Wednesday, September 3, 2014

S15 Draft Review


  1. LHP Bernard McClung (FLA)
    McClung is definitely worthy of the #1 overall pick. He boasts good control along with great ability to keep the ball out of the hitting zone. The real kicker here is the fact that he looks to have 4 very high quality pitches that will allow him to develop into the anchor of the Marlins' staff for years to come.
    mamidu says: In a fairly shallow draft, the Marlins were very happy to have the 1st pick to grab McClung. He projects to have excellent control and splits with 4 ML pitches. I have him projecting to be a mid-70s stamina guy, so I hope he can at least hit that. The only other concern would be the mediocre health, so fingers crossed he doesn't have a major injury. Overall, I feel we got the #1 to anchor a staff that you would expect of the #1 overall pick.
  2. RHP Tito Ardoin (TOR)
    Great control. Great stamina/durability. Lacks ideal splits. Keeps the ball down.
  3. RHP Bum Robertson (NY2)
    Solid pitcher. Throws hard and has outstanding durability. Does a decent job keeping the ball down in the zone. Good pitch combinations.
  4. SS Al Cairo (LA)
    Great range and glove, but lacks ideal arm strength. Solid power and contact ability. Drives the ball well. Good eye. Good speed. Could be a CF or SS with no problems.
  5. RHP Paul Taubensee (LAA)
    Great stamina and durability. Decent splits. Throws hard. Great pitch combinations. Good control.
  6. RHP Allen Niemann (CH1)
    Great durability/stamina for a RP. Good control. Dominates RHB. Keeps the ball down. Good pitches.
  7. RF Santiago Vincente (MIN)
    Tremendous range. Solid arm. Drives the ball extremely well. Average at making contact. Solid power, great eye. decent baserunner.
  8. RHP Esteban Jacquez (CH1)
    Tremendous control. Lacks dominant combination of pitches. Doesn't throw hard or keep the ball down. Good stamina/durability. 
  9. RHP Bing Bennett (CH2)
    Tremendous splits. Keeps the ball down and throws hard. Average control. Decent pitch combination. Great durability/stamina.
    byers61: With the 9th pick, the White Sox drafted Bing Bennett, a hard-throwing starting pitcher who features a fastball and forkball. Bennett has good splits and velocity and keeps the ball in the park. At full development, he should be just wild enough to keep hitters off balance. Until then, watch out!
  10. RHP Kelvin Hardy (WAS)
    Great control. Doesn't throw hard or keep the ball down. Great pitch combination.Solid splits. Great stamina/durability.
    chase39 says: Kelvin Hardy was the tenth pick. The only good thing i can say is i wasn't in the charge of the team when he was drafted. He will be an injury proned pitcher who won't hit his projections. Overall a terrible draft for Washington.
  11. LHP George Randall (STL)
    Great control. Struggles against RHB. Great pitch combination. Throws relatively hard and keeps the ball down.
    allright says: George Randall , the Stanford graduate, is expected to get up quickly, to the Majors, that is. He has Major League quality pitches, already. He needs to work on improving his splits and increasing his stamina, on the mound, that is. He has an IQ of 160 and wrote his Masters Thesis (Physics) on " How would Heidegger determine what it was to "be" if Quantum Physics concluded that the curve ball is an illusion". He projects to be a middle of the pack rotation guy. The Cardinals remain ahead of the curve picking a second rounder in the first.
  12. LF Bill Crowe (MIL)
    Decent range. Great glove. Average contact/power. Great eye. Sees the ball well against RHP.
  13. RF Darrel Brower (ATL)
    Solid defensive RF. Does well against RHP. Average offensively.
  14. LHP Prestin Parkinson (TEX)
    Struggles to keep the ball out of the hitting zone. Good ground ball pitcher. Decent pitches. Solid control. Great durability.
  15. C Loiue Benes (PIT)
    Tremendous offensive player. Great power, contact. Drives the ball well. Knows the strike zone. Great arm. Lacks pitch calling ability.
    ajwalton says: Pirates couldn't pass up Louie Benes' bat despite the fact that he projects as a pure DH, and we are in the NL. If he hits his projections, which is a big if, he could rival the all time greats.
  16. RHP Lazy Lillibridge (CIN)
    Tremendous control. Solid stamina/durability. Doesn't throw hard and doesn't keep the ball down all that well. Solid pitches.
    hurricane384 says: This pick is just a pick. He should contribute at the big league level, but definitely won't dominate. 
  17. RHP Bernie Lopez (BOS)
    Tremenouds splits. Dominant pitches. Keeps the ball down. Great control.
  18. 2B Jordy Ward (CLE)
    Solid glove. Lacks a great arm, but it is accurate. Makes a lot of contact. Struggles against RHP. Decent eye. Great baserunner with great speed.
    abesmem says: With the 18th overall pick Cleveland was “fortunate” to grab Jordy Ward, who should be a mediocre platoon player for a very long time. Without a good enough glove to stick at 2B, Jordy is destined to be a corner outfielder. He decided lack of power will force the Cleveland organization lean heavily on his major asset – speed. Since we all know the singular base that cannot be stolen, Jordy’s rather less than average splits should find him solidifying a position as a sometimes OF against lefties and speed off the bench. His solid attitude, durability and fine health should help him keep a bench spot warm for a very lengthy and unremarkable career.
  19. 2B Julio Cortazar (BAL)
    Tremendous range. Good power and eye. Solid speed. Solid offensively.
    hopkinsheel says: Cortazer is a solid enough 2B prospect, but doesn't truly excel at anything. We were hoping for someone to slip between the cracks, but that wasn't in the cards this season.
  20. LF David Huang (NY1)
    Great range. Solid power. Strikes out a lot. Drives the ball well against RHP. Decent eye. 
  21. X-RHP Todd Seelbach (KC)
  22. X-SS Butch Murry (TB)
  23. RHP Daniel Cuddyer (SEA)
    Solid pitcher with great pitches. Solid durability/stamina. Good splits and control. Throws hard. Keeps ball down.
  24. SS Wilt Herrera (DET)
    Tremendous defensive player. Makes solid contact. Struggles against RHP. Decent eye. Decent power.
  25. X-3B Hal Parker (ARI)
  26. 2B Gerald Bailey (COL)
    Doesn't drive the ball very well. Decent range and glove. Good speed. Decent contact. Decent eye.
  27. RHP Pepe Candelaria (ARI)
    Dominant splits. Throws hard and keeps the ball down. Good pitch. Great control.
  28. RF Melvin Browne (OAK)
    Great power, good against RHP. Decent eye. Good arm. Will strike out and struggle against LHP.
    train says: Given the limited options available, I think I did ok. Browne was probably a reach at 28 but he has one clear skill (will crush righties for power) so I figured why not.  
  29. RHP Sammy Lemon (CIN)
    Great pitches. Great control. Decent stamina/durability. Doesn't throw hard. Not great splits.
    hurricane384 says: This is another pick that's just a pick. He'll be lucky to be a SuB int he future. Most likely just minor league filler until he retires and goes into coaching in 6 years.
  30. RHP Yamil Nieves (PHI)
    Great stamina. Average pitching talent across the board. Does have a dominant pitch to go with several average pitches.
    mitt0108: Nothing too exciting at no.30 this season, but hopefully Nieves can develop into a long relief arm at the major league level.
  31. RF Neil Buck (NO)
    Tremendous range. Lacks ideal arm. Drives the ball. Lacks power and will strike out a lot. Very fast.
    mongoose22 says: The Jazz were satisfied landing OF Neil Buck so late in the draft. He should develop into a solid fielder, with plus range, who can play either RF or LF at an above average ML level. At the dish, he should have average on-base skills, aided by the fact he is a switch hitter, though with very little power. He is very, very fast helping to offset his lack of pop with an extra dimension on the bases.
  32. X-LHP Al Tatis (SF)
  33. 2B Ignacio Olivares (OAK)
    Tremendous range. Decent splits. Average contact and power. Great eye. Decent speed.
    train says: Olivares at 33 has a ceiling of a utility guy, which is about as good as you're going to get given this draft quality.