Friday, February 6, 2009

Rule 5 Draft Prospects

Ever wonder about the GM's and the Rule 5 draft? Why a certain player is drafted and others are not? Is it advanced scouting? Lack of taking the time to rank the top 10 players? Is it need? I am not drafting a player this time around, not because I don't have any open slots either, I have one. It is not because there isn't a player I want and he might be available even with me drafting near the end. The reason I am not drafting a player is because I have no where to put him if I do.

I know there are probably some GM's that are drooling over a couple players that draft in the first few slots. But are they worth it? So I am going to break it down by position on players that should be drafted by position and maybe why they won't. I will limit it to two players at each to make it easy for me. The number available of course does not include my own and some could be counted twice.

C: 66 available
Pedro Garces - A defensive PC catcher that doesn't hit well but would make a great backup and is ready for the ML.
David Mendez - The best hitting PC catcher available, defense is lacking a little though and could only be a backup with his durability.

1B: 48 available
Marc Schmidt - Should he have been protected? Not the monster HR hitter but pretty good all the same.
Howie Flaherty - Can hit but defense is a little weak.

2B: 118 available
Damaso Pascual - WIS in their infinite wisdom lists him as a 2B, but the best he could be is a 1B, but can hit and maybe play LF.
There are several that could win Gold Gloves at 2B or CF but none hit very well.

3B: 78 avaiable
None listed that can actually play the position or hit mainly because they are probably listed as SS.

SS: 93 available
Several listed that can be Gold Glovers but few that can hit a lick and yes 3B pool is here and many can play CF also.
Hal Bando SS ready for a backup role.
Miguel Baez - another that is ML ready as a backup role.

LF: 80 available
Kevin Kendall - The best hitting one in the list. No one else really stands out

CF: 25 available
Peter Brower - Has Gold Glove capability but can't hit all that well.
Adrian Jensen - Has the ability but could be tough to get his last few ratings points and not all the strong with a bat.

RF: 55 available
Bob Owens - The best hitter available but can't play RF.
Rico Johnson - The second best hitter but RF is a stretch.

DH: 80 available
Nothing here to get real excited about.

P: undetermined how many there actually are but well over 250
Several are listed with very high overalls but not necessarily quality.
Chris Lowry - This guy probably comes up #1 on every ones board. I list him as decent at best and well overrated by at least 10 points. Probably will be the #1 pick but I disagree with this choice.
Dixie Reynolds - I deem him the best potential pitcher in the draft, will someone else? May not be a starter but can sure fill out a pen spot in my books and possible number 4 or 5 starter in the future.


So how did my prognostication work out?

C - David Mendez was taken by Salem Sacrifices though C.J. Mathews was taken right before him by the Seattle Killer Whales. Mathews is a big question mark.

1B - none taken

2B - Kiki Solano taken by the Norfolk Destroyers who could be good but was listed as a SS on my board.

3B - none taken, wonder why...

SS - Hal Bando and Miguel Baez was both taken by the Syracuse Simpletons.
Buddy Anderson was taken by the Austin City Limits who could play 2B in the future.
Shooter Barber was taken by Oklahoma City who can play 2B now and IF/OF in the future and has some power with the bat.

LF - Damaso Pascual was taken by the Austin City Limits, instead of 2B...

CF - Hal Ball by the Boise Shadow Wolves. Manuel Bautista taken by the Philadelphia Phantoms who could play CF/2B in the future.

RF - Bob Owens was taken by the Toronto Toros.

DH - Marc Schmidt was taken by the Washington D.C. Blue Coats.

P - As expected Chris Lowry was taken 1st by the Buffalo Blue Cheese.
Dixie Reynolds was taken 3rd by the Washington D.C. Blue Coats.
Macbeth Price taken by the Anaheim Chiles shows great potential but his GB/FB could be trouble.

8 were drafted out of my 14 that I scouted, not bad with only 24 being drafted. Will some of them 24 hit the waiver wire? Maybe 3 or 4 is my answer.

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