[Westheim]

2059 AMATEUR DRAFT

And here we are with the pitchers draft that was upon us in 2059… and the hope that we’d actually get a pitcher off that hotlist of ours, although I didn’t necessarily fancy our chances given that we were perpetually stuck with the #13 pick as it seemed and there were only 12 players on the vaunted hotlist (* high school player):

SP Matt Asplund (15/13/15) * – BNN #5
SP Ian Lowry (11/13/11) *
SP Tyler Spivey (13/12/11) *
SP Bobby MacDonald (13/15/10) – BNN #6
SP Brett Bebout (12/16/14) *
SP/CL Matt Martin (16/16/10) *

C/1B John Vaillancourt (10/13/10) *

INF/LF/RF Kyle Reber (14/5/8) * – BNN #2
1B Jon Herbert (8/14/10) *
SS Steve McCutcheon (11/7/12)

OF/1B/3B Dallas Baker (10/12/10) – BNN #8
OF/1B Joe Washington (10/11/13)

Going first in the 2059 draft was then Dallas Baker, selected by the Cyclones. Matt Martin was the #2 pick by the Indians, but the #3 pick was not from the hotlist, the Aces picking outfielder Jaden Wilson. The Elks continued in that vain with outfielder Brent Campell at #4, but after that it was Kyle Reber to Milwaukee and Brett Bebout to the Condors. The Gold Sox took Matt Asplund at #7. More hotlist picks were Bobby MacDonald to the Caps at #10, and Ian Lowry to the Wolves at #12.

This left one starting pitcher in Tyler Spivey, and a whole host of batters from the hotlist: Vaillancourt, Herbert, McCutcheon, and Washington. Spivey looked like a pretty solid build for a starting pitcher, but I just couldn’t help myself. I was being suckered in by Jon Herbert’s power potential. He was our #13 pick.

The Falcons then took Joe Washington with the #15 pick. The remaining players on the hotlist remained there all through the first round. The Aces finally made their pick in the supplemental round, taking Steve McCutcheon at #25. John Vaillancourt was made the #29 pick by the Warriors. And Spivey went with the very next pick to the Bayhawks, and that was it for the marvels of the annual hotlist.

+++

2059 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Round 1 (#13) – 1B Jon Herbert, 17, from Columbia, SC – might not hit for a high average with relentless pull, but his power potential is tremendous and he’s a tough strikeout
Round 2 (#50) – SP Nick Walla, 18, from Lancaster, PA – solidly built right-handed groundballer throwing 93 with a four-pitch makeup. Stamina a bit on the low side, but not so much as to be an immediate concern.
Round 3 (#74) – SP Trevor Brewster, 17, from Charlotte, NC – very good potential on that fastball and slider combination, and if the right-hander can actually shape up his changeup he could be a tremendous starter
Round 4 (#98) – SS/3B Scott Harrison, 18, from Little Rock, AR – very agile infielder with speed that could make for a zippy middle infielder, although he somehow has never played second base before. The arm isn’t great for third base, while the bat looks like mostly singles, but with a keen eye to draw walks, so he could be leadoff material
Round 5 (#122) – 1B/C Matt Greenwood, 18, from Redan, GA – defensively creaky and without much in terms of power, he could be another OBP candidate, although unfortunately he lacks the speed to make much out of it
Round 6 (#146) – 2B/SS Mike Williams, 18, from Wichita, KS – solid singles slapping middle infielder, but not very fast on the basepaths
Round 7 (#170) – SP John Stephan, 18, from New York, NY – right-hander with a very befuddling knuckle curve, but only 89 on the heater, and not much of a third pitch to talk about
Round 8 (#194) – LF/1B/RF/3B Randy Harrop, 20, from Yankton, SD – a bit all over the place and not good in any specific area, much like South Dakota. Not a lot of power and more speed in what would inevitably be a power position, and also not a strong throwing arm, so in reality you were talking about a LF/1B.
Round 9 (#218) – MR Josh Wittrock, 21, from East Falmouth, MA – right-hander with a 91mph heater that could be driven very far, but a very nice slider, if he could get it somewhere near and not *in* the zone.
Round 10 (#242) – LF/RF Justin Garrett, 17, from Faribault, MN – from his video material he looks like he can really hit the baseball, and like he’s also allowed to park in the handicapped spot at the convenience store when you see him stumble around the outfield
Round 11 (#266) – CL Mike Bilek, 20, from Avondale, AZ – this year’s southpaw trying to replicate the raging success of Brad Loveless and whichever 11th-rounders preceded him throws it at 90 and has a neat curve, but no control over any of this.
Round 12 (#290) – LF/INF Larry Rhodes, 17, from Cannon Beach, OR – no power, no speed, no great glove, but Slappy knows a guy in Tillamook country that makes great liquor (and of course cheese, but I mind the liquor) in his backyard brewery and his nephew needs something to do after school
Round 13 (#314) – SP John Schmaltz, 18, from Chaska, MN – that 84mph fastball is gonna play, in Beer League, one day.

+++

All draft picks were assigned to Aumsville, and no, we didn’t draft an almost complete set of high school players intentionally, it just happened to be this way.

There were not that many releases at this stage because we had an epidemic of injuries in the farm system as well. Still, there’s always a few guys that you’ve seen enough of, but right now we weren’t blessed with an abundance of middle infielders in the system, so if you hit .170 in Ham Lake for the third year in a row we couldn’t get rid of you right now.

Maybe in September.

2054 fourth-rounder Justin Gee was walking everything with legs for a few years between Ham Lake and St: Pete now and was the only player released from the Alley Cats. That year’s last-rounder, southpaw Matt Gardner had held on in the low minors until now, but it wasn’t gonna get better with him, ever, and this #327 pick also went out after five years in the system. 2057 Nick Brown Memorial pick Billy Laun had less luck, getting sent away after two years, 56 innings and almost as many walks in Aumsville. 2B John Finney (2056, 10th round) was also let go along with one or two others that were washed in from the trash heap or were dragged in by the cat or scout.