In this, the second installment of The B.A.R.B. Wire's draft review series, Edgar and Chauncey discuss the selections of the Black Mesa Anomalies, who finished third in the West last year and drafted 5th overall.
Chauncey: Well that's something you don't see everyday, Edgar.
Edgar: What's that, Chauncey?
C: Reed Johnson being picked before Corey Hart, Josh Hamilton, Rick Ankiel, Kosuke Fukudome, Ken Griffey Jr., Michael Bourn, Mike Cameron, Carlos Gomez, Austin Kearns, Ryan Church and Jason Kubel.
E: I don't know, Chauncey. Johnson did hit .319 in 2006.
C: 12 homers that year in 134 games. .236 with 2 HR in 79 games last year. Not quite what you want out of a corner outfielder.
E: The Anomalies went into the 2008 draft with a new owner, salary issues and lots of aging talent, so they needed to pick up a lot of prospects and young established guys.
C: They actually do have a good number of top prospects on their AAA roster. Ian Stewart, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Dustin Pedroia, Brent Lillibridge, Adam Miller, Nick Adenhart and Homer Bailey. Their established roster going into the draft wasn't as bad as you said. Justin Morneau, Ian Kinsler, Justin Verlander, Jonathon Papelbon and John Maine.
E: You have a point. All of those guys have bright futures. Still, there wasn't much at the catcher's spot or in the outfield (other than Hideki Matsui). And they lost Maine.
C: OK Edgar, what were the good draft selections?
E: Kevin Youkilis is a much cheaper (and more reliable) option than Scott Rolen. Yuniesky Betancourt is a great defender and adequate with the bat.
C: What about Jason Varitek? He is definitely an upgrade over Bard and Mirabelli. And Maddux could bring veteran knowledge to the pitching staff.
E: Veteran knowledge, but probably not good statistics. I'd put him in the category of questionable pick for a team that should be focusing on youth.
C: There were bad picks this time, though. Namely, Reed Johnson.
E: I still have a bruise on my cheek from where I slapped myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming when I heard that pick.
C: Do you know what's worse? Nick used the pick to PULL HIM BACK! It wasn't even a new selection! He pulled back a player who wouldn't have been picked off by ANY team.
E: It wasn't the worst pick ever, though. That title goes to Kevin's first pick in 2004, Tim Worrell. An aging reliever from another team with the first pick in the draft. OUCH. Any surprise Kevin only lasted a few months?
C: Edgar, what should Nick pick up in free agency?
E: Get as much youth as possible. Guys you might be able to bring up to help this year but will definitely help in the future. I do want to say, though, that it would be an anomaly (yes, pun intended) if the Anomalies came close to the playoffs.
C: That was bad, Chauncey. I'll be generous and give the draft a C-.
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MLB history fact #1: Two different Fresno High School graduates hold franchise strikeout records of Major League teams. Jim Maloney struck out 1,592 batters while in a Cincinnati uniform from 1960-1970, and Tom Seaver K'd 2,541 opposing hitters for the New York Mets from 1967-1977.
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1 comment:
Well, the best excuses that I could come up with are A: The tired one that this was my first draft, and B: The pretty lame one that I didn't do any research, and pretty much have gotten a intrest in baseball in only the last couple seasons, and C: The oddball one that I'm a Mets fan. That's all I wanted to say.
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