We have a dearth of pitching prospects in our system so I've had to continually trade for new blood on the staff. Consequently I went for Black and took three starters among our first six picks. Black won't provide immediate help but I'm glad to bring him on:
And not only is Black a good-looking pitching prospect, he's also a good-looking hitting prospect who can play an infield corner as you can see from over on the far right. So even if he doesn't pan out pitching the bat can still carry him (although I'd prefer right now the arm pans out too).
Morales:
I had been going back and forth whether to take Black or Morales with the 1st round pick and fortunately Morales was still there six picks later in the supplemental round (the pick we got when Dan Gregory turned down our QO). Morales is a quality defensive catcher with elite bat-to-ball skills and as a college guy he should hopefully move quickly. The big drawback of course is almost complete lack of power or patience but we're not expecting Johnny Bench here.
Aguilar:
You can't really help your chances of hitting on a pitching prospect unless you take several, and Aguilar's someone worth taking a flyer on. He seems very projectable but of course is far away.
Mendoza:
Your typical high school 1B prospect - he's going to need to rake to make it, and maybe he will.
Evans:
A college OF with a good broad-based skill set, he could also move quickly. He doesn't look like a star but should be a solid player.
Ackerman:
Another high-school starter who projects as more of a groundball, pitch-to-contact, keep-the-ball-in-the-park guy. He's a lefty so he hopefully he grows up to be Bob Riley. Going to need to improve his control quite a bit though if that's his goal.