2013 Summer Draft Recap

I was hoping you'd post the status of all your draft picks, I had to just look up whether or not Raul Alcantara was Active or not.

I was more talking about your love for this:

I'm pretty happy with who I drafted this year. I actually was surprised at the availability of some guys as we got deeper into the draft. Here is Atlanta's draft recap:

pick 1.18- Nick Ciuffo-C ( love his strength and power. Great arm with room for improvement. I know TB will be patient with him and help him get to where I need him to be.)

pick 2.17- Jeff Ames- RHP ( love his fastball. He has great command of it. Hoping he improves to where he can be at LEAST a #3 starter for me in the future)

pick 3.9- Josh Hart-OF ( great speed and base running skills. Not only that, he is one hell of a defender. Always a plus. I was actually really surprised he made it all the way to the third round.)

pick 3.28- Blake Snell-LHP (HOT DAMN Atlanta snags another pitcher from the Rays Org. Snell has one hell of a fastball and changeup. Can't wait to see the progress he makes within the next few years.)

pick 4.22- Cody Asche-3B ( What can I say about Asche except he is AMAZING? Hell of a hitter with great speed. Moving up super fast. Even has some power with that swing. For only being 23 years old, I would say I have a lot to look forward to.)

GREAT DRAFT EVERYONE!!!

1.16- Hunter Renfroe OF. Should be a solid RF for years to come. Started off his college career slow but had a good summer league showing then put it together and helped lead his team to the CWS finals.

2.05 Eury Perez OF- With 80 speed and only 23 with room to grow, I grabbed him because he's simmable now and I wanted more production out of my OF. He's showing a little power in the minors but I'm not counting on that. Should be a serviceable 4th OF at least and can play all 3 spots. As long as he hits near .280 the rest of the season, I'll be happy.

3.16- Devin Williams RHP- From all reports he's supposed to be a very projectable arm. Already hitting 96 in some predraft workouts. Solid mechanics as well for an 18 year old. I dont usually like HS arms but he seemed to be worth the risk. Time will tell. Not off to the best start in rookie ball but he's only 4 starts into his professional career.

All in all, I'm happy with my draft. I have a guy thats contributing already to the team and hopefully a short term project in Renfroe and long term in Williams.

Here's a quick look at the newest additions to the Arizona Diamondbacks organization...

(1.14) Dominic Smith, 1B - I didn't think he would make it to the 14th pick, and he was one of the few 2013 draftees I was interested in drafting. Smith is a rare 1B prospect. According to scouting reports, his foot speed is the only below average tool. Scouts rave about the swing from the left side. Hopefully he can learn to hit line drives all over the field as he matures, and maybe more and more of those line drives clear the wall as he gets a little bigger and stronger. He's been in the Gulf Coast League for the Mets for about a month, and he's not setting the world on fire, currently batting .196/.288/.314 over 58 PA. 4 of his 10 hits have been XBH, with 3 doubles and 1 home run. He is showing decent discipline with a 12% BB-rate and a 21% K-rate, however scouts that have seen him say he falls into periods of aggression at the dish where he swings at too many pitches early in the count. His defense projects to be very good at 1B. Ideally, in 5 years, he's a .285/.360/.480 type of hitter with 25-30 HR power.

(2.09) Edwin Escobar, LHP - He's 6'2", not a dominating physical pitcher. He began the year in the Class A California League pitching for San Jose Giants, and at 21 was fairly young for his level. He pitched very well, throwing 74.2 IP over 16 game (14 starts), striking out 92 with only 17 walks. That's a 29.3% K-rate and only 5.4% BB-rate. Before 2012, he had struggled with command every season, and now his BB-rate has below 6% for the last year and a half. Hopefully that can continue as he was just promoted to AA. He made his first start in the Eastern League (for the Richmond Flying Squirrels !!) last night, and got hit around a bit. I'm looking forward to seeing if his control stays respectable and his Cal League success can carryover into AA.

(2.16) Daniel Robertson, SS/3B - I put SS/3B because while he hasn't played SS this season, he is expected to move over to the hot corner once his lack of range becomes an issue. The good news is his arm strength is fine for 3B. He was profiled as one of the more polished high school hitters to out of the 2012 MLB Draft, and he hasn't disappointed so far. After being drafted ,he beat up on Arizona Rookie League pitching last year before struggling in 26 games in the NY-Penn League. He was assigned to the low-A Midwest League Beloit Snappers. He might be getting more attention as a 19-year old hitting .274/.347/.385 if it weren't for all the young hitters that are having great years in that league (Correa, Buxton, Almora, Nunez, Seager, Winker). I'd like to see a little more power from him, but it's tough to complain about a 19 year old with an OBP over .340 in low-A.

(3.14) Paco Rodriguez, LHP - The only 'help soon' player I drafted this year, Paco has continued what he started last year. When he was drafted, the Dodgers knew he'd ascend the system quickly, and he was the first 2012 MLB draftee to reach the Majors, throwing 6.2 inning down the stretch in 2012. He's been with the Dodgers all season this year, and is holding batters to an overall batting line of .143/.229/.181 and lefties have hit .141/.208/.155 against him in his short career. As I said before, there's not a high ceiling as far as value goes, but drafting a guy that I can put into the SIM immediately and trust him to be effective in my bullpen is a wonderful thing. Probably my favorite pick in this draft.

So, 2 LHP a 1B, and a 3B. An 18, 19, 21, and 22 year old. A rookie league, low-A, high-A (now AA), and a major-leaguer. Diversity as far as levels is something I was looking for. And with every starting position on my 25-man roster basically filled for the next 1-3 years, I didn't need many 'help now' guys. Overall, very happy with this draft. Now if I can just catch the Rockies !!

Ian
Arizona Diamondbacks

2013 SUMMER DRAFT RECAP



Round 1 - Pick 1 (#1 overall) – Jonathan Gray
RH Starting Pitcher – University of Oklahoma {Colorado Rockies}[/b][/color]

Gray is a big physical right-hander with good velocity and a very good slider. Continued development on his change and consistency with mechanics will determine whether he becomes a top of the rotation arm or a shutdown guy out of the bullpen. Hopefully the Rockies can have better luck developing him than they have with their past high upside arms (Matzek & Tago).


Round 1 - Pick 2 (#2 overall) – Clint Frazier
Outfielder – Loganville High School (Georgia) {Cleveland Indians}[/b][/color]

Frazier has huge power that comes from his excellent bat speed. Although he doesn’t have the physical profile of most top high school players, I think his athleticism is better than a lot of people realize. If his bat doesn’t push him too quickly, he will have the defensive chops to stick around in CF, at least for the first half of his career. However, if his bat pushes him up the organizational ladder too quickly, he should be able to excel in a corner defensively.


Round 1 - Pick 3 (#3 overall) – Austin Meadows
Outfielder – Grayson High School (Georgia) {Pittsburgh Pirates}[/b][/color]

Maybe the most impressive player on my team from a physical standpoint, Meadows is still a bit rough around the edges. I don’t love the swing, and I don’t see a situation where both the bat and the glove reach their potential. What I mean by that is if he reaches his offensive potential, it will likely require him to fill out a bit more, causing him to lose some range as an outfielder and likely pushing him to a corner. However, the tools are loud enough that he could be a special player when if one or the other maxes out.

Round 1 - Pick 5 (#5 overall) – Trea Turner
Shortstop – North Carolina State University[/b][/color]

I love Turner, and this was likely an overdraft. This pick was supposed to be for Kohl Stewart, but St. Louis popped him right in front of me. In any case, Turner has some excellent tools as well. He’s a true 80 runner when healthy, and the glove should be good enough to stick at SS, especially if he improves his range to his right. With the bat, I like his bat-to-ball ability and the emerging power, and I liken his overall offensive ability potential to Jimmy Rollins (albeit a right-handed version).

Round 1 - Pick 15 (#15 overall) – Michael Cederoth
RH Starting Pitcher – San Diego State University[/b][/color]

While I really like Cederoth and the triple digit velocity, I had really hoped to grab Glasnow here. That being said, Cederoth isn’t a slouch on the mound, with a good frame and plus-plus velocity deliver on a good frame. His secondaries lag behind his fastball at the moment, and his command needs work, but if neither of those come around he has the fastball to profile as a relief ace. He may be somewhat of an overdraft, but his upside rivals that of nearly any pitcher in this draft.

Round 3 - Pick 11 (#71 overall) – Josh Phegley
Catcher – Chicago White Sox[/b][/color]

I took Phegley more out of need than him being the best player on the board, and it’ll be interesting if it turns out. I took him with the hope that he and Avila can be a platoon team behind the dish this year, but there is some risk there since Avila isn’t hitting and this is pretty much the first year Phegley has produced. However, I love the power, and the arm behind the plate should help me control the running game, something my team has struggled with this year.

Round 4 - Pick 6 (#96 overall) – Jeff Hoffman
RH Starting Pitcher – East Carolina University[/b][/color]

I didn’t think Hoffman was going to make it here with how many 2014 draftees people were taking, so I was glad when he was still available here. He didn’t have a very consistent year at ECU this year after destroying the Cape Cod League in 2012, but he’s having another good year in the 2013 Cape and with another good year could be a top-15 draft pick in 2014.

Round 4 - Pick 26 (#116 overall) – Corey Kluber
RH Starting Pitcher – Cleveland Indians[/b][/color]

I didn’t anticipate Kluber being available here, but since he was, and nobody else on my watch list separated himself from the pack, I decided to pull the trigger on a 27 year old righty with a limited track record. I’m hoping for some good 2014 ZiPS for Kluber, because I think I will be exceptionally deep in pitching by 2015. However, he has a good frame (6-4, 215 lbs), good velocity (can hit 95 MPH), and a solid mix of secondaries including a slider, changeup, and sinker. When he’s on, he’s looked like a legitimate #2/#3 starter, but with his short track record, there is a possibility that he flames out and becomes a waste of a pick.

---

I’m pretty happy with this draft overall, I had really been hoping to snag Kohl Stewart and Tyler Glasnow, but other than that, I feel like I got the guys I targeted when I wanted to. I like the combination of huge upsides with some sim-ready talent for next year. None of the guys I targeted early slipped far enough for me to pounce, which was sort of a disappointment, but somewhat expected now with the way the league has been drafting the past couple years.

I’m really excited for the future, as some of my prospects are finally starting to pay off in the sim, and the next wave of guys looks exciting as well. Next year will be a big year for me, with multiple first round picks, and hopefully a larger budget to allow me to get creative in the offseason in trades and free agency.