Post by Pirates GM on May 24, 2014 6:13:59 GMT -5
Last year, I thought I had one of the best draft classes in the league. Oh how quickly it changes!
Round 1: SP Jeff Locke, Pirates
I was psyched to grab a young lefty that just made the NL All-Star team with the 23rd overall pick. Plus, the Rockies wanted him bad, so that was an added bonus. I figured I had a great #3 SP for years to come. Then, the most ridiculous 1st half/2nd half split in history happened:
1st half: 8-2, 2.15 ERA, .202 BAA, 74 tOPS+
2nd half: 2-5, 6.12 ERA, .308 BAA, 143 tOPS+
I don't know if there's ever been an All-Star demoted to the minors in the same season! Locke is now struggling to work his way back up through the minors, beginning the year way down at High-A! What a disaster.
Round 2: SS Jordy Mercer, Pirates
I was never a fan of Mercer when the real-life Pirates drafted him in the 3rd round in 2008, but all he did during his full 2013 MLB debut was hit.
2013: .285 BA, .772 OPS, 117 OPS+
I figured with the thin level of SS talent out there overall, even if Mercer regressed to a 100 OPS+, he'd still be an above-average SS for years to come. Handed the starting job in 2014 however, Mercer bombed.
2014: .208 BA, .531 OPS, 50 OPS+
It's so bad that Mercer re-lost his starting job to Clint Barmes, who is one of the worst batters in all of baseball.
Round 3: SP Danny Salazar, Indians
C Yan Gomes, Indians
Again, I thought I struck gold here. One of the most electric arms in the Cleveland organization, 22-year old Salazar somehow fell through the draft cracks, and was still sitting there, despite being able to hit 100mph with his fastball, and having a scorching 121 ERA+ MLB debut that eventually even saw him start Cleveland's Wild Card game. The K rate is still good in 2014, but Salazar started off 1-4 with a 5.53 ERA and a 68 ERA+. Again, I thought I plucked a rotation ace in the 3rd round. Now, who knows?
Gomes has been my only draft pick thus far to follow with a successful 2014. He posted a 133 OPS+ in 2013. Normally, 25-year olds with a good MLB debut don't get good ZiPS, but Gomes's were so good I was able to trade Yadier Molina in the offseason. Gomes has begun 2014 with a 122 OPS+. Whew!
Round 4: OF Kelly Dugan, Phillies
SP Raul Alcantara, A's
Nothing really to report here, as both players are still far away. Dugan got a bit of a kiss of death, asked to repeat AA as a 23-year old, where he still has an identical .771 OPS to the year before. Alcantara is doing well at AA as a 21-year old, but his K-rate is down.
Free Agent Potential Disaster: OF Khris Davis, Brewers
Missing out on Kole Calhoun to Tom's ridiculously unopposed free agent frenzy, the nefarious Kenneth J. Kelly of the Marlins accosted me in a bidding war over Davis, who posted a MHONSTER 2013 debut, only to fall on his face this year:
2013: .949 OPS, 156 OPS+
2014: .652 OPS, 76 OPS+
If Davis doesn't recover, that's going to be $9.75MM of dead weight for years to come on a small market team that can't afford to waste a cent.
What a disastrous series of moves that looked really, really good at first.
JIm
Round 1: SP Jeff Locke, Pirates
I was psyched to grab a young lefty that just made the NL All-Star team with the 23rd overall pick. Plus, the Rockies wanted him bad, so that was an added bonus. I figured I had a great #3 SP for years to come. Then, the most ridiculous 1st half/2nd half split in history happened:
1st half: 8-2, 2.15 ERA, .202 BAA, 74 tOPS+
2nd half: 2-5, 6.12 ERA, .308 BAA, 143 tOPS+
I don't know if there's ever been an All-Star demoted to the minors in the same season! Locke is now struggling to work his way back up through the minors, beginning the year way down at High-A! What a disaster.
Round 2: SS Jordy Mercer, Pirates
I was never a fan of Mercer when the real-life Pirates drafted him in the 3rd round in 2008, but all he did during his full 2013 MLB debut was hit.
2013: .285 BA, .772 OPS, 117 OPS+
I figured with the thin level of SS talent out there overall, even if Mercer regressed to a 100 OPS+, he'd still be an above-average SS for years to come. Handed the starting job in 2014 however, Mercer bombed.
2014: .208 BA, .531 OPS, 50 OPS+
It's so bad that Mercer re-lost his starting job to Clint Barmes, who is one of the worst batters in all of baseball.
Round 3: SP Danny Salazar, Indians
C Yan Gomes, Indians
Again, I thought I struck gold here. One of the most electric arms in the Cleveland organization, 22-year old Salazar somehow fell through the draft cracks, and was still sitting there, despite being able to hit 100mph with his fastball, and having a scorching 121 ERA+ MLB debut that eventually even saw him start Cleveland's Wild Card game. The K rate is still good in 2014, but Salazar started off 1-4 with a 5.53 ERA and a 68 ERA+. Again, I thought I plucked a rotation ace in the 3rd round. Now, who knows?
Gomes has been my only draft pick thus far to follow with a successful 2014. He posted a 133 OPS+ in 2013. Normally, 25-year olds with a good MLB debut don't get good ZiPS, but Gomes's were so good I was able to trade Yadier Molina in the offseason. Gomes has begun 2014 with a 122 OPS+. Whew!
Round 4: OF Kelly Dugan, Phillies
SP Raul Alcantara, A's
Nothing really to report here, as both players are still far away. Dugan got a bit of a kiss of death, asked to repeat AA as a 23-year old, where he still has an identical .771 OPS to the year before. Alcantara is doing well at AA as a 21-year old, but his K-rate is down.
Free Agent Potential Disaster: OF Khris Davis, Brewers
Missing out on Kole Calhoun to Tom's ridiculously unopposed free agent frenzy, the nefarious Kenneth J. Kelly of the Marlins accosted me in a bidding war over Davis, who posted a MHONSTER 2013 debut, only to fall on his face this year:
2013: .949 OPS, 156 OPS+
2014: .652 OPS, 76 OPS+
If Davis doesn't recover, that's going to be $9.75MM of dead weight for years to come on a small market team that can't afford to waste a cent.
What a disastrous series of moves that looked really, really good at first.
JIm
