[Westheim]

Heat keeps killing me, and is projected to last another week. I will not hesitate to accept donation of ice cubes, an attractive assistant shoving cold air my way with a fan, or a sponsored holi- business trip to the Faroe Islands!

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2025 AMATEUR DRAFT

Numerically, the Raccoons were guaranteed to select a player from their annual hotlist with their #10 pick in the Sunday night spectacle. The hotlist is below (*indicates high school player) but I refrained from eyeing any particular player given the unlikelihood of anybody being specifically picked around for our benefit and I don't take disappointments lightly these days (repeatedly fumbles a container with pills and a child-proof cap) GODDAMNIT!!!

SP Bobby LeMoine (15/12/12) * - BNN #3
SP Michael Frank (14/14/11)
SP Jeremy Puskar (11/14/11) *
SP Eric Fox (13/11/13)
SP Aaron Hagemann (10/13/11) * - BNN #2
SP Jim Corlette (12/13/13)
SP Kevin Clark (13/13/9) – BNN #5

C Matt Cooper (10/11/18) – BNN #9

INF/RF/CF Chris Miller (16/2/5) – BNN #7
SS/2B Jim McKenzie (12/8/11) *
1B/2B/LF/RF Dennis Jensen (13/11/12) *

RF/LF Andy Keyes (12/13/15)
OF Mike Wheeler (11/10/12) *
OF/1B Justice Merriweather (9/10/9) *

This year's #1 pick and going to the Dallas Stars was SP Michael Frank, right near the top of our preferred pitching personnel. Oh there it goes! All the Hall of Famers will be gone by #10! The Indians already fell out of order though, taking 2B Dan Schneller with the #2 pick, while #3 was SP Bobby LeMoine to the Blue Sox. The top 5 were completed by the Bayhawks snapping up RF/LF Andy Keyes, while the Falcons took the best catcher available in Matt Cooper.

…which left the Elks to screw us over, but they selected a pitcher not on the hotlist at #6, Jeremy Truett. All of a sudden our pick appeared on the horizon, and would we get two-way talent Aaron Hagemann after all…!? The Miners took SS/2B Jim McKenzie with the seventh overall pick, the Cyclones snapped up SP Kevin Clark, and the Loggers took Jim Corlette!

I feverishly patted head scout Miguel Carrasco's arm. It was now our time, and our time was now! Can we get the two-way toy, Carrasco? Canwecanwecanwe??

YES WE CAN!!

SP Eric Fox went to the Cyclones at #14, INF/RF/CF Chris Miller to the Condors at #19, and Jeremy Puskar was the last pitcher of the hotlist to get picked, the Bayhawks selecting him with the #26 pick. That left three position players from the hotlist still alive in the supplemental round, where we didn't pick, but perhaps giving an idea how this organization has failed for eternities to draft worthwhile position players… ever. Justice Merriweather went at #31 to the Capitals, and Mike Wheeler at #36 to the Condors, just one pick ahead of the final hotlist candidate, Dennis Jensen, who was selected 37th by the Titans. And that was that.

2025 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Round 1 (#10) – SP Aaron Hagemann, 19, from Villa Hills, KY – two-way player with a high-power bat but middling contact potential, but also three well-defined pitches in his arsenal that will see him get a shot at pitching first, and if that doesn't work out, heck, there's another path to the majors to try!
Round 2 (#53) – 1B Craig Hollenbeck, 18, from Cheektowaga, NY – not your prototypical first baseman with tons of power and bad defense; well, he has bad defense, but he is more about contact and being on base first, and then about power. Could hit lots of doubles into the gaps though.
Round 3 (#77) – SP Robbie Blair, 18, from Randallstown, MD – right-hander, well built with four useful pitches, including a neat curve, but so far he throws only 88 and will have to add some acid to that fastball if he wants to get anywhere…
Round 4 (#101) – CL Matt Stonecipher, 20, from Barrington, RI – right-hander with a 91 mph heater and a complementary curve that can wipe guys out in no time, at least at the college level
Round 5 (#125) – LF/RF Zach Pierce, 20, from New York, NY – hard to get overly excited here as young Zack does a little bit of everything, like a little bit of hitting for contact, a little bit of power, a little bit of running, and a little bit of errors, and it is hard for a fifth-rounder to carve a niche without excelling at anything…
Round 6 (#149) – 1B/LF/3B/RF Jesse Stedham, 18, from Westlake Village, CA – plays all the corners, which is also where the Mark Dawson comparisons will likely end. Weird package given that he is speedy on the bases but not very adept at any position, even the rangy ones in the outfield.
Round 7 (#173) – C/1B Zachary Gonya, 17, from New York, NY – it just occurred to us that we should take our annual catcher at some point…
Round 8 (#197) – SP Jimmy Powell, 22, from Story City, IA – probably not going to be a starter for long due to some stamina issues, but on the other hand his mix of three decent pitches could make him a useful reliever down the road.
Round 9 (#221) – SS/2B Jeremy Rains, 18, from Junction, TX – is rangy with a strong arm and could also learn the third base trait, but his bat leaves little reason to feel excitement… also no real speed on the bases, and definitely no power whatsoever. Also ugly.
Round 10 (#245) – RF/LF Jonathan Jordan, 20, from Montevallo, AL – corner outfielder with little range, not much of an arm, and worst of all, a foam bat…
Round 11 (#269) – MR Patrick McNeil, 20, from Hemet, CA – this year's Nick Brown Memorial Pick is a left-handed reliever from Cali that has an interesting curve, which is so reminding of that "lefty with a slider" of yore…
Round 12 (#293) – LF Jeremiah Scott, 18, from Priest River, ID – surprisingly solid contact potential for a guy in the second-to-last round, but he also has no power and no defensive qualities to talk much about
Round 13 (#317) – SP Cameron Boring, 19, from Kouts, IN – he was totally not drafted in the vain hope that he will somehow make the majors as designated punchline…

All players were assigned to Aumsville.

So far there were only a few releases to players already in the organization, because the rosters were not really stuffed before the draft to begin with, and with some guys I want a few more numbers. Gone though are f.e. 2024 eighth-rounder Luke Scoggins (horrendous pitcher), 2022 tenth-rounder Jordan Ponce (no control whatsoever, with his pitches AND with drugs), 2022 twelth-round backstop Andrew Lanza (steadfastly batting .160 in his fourth season in single-A), and 2023 eighth-rounder INF Judah Clayton (also no bat). No international players canned so far, but the IFA period is also just around the corner.