Don Smith about to announce his draft choice
Pitchers Jeremy Hellickson and Michael Pineda were the top two picks in the Illowa APBA League draft held last weekend in Downers Grove, Illinois. Forty-three rookies were chosen in six rounds and two players were kept on the roster uncarded (Stephen Strasburg and Adam Wainwright). Hellickson was my pick and I don’t think I surprised anyone with that pick.
The first pick of the IAL draft, Jeremy Hellickson
There’s no sound sweeter at a league draft than a groan or an expletive when announcing your pick. I had that happen with my last pick, Danny Duffy. A few managers had their eye on KC’s Duffy, apparently. The fact that he was a DW perhaps made them their little secret, they thought. A little trivia: Duffy was my first D picked in a IAL draft since Scott Scudder in 1990.
This was the first year I can remember that the IAL did not have any league proposals to discuss which made the league meeting shorter than it’s ever been. Note to self: propose some new rules for the league. These guys need structure.
The IAL 2012 season begins
The conventional wisdom after the draft was that I had a good draft (I picked Hellickson, Jason Kipnis, Aaron Crow, Danny Descalso, purely to cover my infield needs, and Duffy) but I would suffer for it in the current year. I believe that’s correct. My pitching is fine but offense is way down. In the first 24 games, I scored two or less runs in 11 of them. Fortunately, I WON a couple of those games… good pitching, remember? But this offense is pretty pathetic.
That night, my buddy Brando told me that when he’s got a bad team, he just picks a couple players on his team and really roots for them. I’ve already picked mine. Tyler Colvin. Yep, Colvin and his 15-17. Tedd Mallasch tells me that no A pitcher will stop that 15-17 and he’s right. Of course, an OF-3 might. Anyway, Colvin has already become a fan favorite at Thunderchicken Park. If he hits a fly ball that drives in a run, HIGH FIVE! If he grounds a runner over, he gets a friendly virtual slap on the rear. A strikeout? “You’ll get ‘im next time, Tyler!”. ugh.
My record for the weekend was poor 6-18. It’ll be a long season.
| 2012 ILLOWA DRAFT | ||||
| Round One | Player | |||
| 1 | T-Chicks | Hellickson, J. | ||
| 2 | Gamblers | Pineda, M. | ||
| 3 | Highlanders | Lawrie, B. | ||
| 4 | Kernels | Holland, G. | ||
| 5 | Champions | Hosmer, E. | ||
| 6 | Bamm Beano’s | Nova, I. | ||
| 7 | Bombers | Espinosa, D. | ||
| 8 | Marauders | Worley, V. | ||
| 9 | Hitmen | Weeks, J. | ||
| 10 | Upperdeckers | Arencibia, J. | ||
| Round Two | Player | |||
| 11 | T-Chicks | Kipnis, J. | ||
| 12 | Gamblers | Chapman, A. | ||
| 13 | Highlanders | Beachy, B. | ||
| 14 | Kernels | Highlanders | Gordon, D. | |
| 15 | Champions | Moustakas, M. | ||
| 16 | Bamm Beano’s | Luebke, C. | ||
| 17 | Bombers | Upperdeckers | Jansen, K. | |
| 18 | Marauders | Ramos, W. | ||
| 19 | Hitmen | Goldschmidt, P. | ||
| 20 | Upperdeckers | Ackley, D. | ||
| Round Three | Player | |||
| 21 | T-Chicks | Crow, A. | ||
| 22 | Gamblers | Minor, M. | ||
| 23 | Highlanders | Walden, J. | ||
| 24 | Kernels | Conger, H. | ||
| 25 | Champions | Perez, S. | ||
| 26 | Bamm Beano’s | Downs, M. | ||
| 27 | Bombers | Jennings, D. | ||
| 28 | Marauders | Freeman, F. | ||
| 29 | Hitmen | Martinez, J. | ||
| 30 | Upperdeckers | Nunez, E. | ||
| Round Four | Player | |||
| 31 | T-Chicks | Descalso, D. | ||
| 32 | Gamblers | Pestano, V. | ||
| 33 | Highlanders | Bombers | McKenry, M. | |
| 34 | Kernels | Hitmen | Guerra, J. | |
| 35 | Champions | Altuve, J. | ||
| 36 | Bamm Beano’s | Cishek, S. | ||
| 37 | Marauders | Morel, B. | ||
| Round Five | Player | |||
| 38 | T-Chicks | Duffy, D. | ||
| 39 | Gamblers | Collmenter, J. | ||
| 40 | Kernels | Highlanders | Carrasco, C. | |
| 41 | Bamm Beano’s | Upperdeckers | Humber, P. | |
| 42 | Marauders | Britton, Z. | ||
| Round Six | Player | |||
| 43 | T-Chicks | Strasberg, S. | ||
| 44 | Kernels | Trumbo, M. | ||
| 45 | Marauders | Bombers | Wainwright, A. | |
Draft Comments: There might have been “one more guy” who reacted to the Danny Duffy Pick had I KNOWN WHO DANNY DUFFY IS. I don’t draft from that team…Molly Putts said, “Real men don’t draft relief pitchers.”…Zach Britton (I considered Mark Trumbo or Darwin Barney) is the first Oriole pitcher I have drafted since Rodrigo Lopez. Hmm…The last D Pitcher I drafted was Johnny B Goode (Johnny Cueto) in the 2nd Round four years ago…My team could be managed by John McGraw or Hugh Jennings or Miller Huggins. I have one graded relief pitcher: Brad Lidge & his 19 innings. The Marauders have 21 complete games in the first 24 games (12-12). I wonder where this is headed. I have wanted to try this; 2012 seems to be the year.
DonS.