2009 IAL DRAFT REVIEW

A yearly tradition, IAL manager Teddy Ballgame does a lengthy draft review a few days after our rookie draft.  He critiques each pick, gives each team on how they drafted and lists players he thinks may have been overlooked.

Whether or not you are in the IAL, it’s an enjoyable read.

-tbz

1) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: Geovany Soto C – Nelly’s a Cub fan, who traded his catcher to move up in the draft to grab a great, young, Cub catcher. Soto’s great behind the plate and will provide protection in the order for Albert Pujols.

2) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: Evan Longoria 3B – Longoria was the best player in this year’s draft IMHO. His bat reminds me of Ryan Braun, except this thirdbaseman handles the hot corner well enough to stay there. Don’t know why DonS traded the chance to get this kid.

3) Molly Putts Marauders: Edinson Volquez P – Traded Felix, got Edinson, kind of a wash. Volquez had a breakout season as a rookie with the Reds. He has overpowering stuff, let’s see what he does as an encore.

4) RISING BAMM-BEANOS: Jair Jurrjens P – The Bamm-Beanos have quickly assembled a stable of good young arms. Jurrjens is not a #1 starter, but he doesn’t have to be in this rotation.

5) KENTUCKY KERNELS: Joba Chamberlain P – This big man is lights out nasty! It looks like the Yankees are going to try him in the rotation. The sky’s the limit for this kid! He’s that good.

6) COLONA UPPERDECKERS: Joey Votto 1B – Should have talked with Marc about this pick, I could’ve given him something to exchange first rounders. I’m sure Votto would’ve lasted to my pick. He’s a good hitter, 20 homers & a .280 average. Not much to get excited about here.

7) NORTHSIDE HITMEN: Jay Bruce OF – Three Reds in the first seven picks, no wonder I picked the Reds to win it all last year, what happened? Bruce reminds me of Paul O’Neill, which ain’t bad.

8 ) MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: Alexei Ramirez 2B – If I’d traded for Marc’s 1st rounder I’d have taken either Alexei or Bruce. It killed me to see DonS take Ramirez like he was taking bad medicine. The White Sox are moving him to SS, which fits right into the Marauders plan.

9) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: Armando Galarraga P – A one year B is still a B. You’d think drafting cards would catch up with a guy, but not yet. Galarraga will be intregal part of the Gamblers rotation this year. Three Rivers is already printing playoff tickets.

10) CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: Joey Devine P* – Okay, so Bruce & Ramirez were gone, but what about Clayton Kershaw? Brain freeze here, still Devine looks to be Chicago’s closer for years to come. Joey bounced back after allowing grand slams in his first two big league appearances.

11) CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS: Brad Ziegler P* – Reminds me of Arizona’s Korean closer, a sidearmer, who gets guys out. A&B* relievers don’t come along everyday, this is a playoff pick.

12) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: Jacoby Ellsbury OF – The only thing this kid can’t do is hit for power. Speed & defense never take a day off. Jacoby should have a solid IAL career for the T*Chix.

13) MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: Johnny Cueto P – Best pitcher in the draft, bar none. I saw him pitch preseason for the Reds last year, and asked a scout about that Cuetro kid? He said, he was hitting 94. Once he perfects his changeup, what a steal!

14) RISING BAMM-BEANOS: Denard Span OF – The Metrodome is the perfect place for this guy. He has speed, hits down on the ball, and plays defense.

15) KENTUCKY KERNELS: Sean Gallagher P – It would be easy for me to rip this pick as a Cub fan overestimating Cub prospects, except this kid has talent and can pitch. Gallagher was traded for Rich Harden, I like him better than Harden right now. Should’ve taken Clayton!

16) COLONA UPPERDECKERS: Clayton Kershaw P – It might take Kershaw a little while to tap into his potential, but he has the highest upside of anybody in the draft. Clayton should’ve been gobbled up by the Champions. This lefty will be the dominant

lefty of his time.

17) NORTHSIDE HITMEN: Jed Lowrie 3B/SS – I remember seeing this switch hitter knock a game winning homer in the Arizona Fall League a couple of years ago. He’s a gritty ballplayer who will be BoSox SS.

18) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: Glen Perkins P – A C-Z starting pitcher isn’t bad to pickup. Perkins is a soft tossing lefthander, who’d better have sharp control, not a long term solution. Why not Blackburn?

19) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: Jose Arrendondo P* – Arrendondo has a good fastball, which he can spot. He has adapted to pitching out of the bullpen, don’t know if he’ll ever be a closer, but sometimes setup men work more innings.

20) NORTHSIDE HITMEN: Hiroki Kuroda P – Another C-Z starter, but I like Blackburn better. Kuroda’s a little long in the tooth. Hiroki will benefit from the Dodgers quality infield defense. Perhaps one more year as a C starter.

21) MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: Nick Blackburn P – DonS isn’t going to get caught short on starting pitching, with Ben Sheets missing this upcoming year. Blackburn is deceptive and knows how to pitch.

22) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: Manny Parra P – A starting pitcher with a 22-6! Seriously, even if he couldn’t hit, he’d still be good. Parra has immediate upside, should be a B starter.

23) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: Mike Aviles SS/2B – Doesn’t walk, but boy can he hit! Aviles has always hit for average, with doubles power, throughout the minors. Mike is a SS, Bombers already have Greene & newly acquired Escobar. Don’t know why Papa Bunch selected him over Blake DeWitt or Emmanuel Burriss.

24) RISING BAMM-BEANOS: Chris Volstad P – Are you kidding me? A B starter with the 24th pick in the draft! And he’s not a stiff. Even though he doesn’t strike guys out, he seems to know what he’s doing out there, and another quality arm for the Bamm-Beanos rotation. Volstad backwards is Datslov.

25) KENTUCKY KERNELS: Jeff Samardzija P* – Might be better suited to the pen, the Cubbies are toying with the idea of moving him to the rotation, but needs more quality pitches to be a starter. Has a heavy fastball.

26) COLONA UPPERDECKERS: Max Scherzer P – Wonder when the last time a starting pitcher was selected without a major league win. The D*Backs need a closer, this kid needs more than a fastball to be a starter, a move to the pen seems in order. 100 MPH GAS!

27) CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: Ian Stewart 3B/2B – Stewart hits lefties better than he hits righties, because when he was a kid, his dad, a lefty, would throw him BP. Ian should be the starting thirdbaseman in Colorado soon, hopefully in time to spell ARod as he comes back from his surgery, aka suspension.

28) MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: Pablo Sandoval 3B/1B/C – Talk about a masher! Don’t care about this guy’s weight. He has a lightning quick bat from both sides of the plate, not much pitch selection, but can hit everything hard. Should be a regular at the hot corner this year for the Giants, may eventually move across the diamond.

29) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: John Lannan P – I was always a Beatles fan, and John Lannan was my favorite, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Lannan’s stuff is soft, but his makeup is not, still soft throwing lefties, without a strikeout pitch, yikes! There are exceptions, ie, Tom Glavine, Jamie Moyer, & Mark Buehrle. He’d better have pinpoint control, I’m just not buying it. Still with the Gamblers offense, he ought to win some games this year in the IAL.

30) CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: Cory Wade P* – The Dodgers moved this kid to the bullpen, where he had some success. Didn’t really see him pitch much, but he’s a converted pitcher, so there should be alot of life left in his arm. I look forward to a long successful setup man career, aka Scot Shields.

31) CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS: Chris Davis 1B/3B – A 44-0 with the 31st pick in the draft, a card that reflects double one power! Let’s see, Berkman is getting up there in age at firstbase, the best young hitter out there is Davis, he plays firstbase, I’ll take him, perfect fit! Besides he plays in Texas.

32) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: Jesse Carlson P* – A one year wonder, but still he’s an A* reliever. Nelly just needed a warm body to throw out there at the end of ballgames and he got one.

33) RISING BAMM-BEANOS: Jorge Campillo P – More of a suspect rather than a prospect. Still you can’t argue with his success at getting hitters out. He seems to have moxie, but will that translate to a good career? I doubt it, still he’s a C.

34) KENTUCKY KERNELS: Kosuke Fukudome OF – Even the Cubs, desperate for lefthanded hitting, benched this guy come playoff time. Didn’t really see him contributing all that much to Team Japannot in the WBC. He knows how to take a walk, but does he know how to hit?

35) COLONA UPPERDECKERS: Adam Jones OF – Marc always grabs the best player available. Hard to argue with a philosophy which has the Upperdeckers loaded with good, young talent. When Jones grows into his body, lookout, kind of like Alex Rios, a young kid, growing up & muscling up.

36) NORTHSIDE HITMEN: Brandon Wood SS/3B – Can you say Swiss cheese? More holes in this guy’s swing than in Papa Bunch’s underwear! Overpowered by a good heater, can’t hit breaking balls, the hype is over!

37) MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: Justin Masterson P* – Jon Lester didn’t have a spot in the rotation when coming back from cancer, yet his stuff opened the door. The same will happen for Masterson, talent wins out. Justin has a heavy sinker, which worked well out of the bullpen, but his longterm future success will be as a starter.

38) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: Craig Breslow P* – Another A* reliever that’s a one year deal. The hitters will catchup to this guy, a sophomore jinx waiting to happen.

39) CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: Sergio Romo P* – Saw this kid strikeout Manny on three pitches with the bags juiced last year, then he gave a fist pump! Sergio has huge Cojones! Reminds me of Chad Patrick Cordero, RIP.

40) CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS: Jim Johnson P* – Never was, never will be, but is now, purely a playoff pick. Johnson throws hard, his arm will fall off, nuff said.

41) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: Chris Perez P* – Perez is a real life reliever, with a shot at the closer role in St. Louis. Chris throws hard, wild enough to keep the batters off balance, should be a good one!

42) COLONA UPPERDECKERS: Yovani Gallardo P – Some guys look good, but are always hurt, that seems like this guy’s deal. Reminds me of Rick Reuschel, if he gets one or two good years, it was worth the keep.

43) NORTHSIDE HITMEN: Clay Buchholz P – The White Sox sent this talented righthander crying off the mound like a little girl. Still, he has talent! Saw him get rocked in the Arizona Fall League. Boy, can this kid throw! It’s tough to bet against a pitcher with this much upside. He’s already thrown a no-hitter in the big leagues. His struggles remind me of Roy Halladay before he put it all together. Nice gamble here. It took guts to take him, rather than whoring out for Steven Shell, an A* reliever.

44) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: Aaron Laffey P – This lefty is a quality starting pitcher, no card selection here. He’s an Aries, born on Tax Day, one day after my birthday, which ain’t all bad. He has three quality pitches, nice pick.

45) CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: Matt Joyce OF – In the tradition of taking somebody I’d never seen play (Tony Abreu), the Champs picked Matt “the card” Joyce. Joyce is out of character for a Champion pick, no flash, not much upside, walks, power, & defense. Matt will be the starting RF this year for the Rays. A couple years ago selecting Matts worked out well, Cain, Kemp, & Capps. We’ll see about this Matt.

46) CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS: Phil Hughes P – A change in secenery might be needed for Hughes to blossom, kind of like Ed Whitson. Some guys just can’t pitch in New York. Just because, if you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere, doesn’t mean you can’t make it somewhere without making it there. Nothing’s changed here, he’s still got talent.

47) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: Matt Harrison P – Why would Nelly pick this guy? I’m just kidding. Harrison is a big lefty, who knows how to win. Even though he pitches in Texas, he’ll do okay. Another Matt, I recommended him to the T*Chix. I really like his makeup, will be a #2.

48) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: Jose Veras P* – Veras has a strikeout pitch, did okay in the Bronx, yet dunno much about him. Jose looks to be a card, so why not take Steven Shell, a better card?

REPORT CARDS

A+ MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: Not a bad pick in the bunch! If what you see, is what you get, then all’s good with picking Volquez. The selection of the Cuban Missile broke my heart, I should’ve done something to have gotten Ramirez. Another kid I fell in love with was Cueto, it’s hard to fly under the radar these days. Blackburn has the heart of a lion and ome talent to go along with it, but beware, he’s a Pieces. Sandoval can hit the ball hard from both sides of the plate, explosive bat. Masterson has a heavy sinker and will be a very good starting pitcher, but even in the pen, he’s solid. DonS seems to have turned his SS fetish into a starting pitcher fetish, adding three good ones. Neither Pablo nor Alexei walk, but both can hit, Ramirez also can pick it.

A MOLINE UPPERDECKERS: Marc wanted a firstbaseman and it was Votto, should’ve traded down, he still would’ve been there. Kershaw should’ve been a first round selection, biggest upside in the draft. One of the best arms in the draft is Scherzer, now he’s throwing gas for Moline. Jones is a natural for the Upperdeckers and will only get better. He might never stay healthy, but if Gallardo ever does, he’ll be a good one. Another very good draft, might be Marc’s best ever!

B+ RISING BAMM-BEANOS: Jurrjens will fit nicely into the Bamm-Beanos rotation, good young arm. Span plays in a pinball game in Minnesota, but his talents translate into a pretty nice APBA card. Wow, can’t believe this bulldog was still there for Brando to snatch up, Volstad is a B, the team’s 5th B or better starter. John went across the border to pickup one more starting pitcher in Campillo. This team just keeps on getting better & better, through solid drafting.

B NORTHSIDE HITMEN: After selecting Delmon & Underpants, Bruce will fill this team’s OF need. SS Lowrie is the real deal, with doubles power, decent D, and a clutch bat. Kuroda is a little older, but solid behind Peavy & Hamels, but why not Volstad? Wood is a major question mark, Blake DeWitt was the answer here. This is one of those picks that you look back on and say, “he got him where?” Buchholz has as much upside as any hurler in the draft. Why didn’t a rebuilding club grab him? Bruce & Lowrie are great pickups, Kuroda fills a need, Wood was a swing & a miss, and Buchholz might be this year’s steal.

B- TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: Cub fan Nelly couldn’t wait to take Soto, catching problems solved. The Ellsbury Dough Boy can play OF, run & hit, nice fit into anybody’s lineup. Parra has been touted in Milwaukee, had a nice rookie season, will only get better, plus he can hit. Who is Carlson? Perez will be the Cards closer, nice pick! Didn’t know who Harrison was, but will be rewarded for following Teddy Ballgame’s advice. Nelly, one thing I know about is lefties out of the Braves organization. Could’ve done better, could’ve done worse, 5 out of 6, not bad.

C CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: Devine was the best relief pitcher in the draft, but why not Kershaw? Or better yet, trade up to get Ramirez or Bruce. With ARod missing time next year, Stewart was a nice find, besides he fits perfectly this year. Wade should be a solid workhorse out of the Champs bullpen for a few years. I fell in love with Romo, made losing Chad Patrick a little easier. Who is Joyce? Last year I got an F when I drafted Lincecum, hopefully this year’s draft will pan out as well.

C- THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: Galarraga is a B, that’s about all. Arrendondo is an aggressive reliever, who takes no prisoners. Soft tossing Lannan will get hit around quite abit. Who is Breslow? Laffey is a solid #3 starter, who’ll fit in nicely behind C.C. & Kazmir. Veras is another graded reliever on a team going for it all. Arrendondo & Laffey are good, the others, not so much.

D+ CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS: This team needed bullpen and drafted A&B* reliever Ziegler. Davis is a solid power hitter now and a longterm replacement for Berkman. A little pen depth was added with Johnson, but only a one year deal. Hughes has the ability, but when will he harness it? The relievers were needed, Davis is a fantastic power hitter, and held onto Hughes.

D GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: The best hitter in the draft was Longoria, he’s a masher! But why pick Perkins? Then another headscratcher in Aviles. The Bombers have so many holes, too bad Longoria can’t fill them all. It’s hard to rebuild when you waste draft picks.

F KENTUCKY KERNELS: Somebody should’ve explained to poor Keith that he didn’t have to only pick Cubs or ex-Cubs. Nobody in the draft has a better arm or is nastier than Chamberlain. Gallagher is a workmanlike starter, who’ll throw alot of innings. I don’t see Samardzija as anything more than a reliever, a very successful reliever, he’ll be the Cubs closer. Not a Fukudome fan, reminds me of Nick Swisher, without the power. Joba was a great pick, Gallagher might work out, not much after that.

OVERLOOKED ROOKIES

1) Chase Headley OF/3B: Chase is a corner outfielder/thirdbaseman who can really hit the longball. Headley will hit thirty or more homers per year throughout his career, .280 hitter.

2) Blake DeWitt 3B/2B: Doesn’t have outstanding tools, just goes about his business and gets the job done. Is a decent fielder at 2nd & 3rd, has a good eye, takes a walk, will hit .270 with 20 home runs. Didn’t get drafted because he lost his starting job at 2B when LA signed O-Dog.

3) Carlos Gonzalez OF: Gonzalez was the top rated prospect with both the Diamondbacks and the A’s, now he’s with the Rockies. He’ll get his chance to shine in Colorado. This kid fits in well with the Rockies rebuilding plans. Carlos should hit .300 with 25 HR’s.

4) John Baker C: Baker has quietly stepped into the starting catcher’s slot with the Marlins. John’s always been a hitter, now he’ made great strides behind the plate.

5) Danny Murphy OF: Danny stepped into a starting job with the Mets last year and showed what he can do. Now all he has to do is do it over a long season. Murphy’s a line drive hitter with good speed, a perfect #2 hitter.

6) Nyjer Morgan OF: This kid got a late start into the baseball world because he was a hockey player out of SF. Although he doesn’t walk, he has a quick bat & very good speed, which should translate into a starting outfield job with the Buccos.

7) Emmanuel Burriss SS/2B: He’s a little guy, who hits line drives, plays solid defense, especially at secondbase. Seems to get hurt alot.

8 ) J.R. Towles C: This guy’s a bigtime prospect! Towles can do it all. He’ll learn from the best, as the Astros signed Pudge as their starting catcher. That doesn’t mean this kid’s future is any less bright.

9) David Murphy OF: I watched this highly touted outfielder alot with the Rangers before he got hurt. David has a nice swing and Texas is a great place to hit doubles. He should be a force, if he can stay healthy, a little bit older for a rookie, was buried in Boston.

10) David Purcey P: Purcey should get a shot north of the border at a starting spot in the Jays rotation. David has a good strikeout pitch, with control, he’s just got to believe in his ability.