[HerbD]

ROUNDS 7 ~ 12




In the next six rounds, the Chiefs focused on a combination of best available players and minor league system weakness. We have
only two catching prospects inside the top 500 according to OSA and I think our best one is not even rated inside the 500. So clearly
catching is a position that needs some added depth. Our current set of FABL catchers are 30 and 31 years old so there is some time
but unless we make a trade we will be struggling to field a serviceable catcher in four to five seasons. We started looking at catchers
way too late in the game this draft but it didn't seem to be but one sure-fire major leaguer and he went in the second round. There
were ten catchers total drafted in the first six rounds before we took high schooler Neal Quist in the seventh. Quist has a decent hit
tool, .470 over 697 plate appearances, and is rated three out of five in blocking, framing, and arm. If he makes it to the bigs it would
be great but we also need him to fill some depth in the minors and allow us to get rid of some of the old fodder currently filling our
system.

Next, we selected Johnny Recker, another prep catcher. Recker is a little bit better defensively, a little worse as a hitter, and projected to
have more power than Quist. If we could have put those two together, they would have made one pretty good prospect, but they
would have been gone by the eighth round anyway. It would be a miracle if either of these guys start above Class C ball but we are
hoping that one of them will show enough to move up to Class B to start next season.

We held off on taking another catcher and went for a college pitcher. Ed Clark didn't have great numbers in college but he faced good
competition and while his ERA went the wrong direction each season, his HR/9 went down each year and his K/9 stayed pretty steady.
Green thinks Clark can sneak into a back of the rotation spot but I don't think he will do that in our system. Like most of the college
juniors, he is only 20 years old so there is plenty of time for him to develop.

We went back to catcher for our 10th-round pick as Dick Miller was still available. Like Clark, Miller faced good competition and
managed to perform well. Green thinks he has some hidden power that our minor league coaches can unlock and he's probably
the best defensively of the three guys we just took. He's just 19 but we hope he can start in Class B and continue to develop.

College 1B Polly Dawson and high school outfielder Ed Marshall round out our top twelve picks for 1963. Each possessed particular
skills that Green liked. Dawson has a pretty good hit trait while Marshall has a very good eye. At this point in the draft, you look for
things your scout likes and hope for the best. The rest of the draft will be in Green's control.