Season 9 First Round Amateur Draft Analysis

There didn't seem to many studs in year 9 for Puckett but here is the analysis on the first round. Emjoy!

1.) Wilkin Martin 3B LOU Grade: B+ Rating: 8.3
Good bat and makeup but pretty low durability. Can probably get about 500-520 AB's a year. Not good enough to play short but will be a good defensively at third base.

2 .) Apolo Crosby 2B SAL Grade: A- Rating: 8.8
5-tool player with great eye and speed. Probably has a lot of 30-30 seasons ahead of him as well as a few All-Star appearances. His one flaw is the low dur which will limit him to play only about 70% of the innings.

3.) Terry High RF SEA Grade: A Rating: 8.7
"High" indeed as Terry threatened to holdout unless Seattle ponied up 5 mil. Powerful switch-hitter who can hit both lefties and righties with great eye and decent speed. He'll be pretty much limited to COF but should make good use of his cannon in RF. Great durability and health.

4.) Dwight McGrady 2B JAK Grade: A- Rating: 8.6
Hasn't signed but if he does, Jackson will get a decent fielding 2B that projects to a 35-100-100 guy to go along with 30 steals. Good durability and health. Future All Star, nuff said.

5.) Benji Espinosa DH FLA Grade: C- Rating: 7.5
Benji's dreams of playing C will probably not pan out they way he thought they would as his PC will not get about 50 but he will make a good DH in the AL and hey he can switch-hit.

6 .) Spike Evans 3B SAL Grade: C- Rating: 7
Spike's overall is ridiculously inflated by his ultra-high dur. He doesn't do anything extremely good other than running so he will have a pretty average career. Should be happy to hit .270 and and also be happy if coach lets him play the hot corner.

7 .) Chris McKnight SP MON Grade: B+ Rating: 8.5
Our first P taken, Chris doesn't blow you right away with his ratings but he is well-rounded, durable and doesn't have any real flaws. Great velocity and will keep the ball in the ballpark with a good sinker. Will have a solid career and can probably expect a WHIP in the 1.3-1.4 range.

8.) Josh Gray SP VAN Grade: A- Rating: 8.6
Uber-control and great velocity, groundball and selection of pitches. Great makeup and young age should enable him to reach most of his ratings. Prediciton: 150 career wins.

9.) Johnnie Gilbert RF BUR Grade: B- Rating: 7.7 His great eye should curb some of his strikeouts he'll have due to his low contact but you can expect 30 HR and a solid .280+ avg year in year out from him. All while tracking down every flyball in RF and never getting himself thrown out on the base paths.

10.) Collin Castellanos SS DET Grade: D+ Rating: 7
Collin will work his magic with the glove but there'll be none of that at the plate. Although he has optimal contact and eye he will be limited by his effectiveness vs righties and power. He'll have an obp 100 points greater than his batting average. You can count on 162 games at SS though so DET will have an extra roster spot by not needing a backup.

11.) Jefferey Watson 2B LR Grade: D Rating: 7
Another case of a player not blowing you away with his ratings but he can play at the ML level. Will get on base more than the average bear but he doesn't really have a set-place in the field. 2B might be a stretch with that glove.

12.) Maverick Roosevelt RF RIC Grade: C Rating: 7
See Johnnie Gilbert pick 9 without the range and a few less homers.

13.) Alvin Sanders 2B MIN Grade: B- Rating: 7.5
Slick fielding second baseman who has a pretty good bat. Potential allstar. Get used to 35 HR and to get on base at a .370 clip. Question is how good of a career can a guy have when his health rating is hovering around the freezing point?

14.) Hasn't signed and cant see

15 .) Ernie Dubler LF TUC Grade: B+ Rating: 8.3
Time will tell if Ernie "Doubler" can play LF, if not then his value will drop a little but he will still have a solid career. Will probably have a career .320+ average, .400+ obp which is HOF'esque but will max out at about 20 HR a year. Great all around hitter who can spray the ball around and get on base a lot and rake vs righties.

16.) Carlton Whiteside C D.C. Grade: B- Rating: 7.5
Good all around hitter who can go to the opposite field with some power. Is not a defensive guru but is capable of being the everyday C with his durability.

17.) Allen Kinney SP SYR Grade: B+ Rating: 7.9
Solid future No. 3. Can throw the heat but is prone to give up the long ball. Decent control an splits to go along with 5 pitches should enable him to have a long career. Good change-up, curve and slider but dur is on the low side.

18.) Dan Baker SP N.O. Grade: B Rating: 7.7
Very durable P with a good mix of pitches and perfect control. With his Zito-like velocity he won't get many K's.

19 .) Rudy Fassero SP T.B. Grade: C+ Rating: 7
Psuedo-SP with that low stamina but which a dur proj over 30 he could very well be a 90-100 pitch guy and get you about 170 innings a year. Semi-low control and pitch quality will hurt but the above avg splits will curb the OAV. Can hit 3 figures on the radar gun and reach most of his proj with his great makeup. Low health hurts though.

20.) Pablo Liriano SP WIC Grade: A Rating: 8.5
Well rounded SP project 150 wins off the bat. Very durable guy who can get both L and R handed hitters out. Pairs a wicked slider with a nasty forkball. Low proj overall rating will make this guy a great value in the payroll dept. Someone of a risk to getting injured but still a keeper.

21.) Phil Barkley 2B HEL Grade: B Rating: 7.6
Prototypical second basemen with a good bat. Looks like a 25-100 guy who can get you 20 steals too. He will be good when he is healthy.

22.) Kevin Derosa SP CHA Grade: B- Rating: 7.3
Looks like a No. 4 SP at best. He can throw some heat and keep the ball on the ground and in the ballpark with a great sinker and good cutter. With average splits and low control he might get touched a little due to his shortage in pitches.

23.) Aramis Esposito SP WIC Grade B+ Rating: 7.9
Talk about a roller coaster of ratings when it comes to Aramis. He blows you with his awsome splits and good pitches. Looks good until you see his health, control, groundball ration and durability. The former is the important thing and the latter can be worked on with him playing at un-homer friendly Wichita.

24.) Shaggy Christopher LR TOL Grade: D Rating: 6
More of a long-relief type than starter. Has great control and 5 pitches witch will ensure him a place at the ML level. Will be good versus lefties but righties might get the better of him.

25 .) John Monroe SS NY Grade: C- Rating: 7
Will be great defensively and pretty average at the plate. His great eye will help him get on base and the team will save a roster spot at the ML level with not needing a backup SS. High overall rating will probably command a higher salary which in this case is not really worth paying in the future.

26.) Auerlio Encarnacion SP SLC Grade: D Rating: 7
Great control and good vs righties but that’s about it for Aurelio. He does have 5 pitches but none of them standout. Not sure if he can have a long career as an effective starter. Jury will be out until then.

27.) Elston Sweeney RF CHA Grade: F Rating: 6
Red herring of the draft up until i saw th next pick. He can play the infield so at best he can be a COF. If his batting skills were converted to ice cream flavor, it'd be vanilla. With him not having anything special at the plate or in the field, I doubt this guy can contribute regularly at the ML level.

28.) Sam Morton SS TAC Grade: F Rating: 5
Red herring of the draft. Will be great defensively but his bat is not good enough to have in the lineup everyday so he will be delegated to backup the SS who can hit. Atleast he's patient at the plate.

29.) Greg Jackson C STL Grade: A+ Rating: 8.4
Great hitting catcher who is not a liability calling the game. Future AllStar who will get on base at close to a .450 rate. Semi low durability but with a bat like that, this guy is a keeper. Steal of the draft.

30.) Charlie Pavlik SS SJ Grade: D- Rating: 6.5
Will be a defensive wizard but will have trouble staying off the DL. Below average bat so he will be a liability in the everyday lineup. Bacup material.

31.) Cant See and hasn't signed

32.) Calvin Yang SP DUR Grade: B- Rating: 7.7
Low control will eat away at his pitches and is good vs L and decent vs R. 5 pitches with 4 of them being above average will help out. Risk of being injured and low durability but hey at 32 you can't ask much. Good value with low overall.

33.) Clinton Fischer CP COL Grade: B- Rating: 7.6
The first relief pitcher taken in the draft. Great control and good combo of stam and dur will enable Clinton to be be used as a steup man instead of just a closer. Everyday SU-A type than will give you 120+ quality innings out of the pen.