[Westheim]

2039 AMATEUR DRAFT

After having seen most of the Raccoons’ 18 innings played on this day, and all of their zero runs scored, I hissed at the Scorpions and Falcons GMs when they were the first to greet me in the hall of League HQ, then weaseled my way straight to the draft room, asked for a coffee from an attendant, and spiked it with one of those life-saver, pocket-size Capt’n Coma bottles. Scout Guy insisted on showing our hotlist to me again, but I wasn’t in the mood to discuss any of them. They were all gonna suck anyway. All of them always sucked anyway!

The Raccoons had the #20 pick in every round for the 2039 draft, no extras.

We had 102 players on the shortlist (including five 2-way players, although none of them was an interesting starting pitcher to begin with, and only two were actually included in the shortlist both as pitcher and hitter), and Scout Man had come up with a hotlist of a dozen or so players again (* high school players):

SP Kevin Nolte (13/16/13) *
SP Jeff Johnson (13/12/11)
SP Corey Mathers (12/13/9)
SP Eric Jacobson (11/14/15) * - BNN #8
SP Bobby Campbell (11/12/13)

CL Aaron Durham (20/14/11)
CL Jesse Beggs (18/13/10)

C Dan Whitley (9/11/18) – BNN #4

INF/RF Ronnie Thompson (16/4/20)
3B/SS Matt Waters (11/10/10) * - BNN #9
SS Josh Jackson (11/10/10) – BNN #7

OF/1B Alex Marquez (9/10/8)
OF Dave Lee (10/11/14) – BNN #2

Nolte was that budding clubhouse cancer type that would probably not fall to #20 anyway. And if he did – why not take him. It’s not like anything could get any worse anymore!

Ronnie Thompson went first overall to the Gold Sox, which was not such a massive surprise, to be honest. After that it was a Kevin, but not Nolte, with Kevin Clendenen, another starting pitcher, to the Pacifics at #2. The Aces took outfielder Mike Roberts at the #3 position. Nolte’s time came at #4, with the Bayhawks pouncing. Dan Whitley (Thunder), Jeff Johnson (Crusaders) went next, and the Buffos took Dave Lee at #8, followed by Matt Waters being snatched #9 by the Knights. Alex Marquez went at #11 to the Rebs, immediately followed by Josh Jackson to the Scorpions, so that was all our hotlisted position players gone.

Next up the closers were yanked, with the Titans getting Durham at #13, and the Rebels hauling in Beggs at #15. Finally, Jacobson went away at #19, drafted by the Stars, which left the Raccoons with Corey Mathers and Bobby Campbell on their hotlist, both college right-handers. They were both groundballers, they were both mixing an arsenal without a standout pitch, and neither of them made puppets of their teammates. The Raccoons settled on Mathers, who had the better academic record, hoping to get a smart guy, but not too smart for his own good. Campbell ended up with the damn Elks at #24, the poor thing.

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2039 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Round 1 (#20) – SP Corey Mathers, 20, from Wauwatosa, WI – right-handed groundballer with four pitches, none outstanding, but it was a good mix and there was promise that his 93mph sinker, slider, and forkball would at least reach above-average level. Good stamina, good kid.
Round 2 (#59) – CF/RF Chance Middendorf, 18, from Brooklyn, NY – very good defensive centerfielder with good speed and wide range, but no power in the bat; has a very keen eye though and is seen as a potential top-of-the-order player and the Raccoons will take a Chance.
Round 3 (#83) – 3B/RF/1B Brian Snyder, 18, from Sacramento, CA – drafted primarily for the power potential, because finding a position for him could be challenging. Plays all infield positions for his school, most of them badly, and while he has a bit of arm strength, it’s probably not enough for third or rightfield, either. Probably going to end up at first base. But – power potential!
Round 4 (#107) – INF/LF Josh Rella, 22, from Elizabeth, NJ – dawdles around playing middle infield for Seton Hall, when he should take his 96mph fastball for a spin instead. Complementary slider for conversion to a relief pitcher.
Round 5 (#131) – LF/RF/1B Gregg Throndson, 22, from Alexandria, VA – lefty corner outfielder without much power potential. Also has a piercing stare that follows you into your dreams.
Round 6 (#155) – 2B/SS Marshall Otte, 18, from Webster, TX – very good defensive middle infielder with OBP potential and excellent baserunning skills, but no power whatsoever.
Round 7 (#179) – SP Wayne Allsup, 20, from Hampton, VA – solid mix of fastball, slider, changeup, but his stamina is too low for an efficient starter; sort of like Antonio Donis, before he became a Hall of Famer elsewhere, and without even that much skill.
Round 8 (#203) – SP Hector Periera, 19, from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico – left-hander with a lot of things going on; first, an interesting slider, but he also only threw 89 and control and stamina were all issues, too…
Round 9 (#227) – 2B/3B Harrison Szot, 19, from San Dimas, CA – probably more of a second baseman with a so-so arm, and once more no power but decent speed in the package
Round 10 (#251) – MR Josh Fuller, 21, from Bellevue, WA - *some* stuff on this right-hander with the 90mph heater and a slider, but also some serious control problems…
Round 11 (#275) – SP Bobby Ellis, 17, from Pontiac, MI – this year’s Nick Brown Memorial Pick’s most impressive trick is throwing a curve so high the batter gives up on it before it beans the umpire on top of the head. 85mph fastball!
Round 12 (#299) – C Jason Emerson, 22, from Issaquah, WA – a catcher so stereotypical that I find it hard to make fun of his complete lack of pace or power.
Round 13 (#323) – INF D.J. Dart, 21, from Neville Township, PA – squiggly infielder with no hitting prowess whatsoever. Some pitchint potential there with a 91mph fastball and a sinker and slider that fail to impress. Will also be converted to a righty pitcher.

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Of course we also had to make room in the system. A number of former draft picks were axed, including 2036 Nick Brown Memorial Pick Judson Nelson. Turns out not all of them can become new Nick Browns!

Also gone in no particular order: C Brad Selleck (2034, 7th Rd.), 3B/SS Travis Skiba (2033, 8th Rd.), MR Daniel Masson (2037, 7th Rd.), a couple of scouting discoveries, and maybe a scuffed trophy from dumpster diving or two.