2011 Minor League Ball Community Mock Draft: Debriefing

Matt Skole, 3B/1B/OF, Georgia Tech
Austin Slater, SS/3B, The Bolles HS, Jacksonville, Florida
Carter Capps, RHP, Mount Olive
Wallace Gonzalez, OF, Bishop Amat HS, Covina, California
Austin Wood, RHP, USC

Who do you think had a good draft? A bad draft? How was your draft?

Getting Rendon is obvious. I’m not worried about him at all, he’s no less than a solid 3B for a long time, in my opinion.

Barron helps gives SS depth to the system, and you can’t have enough of that. Especially if Franklin moves off short. You need to have options.

Kes Carter was purely a BPA pick and he’s oozing with tools.

Blake Snell, a high-upside arm, a local product…

Would have liked to get a college pitcher or catcher earlier, but none of them felt right at the time.

Eh, I should not have taken Kevin Comer. I was unaware of his asking price. Oh well…Padres can decide between him or Swihart.

The Rays hit it out of the park, although I doubt that they’ll only go with 5 college guys in the first 3 rounds in real life.

In general, I believe that all of us took a lot more high school kids in the first 3 rounds than will be taken in real life. I’m certainly guilty of that, as I don’t think that the Giants will spend 2 of their top 3 picks on HS kids.

I was really pleased I got Bell in the first. I think he’s far more signable than Wilson last year. He’s just the kind of guy the Cardinals need.

Second round I was a little worried after the top three guys on my board went in three straight picks about 5 picks before mine. Still like Gagnon and could see the Cards taking him…though I think he could be gone before then.

Third round I was pretty ecstatic about Greene. He’s another guy I could see the Cards take but I think he’ll go before now in the real draft too.

We didn’t pick ’til the sandwhich round, and I was caught off-guard by the speed of things in the second round (my appologies) but, I sorta like who I picked

1. Ricky Oropesa -1B USC - Big time power bat who made progress on taking pitches and making contact this season.

1. Zach Cone CF Georgia - A run on players I liked (Krich, Maples, even Vogelbach) sent me scrambing here. I like Cone’s athletic ability and power but, I might have liked to pick him a round later perhaps. Do you think he would have lasted to #110?

1. Chris Marlowe RP Oklahoma State - Interesting sleeper here. In the mold of The Mariners First-Rounder from a couple years ago, Josh Fields from Georgia, Marlowe is a smaller (6-1, 170) with big-time arm speed, and command issues. He is even more overpowering than Fields was - 61ks in 32 Innings in JC in 2010, 71Ks in 41 Innings at Ok. St. this year - impressive

I really did not like the Red Sox draft much. Meyer is an awful pick IMO

Jose Fernandez is about the biggest difference I see a whooping 4 spots

1.21 Robert Stephenson, RHP, Alhambra HS (CA) - Not my first choice and it likely won’t be the Jays real selection, but I didn’t particularly care for the college bats on the board. Levi Michael is likely a second baseman and the bat doesn’t wow me. 21 is too strong to go Wong (heh). So, I opted for the best HS arm on the board. He should sign for slot or close to it.

1s.35 Brian Goodwin, OF, MIami-Dade CC - Opting for a HS pitcher in the first, I had to go college bat here. Michael was still on the board, but he wasn’t any more attractive than in the first round. The Jays new regime likes athletes, and Goodwin has 5 tool potential. He’s a bit on the raw side, but that’s OK. He shouldn’t be too hard to sign.

1s.46 Matt Dean, 3B, The Colony HS (TX) - Probably the most divisive pick that I made, some thought it was a significant overdraft and others liked it. Dean brings athleticism, bat speed, power potential, projection and a great work ethic to the table. He probably won’t come cheaply.

1s.53 Aaron Westlake, 1B, Vanderbilt - I love Westlake’s bat. He has easy power and shows a surprisingly good feel for hitting. Outside of Rendon, he’s the best hitter I’ve seen play this year. He’s an OK athlete right now, but he’s probably going to slow down. I generally dislike that profile, but my god, that bat! The Jays took him last year so I’ll have to get his OK to re-draft him. He should sign quickly.

1s.57 Michael Fulmer, RHP, Deer Creek HS (OK) - Now it was time to return to the prep pitchers. Fulmer is flying a bit under the radar, being in the shadow of Bundy and Bradley. He has a good arm, seeing his velocity tick up this spring into the mid 90s and holding deep into games. Tightening up his body can only help things. He’s committed to Arkansas and I haven’t seen anything either way on his signability.

2.74 Julius Gaines, SS, Luella HS (GA) - Opinions on Gaines are extremely varied it seems. BA didn’t even have him in their top 200, and that absolutely baffled me. He’s an excellent defensive SS who has the tools to hit. Perhaps the bat is too much of a question mark to go much earlier than this, but what’s not to like?

2.78 John Stilson, RHP, Texas A&M - Having this many early selections allowed me to pull something like this. John Stilson was diagnosed with a labrum tear, but he recently received a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews that said he’d be able to rehab it and avoid surgery. We’ll see where he stands after the 6 week layoff and decide whether he’s healthy enough to follow the Scheppers/Loux route. At his best, the stuff is definitely good enough to start, but the delivery is definitely a concern.

3.108 Patrick Connaughton, RHP, St. John’s Prep HS (MA) - Here is probably my toughest sign. Connaughton is committed to play basketball at Notre Dame, but he also has a huge ceiling on the mound. 6’5 190 with easy velocity and relatively promising secondaries. I’d be excited to see what happens once he starts to focus solely on baseball. I’m guessing he’d get 7 figures, but the Jays are one of the organizations unafraid to give him that kind of dough.

Best Remaing:
1. Senquez Golson - Nearly pulled the trigger on him instead of Connaughton
2. Burch Smith
3. Philip Evans
4. Eric Haase
5. Taylor Featherston
6. Kyle Smith
7. Roman Quinn
8. Dante Flores
9. Peter O’Brien
10. Kevin Matthews

I was delighted to have Trevor Bauer fall into my lap. And I’m sure that if he is there, KC will take him and let him do his thing. Former teammate of Michael Montgomery and then Monty would have his long toss partner. I think he’s the best NCAA pitcher in the draft and happy to have him in Royal Blue.

LHP Charlie Lowell from Wichita State was the second round selection simply because I didn’t see enough upside in the position guys that were there. He is low to mid 90s, will move through the system fast, and should be able to contribute to the MLB level soon. I think the Royals will take a guy that can come up and help our awful pitching staff soon. Plus he’s local and they’ve been following him.

I think the Royals will take a lot of OFs in this draft. I think they’ll go young and upside. I took Domonic Jose because of the bloodlines. He is the former son of Felix Jose who played in KC for a while. The kid likes the Royals and is a big fan. He’s fast, tall, and projectable to be a left field/center field type. He does have a strong arm as well and might get to RF but I doubt it. Speed and power. Just what they are looking for.

Twins Draft:

1-30) Sean Gilmartin, LHP, Florida State: I wanted Nimmo. I like Susac a lot, but am worried about his signability. Gilmartin is a good fallback, throws strikes, ,Twins-type guy, won’t need long in the minors.
1S-50) Joe Panik, SS, St. John’s. The system needs infielders desperately and Panik is NOT an overdraft here in my opinion. Even if he has to move to second base, he has a strong set of skills and underrated tools, and like Gilmartin he shouldn’t need much time.
1S-55) Granden Goetzman, OF, Florida HS: Super-toolsy high school pick with power/speed upside.
2) Keenan Walker, OF, Central Arizona CC: Speed demon can play center field, has some pop as well, took a big step forward with the bat this year.
3) James McCann, C, Arkansas: Very strong defensive catcher according to everybody except Basebal America who, oddly, gave his defense a lukewarm review. Not a great hitter, but not a bad one either in my view, has a chance to hit enough to start. Intangibles are off the charts.

So I come away with a pitcher, infielder, and catcher who could be ready for the majors within 2 years, and two tool-laden upside outfielders. I’m happy.

I tried to stay with the spirit of the project and draft who I felt the Brewers were going to take, and as a fall back in the first round, who the voters over at Brew Crew ball had wanted.

I took Matt Barnes with the 12th pick, Javier Baez with the 15th pick, Larry Greene with the 70th pick and Joe Musgrove at 100.

I have liked Barnes for a while now for the Brewers, but at 15, and I would hope that they get some sense this year and overspend on the draft and try to pick up Blake Swihart with the 12th pick.

They have been tied to Greene an awful lot, with some speculating they may even take him at 15. Even this would be a reach for the Brewers who love to take guys at least 10 spots too early.I would have preferred Andrew Gagnon at this pick.

1.27 - Henry Owens, LHP, Edison HS, Huntington Beach, California

I thought long and hard about what to do here. Since the Reds have never drafted this late before, they are on uncommon ground and recently read an article that the Reds intend to target the higher upside but al will depend upon who is available. Jocketty has had more success drafting HS players late than college players and I followed suit.
At 6’5 195, I personally felt that the large and projectable Henry Owens was the best available talent. His skinny frame indicates he’s not done growing and I feel he’ll add velocity. I also couldn’t help pay attention to his competition saying how great he was.

2.84 - Ryan Carpenter, LHP, Gonzaga
A 6’5 lefty Alaskan Carpenter is very talented. Many people wanted the Reds to draft a capable college arm that will contribute sooner rather than later and here he is. I had him tabbed as a supplemental pick that works in the mid 90’s with 3 potential plus pitches. Pitching for Gonzaga, he might be more of an unknown but I was happy to see him there for the pick as I feel he has top of rotation stuff.

3.114 - Tyler Gibson, SS, Stratford HS, Macon, Georgia

Gibson filled a need while providing organizational depth at a thin position. He is capable of playing SS and at 6’2 190 even if he outgrows SS and needs to be moved to 3B, that would be alright. Coming out of HS, he will allow the Reds to see what they have with Hamilton and Frazier, and his lefty bat will play great for the Reds in the future as well. I think in the end, he will be impressive at the hot corner. Another pick I was excited about

Pre-draft, I actually predicted 2 of my 3 picks (Owens & Gibson). If the draft had carried on, I would have targeted in no particular order…

Matt Skole, 3B/1B/OF, Georgia Tech
Austin Slater, SS/3B, The Bolles HS, Jacksonville, Florida
Carter Capps, RHP, Mount Olive
Wallace Gonzalez, OF, Bishop Amat HS, Covina, California
Austin Wood, RHP, USC
Harold Martinez, 3B, Miami
Nathan Burns, OF, Howard
Scott Lyman, OF, UC Davis
Thomas Robson, RHP, Delta Secondary School, Delta, British Columbia
Andrew Suarez, LHP, Columbus HS, Miami, Florida
Chris Jensen, RHP, San Diego
Gabriel Rosa, OF, Colegio Hector Urdaneta, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico

Why doesn’t any one seem to want that guy? Questions that he’ll stay at catcher but very good bat…

Joe Ross, RHP, Prep
 Travis Harrison, 1B/LF, Prep
 Tyler Goeddel, 3B, Prep
 Jake Cave, RHP, Prep

because my computer froze right before I was about to make my 3rd RD choice, and then John goes and pciks someone who I dont even want, but whatever…

I think I did well considering where I selected and my college constraints. Anderson at 20th, spangenberg at 45th, crick at 77th, Gaedele at 107th. It’s a solid draft with upside.

Taylor Guerrieri and Brett Mooneyham are the 2 guys I picked. I love Guerrieri’s upside and I think Mooneyham fits an organizational need, a solid lefty who has plenty of upside. Mooneyham sort of reminds me of Garrett Richards, a guy who could do much better in pro ball than NCAA ball. If he figures out his control problems, I think I got good quality of my 3rd rounder.