[Westheim]

2050 AMATEUR DRAFT

While the Raccoons were busy to minimize the wins return from a 30-run series against the Wolves, on the other side of the continent the 24 GMs of the league were occupied with divvying up the year’s harvest of college and high school talent for their respective organizations.

112 players had been lined up on our shortlist for interesting draft targets, and of course there was also the annual hotlist again with a dozen-or-so of the most attractive looking lottery tickets of them all (*denotes high school player):

SP Tyler Riddle (13/12/15) * – BNN #3
SP Kenneth Spencer (11/13/11) *
SP Brian Fuqua (12/14/11)
SP Antonio Arias (11/11/15) * – BNN #1
SP Craig Kniep (13/12/7) *

CL Steve Watson (17/12/10)

1B Zach Johnson (9/13/16) * – BNN #7
1B Mario Delgadillo (12/12/12) *
2B Mike DeFusco (11/11/10) – BNN #2

OF Dan Martin (10/11/14) – BNN #10
UT Jeremy Lindauer (11/12/12) – BNN #6
OF/1B Bill Hartman (13/9/11) – BNN #5
UT Mark Younce (16/2/7)
RF/LF Danny Barton (11/9/13)

As indicated before, we conveniently had 14 guys on that hotlist, which lined up well with our #14 pick. Note: …and it would have been 14 in the original post as well if some dumbhead hadn’t failed to copy the last line as well…

Tyler Riddle was the #1 pick this year, being selected by the Loggers and thus doomed to at least a decade in a miserable organization that yet remained somehow likeable. Because come on, everybody knew the Loggers were the three-legged puppies of the ABL…!

The Wolves selected Brian Fuqua at #2, and the Aces took the first position player, Dan Martin, with the #3 pick. After that it was Zach Johnson to the Cyclones, and Jeremy Lindauer to the Pacifics to complete the top 5. At that rate, and with any luck, I wouldn’t have to make a decision that I would regret forever at all for our #14 pick!

…and then the Crusaders made a lateral move with the selection of Ben Seiter at #6, and thus throwing all my best-laid plans overboard. That aside, Mike DeFusco (Warriors, #8), Antonio Arias (Knights, #9), Craig Kniep (Caps, #10), Bill Hartman (Miners, #12), and Steve Watson (Titans, #13) were taken off the hotlist as well before the Raccoons got their turn.

That left us with four options, the only pitcher being lefty finesse guy Kenneth Spencer. They say “finesse” almost disparagingly sometimes, but the reviews for this guy were rave, with four quality pitches, groundball tendency, and the prospect that he’d add to that 87mph cutter he currently threw. The main drawback was that he knew he was good and liked to say so to his poor teammates. On the offensive side there was still Mario Delgadillo, a stock-standard first baseman, hitting from the left side. Y’know them, hits the ball hard, struggles to move on his own two hindlegs. Mark Younce was a singles-slapping super utility with great defense AND a punnable name, exactly the type of player I’d love having around. Danny Barton had lefty power in a power position, but wasn’t fielding so well. Yeah… I kinda like that lefty finesse guy…!

Barton went to the Stars with the very next pick at #15. The Thunder snapped up Younce at #19. And the Stars had another turn with the #21 pick, and used that to select Delgadillo, thusly emptying the hotlist rather briskly and before the Raccoons could start to fling their two supplemental picks around.

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2050 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Round 1 (#14) – SP Kenneth Spencer, 18, from Sacramento, CA – left-handed finesse guy with four quality pitches and the prospect to add to that 87mph cutter. Very good curve and splitter, keeps it on the ground, and all would be well if he kept his mouth on the ground from time to time as well. It says 18 on that card, but he’ll be 19 by the time he arrives in Aumsville.
Supp. Round (#28) – SP Phil Baker, 21, from League City, TX – right-handed groundballer throwing 93mph with a good slider, changeup, and circle change arsenal. Control needs work, but this looks like a damn fine package.
Supp. Round (#34) – 3B/2B Richard Anderson, 17, from Sunnyvale, CA – above-average contact and power potential and plus defense at the hot corner; probably not as suited to the middle infield positions, although we could try to fit him in at shortstop to make him a real utility.
Round 2 (#50) – C Brian Moore, 18, from Rohnert Park, CA – not the most agile defender even as a teenager, but we’re being suckered in by the rather attractive power potential here; also has a keen eye at the dish.
Round 3 (#74) – OF Jim Matthews, 20, from Strafford, NH – very good defense on all three outfield positions, with a centerfielder’s bat, being more pronounced in contact than power; seems unable to get the timing right to steal bases, despite ample speed.
Round 4 (#98) – CL Geoff Sather, 20, from Lake Dallas, TX – left-handed fastball/slider guy; the slider looks top notch, but he really lacks control so far…
Round 5 (#122) – LF/RF Humberto Hernandez, 22, from Eldersburg, MD – the Oregon State student was first scouted a few years ago at Raccoons Ballpark, drunkenly lobbing a Jerry Outram home run ball back onto the field; a bit of an indifferent fielder, he does have a decent eye and somewhat promising contact abilities, but not a lot of power at a power position…
Round 6 (#146) – MR Adam Sewell, 20, from Freeland, MI – right-hander with a 91mph fastball and a curve, and a changeup that doesn’t look like it will amount to much
Round 7 (#170) – INF Jonathan Welsh, 18, from New York, NY – promises to be an elite defensive shortstop, and hit like one!
Round 8 (#194) – 1B/OF Jason Phillips, 20, from Willow Street, PA – not a lot of power, but some speed and a decent eye; however, a fourth-round bat was probably dropped to the eighth round by his last-round attitude.
Round 9 (#218) – CL Eric Meekins, 20, from Spring Lake Heights, NJ – righty with a fastball and slider, and a fireworks tendency; was drafted partially because he was the last hurler on the shortlist and I wanted to fold up that paper neatly and put it away
Round 10 (#242) – 1B Justin Undercoffer, 18, from Birmingham, AL – as far as baseball players go, few are weirder than this kid, a switch-hitting singles-poker with no defensive skills whatsoever that can move comparably quick in a straight line, but not an inch laterally; the singles poking thing is what gets him drafted in the first place.
Round 11 (#266) – MR Kyle Mascarello, 21, from Manhattan, NY – lefty (obviously) throwing 90mph with a curve and splitter, and not the least clue where any of them are gonna end up (usually the backstop, though)
Round 12 (#290) – 2B Ryan Allred, 18, from North Providence, RI – has a singles bat, blazing speed, and a thick head that is difficult to get instructions into
Round 13 (#314) – SP Angel Fernandez, 18, from Humacao, Puerto Rico – throws four pitches, all bad, but wins people over with self-deprecating humor

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All new selections were assigned to single-A Aumsville, with the exception of Phil Baker, who was moved to double-A Ham Lake right away.

We had already weeded out some players a few weeks ago, but now dumped a few more, mostly pitchers; these included 2045 seventh-rounder Kevin Beck, 2046 sixth-rounder Reynaldo Soto, and 2047 Nick Brown Memorial pick Bob Norwood. Also gone was Ronnie McKnight’s kid DaShawn, who had been taken in the seventh round in ’48 and had left no impression whatsoever in Aumsville.