AMATEUR DRAFT POOL REVEALED
September 13, 1954
It has been a bit since my last update as I have really not had much to do but observe as the league plays out the 1954 season in advance of my Kansas City Bulls joining as an expansion team in 1955. I have done a few more mock drafts as I try to get a handle on the type of players I expect to be available but with the details of the draft format still not finalized (How many players each of the 20 established teams can protect being the big question mark) it is all very much just guesswork from me at this point as I have no idea exactly who will be available to join the Kansas City Bulls.
That has changed today, at least in a small part. While the expansion draft details are still a ways away the first-year player draft pool has been finalized and released. My Bulls and our expansion brethren from Washington will pick first and second in each of the five rounds. I believe the plan is a coin flip type option to determine which of us picks first in the expansion draft with the other team picking first in the rookie draft. Either way, I know the Bulls will choose no worse than second in the amateur draft.
Unfortunately, the early word I am hearing is this is a pretty weak crop of rookies, at least at the top end as there does not seem to be a dominant player or two. I am not certain how it compares to past drafts as I have not seen previous draft classes in this league, and the only other fictional online league I play is stats-only with no visible ratings so this will be a new experience for me. I can say that my initial thought when looking at the pool was my first pick will not be as good a player as I had hoped.
NARROWING DOWN CANDIDATES TO BE MY FIRST PICK
I spent sometime this weekend going through the draft pool and I believe I have narrowed my choice down to 1 of 4 players. I don't mind sharing that here as I know none of the four will survive the first round and at this point I honestly have no idea which of the four I should be leaning towards taking.
Before the pool was released my thinking going in was I want the best pitcher in the draft. I figure it is much easier to fill position player needs than it will be to get a true number one starter. The problem is this draft does not really have that. There are two pitchers I like and both are on my shortlist of four candidates to be my first rounder but each has some negatives to him. There are no 5-star talents in this class with the closest being two pitchers that are 4-star guys. One is a reliever with only 2 serviceable pitches so I ruled him out immediately but the other one is very intriguing. There are also a pair of shortstops that look impressive and the top guy in the mock draft is a centerfielder. I am thinking I will drop the centerfielder from contention for some reasons I will outline below but here is a look at him and each of the 4 players I am considering at this point.
PAUL JABLONOWSKI -
CF Sonora (CAL) HS. 18 years old Mock Draft #1
Jablonowski tops the mock draft and seems like a pretty safe bet to be a very good major league outfielder. He has outstanding speed so I expect he can be a plus-defender in center field for years to come. Not sure he will get on base enough to be a lead-off man but should be decent player. My concern is with a first or second overall pick I want more than just a decent player, I want a future star and while I think Jablonowski will be good, I have my doubts that he will be great. Jablonowski has no high school stats to assess as I expect he was a player added to the poll late to increase the class size to account for the two expansion clubs.
JERRY SCHONFELD -
SS Florida State 21 years old Mock Draft #4
The defensive skills are what draw me to Schonfeld. Likely won't be a great hitter but I always try to build my teams around a great defensive shortstop and Schonfeld fits that bill. Might have a bit of pop in his bat when he matures as well. He hit 15 homers and batted .258 in his second season of college ball.
MIKE JACKSON-
SS Marist College 22 years old Mock Draft #5
Looks to be very comparable defensively to Schonfeld but with perhaps a little better batting average and much less power. Jackson hit better in college than Schofeld (.312 batting average and a .406 OBP) plus stole 36 bases, although his competition at Marist would have been much lower than the teams Schonfeld faced at Florida State.
BILLY NEAS -
LHP University of Arizona 20 years old Mock Draft #13 (#1 pitcher)
A 20 year old who is in this draft despite only being in his sophomore season at Arizona. He has no college stats so he was one of the players our commissioner needed to add to the draft pool to fill it out because extras were needed due to the two additional teams. He is rated 4-star potential - tops in the draft - and I love everything about him except I get a big red flag when I see his 45 stamina rating. How will that affect his ability to be a top flight starting pitcher? Otherwise, he has 3 very strong pitches plus a mediocre change up and really strong potential for stuff, movement and control.
EARL ALTON - RHP Georgia Tech 24 years old Mock Draft #19 (#2 pitcher)
Alton has great numbers at Georgia Tech this season, 7-3 with a 2.60 era and a 1.19 WHIP to go with a 9.7 K/9 while walking just 33 in 93 innings of work. I know it means nothing in the game but Georgia Tech must have been a power this season in college ball as Alton is one of 4 Yellow Jacket starting pitchers in the draft pool. The others are Jeff Butler (6-3,2.77), Chuck Porter (6-2, 2.44) and Bruce Wilmoth (6-6, 4.29). Butler and Porter are both projected as second round talents.
As for Alton, he has 3 very good pitches already and a change up that may or may not develop. He has a better stamina rating then Neas but seems to fall just below him in upside potential with each of his pitches and his stuff/movement/control. One other big different between them is age. Alton is 24: 3 and a half years older than Neas. Not sure if that should matter much but does drafting Neas buy me two or three more seasons on the back end of his career? Neas also has a personality rating that indicates he is a hard worker while Alton seems to be a more reserved, keep to himself type player. Again, not sure if that matters. What I do find does matter to me is Neas is a groundball pitcher, something I look for while Alton is more neutral.
SUMMARY
Those are the guys I am considering. Anyone reading this who wants to weigh in with an opinion please do so. I am hoping the expansion draft occurs before the first year player draft as who I get in that might steer me towards or away from the two shortstops. I was leaning pitcher right from when I joined the league. I just wish there was a one with no questions marks. Had Neas been given a stamina rating of 60-65 I think he would be a no brainer for me to select, but he has a 45 and that scares me a bit.
My next update will likely not be until the expansion draft rules are finalized and the available players revealed. Thanks for following along and I would love to hear which prospect you think I should take.