[Westheim]

1983 AMATEUR DRAFT

The Raccoons had the #6 and #30 picks, then nothing for over 100 more. That was not a great base to get a lot out of this draft, and it made the two picks much more difficult to choose. I know about that, I have chronic brainlock.

I had a very small pool of four guys I would pick first from, hoping at least one remained until the first pick for the fur balls. The #1 overall pick was made by the Las Vegas Aces, they took outfielder Carlos Garcia, strong defense, enormous stick. He was on my list. The other three remained.

Now get me that crystal ball!

1983 Raccoons draft picks:
Round 1 (#6) – MR Scott Wade, 21, from Ottawa, KS – he has it all, a monstrous right arm, strong control and a lotta movement to drive batters nuts, and he also can go long distances and could be a starter
Supp. Round (#30) – C Miguel Carrasco, 18, from Texcoco, Mexico – projects as an elite hitter and good, solid catcher with a powerful arm
Round 5 (#145) – LF Wilson Martinez, 21, from Amina, Dom. Rep. – good contact bat and eyes, but plays only one position in the outfield
Round 6 (#169) – LF/RF Ned O’Crouley, 20, from River Road, NC – average bat and defense projected, but little power potential
Round 7 (#193) – SP Ray Whitfield, 17, from Tulsa, OK – has a few nice features like a good assortment of pitches (all raw, of course), and could surprise, maybe … or maybe not
Round 8 (#217) – 1B/3B Jose Lopez, 17, from San Juan, Puerto Rico – bat work has potential, but he can do little else
Round 9 (#241) – SP Will Brock, 17, from Gaithersburg, MD – pure scrap to eat innings
Round 10 (#265) – MR Ronnie Savage, 18, from New York, NY – was picked for being a lefty; and to eat innings

There were only the sorry scraps of my shortlist remaining when we came to pick in the fifth round. That’s what an offseason buying spree apparently costs. By my round 9 pick even only scrap pitchers remained (which I saw coming and picked a scrap infielder in round 8).

I am not too happy with the draft, but of course we had only two meaningful picks. Only two of our picks after round 4 has made it to majors so far (MR Jason White and OF Fernando Perez) and that’s not a lot (and Perez was sent down again after only a few AB's). All draftees were assigned to the A level team, including top pick Scott Wade. We made a couple of moves between levels but didn’t release anybody since a bunch of players was injured at the moment, but the next months some sorting out would have to be done.