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ayaghmour2 · 02-07-2022, 10:48 AM

1st Round, 13th Overall: 3B Otto Christian
School: Walla Walla
1940: .482/.538/1.000, 132 PA, 14 2B, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 8 SB
Career: .468/.53/1.981, 375 PA, 34 2B, 4 3B, 40 HR, 123 RBI, 16 SB

The draft got off to a bit of a slow start, so I only just made my first rounder. The plan is to finish the second round today, so hopefully by the end of the day we have three new Cougars with a fourth coming tomorrow in the regional round. He wasn't my first choice by most measures, but I do think we got good value with the "Walla Walla Walloper." An 18-year-old out of, you guessed it, Walla Walla Wisconsin, Otto Christian will be a four year starter in high school and go down as one of the most prestigious power hitters the prep game as ever seen. He's likely to add a fourth double digit homer campaign and was one of just two high schoolers in his class to reach double digits last season. No eligible draftee has more career homers then Christian, and no other player has more then 35 for their career. Christian has a shot to pass the 50 homer mark, and I'd love for him to set a new season high as he's done in each of the past two years. Power is a big part of his game, and in a park like ours, he may wallop one back to his hometown.

The best part about Christian might be his position, as he has solid hands and fields the third base position well. He's now penciled in as the heir apparent to Whitney Winner John Lawson, who despite turning 38 in October is showing no signs of slowing down. Lawson has spent the last five seasons in Chicago and his lowest season line was when he hit .302/.355/.461 (133 OPS+) in 1938. Since Christian is just a high schooler and will need a few seasons to develop, he won't have to worry about waiting behind a Hall of Famer for too long. He's a much different player then Lawson, who wins batting titles while Otto will likely end up leading the league in homers. His power should at least be above average, with the chance to potentially challenge a guy like Red Bond or one of the Hammerin' Hanks out in the Fed. His pitch selection needs to improve if he wants to be anything more then an average contact hitter, but I'm sure some pitchers will want to pitch around him and he's good at taking obvious bad pitches. He walked 39 times in high school compared to just 17 strikeouts, and he's yet to strikeout more then 7 times in a season.

If there is a downside about Otto, it's his personality as he can be a bit moody and tends to let the losses get to him. Obviously not great, but at least he cares about team performance instead of just himself. I usually draft a lot of guys with good personalities, to hopefully absorb someone like Otto, and hopefully by time he reaches Chicago his personality is just neutral. There was also a pitcher, that I really like, but I'm hoping he stays available when my next pick comes up. We also pick 20th, so there is a chance I get him there, and I thought he had a better chance of falling. Plus pitchers are much riskier, and our top two and five of our top six are already arms. so the addition of a hitter, especially at a weak position in the farm like third, was too hard to pass up.

02-07-2022, 10:48 AM	#724
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1941 Draft: Round 1 1st Round, 13th Overall: 3B Otto Christian School: Walla Walla 1940: .482/.538/1.000, 132 PA, 14 2B, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 8 SB Career: .468/.53/1.981, 375 PA, 34 2B, 4 3B, 40 HR, 123 RBI, 16 SB The draft got off to a bit of a slow start, so I only just made my first rounder. The plan is to finish the second round today, so hopefully by the end of the day we have three new Cougars with a fourth coming tomorrow in the regional round. He wasn't my first choice by most measures, but I do think we got good value with the "Walla Walla Walloper." An 18-year-old out of, you guessed it, Walla Walla Wisconsin, Otto Christian will be a four year starter in high school and go down as one of the most prestigious power hitters the prep game as ever seen. He's likely to add a fourth double digit homer campaign and was one of just two high schoolers in his class to reach double digits last season. No eligible draftee has more career homers then Christian, and no other player has more then 35 for their career. Christian has a shot to pass the 50 homer mark, and I'd love for him to set a new season high as he's done in each of the past two years. Power is a big part of his game, and in a park like ours, he may wallop one back to his hometown. The best part about Christian might be his position, as he has solid hands and fields the third base position well. He's now penciled in as the heir apparent to Whitney Winner John Lawson, who despite turning 38 in October is showing no signs of slowing down. Lawson has spent the last five seasons in Chicago and his lowest season line was when he hit .302/.355/.461 (133 OPS+) in 1938. Since Christian is just a high schooler and will need a few seasons to develop, he won't have to worry about waiting behind a Hall of Famer for too long. He's a much different player then Lawson, who wins batting titles while Otto will likely end up leading the league in homers. His power should at least be above average, with the chance to potentially challenge a guy like Red Bond or one of the Hammerin' Hanks out in the Fed. His pitch selection needs to improve if he wants to be anything more then an average contact hitter, but I'm sure some pitchers will want to pitch around him and he's good at taking obvious bad pitches. He walked 39 times in high school compared to just 17 strikeouts, and he's yet to strikeout more then 7 times in a season. If there is a downside about Otto, it's his personality as he can be a bit moody and tends to let the losses get to him. Obviously not great, but at least he cares about team performance instead of just himself. I usually draft a lot of guys with good personalities, to hopefully absorb someone like Otto, and hopefully by time he reaches Chicago his personality is just neutral. There was also a pitcher, that I really like, but I'm hoping he stays available when my next pick comes up. We also pick 20th, so there is a chance I get him there, and I thought he had a better chance of falling. Plus pitchers are much riskier, and our top two and five of our top six are already arms. so the addition of a hitter, especially at a weak position in the farm like third, was too hard to pass up.