2019

BASEBALL TODAY AND TOMMOROW

Using our PIP rating method, a grade 5 is a player with high impact for the upcoming season. A prospect highest rating is 4. Relief pitchers will not be graded.

 

Billings

               Round                  Position               Player                                 PIP

               1                            SP                          Mike Fiers                           4.6

               1                            RP                         Jesse Chavez                      XX

               2                            UTI                        Jurickson Profar                3.9

               3                            RP                         Jose Leclerc                       XX

               3                            SP                          Jesus Luzardo                    3.5

               4                            SP                          Jamie Barria                       3.8

               6                            SP                          Rick Porcello                      3.8

               7                            C                            Willans Astudillo               3.2

               8                            RP                         Seranthony Dominquez   XX

               9                            UTI                        Charlie Culberson             3.4

               10                          SP                          Tanner Roark                     3.8

THE DRAFT

Billings with two picks in the first round selected starting pitcher (BZ) Mike Fiers      and relief pitcher (AZ) Jesse Chavez. Chavez has 95 innings nothing to complain about, however we think more offense would have been nice with this selection. In the second round they selected utility player Jurickson Profar coming off one of his best seasons and still only 26 yrs. old. More relief help in the third round with (AC) Jose Leclerc followed by un-carded pitcher Jesus Luzardo. Luzardo comes highly touted. Starting pitcher (B) Jamie Barria was selected in the 4th round we like his potential and he will have a starting role this year for the Mustang. In round 6 they selected starting pitcher Rick Porcello (CZ) who quickly slides in to the rotation followed by catcher Willians Astudillo in the 7th round. Astudillo for the most part has hit well in the minors but with little power and his defense is suspect. In the 8th round they selected relief pitcher (B) Seranthony Dominquez, he has the arm but control could be an issue. Utility fielder Charlie Culberson was taken in the 9th round followed by starting pitcher (CZ) Tanner Roark in the 10th round with 180 innings, you got to like that! PIP 3.75

 

TEAM ANALYSIS

Billings traded away their ace Kershaw in the off season and they replaced him in the draft with Fiers. The rest of the rotation is comprised of Freeland, Barria, Porcello and Roark. Getting both Porcello and Roark as late in draft as they did, is impressive. The bullpen is one of the better ones in the division. The offense is led by Andujar, Encarnacion and Grichuk with an overall OPS of .787 it ranks them last in the division. Defensively they will struggle.  Down on the farm they have Fernando Tatis Jr and Elroy Jimenez both have made the big- league roster. Highly regarded un-carded pitchers Whitley and Luzardo are still working on their craftsmanship in the minors with Whitley being closest to being called up.

Billings in their inaugural season finished 5th in the the division with 61 wins they have improved their pitching but the offense is still lacking. We see them once again in the lower half of the division due to the lack of offense. If Tatis, Mejia and Jimenez live up to their expectations this is a ballclub on the rise.

Hartford

               Round                  Position               Player                                 PIP

               2                            SP                          Dereck Rodriquez             3.8

               3                            OF                         Ramon Laureano              4.0

               4                            1B                         Tyler White                        3.7

               5                            SP                          Nathan Eovaldi                 3.5

               6                            SP                          Marco Gonzales                4.0

               7                            OF                         Franmil Reyes                    3.7

               7                            SP                          Josh James                         4.0

               9                            3B                         Ke’Bryan Hayes                 3.7

               10                          RP                         Hector Velazquez             XX

               10                          SP                          Kyle Wright                        XX

               12                          1B                         Aramis Garcia                    3.3

THE DRAFT

Hartford without a 1st round picked selected starting pitcher (B) Dereck Rodriquez in the second round. Rodriquez had a breakout season in MLB but with limited innings and not much of a track record, he may be hard pressed to repeat the effort. In the 3rd round they selected outfielder Ramon Laureano we like it, loads of potential if he can harvest it. First baseman Tyler White was selected in the 4th round he adds punch to the offense but with limited at bats. Starting pitcher (CZ) Nathan Eovaldi was taken in the 5th round he has had trouble staying healthy and has limited innings so he’ll probably be used as an innings eater. In the 6th round they selected starting pitcher (CZ) Marco Gonzalez we had him ranked high on our list, nice pick. With two picks in the 7th round they selected outfielder Franmill Reyes and SP/RP Josh James. Reyes had a breakout season last year but don’t look for a repeat. James on the other hand has a huge upside. They looked to the future for a third baseman and selected uncarded player Ke’Bryan Hayes. Hayes is the son of former Philly Charlie Hayes and is a much better player than the old man. With two picks in round ten they selected relief pitcher (B) Hector Velazquez and starting pitcher (C) Kyle Wright. Feeling that Wright wasn’t the right pick they released him and took 1B/C Aramis Garcia in the 12th round. PIP 3.74

 

TEAM ANALYSIS

The Hurricanes do not have a so- called ace in their rotation. The staff is made up of (B) Garrett Richards and (B) Dereck Rodriquez both with limited innings so they will need to be used strategically.  Three (CZ) starters fill out the rest of the rotation. The bullpen is light with Josh Fields the only (AZ) but with limited innings. The offense is led by Justin Turner, Ron Acuna with newly acquired Wright and Reyes. Their  OPS of .826 is a little miss leading as a number of players have limited AB’s. The defense has a couple of holes as well. Hartford held on to Bautista and Longoria why we do not know. The Garcia pick in the 12th round is a head scratcher as well. The only player down on the farm is Hayes we would have gotten rid of the some of the dead weight and gone un-carded.

Hartford jumped out to a big lead at the beginning of the 2018 season but was caught and surpassed by San Diego ending up second in the West. They lost in a first-round playoff too Norfolk disappointing the Hurricane fan base. The lack of depth in offense, an average rotation and no bullpen does not bode well for the Cain’s. Look for a lower tier finish for 2019.

 

 

Memphis

               Round                  Position               Player                                 PIP

               3                            UTI                        Dan Robertson                  3.5

               3                            RP                         Kevin Herrera                    XX

               5                            RP                         Kyle Crick                            XX

               5                            1B                         Peter Alonso                      4.0

               5                            RP                         Oliver Perez                       XX

               6                            RP                         Matt Strahm                      XX

               7                            SP                          Shane Bieber                     3.7

               8                            1B                         Nathaniel Lowe                3.5

               9                            SP                          Justus Sheffield                 3.6

               10                          SP                          Ryan Borucki                     3.2

               11                          C                            Victor Carantini                 XX

               12                          RP                         Wander Suero                   XX

                                            

THE DRAFT

The Sound did not have a pick until the third round and selected utility infielder Dan Robertson. Robertson has a .382 OBP and will share the second base duties with Cano. The Memphis fans aren’t too happy with the pick and neither are we. With a second pick in the 3rd round they selected relief pitcher (AZ) Kevin Herrera who should get his share of save chances. They did not have a pick in the 4th round but had three picks in the 5th. They started the 5th round with (A) reliever Kyle Crick followed by un-carded 1B Peter Alonso and finished up with (ABZ) reliever Oliver Perez. Not bad. They selected another relief pitcher in round six (A) Matt Strahm. In the 7th round they selected starting pitcher (CZ) Shane Bieber we really like his upside. Un-carded first baseman Nate Lowe was selected in the 8th he had a break out season last year starting at single A and finishing at AAA with 27 dingers.  In the 9th round they selected highly touted un-carded starting pitcher Justus Sheffield followed by starting pitcher (C) Ryan Borucki in the 10th round. The Borucki pick could be a stinker. They selected catcher Victor Carantini in the 11th round but decided they needed more relief help so they released Carantini and took (BZ) relief pitcher Wander Suero. PIP 3.58

 

TEAM ANALYSIS 

Memphis has one of the better rotations in the division just trailing San Diego and Norfolk in the division. The staff is led by DeGrom (ACZ) followed by (BZ) Manaea, (B) Price, (B) Flaherty and (CZ) Tanaka. The bullpen was vastly improved in the draft but was it enough? The offense is led by Arenando, Stanton and Cano but a team OPS of .816 puts them in the lower tier in the West. Defensively they are one of the better teams.

 The Sound finished 4th in the division in 2018 with an underperforming .493 winning percentage.  They were unable to improve their offense in the draft as the bullpen needed rebuilt. Look for a similar finish in 2019. The Sound does have one of the stronger farm teams with Alonso,  Adell , Riley and Hiura which bodes well for the future.

 

 

 

Norfolk          

               Round                  Position               Player                                 PIP

               1                            C                            Joey Bart                            4.0

               2                            3B                         Eduardo Escobar              4.2

               2                            C                            Dan Jansen                         3.7

               3                            1B                         Jesus Aguilar                      4.4

               4                            RP                         Adam Cimber                     XX

               5                            RP                         Matt Grace                        XX

               6                            C                            Elias Diaz                            3.6

               7                            SP                          Andrew Suarez                  XX

               8                            UTI                        Hernan Perez                     3.2

               9                            OF                         Yordon Alvarez                  3.7

               10                          RP                         Shawn Kelly                        XX

               11                          3B                         Nolan Gorman                  3.5

               12                          2B                         Brandon Lowe                   3.8

               13                          RP                         Jessie Biddle                      XX

               14                          C                            Mitch Garver                     3.5

               15                          SP                          Pablo Lopez                       3.4

 

THE DRAFT

Norfolk obviously came into the 2019 draft with the focus on improving their catching. Out of the eight fielding players they drafted, four were catchers. They also turned over 40% of their roster. The Neptune’s started it off by selecting un-carded catcher Joey Bart in the 1st round. Bart should be on the fast track to the majors as he comes highly rated. In the 2nd they took third baseman Eduardo Escobar who had a career year and will slide into the starting role at third. With a second pick in round two they selected catcher Dan Jansen who carded for the first time and was highly ranked in most publications ours included. Unbelievably, in the 3rd round 1B Jesus Aguilar was still on the board and when Sherwood wanted to trade their 3rd round pick the Neptune’s jumped at the chance to get him by giving up a 2nd round pick in 2020. Nice. In the 4th round they selected relief pitcher (BZ) Adam Cimber followed by another reliever in the 5th (BZ) Matt Grace. Catcher Elias Diaz was picked in the 6th he had a fine season with limited AB’s. He’ll start for the Neptune’s but don’t look for a repeat from him this season in MLB. Starting pitcher (CZ) Andrew Suarez was selected in the 7th round and will fill out the rotation. Every team needs one, so in the 8th round they selected utility player Hernan Perez. Perez is a good fielder but not much with the bat however he does have speed. Un-carded outfielder Yordon Alvarez was selected in the 9th round and we had him highly rated. More relief came in round ten in the name of (BZ) Shawn Kelly followed by un-carded third baseman Nolan Gorman in the 11th. Gorman is a highly regarded prospect but at 19 years of age it will be a little while till he man’s the position for Norfolk. Second Baseman Brandon Lowe looks legit and in the 12th round how could you go wrong? Relief pitcher (B) Jessie Biddle in the 13th was followed by their final catcher selection Mitch Garver in the 14th who could surprise. With their final pick they selected starting pitcher (CZ) Pablo Lopez he’ll add some depth to the roster. PIP 3.72

 

TEAM ANALYSIS

The Neptunes have the second - best rotation in the West (AC) Blake Snell is the ace of the staff followed by (BZ) Severino, (BZ) Taillion, (B) Clevenger and (CZ) Suarez. The bullpen is the biggest weakness on this ballclub with only one (AZ) reliever and he has limited innings. They took three (BZ) relivers in the draft so they will need to be used wisely. The offense is led by Yelich, Judge and Aguilar sporting an OPS of .857 best in the division. The defense is top notch.

The Neptune’s ended up third in the East last year losing in the playoffs to the World Champion 76’ers. It looks like a rematch is a strong possibility. The lack of bullpen may hurt but not enough to keep them from the top tier of the division.                                                                                                                                   

San Diego

               Round                  Position               Player                                 PIP

               1                            SP                          Kyle Gibson                        4.5

               2                            SS                          Adalberto Mondesi          4.0

               3                            RP                         Ryan Braiser                      XX

               5                            SP                          Jose Alverez                       XX

               6                            RP                         Jonnathan Holder             XX

               7                            SP                          Ryan Yarbrough                3.5

               7                            RP                         Chasen Bradford               XX

               8                            OF                         Roman Quinn                    3.6

              10                           RP                         Framber Valdez                 XX

               11                          C                            Isiah Kiner-Falefa              3.7

               12                          OF                         Bradley Zimmer                 3.1

               13                          1B                         Jake Bauers                        3.0

THE DRAFT

San Diego with the 14th pick of the draft selected starting pitcher (B) Kyle Gibson followed by SS Adalberto Mondesi in the 2nd. We really like Mondesi. Relief help came in the next three rounds (ACZ)   Ryan Braiser was picked in the 3rd round followed by (A) Jose Alveraz and Jonnathan Holer. With two picks in the 7th round they selected starting pitcher (CZ) Ryan Yarbourgh and relief pitcher (BZ) Chasen Bradford. The Phillies Roman Quinn was selected in the 8th round he doesn’t have a starting gig yet but should sooner rather than later. OF/3B Brian Anderson was picked in the 9th round followed by starting pitcher (AW) Framber Valdez in the 10th. We like Anderson but Valdez with 37 innings will be a one-year keeper. Catching help came in the 11th round when they picked Isiah Kiner-Falefa not much power but should be a competent backup. Outfielder Bradley Zimmer once a highly regarded prospect was selected in the 12th he’s coming off an injury and has not panned out as projected. They selected another one time highly regarded prospect 1B Jake Bauers in the 13th round who has yet lived up to the hype and probably never will. PIP 3.64

 

TEAM ANALYSIS

The Six’ers have the best starting rotation in the West just edging out Norfolk. Anchored by (AZ) Max Scherzer and (AZ) Aaron Nola with (B) Gibson (B) Lester and (CZ) Yarbrough filling out the back half of the rotation. The bullpen while not the deepest in the division should be more than capable. The offense is led by Khris Davis, Peralta, Votto and Altuve with an OPS of .826 it puts them in the middle of the pack in the West. The infield is strong defensively but the outfield D is suspect. San Diego has the second oldest roster in the ZSABL with Chris Davis and Elvis Andrus taking up space on their roster we would have released them and gone un-carded. But than again who are we to tell the World Champs what to do?

San Diego won the Western Division in 2018 and carried that momentum into a World Championship by beating the Eastern Division champions the Philadelphia Black Sox’s. San Diego and Norfolk should battle it out once again in 2019 for the crown in the West.

 

 

Seattle

               Round                  Position               Player                                 PIP

               1                            SP                          Miles Miklos                      4.6

               2                            SP                          Dereck Holland                 4.2

               3                            RP                         Will Smith                           XX

               4                            1B                         C.J. Cron                             4.0

               5                            RP                         Kevin McCarthy                 XX

               6                            OF                         Teoscar Hernandez          3.3

               7                            OF                         Kevin Pillar                         3.3

               8                            RP                         Caleb Ferguson                 XX

               9                            UTI                        Yolmer Sanchez                3.1

               10                          OF                         Jacoby Jones                     2.8

               11                          SP                          Wade Leblanc                   3.5

               12                          SP                          Tyler Anderson                  2.9

               13                          RP                         Jacob Barnes                     XX

               14                          SP                          Matt Boyd                          2.9

               15                          SP                          Steven Matz                       3.7

 

THE DRAFT

Seattle came into the draft having to build a starting rotation and with the second overall pick in the draft they selected starting pitcher (BZ) Miles Miklos. Miklos had a career year in 2018 having just returned from a three -year stint in Japan. In the 2nd round they selected starting pitcher (B) Dereck Holland at 32 years old Holland had his best season since 2013. He will be will be hard pressed to repeat the effort but will fill in nicely for a year. Relief pitcher (AZ) Will Smith was selected in round three. The Scouts went for offense in the 4th round selecting first baseman C. J. Cron who had a career high 30 home runs in 2018. Relief pitcher (BZ) Kevin McCarthy was selected in the 5th round followed by outfielder Teoscar Hernandez in the 6th. Teoscar has a little pop but there is a lot of swing and miss sprinkled in there too. The Scouts picked outfielder Kevin Pilllar in the seventh round he will add speed and defensive help. Relief pitcher (BZ) Caleb Ferguson was picked in the 8th round followed by utility infielder Yolmer Sanchez. JaCoby Jones was a wasted pick in the 10th round. Seattle filled out the last piece of their starting rotation by taking (CZ) Wade Leblanc in round eleven. The last three out of four rounds would add pitching depth with starters (C) Tyler Anderson, (C) Matt Boyd and (C) Steven Matz. Matz has the best upside as we did have him listed as a sleeper. Sprinkled in there was another reliever (B) Jacob Barnes, we’re not quite sure why, perhaps 10 relievers weren’t enough.  PIP 3.48

 

TEAM ANALYSIS

Seattle was able to put together their best starting rotation since the 2016 season via the draft. The rotation features (BZ) Miklos, (B) Jhoulys Chacin, (B) J.A. Happ (B) Dereck Holland and (CZ) Wade Leblanc. Not bad. The bullpen has depth and is one of the better ones in the division. Offensively they are led by Nelson Cruz, Cron and Merrifield with an OPS of .780 it places them last in the division. Defensively they will struggle. There is not one player down on the farm and they have the oldest roster in baseball.

The Scouts finished last in the West in 2018 with 53 wins. They did a great job putting the rotation together and have the bullpen to keep games close, however the offense just isn’t there to compete in the West. Look for them to improve in the win column but still finish in the lower half of the division.

 

Union Station

            Round                  Position               Player                                 PIP

               1                            OF                         Brandon Nimmo               4.4

               2                            RP                         Richard Rodriquez            XX

               2                            RP                         Dylan Floro                        XX

               3                            RP                         Jeremy Jeffress                 XX

               4                            2B                         Niko Goodrum                  3.7

               4                            RP                         Edgar Santana                   XX

               5                            RP                         Yoshihisa Hirano               XX

               6                            SP                          Zach Eflin                            3.5

               6                            1B                         Ronald Guzman                 3.6

 

THE DRAFT

The Cowboys selected outfielder Brandon Nimmo in the 1st round he has been hyped for quite a few years perhaps at 26 years of age he has figured it out. With two picks in the second round they selected relief pitcher (AZ) Richard Rodriquez followed by another reliver (AZ) Dylan Floro. Round three brought yet another reliver (AB) Jeremy Jeffress. With two picks in in the 4th they took second basemen Niko Goodrum and (BZ) relief pitcher Edgar Santana. Goodrum plays all over the field none exceptionally well but he does have some pop in his bat. Another relief pitcher (A) Yoshihisa Hirano was picked in round five. With two picks in the 6th they fist selected starting pitcher (CZ) Zach Eflin followed by first baseman Ronald Guzman. Eflin had 123 K’s in 128 innings in MLB not shabby and Guzman has some pop but also some miss in his swing. Union Station’s management is well known for selecting some of the most talented young un-carded players come draft day but for the first time in team history there’s not one to be found on their roster. PIP 3.80

 

TEAM ANALYSIS

Union Station’s rotation ranks in the lower tier of the division with (BZ) Zack Greinke, (B) Gerrit Cole, (B) Trevor Williams, (CZ) German Marquez and (CZ) Zach Eflin. The bullpen is on of the better ones so expect pitching changes after 5 innings. The offense is led by Bregman, Nimmo and Baez and has an overall OPS of .827 ranking them second in the division. The defense is not very good with only Bregman and Baez with the best rated fielding numbers at their positions.

Union Station ended up in 6th place in 2018. They are a much better club going into 2019 with an improved rotation and bullpen. The offense will score runs and the strong bullpen will offset some of the weakness in the starting five. We would not be surprised to see them in the playoffs come October.