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ayaghmour2 · 04-30-2020, 03:04 PM

There were only really two players that I wanted to take in this draft. And only one ended up in Chicago. The guy I really wanted, SS Jim Beard, went 3rd overall to the Washington Eagles. The other guy I wanted, SS Bolivar Jim Smith, went 6th Overall. Unfortunately, we didn't pick until 10th, so Smith ended up with the Chiefs instead of the Cougars.

When I went to bed last night we were at pick 3 and I thought I had enough time to hold out trading the pick in case Smith was still available. By time I woke up, I was up, and didn't want to hold up the draft.

It was a hard decision after that. I couldn't really find a guy I liked, but the final decision came between a handful of players: LF Rip Curry, 1B Floyd Spencer, C James Demastus, SP Chuck Murphy, 3B Tom Eggleton, and LF John Woods.

I started eliminating guys. I thought Murphy would be available for my 2nd Round pick and I wanted to grab a pitcher with one of my second round picks. But, I was way wrong and he ended up going two picks after to the Saints. I don't like taking corner players (1B/LF/RF/3B) in the first round and just like that all the guys I was looking at, except Demastus, fits that description. The only problem there is Demastus is an awful defensive catcher and he might as well be lumped into that group.

In the end, I decided to go with the guy I thought had the most upside even if he was possibly the most useless player in baseball last season. That would be 18-year-old catcher James Demastus.

Demastus, 19 in January, is a Nashville native who attended the Nashville HS Hawks. He didn't start as a freshman and got into just 15 games as a sophomore before an awful junior year. In his first season as a full time starter, he hit just .121/.174/.150 (-2 OPS+) with more strikeouts (15) then hits (13) while being worth an extremely impressive -1.6 WAR.

So why is he a first round pick this year?

This year he was much better and had one of the best offensive seasons in the league. He hit .361/.414/.558 (164 OPS+) with 5 homers and 32 RBI's in 165 trips to the plate. His defense wasn't great, with a 32.5% caught stealing rate and a poor .789 efficiency rank which makes me think Demastus is better suited somewhere that isn't behind the plate.

The thing that makes Demastus so appealing isn't his track record or hist position, but the absolute enormous amount of raw power he totes. My scout loves him and ranks him 3rd while OSA lists him at #4 in their mock draft. Demastus projects as a 45 home run hitter with the new all-or-nothing approach that will lead to a ton of strikeouts. He does have excellent plate discipline and will be able to draw a lot of walks, but he can develop into at least an average contact hitter. And in a draft with not a lot of surefire talent, Demastus had the most upside of what was left in my mind and I think there is a chance he ends up as one of the top three most successful first round picks.

04-30-2020, 03:04 PM	#105
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,026	1930 Draft: Round 1 There were only really two players that I wanted to take in this draft. And only one ended up in Chicago. The guy I really wanted, SS Jim Beard, went 3rd overall to the Washington Eagles. The other guy I wanted, SS Bolivar Jim Smith, went 6th Overall. Unfortunately, we didn't pick until 10th, so Smith ended up with the Chiefs instead of the Cougars. When I went to bed last night we were at pick 3 and I thought I had enough time to hold out trading the pick in case Smith was still available. By time I woke up, I was up, and didn't want to hold up the draft. It was a hard decision after that. I couldn't really find a guy I liked, but the final decision came between a handful of players: LF Rip Curry, 1B Floyd Spencer, C James Demastus, SP Chuck Murphy, 3B Tom Eggleton, and LF John Woods. I started eliminating guys. I thought Murphy would be available for my 2nd Round pick and I wanted to grab a pitcher with one of my second round picks. But, I was way wrong and he ended up going two picks after to the Saints. I don't like taking corner players (1B/LF/RF/3B) in the first round and just like that all the guys I was looking at, except Demastus, fits that description. The only problem there is Demastus is an awful defensive catcher and he might as well be lumped into that group. In the end, I decided to go with the guy I thought had the most upside even if he was possibly the most useless player in baseball last season. That would be 18-year-old catcher James Demastus. Demastus, 19 in January, is a Nashville native who attended the Nashville HS Hawks. He didn't start as a freshman and got into just 15 games as a sophomore before an awful junior year. In his first season as a full time starter, he hit just .121/.174/.150 (-2 OPS+) with more strikeouts (15) then hits (13) while being worth an extremely impressive -1.6 WAR. So why is he a first round pick this year? This year he was much better and had one of the best offensive seasons in the league. He hit .361/.414/.558 (164 OPS+) with 5 homers and 32 RBI's in 165 trips to the plate. His defense wasn't great, with a 32.5% caught stealing rate and a poor .789 efficiency rank which makes me think Demastus is better suited somewhere that isn't behind the plate. The thing that makes Demastus so appealing isn't his track record or hist position, but the absolute enormous amount of raw power he totes. My scout loves him and ranks him 3rd while OSA lists him at #4 in their mock draft. Demastus projects as a 45 home run hitter with the new all-or-nothing approach that will lead to a ton of strikeouts. He does have excellent plate discipline and will be able to draw a lot of walks, but he can develop into at least an average contact hitter. And in a draft with not a lot of surefire talent, Demastus had the most upside of what was left in my mind and I think there is a chance he ends up as one of the top three most successful first round picks.