Two weekends ago, the Illowa APBA League conducted its 50th annual draft to start off the 2024 season. There were a total of 65 players, almost all rookies chosen. Of those, eight came to my team, the Twin City Thunderchickens.
Let’s take a look and see if any or all of them can help dig our the ‘Chickens out of the cellar and help them fly.
Round #1 – Pick #1
Elly De La Cruz
SS-3B
Reason I picked him:
who doesn’t want a 6’5″ shortstop??
Real reason I picked him:
Insurance that I will have a functioning shortstop for the years to come
I had decided on Elly a few days before the draft. He helps back up thirdbase and shortstop for me and of course, he has plenty of potential.
His rookie card is a lot of fun to look at but honestly, it doesn’t fit well in my lineup. While the 1-3-6 is interesting, it isn’t exactly powerful enough to drive in runs. At the same time, it isn’t really a leadoff card either with a .300 OBP. The best that can be said about this card is that if he gets on base, he will most likely be in scoring position or better. It’s my first card with a 8*, too!
That all said, I’m happy with the pick. I’m expecting great things from Elly in 2024.
Round #2 – Pick #11
Bobby Miller
SP
Reason I picked him:
A starting pitcher on LA? Yes, please!
Real reason I picked him:
See above.
I went into this draft hoping to get Bobby Miller with my #2. Even when I saw that Bryce Elder (the B starter with the most innings in the draft) was still available, I stuck to my original plan.
I think this 24-year old from Elk Grove is the real deal.
Round #4 – Pick #31
Logan Allen
SP
Reason I picked him:
He’s a starting pitcher and I read something somewhere.
Real reason I picked him:
The draft clock was ticking and I panicked.
Looking back, picking a grade C starting pitcher with 125 innings in the 4th round isn’t the worst pick especially for a team that needs hurlers. But there probably could have been better choices.
Allen projects to be in the Guardians rotation in 2024 and getting playing time is half the battle.
Round #5 – Pick #41
Joey Wiemer
OF
Reason I picked him:
My Thunderchickens are in need of outfield and Wiemer fits the bill.
Real reason I picked him:
At 24, Joey provides plenty of quality of playing time in his rookie year.
For such a strong draft, it wasn’t as particularly full of star outfielders like previous years. By my count, there only three rookie outfielders chosen in the first four rounds (40 picks).
That said, I needed an outfielder. Wiemer is kind of an unknown to me but I was under the gun to fill my outfield/DH spots.
At least for the 2024 season, he’ll be useful.
Round #6 – Pick #48
Tom Cosgrove
RP
Reason I picked him:
Did you see the A&C?
Real reason I picked him:
Cosgrove projects to pitch from the bullpen for the Padres.
Going into the draft, I had no A* relievers. I knew I was going to have to draft at least one.
Cosgrove is not a closer. He’s known to be a short relief guy and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing… as long as he’s used correctly by San Diego.
Round #7 – Pick #55
Christian Encarnacion-Strand
1B
Reason I picked him:
He was still there.
Real reason I picked him:
Encarnacion projects to be Martinez’ backup at DH for my Thunderchickens. He also has potential for high power.
I could be wrong but I think the printer that APBA had to adjust the font to fit all eighteen characters of Encarnacion-Strand’s name on his card.
Since I drafted Darin Ruf in 2014, I don’t like drafting slow, bad fielding rookies. Especially ones who DH. I made an exception in drafting Encarnacion-Strand and here’s why. From Fangraphs.com regarding Encarnacion-Strand: “he’s a physical anomaly with the raw power to hit 40 bombs.”
I think Christian has promise. But then so did Franmil Reyes. The thing is, not many firstbasemen get drafted. They tend to migrate to that position as they get older.
That said, E-S will help spell JD Martinez at DH and Vladimir Guerrero at first base so he’s going to get some at bats this season.
Round #9 – Pick #61
Miguel Vargas
2B
Reason I picked him:
Who doesn’t need four second basemen?
Real reason I picked him:
Honestly, I got an inside tip that Vargas has a future with LA.
My buddy and fellow IAL manager John Brandeberry texted me a round or two earlier that he thought Vargas would be a good pick for me. Now, Brando and I have always been helpful with each other during the off-season. We send each other tips on rookies and such. I was dubious but decided to take him up on suggestion.
With Michael Massey and Whit Merrifield in the lineup, I doubt Vargas will see much time on my Thunderchickens. Here’s an interesting thought, though. Vargas has more on-base chances on his card than Elly De La Cruz (or Wiemer for that matter) against an A pitcher. His two 8s and one 9 will hurt him.
Brando did follow up with link which justified his idea.
Round #10 – Pick #64
Louie Varland
P
Reason I picked him:
Need pitching so bad.
Real reason I picked him:
It really was that I needed to cover pitching limits. Louie seemed to be the best choice.
The question that baseball fans in general are asking is if Louie Varland should be starting or relieving. Honestly, I’ll take either if he does it well. Varland was MiLB’s pitcher of the year two years straight so he has a track record.
I have hopes for him but he needs playing time to prove himself. Meanwhile, he’s a versatile pitcher with control who can both start and relieve for me in 2024.
Extra Round – Pick #66
Esteury Ruiz
OF
Reason I picked him:
An extra pinch runner never hurts.
Real reason I picked him:
Ruiz’ slash line is expected to go up in 2024 all across the board.
I’m usually not a fan of these kinds of players when it comes to APBA. Fast base stealers whose OBP doesn’t justify leading him off. Even the best like Vince Coleman don’t always produce the way they do in real life.
But for a 11th round pick, I couldn’t resist choosing a player who stole almost twice as many bases as Elly De La Cruz. Ruiz looks to be a solid contributor for the A’s in 2024. Meanwhile for me, he is already relishing his role as pinch runner which is sorely needed this year (see Encarnacion-Strand). He may even see some starts.
Here a look at the full draft by all ten teams.
Self-Critique
Overall, it was a very strong draft in terms of quality rookies that were available. I did my homework but boy, there were 174 eligible rookies that could be drafted. That included 70 pitchers graded C or better.
When going into a draft in a continuous ownership league, the question a manager needs to ask is “Am I good enough to compete or is this a rebuilding year?“. I probably either didn’t listen to myself or perhaps did not know the answer to that question.
After the first 30 games of the season, we are a much improved 15-15 compared to 2023. That said, if I had known how much we were going to hit, perhaps I would have foregone future pick Miguel Vargas or Esteury Ruiz in favor of a tasty B* reliever.
Right now, our bullpen consists of A&C*, B*, C*, C* and D pitchers when they need to mop up a game. An extra healthy arm from the pen would go a long way to support our rotation of just grade C and D starters. Even this early in the season, I am already being careful with my pitcher usage.
In total, I drafted four first column 11s and sixteen asterisks. My Thunderchickens haven’t been a team focused on speed so this might help turn it around. Still wish they could get on base a little bit more.
However, going in I had the expressed purpose of drafting De La Cruz and Miller.
Job done.
