Baseball Today and Tomorrow

 

 

This year’s 2015 ZSABL draft was thin on hitting making it difficult for teams to improve their overall offensive numbers. This can be attributed to the vast amount of information and projections used by today’s ZSABL general managers when making their draft strategies for the present and future. We believe this to be a continuing trend for the foreseeable future. Here at BT&T we incorporated a new grading system (PIP) last year to rate each player drafted and it was well received. We have made two changes this year to our grading system.

 

1. A player 5 rating is a player with immediate high impact for the upcoming season.

 

2. Due to the abundant number of “A” relievers they will not be rated this year. 

 

 

Brooklyn

 

Position     Round     Player             PIP Grade

OF/1B          1    Steve Pearce             5

INF            1    Justin Turner            4.5

P              1    Colin McHugh             5

P              1    Carlos Carrasco          5

C              2    Mike McKenry             3.4

P              3    Scott Atchison           x

P              4    Gavin Floyd              3.7

P              6    TJ McFarland             x

INF(UC)        7    Hector Olivera           2

P              7    Kyle Crockett            x

P              8    Matt Thornton            x

P              9    Tom Layne                x

INF(UC)        10   Daniel Robertson         2.5

C(UC)          11   T.J. Realmuto            3

OF             12   Steven Moya              3.5

 

 

THE DRAFT

A last minute trade between the Mets and Union Station set the tone for the direction of the first two rounds of the draft and would also yield one of the strongest drafts by a team in 2015, Brooklyn. With four first round picks the Mets chose 2 of the top available hitters and pitchers in Pearce, Turner, McHugh and Carrasco. They followed with catcher McKenry in the second who has a nice card but limited at bats but still a plus. Three pitchers came in their next 3 rounds one being Gavin Floyd (AZ) with 54 innings. Uncarded Hector Olivera came in the 7th along with (A) reliever Kyle Crockett. Olivera is a 29 yr old Cuban INF but there are questions about his health and probably his age nothing to get excited about here. Matt Thornton and Tom Layne came in the next 2 rounds both (A) relievers. Oakland prospect Dan Robertson was chosen in the 10th round, he has played SS, 2B and 3B in the minors but his bat is questionable. In the 11th came TJ Realmuto a catcher in the Marlins organization we really like. Moya in the 12th is a hard hitting OF who had 35HR in AA albeit with that power came only 24 walks, but APBA is all about power. Brooklyn has shown that they are very astute at draft time and now they throw another caveat into their mix “unpredictable”. They surprised everyone when they traded the highly regarded Kris Bryant but it produced one of the best drafts by any team in 2015. PIP 3.76 

 

 

THE ROSTER

 

Five A starters two of the A’s have very limited innings and their role will be to fill out the innings for A starters Tanaka (136) and Carrasco(134). Strasburg a BZ completes the rotation very formidable rotation. This high octane offense is led by Martinez, Goldschmidt and Cabrera along with newly acquired Pearce and Turner. There are a couple of players with limited at bats but that won’t impact this ball club. The Met’s could very well set some new ZSABL records and in the process capture their first division championship. The only club standing in their way is Sherwood.

 

 

 

 

Amsterdam

 

Position     Round     Player             PIP Grade

P(UC)          3    Julio Urias              3.5

SS             4    Eduardo Escobar          4

P              5    Justin DeFratus          x

P              6    Kevin Quackenbush        x

C              7    Austin Hedges            2.5

P(UC)          8    Daniel Norris            3.5

UTI            9    Charlie Culberson        2

C              10   Robinson Chirinos        2.5

3B(UC)         11   Kyle Kubitza             3.5

INF            12   Sean Rodriquez           3

 

 

THE DRAFT

Like last year the 2014 ZSABL champions did not pick until the third round where they selected highly touted LA Dodger pitcher Julio Urias. At 18 yrs of age Urias is highly regarded but a couple years away. In the 4th round they selected Eduardo Escobar this kid can play just about anywhere and his bat will surprise. A couple of (A) relievers came in the 5th and 6th rounds and in the 7th they took catcher Austin Hedges. He has fallen in the top prospect ratings due to his bat but he is polished behind the plate. In the 8th they selected Dan Norris. Norris is somewhat of a oddball as he sleeps out of his van during the baseball season but has a lot of promise as a pitcher. The 9th saw utility fielder Charlie Culberson selected, he could be the odd man out in Colorado as he doesn’t bring much to the plate for the Rockies or the Bulldogs. In the 10th they chose catcher Robinson Chirinos picked as a sleeper in some other publications here at BT&T we aren’t convinced although he adds some cheap power. For their final pick they chose utility infielder Sean Rodriquez who we feel can be an asset providing some pop. PIP of 3.06

 

    

THE ROSTER

Amsterdam has Hernandez and Greinke anchoring the rotation and it is rock solid. The addition of Escobar makes a nice improvement to the everyday lineup. McCutchen and Rizzo provide the pop. They will be playing to defend their ZSABL championship. However, their rivals have improved to the point that a 3rd place finish is more likely.

 

 

 

 

Sherwood

 

Position     Round     Player             PIP Grade

OF             1    Drew Stubbs              5

P              2    Kyle Hendricks           3.8

P              5    TJ House                 3.5

P              6    Dale Thayer              x

OF             6    Kirk Nieuwenhuis         3

P              8    Bryan Morris             x

P              9    Zach Putnam              x

P              10   Dan Jennings             x

P              11   Yoervis Medina           x

SS             12   Eugenio Suarez           2

 

 

THE DRAFT

In the 1st round they selected OF Drew Stubbs. Four power numbers and an 11 to boot now throw in a fielding 3 for good measure. Not bad. The 2nd round selection is A starter Kyle Hendricks grades out at 3.8 due to the number of innings pitched and the small sample to base this years upcoming MLB season. In the 5th round they selected a BZ starter in TJ House he only has a 110 innings but this is where the Hendricks’s pick comes into play, very nice. Relief help comes in the 6th and in the 7th they picked OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Nieuwenhuis has only 112AB but will provide depth in the outfield. The 8-10 rounds saw all (A) relievers for Sherwood. With their final pick comes Detroit utility fielder Eugenio Suarez he has a nice glove and is somewhat versatile but the bat leaves much to be desired. PIP 3.40     

 

 

THE ROSTER

The Forest will go with a 4 man rotation with Cueto and Alvarez slated 1 and 2 on the depth chart. This is not one of the strongest rotations in the ZSABL league but more than enough relief will keep them in the game. Offensively they are very strong. Tulo, Dickerson and Beltre lead the way. The outfield was where they needed improvement and they got that with there 1st round pick OF Drew Stubbs. They will battle Brooklyn for the division championship.

             

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Philadelphia

 

Position     Round     Player             PIP Grade

SS(UC)         2    Corey Seager             4

3B(UC)         2    Yoan Moncada             3.8

P              3    Andrew Miller            x

OF             4    Rusney Castillo          4

P              5    Fernando Abad            x

OF(UC)         6    Jesse Winker             3.5

P              7    Anthony Varvaro          x

P              8    Evan Marshall            x

OF             9    Rajai Davis              2.5

3B             10   Conor Gillaspie          3

P              11   Matt Garza               3

INF            12   Ramiro Pena              2   

 

           

THE DRAFT

Philly was looking to the future and by our projections came up big. With 2 picks in the 2nd round they picked prospects LA’s Seager and Boston’s Moncada. Some experts had Seager going in the first round but he was still sitting there with the 20th overall pick. Moncada a highly touted Cuban third basemen was chosen 28th overall a nice selection. Relief pitcher Andrew Miller came in the 3rd a little to early for a rebuilding club with infielders Negron and Escobar who both went in the 4th still on the board. In the 4th round they picked Boston OF Rusney Castillo he had a taste of the show at the end of the year putting up some terrific numbers and ended with a .928OPS. What’s not to like. In the 5th came relief pitcher Abad. In the 6th round un-carded Jessie Winker a highly touted prospect in the Cincinnati farm system was picked. He should see the big show sometime in 2015. Two relief pitchers came next and in the 10th OF Rajai Davis their 2nd stumble of the draft. In the 10th they took 3rd basemen Conor Gillaspie not a lot of pop but will fill in well until Moncada is ready. They took a flier in the 11th with pitcher Matt Garza and with their last pick infielder Pena. Pena doesn’t add a lot but they needed to fill the required fulltime player rule at each position. Their PIP doesn’t reflect the strength of this draft due to the Davis and Pena selections. PIP 3.23

 

 

THE ROSTER

A solid rotation but pales in comparison to some of the other ball clubs in this division. Offense is the achilles heel with an OPS of .743. In a rebuilding year such as this you are going to take your lumps but the future looks much brighter in Philly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rochester

 

Position     Round     Player             PIP Grade

3B/OF(UC)      2    Yasmany Tomas            3.7

C(UC)          2    Blake Swihart            4.2

OF             3    Juan Largares            3.7

P(UC)          4    Henry Owens              3.4

P(UC)          5    Lucas Giolito            4

3B             6    Casey McGehee            2.8

2B             9    Brandon Phillips         2.4

OF             10   Sam Fuld                 1.5

P              11   Edinson Volquez          3.4

P              12   Aaron Harang             3

OF             13   Alejando De Aza          2

 

 

THE DRAFT

Like Philly the Rockers were looking to the future but not as much as we would have liked. With their first pick in the 2nd round they took Cuban Yasmany Tomas. The jury is still out on what position he will play but regardless where that maybe his offense will provide some much needed pop. Blake Swihart was next and you can’t get much better than that. A top of the order batting catcher and someone you want to build your team around, love it. In the 3rd they took Juan Lagares the young Mets outfielder who came in to his own this past season. We think his total numbers will be even better in 2015 and is a nice addition to the ball club. Two young stud pitching prospects were chosen in the 4th and 5th rounds with Giolito being rated extremely high. But here is where they lose some of their direction. McGehee in the 6th just doesn’t sit well with us as his OPS of 712 is only 12 points higher than Headley and Headley is a fielding 5 third basemen. They also have Freese and Olt on their roster. A top tier 2B prospect would have been really nice with this pick. In the 9th and 10th came Phillps and Flud both do nothing for them this season Phillips would have been fine if they had selected a 2B prospect and needed him for one year but that didn’t happen. However you can’t find fault with their next 2 picks in rounds 11 and 12, picking up two B starters with innings so late in the draft. In the 13th round they took De Aza we would have preferred a top outfield prospect.

PIP 3.10

 

 

 

THE ROSTER

They filled their starting pitching needs in the draft. Unfortunately they have no control. Trout, Jones and Pujols are the meat of this order but have very little support. Injuries to Wieters and Hamilton hurt big time. Peralta was a nice pickup in the off-season. They wasted none of their draft picks on relievers, which is good. It will be a long season for the Rockers as this division is so strong. They can only hope to stay healthy and for their prospects to come through big time in the 2015 MLB season. 

 

 

           

 

Maine

           

           

Position     Round    Player              PIP Grade

OF/2B          1    Mookie Betts             4

P              2    Matt Shoemaker           3.5

INF(UC)        3    Jung Ho Kang             3.4

1B             4    Adam LaRoche             3

P              5    Zach Britton             x

C              7    Christian Vazquez        2.5

P              7    Blake Treinen            x

2B(UC)         8    Sean Coyle               3.2

SS             9    Jose Ramirez             3.2

UTI            10   Don Kelly                1.5

 

              

 

THE DRAFT

In the 1st round Maine took OF/2B Mookie Betts a solid choice. In round two they took BZ starter Shoemaker to fill out their rotation. In the 3rd they took the Korean infielder Kang. A bit of a risk here but if he hits nearly as well as he did in Korea it will be a slam dunk! In the 4th they grabbed LaRoche making him their third highest OPS player. Closer Zach Britton was next, the staff at BT&T would have used this pick for a young outfielder like Steven Souza. In the 7th they had 2 picks and chose catcher Christian Vazquez to compliment their other two catchers along with (A) reliever Treinen. Uncarded 2B Sean Coyle was taken next in the 8th round. Coyle hit nearly .300 with 16HRs and 13SB in the AA Eastern League last year, very nice. SS Jose Ramirez was their 9th round pick. Ramirez will start for Cleveland but how long can that last with Lindor waiting in the wings? Don’t be surprised if Lindor moves to 2B. Their final pick in the 10th round was utility player Don Kelly. Yes it’s always nice to have one of these on your club just don’t let it be Don Kelly. PIP 3.04

 

 

 

THE ROSTER

Anchoring the pitching staff are Samardzija and Duffy, who are both A’s, followed by two BZ’s with limited innings. They have two other B’s without control. The offense is the problem with a team OPS of .785 not much better than 2014 when the Maui’s ended up in last place. Of course offense was in limited supply this year and Maine was obviously looking to the future. They picked up Austin Jackson, Jay Bruce and Jean Segura via trades in the offseason who have the potential to improve upon their last season’s numbers. This roster has a good upside for the 2015 MLB season, if all goes well they will be drafting next year with the focus on contending sooner rather than later.

 

 

 

 

 

Las Vegas

           

           

Position     Round    Player              PIP Grade

OF             1    JD Martinez              5

P              2    Marcus Stroman           4

UTI            3    Brock Holt               3

P              3    Ken Giles                x

OF             4    Dalton Pompey            3.1

C              5    Francisco Cervelli       2.8

SS(UC)         5    JP Crawford              3.4

OF             6    Steven Souza             3.5

P              8    Jeurys Familia           x

C(UC)          8    Jorge Alforo             3.4

P              9    Jim Nelson               3.3

P              10   Dylan Bundy              3.4

P              11   Drew Hutchinson          3

 

 

 

THE DRAFT

Vegas’s 1st round selection was OF JD Martinez with an OPS of .912 how could you go wrong? In the second they took Stroman to fill out their pitching staff. They had two 3rd round picks and came out with Brock Holt and Ken Giles. Holt will be asked to fill in at SS, 2B and 3B. Outfielder Dalton Pompey is taken in the 4th round he has a starting spot in Toronto but is unproven. With two 5th round picks they came out with catcher Cervelli and SS prospect JP Crawford not bad. In the 6th they took OF Steven Souza he’ll be starting in TB and has the making of a very good outfielder. They had two picks in the 8th and took reliever Familia and catcher Alforo. You never know about young catchers but Alforo comes highly regarded. Jim Nelson a starting pitcher was taken in the 9th round he should be the 5th starter in Milwaukee and has a nice upside. In the 10th they picked Dylan Bundy who was just released by USMC. If he can stay healthy he could contribute in a big way. The 11th round they selected another pitcher Drew Hutchinson well worth a flier. A strong draft PIP 3.45

 

 

THE DRAFT

Four A starters and a BZ rock this rotation one of the best in the ZSABL no doubt about it. The problem with Vegas will be offense with the draft being so light in hitting it was hard to make a whole lot of improvement. They made some nice trades in the off-season and Martinez will certainly help, but will it be enough in this tough division? They will battle Amsterdam for 3rd place and with this year’s draft the future looks even brighter in Vegas.