[BirdWatcher]

One of the many things I like to monitor about the WPK is the progress of players chosen in the first rounds of the annual amateur draft.
I keep spreadsheets to track every player chosen with one of the first 20 picks- the first round proper at this point of league development, not counting any players chosen in the supplemental first round.

And I will henceforth periodically provide updates on how these players have fared.

Let's start today with the very first amateur draft held in the WPK, which occurred during the inaugural 1965 season.

An overview: Three of the first five players chosen in the 1965 draft were starting pitchers. And the last nine players in the round were also staring pitchers. Altogether, 15 of the 20 players chosen were starting pitchers. Though, admittedly, some of these players, like the Brewers own Jaden Francis, become relief pitchers while still in the minors. Two other pitchers were chosen as relief pitchers. Leaving just three position players: 2 center fielders and 1 shortstop.
Of the 20 players chosen in the first round of the 1965 draft, 2 retired from professional baseball having never made it to the majors (More on that below.) Two others have made it as high as AAA but have not yet played at the WPK level. Of the remainder most have had marginal impacts at the big league level thus far, with a few exceptions.


The Stars: The two primary exceptions are two of the three position players. Almost certainly the biggest star of the class thus far is Seattle Alligator shortstop Mike Silveira. Silveira is in his 4th big league season and is already a 4-time All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award last season. He hit over .300 his first three seasons but is having a bit of down year in 1972 with a slash line currently at .243/.288/.361. He is a well-above average defender with great speed and excellent gap power (he led the league in triples in 1971 with 16.) At 25 years of age, he should have many fine seasons ahead of him. Silveira was chosen 10th overall.

The other star thus far is Jacksonville first baseman Hector Alvares. Alvares is a one-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner in right field. (Alvares really should be in the outfield, but currently is blocked by Ricky Salinas in right field, Greg Koenig in center, and Kurt Penn, the weak link, in left.) In the 1971 season he led the league in both runs scored and walks. He has been a regular starter since 1970 but has played at least part of seasons in the WPK since 1967. Alvares is a speedy player who likely will find himself in the outfield once again in the future as his talents are really being wasted at first. Alvares was the 5th pick overall in the 1965 draft.

The Busts: Rich Sharpe was chosen by the Baltimore Lords with the 12th pick of the 1965 draft. While he was selected as a starting pitcher he also played first base a bit when not on the mound. Although he put up some decent numbers as a pitcher in his age 21 season in A ball, he never made it to his age 22 season. He was released by the Lords in April of 1969 and quietly retired from baseball in the Autumn of that same year. He was a 1-time All-Star at the minor league level but could never develop the control needed to become a big league hurler.

Lefty Ivan Figueredo, chosen with the 14th pick by the Detroit Falcons, lasted a bit longer but also never made it above AA before retiring at the end of the 1971 season. He suffered a series of mostly not very serious injuries over his minor league career which may have contributed to his inability to fulfill his early promise. Oddly, for a pitcher not known for his skills at the plate, his biggest accomplishment in his minor league career was a 5-hit, 3-RBI game in the Rookie League on July 5th, 1967.

One to watch: Starting pitcher Gibson Fiedler of the San Francisco Velocity, chosen with the 19th pick, has been trending in the right direction and has the best big league WAR thus far among the pitchers chosen in the first round of this draft. Fielder has been a full-time starter since 1970 and pitched out of the bullpen for parts of the two seasons prior to that at the WPK level. He was in his first All-Star game earlier this season and is putting up great numbers in 1972. On the other hand, many fear he may prove to be too fragile for an extended big league career and he also has a reputation as a selfish player.

As alluded to above, the Brewers pick in this draft was Jaden Francis, chosen originally as a starting pitcher but now a member of the Brewers bullpen, off and on, since 1968. Jaden was chosen 16th overall in the 1965 draft. He is not a star but with his excellent curve ball and solidly above average stuff, movement, and control he should be a valuable member of the pen for the foreseeable future.