[Bluellama44]

I woke up to some better news this morning. Now, what can be better than being told your former manager trashed the locker room in a fit of rage after firing him, you ask? Well, Nate Derrough accepted my 4 year, $480K offer, and is now my Scouting Director. We got right to work, discussing the top prospects we inherited. We seemed to identify the team's top 3 prospects, guys we wouldn't want to give up any time soon unless we received some serious value in return.

The first guy on our list was Pedro Carbajal, who my predecessor selected with the 4th overall pick last year. He spent his age 21 season at Rookie League Bakersfield, where he hit .260 with a .370 OBP and 3 HRs in 121 plate appearances. Carbajal can be described as a 5 tool player, but he isn't really amazing at anything. He has good plate recognition, and Nate projects a .270, 20 HR season from him. Pedro is prone to the occasional lapse in judgement in the outfield, but he has sure hands, a strong arm and very good range. He stole a staggering 38 bases in 47 games at Auburn before being drafted, but he only managed to steal 6 in Rookie League while being thrown out 3 times.

Bottom Line: Carbajal needs some refinement, but the raw tools are in place to be a big league starter. His outfielding skills best project at CF, but Grabenstein should have that spot on lockdown by the time Pedro's ready for the majors. We have a solid player here, but there may not be space for him on our roster.

Our #2 prospect is a shortstop we signed out of Venezuela in 1965 named David Lorenzo. The way our last Front Office managed him was questionable, to say the least. They tossed him in AA Augusta last year, where he hit a putrid .194 in 43 games before a torn labrum ended his season. Derrough suggests he really should've been in Low-A last year, meaning he'd start at A-Ball Jackson this year, so that's where I'll put him. Despite what his 1969 statline would suggest, Lorenzo makes a lot of solid contact and is great at putting the ball in play. Nate thinks there's no reason why he can't develop into a .290-.300 hitter. David doesn't possess much speed on the bases, but he has great range at shortstop to go along with his great hands and excellent footwork while turning double plays. He's also had some practice at the corner outfield positions and can play them in games if need be.

Bottom Line: Like Carbajal, Lorenzo needs some more experience before he makes the jump to the upper minors and eventually Fresno. He should be one of the better shortstops in the league once he's fully developed.

Nate and I agree that we have one of the most interesting prospects in the league here in SS Sean Jones. He spent his age 20 season last year in A-Ball, hitting .227 with a .353 OBP, 22 HRs and 122 strikeouts in 120 starts. My predecessor used the 111th overall pick on him in 1966, and I believe he may have struck gold. Sean's 1969 season reflects his skillset perfectly, as he has huge power, walks an ample amount and strikes out a lot. Jones obviously struggles with making contact, but he drives in runs and gets on base, which is exactly what we'll need out of him. Sean's defense at SS really has no flaws, as he's about as good as they come in the middle infield.

Bottom Line: With a concerning strikeout rate that he doesn't seem to be trying to improve, there's definitely a chance he doesn't pan out. If he does, with excellent defensive skills and the ability to smash towering home runs, you can't not love his upside.

Overall, our farm system is ranked 20th in the league, or, last, for those of you who skipped past my first post. This isn't too concerning though, as Jorge Rivera, Ricardo Ramirez and Rob Grabenstein are very young and were recently considered prospects.

Believe it or not, being the worst team ever has its perks! We have the first selection in the draft this year, and it's never too early to begin scouting. Considering the fact that the whole draft pool is available and we may not have a pick as good as this, I think it's extremely important that we hit on this pick. A High School SP named Curtis Murray is Nate's favorite in the pool by far at the moment, but we still need to see what kind of season he has in his senior year before we choose him as our guy. We'll discuss him more as we learn about him and select some other players we may want to consider.