[ayaghmour2]

Round 10 was the end of the human portion of the draft. I would have loved to pick in each round, however, I had to give the reigns to my scout when the remainder of the draft was completed through the in game lists. I'll do a report on my last five picks, and include the other players picked, where they played amateur ball, and their stat lines. There were a ton of players left on my Stats Lab list I would have loved to take, and will look to find some of them either as free agents or trade targets. I will also release any players that shouldn't have been drafted (i.e. guys who never started a college game, guys who are absolutely terrible, etc.) but the remainder I will look to sign.

6th Round, 81st Overall: 1B Jim Hatfield (Buffalo HS Bisons): It was an excellent senior season for Jim Hatfield who slashed .374/.428/.589 (191 OPS+) to finish his high school career. In three years as the starter, he hit .355/.407/.560 (160 OPS+) with 11 homers, 30 steals, and 68 RBI's. He's got excellent speed and is a great defender at first. It makes me think he may be able to handle a position other then first, but for now, the 18-year-old will spend his time there. "The Bandit" doesn't quite have the power you expect in a first basemen, but he's definitely no slouch. He's got an excellent work ethic, and I can see Hatfield developing into a dependable big leaguer.

7th Round, 97th Overall: SS Tom Spitzer (Houston HS Hurricanes): I may have reached with this pick, but Spitzer has solid pop as a shortstop and he should develop into a passable defender at short. He only started for a year and a half in high school, but hit .323/.361/.500 (154 OPS+) with 8 homers, 7 steals, and 47 RBI's in 266 trips to the plate. A bat like his is hard to find at second, although third base may end up being where he calls home. He's definitely going to be given the shot to stick it up the middle and I think he'll evolve into at least an average defender.

8th Round, 113th Overall: 2B Elmer Hutchins (Portland HS Lumberjacks): We continued the shift to high school prospects with a middle infielder from Portland HS. Hutchins best year was as a junior, but his .340/.396/.569 (154 OPS+) is extremely impressive. He hit 14 homers and drove in 86 runs in just over 100 high school games. He's not the greatest defender, but he's a good hitter who will make up for the mistakes he may make in the field. He's a low floor, high upside pick, but is of good value in the 8th round.

8th Round, 115th Overall: SP George Deemer (Washington DC High School Senators): This pick belonged to the Foresters, but we acquired it in the Barney Green trade. I used it to take a southpaw in George Deemer who seems pretty intent on going to college. I'm willing to persuade him not to, as he was an extremely consistent and dependable starter in high school. He finished his career 12-5 with a 2.88 ERA (152 ERA+), 1.21 WHIP, and 221 strikeouts in 169 innings pitched. He saw his velocity tick up 7 points this season and he hovers just under 90. He has a four pitch arsenal composed of a fastball, slider, change, and forkball. I'm giving him a lot of money to convince him to join our organization instead of testing the waters in college.

9th Round, 129th Overall: SP Phil Clarke (Dallas HS Rangers): He's a groundballer who doesn't throw all that hard, but Phil Clarke has the potential to pitch in a big league rotation. He was 11-8 with a 3.59 ERA (127 ERA+) and 1.44 WHIP to go with 124 strikeouts in 155.1 innings pitched. There's rumors that he developed a new pitch (knuckleball?) in August to go with his fastball, change, and, knuckle curve. If Clarke does develop the knuckle, his value could be on the rise.

10th Round, 145th Overall: CF Billy Marshall (Birmingham HS Bulldogs): After a rough junior year, the center fielder rallied with a dominant senior season that saw him hit .391/.419/.503 (178 OPS+) with a homer, 10 steals, and 32 RBI's. This was much more in line with his sophomore season (161 OPS+) then his junior year (72 OPS+) and Marshall regained some of his prospect shine. He's likely not going to stick in center, but my scout thinks he's going to flourish in the big leagues. So much so that I almost considered taking him as early as the 4th Round, although I am extremely glad I waited until Round 10. He should hit for a high average, and his 10 homers as a sophomore shows he may have a ton of raw power potential.

Here's the rest of the guys we selected:

11th Round, 161st Overall: SP Eddie Calhoun (Norfolk HS Navigators): 10-11, 4.34 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.60 WHIP, 71 K, 153.1 IP

12th Round, 177th Overall: CF Harry Jones (Ellery Bruins): .264/.360/.406 (103 OPS+), 10 HR, 38 SB, 48 RBI, 471 PA

13th Round, 193rd Overall: SP Roy Arnold (Little Rock HS Pioneers): 13-10, 3.33 ERA (146 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 156 K, 211 IP

14th Round, 209th Overall: LF Dave Ward (Henry Hudson Explorers): .311/.369/.450 (112 OPS+), 7 HR, 28 SB, 73 RBI, 520 PA

15th Round, 225th Overall: SP Frank Coleman (Buffalo HS Bison): 8-9, 4.74 ERA (94 ERA+), 1.49 WHIP, 90 K, 150 IP

16th Round, 241st Overall: 2B Bob Crocker (Coastal California Dolphins): .293/.356/.449 (124 OPS+), 7 HR, 7 SB, 32 RBI, 281 PA

17th Round, 257th Overall: SP Cy Plummer (Ellery Bruins): 15-6, 5.12 ERA (101 ERA+), 1.58 WHIP, 105 K, 147.2 IP

18th Round, 273rd Overall: SS Dan Harris (Frankford State Owls): .255/.305/.352 (73 OPS+), 7 HR, 52 SB, 56 RBI, 692 PA (released)

19th Round, 289th Overall: 1B Bill De Berardinis (Brunswick Knights): .285/.375/.365 (107 OPS+), 2 HR, 28 SB, 61 RBI

20th Round, 305th Overall: SS Allen Turner (Bayou State Cougars): .195/.262/.218 (31 OPS+), 0 HR, 1 SB, 34 RBI, 471 PA (released)

21st Round, 321st Overall: CF Tom Robinson (Cumberland Explorers): .277/.351/.355 (91 OPS+), 4 HR, 46 SB, 59 RBI, 678 PA

22nd Round, 337th Overall: RF Bobby Belcher (Sadler Bluecoats): .256/.363/.347 (97 OPS+), 4 HR, 26 RBI, 350 PA

23rd Round, 353rd Overall: SP Bob Flynn (Lincoln Presidents): 12-19, 15 SV, 6.65 ERA (71 ERA+), 1.76 WHIP, 173 K, 189.1 IP (released)

24th Round, 369th Overall: C Bud Ward (Opelika State Wildcats): .278/.338/.427 (104 OPS+), 16 HR, 5 SB, 81 RBI, 552 PA

25th Round, 385th Overall: CF Walt Bryan (Brooklyn HS Trojans): .199/.287/.305 (56 OPS+), 8 HR, 25 SB, 45 RBI, 509 PA (released)

Luckily, it only seems like only four picks were wasted and three of them came after the 20th Round. I sent 19 offers to undrafted players who I scouted before the draft and would have preferred to select over a majority of the guys taken by my scout (almost anyone other then Arnold and Crocker). I also sent offers on a few additional players who I think are better then what I ended up with. In particular, there were a lot of good high school pitchers (at least by my standards) that were left undrafted although I obviously won't be able to (or expect to) sign and keep all the guys I made offers on.

Of those we selected and already signed 1B Jim Hatfield (16th) is the lone addition to our top prospect list. I'm hoping all of my first 6th picks join him, although I know that will not happen. SS Tom Spitzer and 2B Elmer Hutchins, however, appear in at #3 for their respective positions in our organization. Spitzer sits behind our #2 and #4 prospects in the entire organization.

In minor transactional news, I released SP Vince DaCosta to make room for SP Lou Gaffin on the 40-Man roster.