[Westheim]

2034 DRAFT POOL ANALYSIS

I will make this one real quick because we’ll host the Indians starting on Tuesday and I have to feel Philip Scheffer’s pulse and see whether he can play again and whether we can exchange that third catcher for a seventh reliever, but the draft pool has been dissected. (In actual terms, I have to finish a presentation and accompanying texts and tables for the oral exam to complete the accounting degree I’ve gone after for the last 2+ years, and are struggling more with Power Point than the goddamn Elks right now, but there should be the odd update or two come out in the next few days…)

102 players have been shortlisted for the upcoming draft bonanza, and of course there is also a hotlist to be burned by (* indicates HS player):

SP Chris Watson (13/13/14) * - BNN #6
SP David Farris (14/12/9) – BNN #10
SP Lazaro Cavazos (12/14/12) * - BNN #3
SP Ryan Person (13/11/8) * - BNN #8

CL Chris Manley (20/13/7)

C/1B John Hill (15/9/11) * - BNN #2
C Jorge Santa Cruz (10/13/13) – BNN #9

3B/2B/RF Jared Paul (14/13/9) *
INF Jon Caskey (10/11/11)

LF/RF/2B/3B Mike Preble (11/13/9)
OF Mike Hall (14/7/10) – BNN #1
OF/1B/2B Bob Mancini (11/13/14) * - BNN #4

Neither of those two catchers is a defensive revelation, nor is Jared Paul. He can whack the damn ball, though. I can see myself chanting “Whack that ball, Paul!” for the next 20 years…

Person is an interesting one because his high school stats are amazing (0.27 FIP for what it is worth), but there is also the question of whether he can develop three good pitches. He has a fastball, sinker, and a dodgy curveball in the sense that the catcher’s on his knees, but you have to dodge that damn thing as it makes a beeline for your head.

The Raccoons will get the #17 and #20 picks in the first round and what looks like the #33 compensation pick before selecting 17th again in every round thereafter.