control above his overall by a good bit, and above movement, but not too much. HRs may be a bit of an issue, but the GB% and the quality of his 4 pitches has me convinced that he will end up as a quality rotation arm, with a ceiling of a good #2. Some interesting guys picked in the 3rd and 4th - Wise in particular is intriguing. He’s young, a lefty, and big power potential...if he can get into the mid 80s overall he could be a nice 1B.
:laa2:
LAA
Grade:B
I’ve seen mixed opinions on the 1B Howell, from “best 1B in this draft” to “worst of the 4 main 1B that went in the 1st round”. I had him as the 2nd best 1B in this one, behind Hopez, but really i think you could order Howell, Giuliano, and Vawser 2-4 in whatever order and not be totally wrong. I liked Harris a bit. Left handed, can play CF, and will hit for a decent enough average and plenty of power. If SS Turner wasn’t so old and so close to peaking, I would have marked him as the steal of rounds 3-6. As it stands, he looks like a great bench player, if he had some more upside you could be looking at an elite fielding middle infielder that wasn’t a total black hole with the bat.
:lad2:
LAD
Grade: C+
SS Galineo is intriguing as a power bat that can be an elite defender at SS, but I just don’t believe he will hit enough. If you value defense and can live with a .200 hitter with 15 HRs at SS, then he’s probably your guy, so it’s not terrible value at that spot in the 2nd. I’m down on Santos, as I think his movement is just too far off to get where it needs to be to make him an effective SP, but based on what the draft looked like starting around this spot, it’s a worthy gamble to see if his next jump can show some progress in that area.
:mil2:
MIL
Grade: A
This was a draft I liked a lot. Jmaine made the absolute most out of his plethora of 2nd round picks. I think Westmoreland is going to absolutely mash when he hits the majors, and he has as good of splits as you could ask for, for a righty power hitting COF. Poole might be the pick I liked the least for MIL, as he looks to have that overrated speed I notice every once in awhile in OFs --high speed, but poor baserunning vitals means, to me atleast, that he will probably either only steal 5-10 bags a season or steal 20+ but get caught just as often. Rendo, Styris, Ubeda, and Prado were all guys on my list and (ignoring jumps since the draft) all have potential to be middle of the rotation arms, with #2 or better ceilings.
:min2:
MIN
Grade: B
I liked the Lilburn pick at #19, and thought he could have easily gone higher. I know the GB% is a concern to some, and the HRs have shown to be a bit high in his amateur stats, but being 16, and so far from his peak, I’m not going to put too much stock into those, as his vitals are right where you want to see them for him to have a chance to turn into something really good. He also grabbed a couple other interesting arms for the bullpen, which is a great strategy for the middle rounds in a draft like this.
MON
Grade:B-
I’ve already mentioned that I think Giuliano was probably the 3rd or 4th best 1B in this draft, so #3 was a bit of a reach in my eyes, even though I think he’ll be pretty good. Cybulski should be a solid RP someday, although too early to say if he will be capable of closing.
:nym2:
NYM
Grade: B
I’ve gone back and forth on Verity since draft day. On one hand he’s a lefty (see what I did there?), but his vitals are right where you like to see them, with control/power each above his overall, and his movement not too far behind, plus the killer fastball and 2 other pitches just a bit below his overall. I think he’s got solid #3 written all over him, although a jump could put him into the rare category of a top of the rotation LHP. Claridge kind of snuck under the radar for me and probably some other GMs, not sure if it was the lower overall, or lower endurance, but he looks to be a solid middle rotation arm with some upside if he jumps.
:nyy2:
NYY
Grade: C+
Carter is interesting, and surprising that he fell so far, as I thought he had more potential than some of the other arms then went before him. Ultimately, the control will be the deal breaker, I think it gets to 80 in the end and he ends up an 80/90/90 LHP, which will remind me of Tom Little with a better GB% perhaps, although Little looked much different when he was drafted so not a great comp. I wasn’t super high on any of NYY other picks, they each have some intrigue, but overall not aton of upside with those guys.
:oak2:
OAK
Grade: A-
I think Doug should be ecstatic to get Vawser at #14, as he could easily have gone in the top 7 or 8 picks, and should turn out to be an excellent 1B. OAK was certainly a beneficiary of a deep 1B draft this season.
:phi2:
PHI
Grade: B
Pickens was an interesting guy at #41, looks like he will be able to play solid defense at 3B and probably not kill you at SS either. Plus some good power and on-base potential, even though he probably won’t hit for a high average...nice value for the 2nd round. The next 3 picks I really didn’t like, as I think they are high risk, low reward types that probably don’t become reliable SPs, although Whitsed and Hegarty could find a spot in the bullpen.
:pit2:
PIT
Grade: B
I wasn’t a fan of McQuartie so high in this draft, as I think he is going to be a very average-ish 3B. He’s not an elite fielder, and doesn’t look like he’ll be anything special with the bat. I think there was much better value at #9 overall in this draft. MacIlvain looks like he can be a starting catcher someday, he’s got the good arm, great splits, and looks like he’ll pretty well for average and power. Eliott is young, and all of his offensive vitals are above his current overall, so I wouldn’t rule out him developing into a potent bat, but he’ll be a DH. He has a high ceiling though, so probably a good guy to take a chance on.
:sdp2:
SDP
Grade: B
Valec should be a starting catcher someday, while he won’t be great with the bat, I think he is solid enough to start, and his defense will keep him in the lineup. Palin was a guy on my list. Even though he’s a lefty, he looks like he can turn into something useful, and maybe be pretty good with a jump.
:sfg2:
SFG
Grade: C
If Schmid looked like he could play in the OF, I would say he was a decent pick, since it looks like he should be a solid hitter with good power and eye, but I wouldn’t let him onto the field. Maybe you can try to hide him in LF, but that arm is bad, and the other defensive vitals aren’t much better.
:sea2:
SEA:
Grade: N/A
No picks
:stl2:
STL
Grade: B-
Wolverton was the pick at #16 for the Cards, and I don’t love the pick, as typically the high contact, lower power 1B need to have a good eye to be valuable (at least for my teams), and Wolverton looks like his eye may only get into the 70-75 range at his peak. He may hit for a good average, and 15-20 HRs, but I think he’s better off closer to the bottom of a contender’s lineup rather than the middle. Arangua was a sleeper pick in the 2nd. Another one of those speedy catchers we’ve been seeing in recent drafts. He will be a backup at minimum and if he can jump, the bat could turn him into a valuable starter with the rare SB threat for a catcher.
:tex2:
TEX
Grade: B+
I like the Benet pick. He should have a shot to be a middle of the rotation arm, with the ceiling to be a good #2 if he can get a jump or two. Wilcox is also interesting, he also looks to have a chance to contribute in the rotation, and a jump would make him a very intriguing SP, although the lower health could limit his value.
:tor3:
TOR
Grade: B-
I’ve seen some mixed opinions on Hillegas. I’m pretty neutral on him at the moment, as I see the potential, and the amatuer stats, GB%, and pitches are all great. However, at only 49/86, there’s 37 points of upside and he can develop in many different ways, so it’s a risky pick with plenty of upside it he pans out. Of course Spiderman also ended up in Toronto. A Lefty power build, that depends on his control, so he’s far from a sure thing. Personally, I don’t love him, but like Hillegas, he’s a ways off with the chance to be good, and with a pick at the end of the 2nd round in this draft, he could have done worse.
:was2:
WAS
Grade: A
Takahashi at #26 was a pick I liked. A good defensive CF, with good splits, and a chance to hit for solid average and 10-15 HRs per season (maybe more, taking the splits into consideration). The only thing more you could ask for is some speed, but I think he’ll be pretty good eventually. Amarillas I had as the 2nd best RP spec in this draft, behind Rioux, but I actually think he has the highest upside based on being only 16 and so far off from peaking. Huggins should be a useful RP someday. Bellingham was a sleeper pick in the 3rd, he has a chance to be an impact bat, especially with a jump.
Houston GM
2060 - present
Playoffs: 20 (Division '68 - '73, '78, '81 -'86, '88, '05-'10)
ALDS Wins: 11 ('68, '70 - '73, '83, '94, '06 - '09)
ALCS Wins: 6 ('71, '73, '83, '06, '08, '09)
2073 WS Champs
2060 - present
Playoffs: 20 (Division '68 - '73, '78, '81 -'86, '88, '05-'10)
ALDS Wins: 11 ('68, '70 - '73, '83, '94, '06 - '09)
ALCS Wins: 6 ('71, '73, '83, '06, '08, '09)
2073 WS Champs