2016
Baseball Today and
Tomorrow
Welcome
to this year’s edition previewing the 2016 ZSABL league. Our PIP grading system
was a big hit in last year’s issue so we will continue the same format this
year. As in last year’s issue relief pitchers will not be rated.
THE
WESTERN DIVISION
Hartford
Position
Round Player PIP Grade
SS 2 Ketel
Marte 3.5
SS 3 Dansby Swanson 3.8
P 4 Robbie Ray 3.5
OF 5 Aaron Altherr 3.5
SS 6 Trea Turner 3.7
OF 7 Eddie Rosario 3.8
SS 8 Ozzie Albies 2.5
P 9 Tyler
Glasnow 4
P 10 Logan Verrett 3.7
P 11 Dalier Hinojosa x
OF 12 Lewis Brinson 4
P 13 Chase Anderson 3.2
THE DRAFT
Hartford came into this draft with a whole new mind
set. No longer willing to fill holes just to compete, they drafted to build
what they hope will become a Championship caliber team. By our metrics they did
quite well. With their first selection they took SS Ketel Marte he won’t be
their starting SS in a couple of years but he fills a hole that was needed
going into the 2016 season. He also is a young player that has potential for
growth. In the 3rd round they took Dansby Swanson the Hurricanes
starting SS of the future. A five tool budding star, that will be in the big
show sooner rather than later. Starting pitcher Robbie Ray came next in the 4th
round he has a nice upside but his future will depend on how well he can
harvest his command. In the 5th round they picked OF Aaron Altherr,
a young player who will slot into the lineup this year. We aren’t as high as
some on Altherr and with a serious injury there is more reason for concern. We
would have liked Trayce Thompson taken with this pick. In the 6th
came SS Trea Turner depth at this position never hurts and with two of the top
rated players drafted at the position there will certainly be depth. OF Eddie
Rosario came in the 7th and he has a very good upside. But in the 8th
round is where we feel they stumbled by taking another young SS Ozzie Albies,
with 4 catchers on their current roster and none under thirty we would have
liked the young catcher Gary Sanchez selected with this pick. Unbelievably SP
prospect Tyler Glasnow was still on the board in the 9th round and
Hartford got perhaps their ace of the future. They picked Logan Verrett in the
10th round and we are very high on this young pitcher as well.
Relief pitching came in the 11th. In the 12th they picked un-carded
OF Lewis Brinson a steal this deep into the draft. The 13th round
ended their day with P Chase Anderson selected to help fill out their starting
rotation for the 2016 season. PIP 3.56
Team Synopsis
The lack of starting pitching along with a short
supply of relievers will make for a long season in Hartford. Ortiz, Bautista
and Duda provide the pop but it won’t be enough. Murphy, Nunez and Dozier along
with Duda man the infield. Murphy sports a fielding 3 at third base. The
catching is solid with veteran Brian McCann behind the plate. Altherr and Eaton
along with Bautista, man the outfield with Eaton being the only top defensive
player at the position. The big man Ortiz is the DH. To see Lincecum, Uribe,
Kelly Johnson and Tyler Flowers still on the roster is puzzling. The one bright
spot for the Hurricane fans this season will be David Ortiz joining the 300
home run club. This is a team in the rebuilding mode. Given the strength of
their draft there will be improvement next year but 2018 is when things should
really come to fruition.
Memphis
Position Round Player PIP Grade
C 2 James
McCann 3.5
1B 3 Travis Shaw 3.7
P 4 Joe Ross 3.7
P 5 A.J. Ramos x
OF 7 Nomar Mazara 3.8
SS 8 Raul A.Mondesi 3.4
C 9 Austin Barnes 2.8
P 10 Kyle Zimmer 3.5
OF 11 Franklin Gutierrez 3.8
THE DRAFT
With no backup catcher to speak of the Sound
selected C James McCann in the 2nd round and he should fill that
role rather nicely. In the 3rd they drafted 1B Travis Shaw who will
add depth and should see some playing time this year. Pitcher Joe Ross came in
the 4th round and we feel he has the potential to be a solid middle
of the rotation starter. Relief pitching came in the 5th round
followed by highly rated OF prospect Nomar Mazara in the 6th. A
young SS prospect in Raul A. Mondesi was selected in the 7th. He doesn’t
have as big an upside as the highly rated Swanson but few do. Catcher/UTI
player Austin Barnes was taken in the 9th not much to get excited
about here. Pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer was selected in the 10th
round and he should have plenty of time to develop before the big club needs
him. With their last selection in round 11 they took a hatchet card in OF
Franklin Gutierrez. PIP 3.55
Team Synopsis
The Sound features one of the best starting pitching
staffs in baseball sporting three AZ starters Arrieta, Cole and de Grom along
with BZs Harvey and Odorizzi. The pen features 5 “A” pitchers 3 with control.
Abreu and Travis anchor the right side of the infield however, with Travis’s
low number of AB Robby Cano will see significant playing time. Rookie sensation
Correa and Nolan Arenado man the left side one of the infield and is one of the
best in baseball. Sharing the DH duties are Franco, Bird and Gutierrez.
Pollock, Cain and Marte man the outfield with all three being top graded
defensive outfielders. The team sports the highest OPS in baseball at.856. The
Sound will be playing to defend both their Western Division crown and the best
record in baseball. But the Memphis faithful are hungry for a little bit more.
Norfolk
Position Round Player PIP Grade
1B 2 A.J. Reed 3.9
Uti 3 Enrique Hernandez 3.8
P 4 Hunter
Strickland x
P 5 Jose Berrios 3.7
P 6 Blake
Snell 3.8
OF 7 Trayce Thompson 3.8
C 8 Gary
Sanchez 3.7
P 9 Taylor Jungmann 2.9
THE DRAFT
Ever since the Prince left Norfolk they have been
looking for a first baseman and they just may have found him. With the 23rd
pick of the draft they selected 1B A.J. Reed who hit 34 homeruns between A and
AA ball in 2015. They followed that pick with Enrique Hernandez in the 3rd
round the best utility player in the draft. In the 4th they selected
a reliever. In the 5th and 6th rounds they picked two of
the top pitching prospects in Jose Berrios and Blake Snell, both should see the
big show this year. In the 7th round came OF Trayce Thompson we like
his upside. In the 8th they went looking for a catcher and with
Willson Contreras off the board selected the 2nd best catching
prospect in Gary Sanchez. With their final pick of the draft they selected
pitcher Taylor Jungmann a little bit of a surprise. PIP 3.66
Team Synopsis
With one BZ starter in Justin Verlander and two CZ’s in the
rotation most years would be a ticket for disaster, not this year. The West is
light in pitching which gives the Neptunes a fighting chance to make the
playoffs given their .829 OPS. With only two AZ’s relief pitchers with one
having limited innings, management of the staff will be crucial to where they
end up in the division. On offense the starting three outfielders Stanton,
Gonzalez and Braun are as good as any in baseball. Machado and the young phenom
SS Lindor anchor the left side of the infield with Lind and Panik on the right.
Enrique Hernandez the top utility player in the draft by our metrics can fill
in wherever needed. The DH will be Charlie Blackmon. They traded for Jonathan
Lucroy to handle the pitching staff. The Neptunes drafted mostly for the future
so there wasn’t a whole lot of help added to the 2016 roster but given the
state of the division and manager Groff’s experience they certainly will battle
for a playoff spot.
Pensacola
Position Round Player PIP Grade
OF 1 Randall Grichuk 4.2
P 1 Erasmo Ramirez 4.4
P 2 Steven Matz 3.9
OF 3 Ender Inciarte 3.5
C 4 J.R. Murphy 3.3
P 4 Anthony Desclafani 3
3B 6 Brandon Drury 3.7
SS 6 Jonathan Villar 2.9
OF 7 Travis Jankowski 3.3
P 7 Franklin Morales x
OF 8 Odubel Herrera 3.5
1B 9 Josh Bell 3.7
C 10 Tom Murphy 3.5
The Draft
Team
Synopsis
The
Piranhas have the second best pitching staff in the West led by two AZ starters
Kershaw and Kuechel. Newly drafted Ramirez sports a BZ and there is enough AZ
relief to close out games. On offense the right side of the infield is strong
with Adrian Gonzalez and Ben Zobrist but left side is a little weak with Marwin
Gonzalez at SS and Luis Valbuena at 3B. David Wright will get playing time but
has limited at bats. The power will be supplied by DH Edwin Encarnacion. The
outfield is led by their first pick in this year’s draft Randall Grichuk along
with Khris Davis and Chris Coghlan. Jaso provides depth. The catching is weak
with Kurt Suzuki but their hoping the Murphy boys can improve on that position
next year. There are a three players that we would have released Everth
Cabrera, Jordy Mercer and Jake Smolinski and taken a shot at some un-carded
prospects. The Piranhas while not as strong offensively as some but better
pitching than most will be battling for a playoff spot.
San Diego
Position Round Player PIP Grade
P 1 Lance McCullers 4.3
P 3 Mark Lowe x
P 5 Keone Kela x
P 6 Michael Blazek x
Uti 7 Corey Spangenberg 3.2
P 9 Yimi Garcia x
OF 10 Nick Williams 3.7
C 11 Andrew Knapp 3.5
P 12 Trevor Gott x
P 13 Vincent Velasquez 3.8
The
Draft
San
Diego started their draft by selecting P Lance MCullers with the 13th
pick of the draft he’ll slide right into the rotation. Three relief pitchers
came in rounds 3, 5 and 6. In the 7th round they took utility player
Corey Spangenberg he got a shot at the big show last year and held his own. In
the 9th round came more relief help. The 10th OF prospect
Nick Williams was taken off the board and he has great natural tools but is
raw, pretty much what scouts said about Domonic Brown. Hopefully Williams
talent comes to fruition. Catching prospect Andrew Knapp was selected in the 11th
round, he came out of nowhere last year putting up some impressive numbers
between A and AA ball. He should see some playing time with the big ball club
this year. More relief help came in the 12th. They ended their draft
in the 13th round selecting pitcher Vince Velasquez who could
surprise if he can stay away from the base on balls. As always San Diego filled
their needs. PIP 3.70
Team
Synopsis
San
Diego sports two BZ starters in Hamels and Nola with Nola having limited
innings. We see Nola being paired with their 1st round draft pick
McCullers. That leaves two B pitchers without control in Fiers and Martinez to
fill out the rotation. They do have two CZ starters to turn to if needed. Five
of the ten players they drafted in 2016 were relievers. They have a total of 8
on the roster so there is a good chance other than Hamels, that the rest of the
staff won’t see the 6th inning. Newly acquired Joey Votto along with
Altuve handle the right side of the field, they don’t come much better.
Gregorius and Moustakas are on the left side of the field. Stephen Vogt handles
the catching duties. The outfield consists of Choo, Gordon and Markakis. The
Sixer’s kept four shortstops on their roster two of which are in the twilight
of their careers Rollins and Hardy. We would have liked to see them release at
least one of them and draft one of the many prospects at that position.
Starting pitching is in short supply in the West. San Diego matches up well
with most of the division and they have an offense that will put runs on the
board. The skipper in San Diego is one of the best and he will have them in
contention once again for a playoff spot.
Seattle
Position Round Player PIP Grade
DH 1 Kendrys Morales 4.2
OF 2 Gerardo Parra 3.6
C 3 Nick Hundley 3.9
P 4 Blaine Boyer x
P 5 Brad Brach x
P 6 Mychal Givens x
P 7 Zach McAllister x
1B 8 Mitch Moreland 3.9
P 9 J.A. Happ 3.4
C 10 Josh Phegley 3.5
P 11 Mike Pelfrey 2.8
P 12 Chris Heston 2.5
The Draft
Seattle came into the draft looking to improve their offense and they certainly did that. In the 1st round they took DH Kendrys Morales. Morales is one of the highest OPS players in the draft with a significant amount of at bats. He will settle in at DH. In the 2nd they took outfielder Gerardo Parra, we feel Chris Colabello was the pick in this slot. He’s not the defense player that Parra is but the offensive numbers more than make up for it. Perhaps the Scouts did not want two fielding one outfielders in their starting lineup. In the 3rd round they took Nick Hundley who had one of the best hitting cards for a catcher in the draft. Rounds 4 through 7 brought relief help. In round 8 they took 1B Mitch Moreland a fielding (4) first baseman with some pop in his bat, getting him this late in the draft was an excellent choice. Starting pitcher J.A. Happ was selected in the 9th round. They chose catcher Josh Phegley in the 10th round to help back up Hundley. Pitcher Mike Pelfrey was taken in the 11th round and they finished their draft in the 12th with pitcher Chris Heston. PIP 3.47
Team Synopsis
Pitching or offense what’s it going to be? Seattle made it clear they wanted to put runs on the board. Their OPS jumps from .781 in 2015 to .829 coming into the new season, making the Scouts one of the highest in the division. Seattle’s starting pitching matches up well with most of the teams in the west and with 13 relief pitchers they will have plenty of options. As of press time they had yet to name their closer however we don’t believe it will be DZ Mike Morin. Josh Donaldson, Nelson Cruz and Morales make for a formidable middle of the order. The addition of Moreland and Hundley add to the excitement in Seattle. With Cabrera and Gordon up the middle they will field an excellent defensive infield. They may not be the youngest team in the league but they have all the pieces to make a strong playoff effort. PBR is back in vogue and so are the Scouts.
Union Station
Position Round Player PIP Grade
3B 1 Matt M. Duffy 3.9
P 1 Luis Severino 3.8
P 1 John Lackey 4.4
OF 1 Steven Piscotty 3.8
OF 2 Delino D. DeShields 2.9
P 2 Carson
Smith x
P 2 Jeremy Jeffress x
OF 2 Andy Benintendi 3.6
P 3 Cody Anderson 3.7
P 4 Kevin Siegrest x
OF 7 Mikie Mahtook 3.7
P 8 Liam Hendriks x
P 9 Jorge Lopez x
The Draft
After a blockbuster trade in the off-season involving Kris Bryant the Cowboys had 8 picks in the first two rounds. EIGHT! With their first pick #3 overall they selected 3B Matt M. Duffy and quickly shipped him off to Sherwood. Two pitchers followed in Severino and Lackey followed by OF Steven Piscotty no complaints here. With their 1st of 4 picks in the 2nd round they selected outfielder Delino D. Deshields, puzzling, followed by 2 relief pitchers and ending with highly rated OF Andy Benintendi. Starting pitcher Cody Anderson a BZ with limited innings came next in the 3rd round. Relief help came in the 4th round followed by outfielder Mikie Mahtook in the 7th. Relief was selected in the 8th round. Pitching prospect Jorge Lopez finished their draft in the 9th round. Lopez has some upside but will need to work on his control before making the big club. PIP 3.73
Team Synopsis
Lackey is the team ace for now and they will probably pair Severino and Anderson together for this season. Two B pitchers in Richards and Ross fill out the rotation and they also have CZ Brett Anderson sitting in the wings. The relief pitching is set with 6 “A” relievers 3 with control. Hosmer and Walker man the right side of the infield. Walker is weak defensively and adds little to the offense. On the left side is Bogaerts and Frazier we like both of them. Schwarber is behind the plate he has limited at bats and fields a 6 at the position. The outfield has 1st round pick Piscotty and 7th round Mahtook, paired together they can account for 338 AB. Rasmus and Reddick complete the outfield. Kemp will be the DH. The pitching will make the Cowboys competitive but with the lowest OPS in the division runs may be hard to come by. Placing them in the lower tier of the division.