That time of year again, here were our top picks:
<table class="data" style="background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" width="968px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td class="dl wrap" style="font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(27, 27, 27); vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(235, 233, 233); padding: 1px 4px 2px; white-space: normal;">Drafted SP
Kevin Ferrero in the 2030 first-year player draft (Round 1, Pick 33, 33rd overall pick).</td></tr><tr><td class="dl wrap" style="font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(27, 27, 27); vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(235, 233, 233); padding: 1px 4px 2px; white-space: normal;">Drafted SP
Art Carrier in the 2030 first-year player draft (Supplemental Round 1, Pick 7, 40th overall pick).</td></tr><tr><td class="dl wrap" style="font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(27, 27, 27); vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(235, 233, 233); padding: 1px 4px 2px; white-space: normal;">Drafted RF
Tim Carizosa in the 2030 first-year player draft (Supplemental Round 1, Pick 9, 42nd overall pick).</td></tr><tr><td class="dl wrap" style="font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(27, 27, 27); vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(235, 233, 233); padding: 1px 4px 2px; white-space: normal;">Drafted 2B
Johnny Soland in the 2030 first-year player draft (Round 2, Pick 32, 74th overall pick).</td></tr><tr><td class="dl wrap" style="font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(27, 27, 27); vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(235, 233, 233); padding: 1px 4px 2px; white-space: normal;">Drafted CF
Mike LeRoy in the 2030 first-year player draft (Round 3, Pick 24, 102nd overall pick).</td></tr><tr><td class="dl wrap" style="font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(27, 27, 27); vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(235, 233, 233); padding: 1px 4px 2px; white-space: normal;">Drafted RF
Steve Paonessa in the 2030 first-year player draft (Round 4, Pick 25, 127th overall pick).</td></tr><tr><td class="dl wrap" style="font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(27, 27, 27); vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(235, 233, 233); padding: 1px 4px 2px; white-space: normal;">Drafted 3B
Pat McKinney in the 2030 first-year player draft (Round 5, Pick 29, 157th overall pick).</td></tr><tr><td class="dl wrap" style="font-family: "Open Sans", Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(27, 27, 27); vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 222); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(235, 233, 233); padding: 1px 4px 2px; white-space: normal;">Drafted SP
Jim Hyder in the 2030 first-year player draft (Round 6, Pick 30, 187th overall pick).</td></tr></tbody></table>
Ferrero: Aside from a somewhat similar name to mine, this 6'2" righty who throws 95-97 comes from Clemson, the same school that brought us perhaps our best 1st round pick of the previous decade, Mack Anglin. OSA (always more optimistic) pegs him as a #2 starter, while my more pessimistic head scout Rob Metzler says #3.
Carrier: The first of our supplemental 1st rounders is another college righty out of Oklahoma State who throws hard, 96-98 with groundball tendencies. Once again OSA is more excited (top of the rotation potential) while Metzler says mid-rotation.
Carisoza: Our second supplemental 1st rounder is a big dude (6'6", 205) from Northeastern (the school that brought us Rays legend Carlos Pena), he has
current 70 gap power, and OSA says potential 65 while Metzler says potential 55 HR power. Contact is projected either 60 or 50 so he won't be a BA drain.
Soland: Your prototypical scrappy 2B who's projected to hit for a high average (OSA potential 80 contact, Metzler 70) with excellent gap power and bat-to-ball skills. Only missing ingredient is power, so he could be a .300 hitter with 40 doubles and high single digit homers who hardly ever strikes out and can also steal bases. Only 17 so years away.
LeRoy: A rangy CF type who should hit for decent power and have a decent eye but will have some contact issues. Nickname is "Bushy".
Paonessa: A high-schooler from Minnesota who has massive power potential (75 OSA, 70 Metzler) but could have contact/strikeout problems.
McKinney: Kentucky high-schooler who has a similar hitting profile to Soland above, big on contact/gap power/avoid Ks but low on power. The difference is he plays 3B, a more traditional power position, and isn't very speedy.
Hyder: College starter from University of North Carolina who's projected for the pen with potential 65/70 stuff, throws 99-101, control is the question mark here.
All in all I'm reasonably pleased with the draft, especially the two college starters taken in the 1st round.