so our elijah pretty well won the game for the nats single-handed last night, which i suppose is the bat-signal for me to swoop back on in here and issue some i-told-you-so's. well, not really. but this is all i ever said: in the end, talent will play. notice how milton bradley's not having too shabby a year either, despite the occasional bout of scarlet lefebvre.

was just looking back at the famously crazy top 100 from whatever year it was. dukes at 15? not looking so bad. certainly better than brandon wood at #4, or lincecum behind adam miller. of course that's just how things sit this week.

i was looking for that blowout argument we all had but i think it got deleted in the sockpuppet wars.

at any rate, there's at least one obvious lesson here: don't jump to conclusions. guys were burying dukes' career way too early last summer, because that was what they wanted to see. and now dukes could still be banned from baseball for life next week and then i'd be wrong again. don't push yourself on the world; just let things happen and then look at 'em.

This isn't really finished, but I feel bad about leaving the catchers hanging out there for so long without any support. Don't want 'em drooping. Plus I want to try and stay ahead of Silver over at BP. (I wrote this list up before his article came out last week.) So we'll make a quick pass at first base. Please leave comments.

From my old top 100:

Daric Barton, OAK : one of my pets for this year.

Joey Votto, CIN : i still don't really feel like i know him.

...

Lars Anderson, BOS : already has a bridge.

Chris Marrero, WAS : yep.

Chris Davis, TEX : i think of him kind of like if adam dunn and brandon wood had a kid. but is that good or bad?

...

Andrew Lambo, LA : my new favorite toy. "what have we here?"

Nick Weglarz, CLE : some other people's favorite toy. the numbers are fairly rare for a teenager in full-season. that's rare on a seasonal level, not a once-in-a-decade level, of course; still.

Jordan Brown, CLE : this was too high. i don't know what i was thinking. wait, i remember: "just hit". he can. but he's not good enough. good candidate to get hubered.

Chris Carter II, OAK : i'm not *quite* sold on this one, but i don't feel justified in having a strong opinion yet. for now we can put him in a chain gang with lambo and weglarz.

Other candidates (quickly tiered):

Kyle Blanks, SD

...

Matt Sweeney, ANA

Sean Doolittle, OAK

Chris Carter I, BOS : aka jordan brown IV

Juan Miranda, NYY

...

Cody Johnson, ATL

Anthony Rizzo, BOS

Brandon Snyder, BAL

Freddie Freeman, ATL

Yohermyn Chavez, TOR

Kyle Orr, LA

...

Michael Aubrey, CLE

Logan Morrison, FLA

Jeff Larish, DET

... and a bunch of guys i don't really believe in at all...

Aaron Bates, BOS

Mark Hamilton, STL

Matt Whitney, CLE

Andrew D'Alessio, SF

Bryan Byrne, ARI

Lucas Duda, NYM

Rhyne Hughes, TB

Mike Carp, NYM

Eric Duncan, NYY

Gaby Sanchez, FLA

Kala Ka'aihue, ATL

Clint Robinson, KC

I feel like there are more. I haven't even scanned the BA book for missing links yet. Not sure I can get to 30 real guys though. With 1B it's so hard to clear the bar offensively, as is well known.

I'm not ranking them quite yet; do throw out some other suggestions.

EDIT: from the suggestion box:

Angel Villalona, SF - move to 1B sounds pretty official.

Beau Mills, CLE - what the hey, put him here.

Craig Cooper, SD

Chris Nash, CLE

Osvaldo Morales, STL

I've been wanting for a while to do a position-by-position prospect rundown series, just to pass the time, and I'm finding the new system finely inspirational.

I figured calling it "Around the Horn" would be a cliche, so I'm going to call it "Around the Cape of Magellan". I know it's actually Cape Horn and the Straits of Magellan, but let's agree to ignore that.

So. Catchers. Here's how they shook out in the last version of my top 100 that I have on record, from January 17 (so says the last modified date on my laptop, anyway):

5 - Matt Wieters, BAL - love him.

28 - Geovany Soto, CHC - pretty much the best hitter in the minors last year; despite his age and the PCL, I mostly buy it.

36 - Jeff Clement, SEA - was always skeptical, but some of the more recent reports on his zone control and contact ability have encouraged me.

57 - Max Ramirez, TEX - this is pretty high, based on my "just hit" credo. but he's probably not really a catcher.

58 - Jesus Montero, NYY - same basic deal.

63 - Taylor Teagarden, TEX - galt's use of mike napoli as an offensive comp for his cal league numbers is sort of fascinating.

68 - Hank Conger, ANA - i'm cooling on him a bit now with this shoulder injury thing.

71 - JR Towles, HOU - not sure why i had him this low. i guess i read some stuff about flaws in his swing. we'll see.

95 - Wilson Ramos, MIN - our up and comer.

Others I'd listed in the holding tank:

Josh Donaldson, CHC

uh, i guess that's it.

So who else is relevant? Some other catchers of note, divided into two groups, will follow.

(EDITED thursday 3/20 10:31AM EST)

group 1: "close and solid" (carlos ruiz division)

Bryan Anderson, STL

Mitch Canham, SD

John Jaso, TB

Lou Marson, PHI

Craig Tatum, CIN

Jonathan Lucroy, MIL

Ed Easley, ARI

James Skelton, DET

JP Arencibia, TOR - i hate him

Lars Davis, COL

Jackson Williams, SF

Matt McBride, CLE

Adam Moore, SEA

group 2: "farther off and maybe awesome" (hank conger division)

Tyler Flowers, ATL - my latest "the guy" among catchers, supplanting ramos (who i still like, of course - he's just not the newest any more) - played more 1B last year due to injury, but can catch and can hit (supposedly)

Devin Mesoraco, CIN

Austin Romine, NYY

Travis d'Arnaud, PHI

Angel Salome, MIL

Mike McKenry, COL - hit well last year, don't know much else

Luis de la Cruz, STL

Max Sapp, HOU

Francisco Pena, NYM

Danny Rams, MIN - fascinating to me, as he's been described: 80 power + 80 arm + no other tools

Robinzon Diaz, TOR

Got all that? So, ok. Here it comes:

Wily Mo's Overall Top 30 Catchers (of Magellan)

(EDITED thursday 3/20 10:31AM EST)

1. Matt Wieters, BAL
2. Geovany Soto, CHC
3. Jeff Clement, SEA*
4. JR Towles, HOU
5. Taylor Teagarden, TEX+
6. Wilson Ramos, MIN+
7. Jesus Montero, NYY*
8. Josh Donaldson, CHC
9. Tyler Flowers, ATL
10. Max Ramirez, TEX*
11. Lou Marson, PHI+
12. Mitch Canham, SD
13. Craig Tatum, CIN+
14. John Jaso, TB*
15. Bryan Anderson, STL
16. Hank Conger, ANA*
17. Devin Mesoraco, CIN
18. Austin Romine, NYY
19. Jonathan Lucroy, MIL
20. Ed Easley, ARI
21. Travis d'Arnaud, PHI+
22. Angel Salome, MIL
23. Mike McKenry, COL
24. James Skelton, DET
25. Jackson Williams, SF+
26. Francisco Pena, NYM
27. Luis de la Cruz, STL
28. Lars Davis, COL
29. Matt McBride, CLE
30. Danny Rams, MIN*

* - particularly questionable to stick at C
+ - exceptionally likely to stick

So, what's wrong with this? I really started making stuff up right around Canham or so.

bereft of his multi-accounted cheering squad, guerra immediately wins by one vote.  could do a runoff, but doesn't really seem worthwhile at this stage.

LIST

   1. Jay Bruce OF CIN
   2. Evan Longoria 3B TB
   3. Colby Rasmus OF STL
   4. Clay Buchholz RHP BOS
   5. Clayton Kershaw LHP LAD
   6. Joba Chamberlain RHP NYY
   7. Cameron Maybin OF FLA
   8. Homer Bailey RHP CIN
   9. David Price LHP TB
   10. Andy LaRoche 3B LAD
   11. Jacob McGee LHP TB
   12. Johnny Cueto RHP CIN
   13. Travis Snider OF TOR
   14. Brandon Wood 3B/SS CAL
   15. Matt Wieters C BAL
   16. Jacoby Ellsbury OF BOS
   17. (T) Joey Votto 1B CIN
   17. (T) Andrew McCutchen OF PIT
   19. Wade Davis RHP TB
   20. (T) Chase Headley 3B SD
   20. (T) Reid Brignac SS TB
   22. Daric Barton 1B OAK
   23. Rick Porcello RHP DET
   24. Franklin Morales LHP COL
   25. Jeff Clement C SEA
   26. Matt LaPorta OF/1B MIL
   27. Mike Moustakas SS KC
   28. Chris Marrero OF  WAS
   29. Fernando Martinez OF NYM
   30. Matt Antonelli 2B SD
   31. Desmond Jennings OF TB
   32. Carlos Gonzalez OF OAK
   33. Jason Heyward OF ATL
   34. Fautino de los Santos RHP OAK
   35. Jed Lowrie SS BOS
   36. Angel Villalona 3B SF
   37. Gio Gonzalez LHP OAK
   38. Ian Kennedy RHP NYY
   39. Carlos Triunfel SS SEA
   40. Steven Pearce 1B/OF PIT
   41. Jordan Schafer OF ATL
       (Kosuke Fukudome OF CHC)
   42. Adam Miller RHP CLE
   43. Nick Adenhart RHP CAL
   44. Wladimir Balentien OF SEA
   45. Austin Jackson OF NYY
   46. Eric Hurley RHP TEX
   47. Jose Tabata OF NYY
   48. Geovany Soto C CHC
   49. Lars Anderson 1B BOS
   50. Chin-Lung Hu SS LA
   51. Chris Davis 3B TEX
   52. Luke Hochevar RHP KC
   53. Jarrod Parker RHP ARI
   54. Taylor Teagarden C TEX
   55. Manny Parra LHP MIL
   56. Deolis Guerra RHP NYM

i've cut the size of the poll a little bit this time just because it seems like we're definitely picking out of these nine guys for the moment.  do still feel free to vote other.

INSTRUCTIONS

i will create 14 vote-thread comments, one for each prospect polled.  please use the "reply to this" link on that comment to post a +1 message under the player you're voting for.  (look and see how other people are doing it first if that's not clear.) REMEMBER TO USE THE REPLY-TO-THIS LINK, NOT THE REGULAR FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.

POLL 57

Ross Detwiler LHP WAS
Josh Vitters 3B CHC
Cole Rohrbough LHP ATL
Neil Walker 3B PIT
Hank Conger C CAL
Elvis Andrus SS TEX
James McDonald RHP LA
Ian Stewart 3B COL
Jordan Walden RHP CAL
"Other"

Please look at this list and decide who you're voting for now, so you don't make any impulsive decisions down below.  Also peruse the following "more candidates" section carefully to make sure there isn't an "other" vote you'd like to cast.

MORE CANDIDATES - PITCHERS

Justin Masterson (2/56), Hiroki Kuroda (2/38), Jair Jurrjens (0/51), Radhames Liz (1/50), Carlos Carrasco (1/49), Max Scherzer (0/49), Anthony Swarzak (3/47), Jeff Niemann, Scott Elbert, Dan Cortes, Alan Horne, Michael Bowden, Chris Volstad, Matt Harrison, Troy Patton, Will Inman, Jeremy Hellickson, Brad Lincoln, Jaime Garcia, Chuck Lofgren, Collin Balester, Sean Gallagher, Greg Reynolds, Jeff Manship, Donald Veal, Bryan Morris, Nick Hagadone, Brett Cecil, Aaron Poreda, Joe Savery, James Simmons, Jordan Zimmermann, Clayton Mortensen

Tim Alderson (1/54), Chris Tillman (1/49c), Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Kasey Kiker, Jeremy Jeffress, Tony Butler, Michael Main, Omar Poveda, Neftali Feliz, Dellin Betances, Tommy Hanson, Tyler Robertson, Henry Sosa, Brandon Erbe, Kyle Drabek, Jeff Locke, Blake Beavan, Phillippe Aumont, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Latos, Josh Smoker, Chris Withrow, Dan Duffy, Julio Teheran

Jon Meloan, Casey Weathers, Dan Moskos, Chris Perez, Eduardo Morlan, Felipe Paulino del Guidice

MORE CANDIDATES - HITTERS

Brent Lillibridge (2/56), Chris Carter II (2/56), Brandon Jones (0/55), Beau Mills (0/54), Dexter Fowler (1/50), JR Towles (0/52), Tyler Colvin, Wes Hodges, Todd Frazier, Jordan Brown, Drew Stubbs, Chris Nelson, Nolan Reimold, Bryan Anderson, Aaron Cunningham, Mat Gamel, Nate Schierholtz, Kellen Kulbacki, Justin Maxwell, Max Ramirez, Kyle Blanks, Josh Rodriguez, Michael Bourn, Tony Thomas Jr, Brandon Hicks

Bill Rowell (1/55), Michael Burgess (0/49), Nick Weglarz, Ryan Kalish, Gorkys Hernandez, Matt Sweeney, Hector Gomez, Jesus Montero, Adrian Cardenas, Gerardo Parra, Cedric Hunter, Nick Noonan, Oscar Tejeda, Kevin Ahrens, Matt Dominguez, Devin Mesoraco, Will Middlebrooks, Wendell Fairley, Andrew Lambo, Ben Revere, Neftali Soto, Engel Beltre

votes.

my league just finished our minor league draft and i figured i'd post the results, for purposes of discussion and so you kids who are prepping for similar type deals can get a sense of the market.  

see this previous diary for full context.  quick summary: player pool is mostly 2007 draftees; some premium on quick development.  as noted, i am the Incident.  

Round 1
1 (1) Bail Bonds - Matt Wieters, C (BAL)
2 (2) Galacticos - Mike Moustakas, SS (KCR)
3 (3) Rattlers - David Price, P (TBD)
4 (4) Galacticos - Jason Heyward, OF (ATL)
5 (5) Rattlers - Matt LaPorta, OF (MIL)
6 (6) Galacticos - Jarrod Parker, P (ARI)
7 (7) Galacticos - Rick Porcello, P (DET)
8 (8) Polygamists - Josh Vitters, 3B (CHC)
9 (9) Incident - Kosuke Fukudome, OF (CHC)
10 (10) Winos - Michael Burgess, OF (WAS)
11 (11) MoneyShots - Beau Mills, 3B (CLE)
12 (12) Galacticos - Ross Detwiler, P (WAS)
13 (13) Drunks - Hiroki Kuroda, P (LAD)
14 (14) Winos - Casey Weathers, P (COL)
15 (15) Incident - Nick Noonan, 2B (SFG)
16 (16) Egomaniacs - Jordan Walden, P (ANA)

Round 2
1 (17) Bail Bonds - Josh Smoker, P (WAS)
2 (18) Drunks - Josh Donaldson, C (CHC)
3 (19) Bail Bonds - Cole Rohrbough, P (ATL)
4 (20) Knights - Aaron Poreda, P (CHW)
5 (21) Ducks - Todd Frazier, SS (CIN)
6 (22) Incident - Tim Alderson, P (SFG)
7 (23) Incident - Oscar Tejeda, SS (BOS)
8 (24) 33's - Joe Savery, P (PHI)
9 (25) Winos - Matt Latos, P (SDP)
10 (26) Bail Bonds - Michael Main, P (TEX)
11 (27) Cannons - Madison Bumgarner, P (SFG)
12 (28) Ducks - Kellen Kulbacki, OF (SDP)
13 (29) Galacticos - Devin Mesoraco, C (CIN)
14 (30) Drunks - Daniel Moskos, P (PIT)
15 (31) Incident - Jesus Montero, C (NYY)
16 (32) Ducks - Max Scherzer, P (ARI)

Round 3
1 (33) Bail Bonds - Tony Thomas, 2B (CHC)
2 (34) Winos - Nick Hagadone, P (BOS)
3 (35) Polygamists - Mat Gamel, 3B (MIL)
4 (36) Knights - Matt Mangini, 3B (SEA)
5 (37) Rattlers - Blake Beavan, P (TEX)
6 (38) Galacticos - Anthony Rizzo, 1B (BOS)
7 (39) Galacticos - Matt Dominguez, 3B (FLA)
8 (40) Winos - Brandon Hicks, SS (ATL)
9 (41) Polygamists - Phillippe Aumont, P (SEA)
10 (42) Winos - Brett Cecil, P (TOR)
11 (43) Ducks - James Simmons, P (OAK)
12 (44) Ducks - Will Middlebrooks, 3B (BOS)
13 (45) MoneyShots - Kevin Ahrens, 3B (TOR)
14 (46) Ducks - Wendell Fairley, OF (SFG)
15 (47) Incident - Andrew Lambo, OF (LAD)
16 (48) Egomaniacs - Ben Revere, OF (MIN)

Round 4
1 (49) Winos - Matt Whitney, 1B (WAS)
2 (50) Winos - Damon Sublett, 2B (NYY)
3 (51) Winos - Clayton Conner, 3B (ARI)
4 (52) Fanatics - Corey Brown, OF (OAK)
5 (53) Incident - Eugenio Velez, 2B (SFG)
6 (54) Knights - Chris Withrow, P (LAD)
7 (55) Knights - Jordan Zimmerman, P (WAS)
8 (56) MoneyShots - Shelby Ford, 2B (PIT)
9 (57) Bad Boys - Brandon Waring, 3B (CIN)
10 (58) Rattlers - Nick Evans, 1B (NYM)
11 (59) Cannons - Pete Kozma, SS (STL)
12 (60) Cannons - Clayton Mortensen, P (STL)
13 (61) Polygamists - Engel Beltre, OF, (TEX)
14 (62) Knights - Jonathon Lucroy, C (MIL)
15 (63) Incident - Dan Duffy, P (KCR)
16 (64) Incident - Julio Teheran, P (ATL)

Round 5
1 (65) Bail Bonds - Josh Reddick, OF (BOS)
2 (66) Egomaniacs - Bryan Morris, P (LAD)
3 (67) Polygamists - Chorye Spoone, P, BAL
4 (68) Fanatics - Mitch Canham, C (SDP)
5 (69) Winos - Daniel Dorn, OF (CIN)
6 (70) Cannons - Neftali Soto, SS (CIN)
7 (71) Cannons - J.P. Arencibia, C (TOR)
8 (72) Polygamists - Bud Norris, P, (HOU)
9 (73) Cannons - Gaby Sanchez, 1B (FLA)
10 (74) 33's - Masahide Kobayashi, P (CLE)
11 (75) Winos - Jack McGeary, P (WAS)
12 (76) MoneyShots - Felipe Paulino, P (HOU)
13 (77) Ducks - James Adkins, P (LAD)
14 (78) Drunks - Brandon Snyder, 1B (BAL)
15 (79) Incident - Julio Borbon, OF (TEX)
16 (80) Egomaniacs - Sean Doolittle, 1B (OAK)

Round 6
1 (81) Bail Bonds - Jose Ceda, P (CHC)
2 (82) MoneyShots - Eddie Kunz, P (NYM)
3 (83) Polygamists - Blake Wood, P (KCR)
4 (84) Fanatics - Brian Rike, OF (COL)
5 (85) Winos - Zack Braddock, P (MIL)
6 (86) Incident - Yasuhiko Yabuta, P (KCR)
7 (87) Knights - Daniel Payne, OF (SDP)
8 (88) MoneyShots - Brant Rustich, P (NYM)
9 (89) Bad Boys - Jaime Pedroza, SS (LAD)
10 (90) Bad Boys - Celeb Gindl, OF (MIL)
11 (91) Cannons - Eric Young Jr., 2B (COL)
12 (92) Ducks - Wes Roemer, P (ARI)
13 (93) Lumberjacks - Gregory Desme, OF, OAK
14 (94) Drunks - Emilio Bonifacio, 2B (ARI)
15 (95) Polygamists - Jose Martinez, OF, CHW
16 (96) Polygamists - John Shelby, OF, CHW

Round 7
1 (97) Bail Bonds - Jonathan Still, C (BOS)
2 (98) Incident - Jake Arrieta, P (BAL)
3 (99) Polygamists - Kelvin DeLeon, OF, NYY
4 (100) Fanatics - James Skelton, C (DET)
5 (101) Winos - Michael McCardell, P (MIN)
6 (102) Egomaniacs - Andrew Bailey, P (OAK)
7 (103) Knights - Ryan Pope, P (NYY)
8 (104) MoneyShots - Kazuo Fukumori, P (TEX)
9 (105) Bad Boys - Clint Robinson, 1B (KCR)
10 (106) 33's - Nick Schmidt, P (SDP)
11 (107) Winos - Eric Sogard, 2B (SDP)
12 (108) Egomaniacs - Jordan Parraz, OF (HOU)
13 (109) Drunks - Brian Duensing, P (MIN)
14 (110) Egomaniacs - Jayson Nix, 2B (COL)
15 (111) Egomaniacs - Ed Easley, C (ARI)

Round 8
1 (112) Bail Bonds - Rhyne Hughes, 1B (TBD)
2 (113) Polygamists - Jeff Marquez, P (NYY)
3 (114) Fanatics - Fernando Perez, OF (TAM)
4 (115) Egomaniacs - Allen Craig, 3B (STL)
5 (116) Bad Boys - Andrew Brackman, P (NYY)
6 (117) 33's - Barry Enright, P (ARI)
7 (118) Ducks - Drew Cumberland, SS (SDP)
8 (119) Drunks - Brian Bixler, SS (PIT)
9 (120) Egomaniacs - Jason Pridie, OF (MIN)

Round 9
1 (121) Fanatics - Carmen Angelini, SS (NYY)
2 (122) Bad Boys - Neil Ramirez, P (TEX)
3 (123) 33's - Ryan Dent, SS/OF (BOS)
4 (124) Egomaniacs - Danny Worth, SS (DET)

Round 10
1 (125) Bad Boys - Kyle Lotzkar, P (CIN)
2 (126) Egomaniacs - Colten Willems, P (WAS)

Round 11
1 (127) Bad Boys - Nick Blackburn, P (MIN)

here's a link to the last poll with some cute commentary.

LIST

   1. Jay Bruce OF CIN
   2. Evan Longoria 3B TB
   3. Colby Rasmus OF STL
   4. Clay Buchholz RHP BOS
   5. Clayton Kershaw LHP LAD
   6. Joba Chamberlain RHP NYY
   7. Cameron Maybin OF FLA
   8. Homer Bailey RHP CIN
   9. David Price LHP TB
   10. Andy LaRoche 3B LAD
   11. Jacob McGee LHP TB
   12. Johnny Cueto RHP CIN
   13. Travis Snider OF TOR
   14. Brandon Wood 3B/SS CAL
   15. Matt Wieters C BAL
   16. Jacoby Ellsbury OF BOS
   17. (T) Joey Votto 1B CIN
   17. (T) Andrew McCutchen OF PIT
   19. Wade Davis RHP TB
   20. (T) Chase Headley 3B SD
   20. (T) Reid Brignac SS TB
   22. Daric Barton 1B OAK
   23. Rick Porcello RHP DET
   24. Franklin Morales LHP COL
   25. Jeff Clement C SEA
   26. Matt LaPorta OF/1B MIL
   27. Mike Moustakas SS KC
   28. Chris Marrero OF  WAS
   29. Fernando Martinez OF NYM
   30. Matt Antonelli 2B SD
   31. Desmond Jennings OF TB
   32. Carlos Gonzalez OF OAK
   33. Jason Heyward OF ATL
   34. Fautino de los Santos RHP OAK
   35. Jed Lowrie SS BOS
   36. Angel Villalona 3B SF
   37. Gio Gonzalez LHP OAK
   38. Ian Kennedy RHP NYY
   39. Carlos Triunfel SS SEA
   40. Steven Pearce 1B/OF PIT
   41. Jordan Schafer OF ATL
       (Kosuke Fukudome OF CHC)
   42. Adam Miller RHP CLE
   43. Nick Adenhart RHP CAL
   44. Wladimir Balentien OF SEA
   45. Austin Jackson OF NYY
   46. Eric Hurley RHP TEX
   47. Jose Tabata OF NYY
   48. Geovany Soto C CHC
   49. Lars Anderson 1B BOS
   50. Chin-Lung Hu SS LA
   51. Chris Davis 3B TEX
   52. Luke Hochevar RHP KC
   53. Jarrod Parker RHP ARI
   54. Taylor Teagarden C TEX
   55. Manny Parra LHP MIL

here's a sassy remark connecting the list to the polling section.

INSTRUCTIONS

i will create 14 vote-thread comments, one for each prospect polled.  please use the "reply to this" link on that comment to post a +1 message under the player you're voting for.  (look and see how other people are doing it first if that's not clear.) REMEMBER TO USE THE REPLY-TO-THIS LINK, NOT THE REGULAR FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.

POLL 56

Josh Vitters 3B CHC
Deolis Guerra RHP NYM
Ross Detwiler LHP WAS
Hank Conger C CAL
Jordan Walden RHP CAL
Cole Rohrbough LHP ATL
Elvis Andrus SS TEX
James McDonald RHP LA
Neil Walker 3B PIT
Brent Lillibridge SS ATL
Ian Stewart 3B COL
Justin Masterson RHP BOS
Chris Carter 1B OAK
"Other"

Please look at this list and decide who you're voting for now, so you don't make any impulsive decisions down below.  Also peruse the following "more candidates" section carefully to make sure there isn't an "other" vote you'd like to cast.

MORE CANDIDATES - PITCHERS

Hiroki Kuroda (2/38), Jair Jurrjens (0/51), Radhames Liz (1/50), Carlos Carrasco (1/49), Max Scherzer (0/49), Anthony Swarzak (3/47), Jeff Niemann, Scott Elbert, Dan Cortes, Alan Horne, Michael Bowden, Chris Volstad, Matt Harrison, Troy Patton, Will Inman, Jeremy Hellickson, Brad Lincoln, Jaime Garcia, Chuck Lofgren, Collin Balester, Sean Gallagher, Greg Reynolds, Jeff Manship, Donald Veal, Bryan Morris, Nick Hagadone, Brett Cecil, Aaron Poreda, Joe Savery, James Simmons, Jordan Zimmermann, Clayton Mortensen

Tim Alderson (1/54), Chris Tillman (1/49c), Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Kasey Kiker, Jeremy Jeffress, Tony Butler, Michael Main, Omar Poveda, Neftali Feliz, Dellin Betances, Tommy Hanson, Tyler Robertson, Henry Sosa, Brandon Erbe, Kyle Drabek, Jeff Locke, Blake Beavan, Phillippe Aumont, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Latos, Josh Smoker, Chris Withrow, Dan Duffy, Julio Teheran

Jon Meloan, Casey Weathers, Dan Moskos, Chris Perez, Eduardo Morlan, Felipe Paulino del Guidice

MORE CANDIDATES - HITTERS

Brandon Jones (0/55), Beau Mills (0/54), Dexter Fowler (1/50), JR Towles (0/52), Tyler Colvin, Wes Hodges, Todd Frazier, Jordan Brown, Drew Stubbs, Chris Nelson, Nolan Reimold, Bryan Anderson, Aaron Cunningham, Mat Gamel, Nate Schierholtz, Kellen Kulbacki, Justin Maxwell, Max Ramirez, Kyle Blanks, Josh Rodriguez, Michael Bourn, Tony Thomas Jr, Brandon Hicks

Bill Rowell (1/55), Michael Burgess (0/49), Nick Weglarz, Ryan Kalish, Gorkys Hernandez, Matt Sweeney, Hector Gomez, Jesus Montero, Adrian Cardenas, Gerardo Parra, Cedric Hunter, Nick Noonan, Oscar Tejeda, Kevin Ahrens, Matt Dominguez, Devin Mesoraco, Will Middlebrooks, Wendell Fairley, Andrew Lambo, Ben Revere, Neftali Soto, Engel Beltre

open.

hi, this is (* REDACTED *) round of my league's minor league draft.  

we got through three rounds yesterday and i was originally going to post them all but then i found myself writing up this lengthy disclaimer about how you shouldn't talk about players that haven't been picked yet, only these players here, and then i found myself repeating it at the bottom of the post, and then i realized that it wasn't going to work and that i should just post the first round for now.

so that's what i'm doing.

draft pool is basically 2007 draftees, imports, and unowned players.  it's a fairly deep league (25-man minors), so the unowned pool is pretty shallow.

it's not indefinite keeper - you get them for 3 years supercheap and then can extend them for up to 7 more at a higher salary, so you get them for a long time but not forever.  so there's some discount for guys who will take years and years to show up and some premium on immediate help, although philosphies vary.

here's the first round.  i've bolded my own picks.  i don't know if the other guys who post here want to be pointed out or not so i'll let them identify themselves in the comments if they feel like it.

Round 1
1 (1) Bail Bonds - Matt Wieters, C (BAL)
2 (2) Galacticos - Mike Moustakas, SS (KCR)
3 (3) Rattlers - David Price, P (TBD)
4 (4) Galacticos - Jason Heyward, OF (ATL)
5 (5) Rattlers - Matt LaPorta, OF (MIL)
6 (6) Galacticos - Jarrod Parker, P (ARI)
7 (7) Galacticos - Rick Porcello, P (DET)
8 (8) Polygamists - Josh Vitters, 3B (CHC)
9 (9) Incident - Kosuke Fukudome, OF (CHC)
10 (10) Winos - Michael Burgess, OF (WAS)
11 (11) MoneyShots - Beau Mills, 3B (CLE)
12 (12) Galacticos - Ross Detwiler, P (WAS)
13 (13) Drunks - Hiroki Kuroda, P (LAD)
14 (14) Winos - Casey Weathers, P (COL)
15 (15) Incident - Nick Noonan, 2B (SFG)
16 (16) Egomaniacs - Jordan Walden, P (ANA)

so.  for your interest and edification.  comments welcome.  try to only talk about these picks for now, since the draft is still going on, although as i say we've already done 2 more rounds after this one.