1. Columbus Blue Birds-P Bud Ramirez-With the 1st overall selection, Columbus grabs a high ceiling college pitcher from Duke. His projections are certainly good enough for this player to be a top of the rotation pitcher, but he's got quite a bit to grow to reach that. He should develop good control and a good fastball, yet he won't have much velocity. He already has the ability to force groundballs and should improve upon that. His splits should turn out to be good as well. He doesn't have great stamina, but with the durability, control and splits projections he could easily be a 200 inning pitcher. The biggest concern with Ramirez is that he's 22 and has quite a ways to go to reach the projections.
2. Philadelphia Stars-RF Andy Wunsch-A good pick at #2 for Philadelphia. I think Wunsch projects more as a leftfielder due to lower arm strength than what I want out of a rightfielder. He projects to be a very good hitter with the ability to reach base many ways. He has contact, good power, he'll kill left handers and hit good against righties as well. Wunsch will also pull in quite a few base on balls each season. He's not slow, but he's fast either. He is fairly smart on the bases. At age 20, he doesn't have very far to go to get to his projections and should get pretty close to being the player that he's expected to be.
3. Louisville Red Caps-Clay Parris-Parris projects out to be a secondbaseman with great range and a good glove for the position. His arm strength leaves him at second base. He has decent speed but will not develop into a threat on the bases. He should be a good contact hitter with a little bit of power. His splits project to be average but he'll have a good eye at the plate. He should hit for a decent average with a high obp.
4. Durham Bulls-RP R.J. Farquhar-Farquhar(what a name?), projects to be a dynamite closer. His durability isn't what you'd want for a closer, but he has decent stamina that should help. This guy though, projects out to have great control, great splits, great velocity, will keep the ball down in the zone to force grounders, and has an amazing curveball with a good slider as a second pitch. What worries me though besides the durability is that he doesn't possess a fastball, which I like a closer to have. I think he can overcome that though if he gets even close to his projected abilities. He is 21, and has quite a bit to grow over the next couple seasons, so I'll be interested to see how close he can get to those projections, but he isn't too far off from being a major league reliever right now.
5. Boston Beaneaters-3B Lloyd Jorgensen-Jorgensen is a solid #5 selection. He should develop a good glove for third and decent arm strength. He projects to have good power, and real good splits. He lacks speed, base running ability, and has lower contact. He should draw some walks and even with the low contact will be a decent hitter and a solid option at third. Drafted out of high school, he has good makeup and plenty of time to develop his skills.
6. Helena Fruit Pickers-SS Dorian Rice-Can't see this player.
7. St Louis Brown Stockings-SS Al Cairo-Drafted out of John Wood CC, Cairo projects to be a solid hitter with decent skills as a shortstop. His glove worries me a bit for the position, but he has the range and arm to do a decent job. I think he projects more as a third basemen or a real good rightfielder. He should develop good power, and has good contact. His splits will help him hit for a good average, but his eye will hold him back a bit. He has decent base running abilities and speed, but won't worry any pitchers and catchers. Cairo will be a solid major leaguer if he gets close to his projections, but I don't think he'll be a star player.
8. Huntington Heroes-P Louis Scott-This high schooler probably won't sign as he has his sights set on being a professional football player. If he changes his mind though, he could be a really good closer one day. His projections show that he has pretty good control, will be tough on righties and lefties, has real good velocity, and the ability to keep the ball down, he should also have a dynamite change up and a real good fastball. He has good durability and decent stamina for a reliever.
9. Baltimore Lords-2B Robert McLemore-McLemore has the ability to be a pretty good secondbaseman one day. He doesn't have a great glove, but could play second or leftfield solid. He has the projections to be a pretty good hitter, with solid pop. He has a little speed as well, which could help him be a 300 hitter with the good contact, power, splits, and eye. Nothing he projects out to is great, but everything is a bit above average. He could go on to have a pretty solid career. He may not be a regular all star type player, but he should be a valuable player. He has quite a bit of growing to do in order to reach his potential, but he's young and could do it.
10. Vancouver Veterans-2B Justin Torres-I really like Torres with this pick, but I like speedy players. Torres has good speed right now and should develop into a pretty good base runner. He should develop real good contact, should be a tough out for left handed pitchers and do a decent job against righties. He should have a decent eye as well. He'll have the range to play a good second base, with a decent glove. He doesn't have power, but that won't hold him back from being a good player. What may hold him back is his lower makeup and the fact that he has a decent amount of growing to do and he's already 20 years old.
11. Norfolk Clam Eaters-SS Dmitri Gilbert-This youngster from Orange Park HS could turn into a nice player for a #11 pick. He has really good range for a shortstop, but could cause a few headaches with the glove as he doesn't project to have the glove of a shortstop. His arm strength and accuracy could develop to a good level, but it isn't great. He has some speed and should become a good base runner, but he isn't a leadoff type. I really like his contact and eye at the plate. His splits aren't going to be great but average. He should be able to find his way on base fairly well and with his base running abilities could score some runs. He lacks power, but could provide a home run here and there.
12. Las Vegas Thunder-2B Philip Wilkins-Wilins has tons of range and an average glove. His arm will be good for a second baseman. He has some speed and should develop as a good base runner. He should develop good contact and a good eye. His splits are average, but due to his contact, eye and decent speed, should be able to hit good. He has a little bit of power and could be able to reach double digits in homers, but not much more. Wilkins is you and has a ways to go to reach his potential, but he should be able to become a solid major leaguer.
13. Salt Lake City Trappers-2B Bert Hackman-Another talented high school kid comes off the board with this pick. Hackman has the ability to be a very good fielder. He projects to have very good range and a real good glove to go with it. He doesn't have much arm strength but has good accuracy. He has good speed but I'm not sure his base running will ever be good enough for him to be a base stealing threat. Low contact will cause him to strike out a bit, but his splits, power and batting eye should make him a pretty solid hitter with some good power. He is a steal at pick 13 if he fully develops his abilities.
14. Iowa City River Bandits-C Cameron Sanders-This youngster from Lakeland HS is the first catcher to be drafted. He could be a very good pitch caller behind the plate, but his arm strength won't be a quality part of his game. He doesn't have bad speed for a catcher. His contact should be decent, and his splits are average to below average. He has good power and a batting eye that should help him be a good hitter overall. Sanders could develop into a pretty good back stop.
15. Hartford Bees-2B Craig Smith-Smith will make for a good second baseman. He projects to have good range and glove for second base and his arm is good there as well. He has some speed and decent base running but he isn't a threat to steal bases. He could develop real good contact and he has good splits and an above average eye. I wouldn't expect a 300 hitter out of him but he can develop into a nice hitter to have. He has low makeup which worries me about him reaching his projections, but he is young and should be able to get close.
16. El Paso Diablos-P Eric Dunham-This junior out of N. Alabama has not signed yet and could be heading back to college. If not, he could develop into a good top of the rotation type pitcher. He should have real good stamina, although his durability is not very good. He projects to have really good control, good splits, real good velocity, good at getting the groundballs, and a pretty good fastball. He's a 3 pitch pitcher, but his change up is useless, with a decent slider. He is 21, but he doesn't have much growing to do to become a major league quality pitcher.
17. Jacksonville Suns-P Freddie Hamilton-While the top of the draft wasn't top heavy, this pick at 17 shows the depth that it did have. Hamilton is a pretty nice reliever to draft with this pick. He will have good durability, to go with good stamina. He'll have real good control, good splits, and he has 2 good pitches, a sinker and curveball. He doesn't have good velocity, but his ability to keep the ball down in the zone will force some groundballs. I think this is a really good pick for Jacksonville.
18. Monterrey Mustangs-P Jason Burriss-This pitcher out of high school should develop into a pretty nice starter. He'll have good durability for a starter and good stamina. With his control he could easily get 6 innings per start and come close to 7 innings a start. His splits could hold him back since he isn't going to be especially tough on left hand batters, but he'll do good against the righties. Low velocity and an inability to keep the ball down hurt his overall ability. He brings a very good fastball, a real good second pitch, a curveball, and decent 3 and 4 pitches, slider and change up. I think he could turn out to be a pretty good pitcer and he's young and has plenty of time to develop his skills.
19. Portland Gladiators-P Charles Smith-Another good young starter comes off the board here. He has decent durability, and good stamina. He should develop good control, with good splits. I like his velocity and he is decent at forcing a groundball. His fastball should be pretty good, with a decent curveball. He is a 5 pitch pitcher, but his change up, split fastball, and slider are not very good. He has decent makeup and not far to go to reach his projections so he should develop nicely.
20. San Juan Boricuas-P Bob Sisco-Sisco should become a pretty solid starter in the majors. He has real good control projections, and good splits. His velocity and groundball ability are good too. He has a real good fastball, and decent slider. He'll have a decent change up and curveball to go with those two pitches as well. His cut fastball isn't good but it is a fifth pitch option. He'll have decent stamina, but low durability will cause him to miss some starts. At 18 he doesn't have as far to go to reach these projections as some players in the draft the same age. Not a bad player at all with this pick.
21. Montreal Shamrocks-2B Albert Vasquez-Montreal chose to go the college route with this pick. Vasquez looks to be a pretty good pick at 21. He'll have great range and a really good glove with a decent arm to go with it. He has decent speed and his base running ability could develop enough to make him a threat to steal some bases. His contact should be decent but he has almost no power. He'll have real good splits if he develops fully, but only a decent eye at the plate. He could hit for a decent average and steal some bases but his major asset will be his fielding abilities. His age doesn't leave him much time to grow, but he has a very high makeup and should grow to be a solid major leaguer.
22. Detroit Wolverines-3B Jerry Stark-Stark was drafted to play third. He doesn't have real good range which puts him as a thirdbaseman. His glove should be decent and he should have a decent arm for third as well. His accuracy worries me for third. He has decent speed, but his base running won't be very good and likely won't be a threat to steal. He has decent contact and some power, with good splits. His batting eye doesn't project good at all. Even if he reaches his full potential Stark is likely to be a reserve option in the majors. He has good makeup and is young, so he should be able to get pretty close to his projections.
23. Jacksonville Suns-CF Mel Krause-Krause looks like a good centerfielder. He has decent range for the position and a real good glove. His arm strength and accuracy isn't very good, but that's not a necessity for the position. He has real good speed, but not good base running skills. His speed should help him get some steals, but he can't be relied upon as a stealing threat. He projects to have low contact, but real good power. His splits and batting eye project real good too. Even with low contact he should still be a pretty good hitter possibly in the 5 hole. He has low makeup and quite a ways to go to reach his potential which worry me. If he gets close to his projections though, he should be a pretty good player.
24. Louisville Red Caps-RF Marvin Malloy-Malloy was drafted as a rightfielder, but I don't like his fielding ability for the position. He has decent range but not the glove I would like in the outfield. His arm is decent but not good enough for the position. He does have great speed and should develop great base running abilities as well. He could be a top base stealer. His contact projects just decent and he has a little power but not a home run threat at all. He should hit lefties real well, but will struggle with right handers. He should develop a good batting eye. He should be a decent player, but I'm not sure he can reach base enough to use his real talent and that is stealing bases. Malloy should be a major leaguer but he probably won't be a starter.
25. Kansas City Monarchs-P Marc Strange-Strange could be a very good closer in the future. He has lower durability for a reliever, and his stamina is not very high, but his other projections are very good. He projects to have great control, real good splits, and will be able to force a lot of ground balls. His velocity isn't very good, but he brings a real good sinker, and split finger fastball. He has a change up but it's nothing to get excited about. Strange projects very well and has decent make up. I think he'll be a real good major league reliever.
26. Salem Volcanoes-C Matt Kennedy-Just the second catcher taken in this draft Kennedy projects very well. While he doesn't have good defensive skills at all, he should be a real good hitter. His pitch calling is low, and his arm is not good for the position either. He should have real good contact, and great power though. His splits project to be pretty good and he should have a decent eye as well. His durability will allow him to play a good amount of games. Kennedy is more of a DH and I'm not sure if his offense is good enough to allow him to play over the bad defense.
27. Pittsburgh Crawfords-1B Zeus Kile-Kile is the first player drafted as a first baseman in this draft. He has good range for the position and a good enough glove too. He doesn't have much speed but will be a decent base runner. He projects to have very good contact, and a little bit of power. He could be a 20 homer a season player. He projects very good splits and a good eye as well. Kile could be a 2 hole hitter in the future if he reaches his projections. He worries me though with the low makeup. He is only 18, but he has quite a ways to go in order to reach his projections.
28. Cleveland Cubs-P Tony Javier-Javier looks like a solid young pitching prospect if he signs. He could decide to go play D1 basketball. I'm not sure how a 6 foot player with little speed fits in with D1 basketball though. He projects to have very good stamina with fair durability. He has good control, with out much velocity. He should be good against right handers and lefties. He will force his share of groundballs. He has a very good fastball and not much else. His curveball as a second pitch isn't very good. He follows that with a sinker, change up, and forkball that are decent for 3, 4 and 5 pitches. Javier could be a solid major league starter.
29. Honolulu Asahis-2B Clarence Williams-Williams has good range for second base, with a decent glove. His arm strength is decent for the position with decent accuracy. He has a little bit of speed with real good base running projections. He could steal some bases. His contact should be good with a little bit of pop. He has good splits and a real good eye at the plate. He could go on to be a good starter at second in his ml career if he reaches his potential. He has low makeup, but at 19 years old he could get close to his potential as he doesn't have a lot of growing to do.
30. El Paso Diablos-P Pedro Abreu-Abreu is a starting pitcher prospect. He projects decent stamina, but not good durability. He could miss some starts if used as a starter and not get very good innings. He has real good control, with great velocity projections. He'll be good at forcing ground balls, and will be good against left handers, but not very good against right handers. He has a very good sinker, with a good slider as a second pitch, and even a good curveball as a third pitch option. Abreu could be a decent back end of the rotation starter or long reliever in his ml career.
31. Austin Swing-P Eddie Duran-I think Duran is a decent relief prospect. He has good stamina for a reliever, but not so good for a starter. His durability though will not be good for a reliever expected to pitch often. He projects to have decent control, with good splits. He won't have much velocity, but should force a decent amount of grounders. He has a decent sinker and decent slider as top two pitches. He should develop a decent curveball for a third pitch, but his change up will never be good enough as a pitch option. Duran projects to be a major leaguer but he'll be an average pitcher at best.
32. Cleveland Cubs-P Welington Garces-Garces projects as a good reliever. He should develop good stamina, but his big downfall is his durability. He won't be able to pitch very often. He does have good control projections, and good splits as well. He should have real good velocity, but won't keep the ball down very much. His first pitch is a forkball, but his best pitch is his slider. He also has a good curveball as a third pitch. Garces could be a pretty good major league reliever, but he won't get to pitch very many games.
33. Seattle Pilots-SS Magglio Mondesi-Mondesi projects as a major league shortstop that won't hit much. He could be a dynamite fielder, but his bat leaves a lot to be desired. He has very good range and dynamite glove projections. He projects great arm strength and great accuracy as well. He doesn't have good speed or baserunning abilities. He will have low contact and not much power. He'll have good bats against lefties, but decent against right handers. He does have a decent eye. He has lower makeup and is 22 so I'm not sure how close he'll get to his projections, but he doesn't have far to go to reach them.
