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Sioux Falls Corn Cleats
--The Corn Cleats settled for signing supplemental round pick SP Matty Wilkerson as they didn't have the 7+ million dollars desired by their top pick, RP Phillip Holt. Wilkerson is probably a long relief prospect, as his splits and control are only average, but his pitch selection is very impressive, with four pitches rated over 70, and he has incredible stamina. Supplemental pick Esteban Alarcon might make the majors as a 3B backup, but the rest of the Corn Cleats draft are minor league lifers.
Grade: C-
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Syracuse Beagles
--With the #32 pick in the draft the Beagles selected slugging C Joe Hardy. Hardy is adequate behind the plate defensively, and his hitting skills are slightly above average, but he really shines with his tremendous power. He should be a great backup to have on any ML team when he matures, with his ability to catch the ball and be a pinch hitting force. Supplemental pick 2B Randy Brown also has ML potential with great hitting skills for the position. The rest of the Beagles draft brought on board some very solid minor league players. This was a pretty good draft for picking so late.
Grade: B
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Tacoma Jerry Gang
--With the #11 pick in the draft, the Jerry Gang selected SP Darrell Gibbs. Gibbs is a hard throwing righty with superb control, above average splits, good GB/FB ratio, and a capable pitch selection. He should slot to a #2-4 starter in the bigs when he is fully developed. 2nd round pick CF Matt Katou is a great defensive player, but probably not good enough with the stick to stick in the majors. 3rd round pick RP Benji Kirkland is a good minor leaguer who might get a taste of the majors as an injury replacement. The rest of the top picks for Tacoma are strictly minor league. This was a solid but not spectacular draft.
Grade: B
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Toronto Blue Jays
--With the #2 pick the Blue Jays pretty much had their choice of players, so they selected yet another future all star pitcher in SP Russell Walker. It's hard to find a fault with Walker, who has pretty much every key skill rating hit 80 or above, and has 4 good pitches. Add Walker to the already deep Toronto pitching in the farm system and you have a formidable rotation in the making. Supplemental pick RP Wolf Restovich is a nice ML prospect as well, and should be a solid relief pitcher with an above average skill set in all key areas. The Blue Jays drafted a nice defensive C in 2nd round pick Malik Magee, who is as good as it gets defensively and has a very nice batting eye to boot. The rest of the Toronto draft brought on board some more minor league pitchers, but not much else. But three potential regulars in one draft is an accomplishment.
Grade: A
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Trenton Lions
--With the #3 overall pick in the draft, the Lions selected closer Cody Brantley, a very durable pitcher who should be able to pitch in nearly every game. In addition to having a rubber arm, Brantley has great control, excellent splits vs. righties, good GB/FB ratio, and two great pitches. Supplemental pick Roberto Santos is a potential backup at SS/3B. Supplemental pick SP Cy Jones is an intriguing prospect who might make the majors due to his superior control but might be a flop thanks to his splits vs. righties. The rest of the Trenton draft yielded some solid minor league players.
Grade: B
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Vancouver Grizzlies
--With the #10 pick in the draft the Grizzlies selected DH Harry Barnes. Barnes has a monster of a bat, and should be a home run hitting machine with his impressive power, contact and splits. He would have been an awesome catcher too if he didn't have a PC of 6. But a bat like his is perfect on an American League team, and he should be an all star at the DH position once he hits the majors. Supplemental pick RF Bob McNeil is a good hitting player who has great contact skills at the plate, and should make the majors at some point. 2nd round pick Matt White could make the majors as well thanks to his nice glove. After him the draft devolves into minor leaguers.
Grade: B+
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Washington D.C. Momentum
--The top pick for the Momentum, RP Rob Greenwood, has thus far refused to sign with the team, as college is still an option for him. Never mind that most college students would look at 2.7 million dollars and take it in a heartbeat. That leaves 2nd round pick SP as DC's top guy, and he really isn't anything special, just a typical RP who might make it out of the minors to do some setup duty for a few seasons before he retires. 3rd round pick Jack Ramirez could be a ML long relief guy and spot starter, but nothing more than that. Otherwise it's all minor league in the Washington draft.
Grade: D
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Wichita Wankers
--With the #24 pick in the draft the Wankers selected Curt Allen, the best hitting catcher in the draft. He has impressive skills at the plate, and should be a .300/30HR/100RBI guy in the bigs every season. The only problem is he can't catch, as his pitch calling skills could easily be equaled by a Rhesus Macaque. But he can hit, and could be shifted over to 1B in the NL, or be a stellar DH in the AL. Supplemental pick RP Nigel Rivers should be a nice setup man with his control, and Supplemental pick 2B John Kirby has the splits and batting eye to be a regular as well. The rest of the draft for Wichita brought on board some very solid minor league players who all might see ML time if the circumstances are right. There were no stars in this draft for Wichita, but it was very deep.
Grade: B
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