AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST MOCK DRAFT RESULTS
Baltimore Orioles
1--13th--Mark Pawelek, LHP, Springville, Utah HS
1S-48th----Stephen Head, 1B, University of Mississippi
2---61st----Micah Owings, RHP-1B, Tulane
3---93rd----Josh Bell, 3B, Santaluces HS, Lantana Florida
4---123rd---Desean Jackson, OF, Poly HS, Long Beach, CA
5---153rd---Alan Horne, RHP, University of Florida
COMMENT: An intriguing mixture of college and high school talent. You have high-ceiling high school guys in Pawelek, Jackson, and Bell. Owings and Horne has more upside than many college guys, but also higher risk, especially for Horne. Head is a solid supplemental pick. Owings might be a slight overdraft but I do like him personally. Jackson has enormous potential but will have to be bought away from football. I like the upside of this draft, but the risk factor is significant.
Boston Red Sox
1---23rd----Trevor Crowe, OF, University of Arizona
1---26th-----Colby Rasmus, OF, Phenix City, Alabama, HS
1S-42nd-----Chaz Roe, RHP, Lexington Kentucky HS
1S-45th-----Henry Sanchez, 1B, San Diego CA HS
1S-47th-----Reese Havens, SS, Sullivans Island SC HS
2---57th-----Chase Headley, 3B, University of Tennessee
4---138th----Brandon Durden, LHP, Georgia College
5---168th----Josh Sullivan, RHP, Auburn
COMMENT: Another mixture draft. You have Moneyball/stathead picks in Crowe and Headley. Sullivan is more of a raw guy. Durden is a college guy but more of a projection pick like Sullivan. Then you have traditional high school picks in Rasmus, Roe, Sanchez, and Havens, the Bosox scouting director using the supplemental choices to bring some high-ceiling, high-risk talent into the system. I like the combination stathead/traditional approach, which I think is the best way to build a farm system. Having the extra picks makes this easier, of course, as the fallout from any one draft pick failing is less critical.
New York Yankees
1---17th----Chris Volstad, RHP, Palm Beach Gardens FL HS
2---63rd----Kevin Slowey, RHP, Winthrop
3---109th---Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Bronx NY HS
4---139th---Karl Amonite, 1B, Auburn
5---169th----Steve Kleen, RHP, Pepperdine
COMMENT: The Yankees pick up the best high school pitcher in the draft, certainly a possible coup at 17th overall. This is fallout from the college-intensive approach taken by most minorleagueball scouting directors. Slowey is a solid second round choice. Alvarez was a commissioner pick, but one that the Yankees SD apparently approves of. The commish picked him partly because he was a local New York kid and partly because he has a ton of upside for a guy still available in the third round. There is some risk he could go to college at Vanderbilt, but if anything can stop that it is George Steinbrenner's checkbook. College players Amonite and Kleen round out the draft, both have strong statistical packages though Amonite was probably overdrafted compared to where he will go in real life.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
1---8th---Ricky Romero, LHP, Cal State Fullerton
2---56th---Josh Wall, RHP, Walker, LA HS
3---88th---Cody Satterwhite, RHP, Byram, MS HS
4---118th--Caleb Moore, C, East Tennessee State University
5---148th---Mike Billek, RHP, University of Central Florida
COMMENT: Romero should move quickly. Wall and Satterwhite are traditional Tampa Bay high-upside, high-risk picks. Moore is a successful college player, although there is mixed opinion about how well he will hit at higher levels. He has a good arm and could end up as a pitcher if hitting doesn't work out. Billek is erratic, but is a college pitcher with good upside. Romero is a safe choice, the other guys all have considerable risk. This draft could be a huge success, but it could also be a disaster if the high school pitchers don't work out. It will be at least four years before this draft could be safely assessed.
Toronto Blue Jays
1---6th---Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, University of Virginia
3---86th---Matt Green, RHP, University of Louisiana-Monroe
4---116th---Chris Nicoll, RHP, UC Irvine
5---146th---Brad Corley, OF, Mississippi State University
COMMENT: This certainly looks like a Blue Jays draft. Some teams regard Zimmerman as the second-best college hitter in the draft behind Alex Gordon, so having him fall to sixth could be a major coup for the Jays. Green is a solid pick in the third round, and given the stathead nature of most draft participants I'm surprised he fell that far. Nicoll is a solid college pitcher with mediocre stuff. Corley had injuries this year and could be a steal in the fifth round. A safe draft, with less upside than some of the others but with guys who should advance quickly up the ladder.
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