Sunday, May 17, 2009

FIRST ROUND DRAFT RECAP - Picks 15-19

7MICKEY7 "DUFF BEER" AMATEUR DRAFT BROUGHT TO YOU BY:


PICK #15- PHILLIP POWELL (P)
Phillip Powell
Little Rock
Raiders
Age: 18B/T: L/L
Born: Westlake, LA
Position(s): P (SP1)
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- Drafted out of Alfred M. Barbe High School out of Lake Charles, LA
- Signed on 5/12/09 to a minor league contract with a $2,690,000 signing bonus.
- Assigned to Rookie League

THE GOOD: Powell is will have great stamina and will most likely end up in a starting role. He will have above-average control of his five pitch arsenal, featuring what is slated to be a devastating forkball. He has a slider, change-up, curveball, and four seamer to compliment his forkball. With that many pitches, Powell will keep batters guessing. He will do well against left-handed batters, since he is a left-handed pitcher. For a pitcher, he does have a little bit of offense in his blood. He will make some contact with the ball and get on a base a little bit. Considering Little Rock is in the National League, this will give a little edge in offense when he's batting. Don't get me wrong, he will still strike out a ton, but here and there, he will get on base.

THE BAD: Powell will definitely require spot starts here and there considering his low durability rating that is not slated to get much better. He will definitely see a little bit of time on the disabled list. He will have some success against right-handed batters, but he will not be extremely affective unless he has a higher-rated pitch calling catcher. With that catcher, he could be very successful.

RECAP: If paired up with the right catcher, he will have success against right-handed batters, but look to him to keep lefties under control. He will be in the majors in about three to four seasons, and look for him to be a third or fourth starter on the Raiders staff.



PICK #16- CLEM JONES (P)
Clem Jones
Hartford
Posse
Age: 19B/T: L/L
Born: Oklahoma City, OK
Position(s): P (SP1)
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- Drafted out of Northern Oklahoma College - Enid Campus
- Signed on 5/12/09 to a minor league contract with a $2,600,000 signing bonus.
- Assigned to Rookie League

THE GOOD: Jones is going to be an innings eater, slated to have a very high stamina. Jones will also be a healthy option for the Posse pitching staff.

THE BAD: This was a tough pick to see go in the first round. His splits are not good at all, and he doesn't really have a ton of velocity. His pitches are not very good, with his best being his four-seam fast ball. It is not going to be a very good pitch, and I think that major leaguers will have an easy time getting hits off of Jones.

RECAP: I'm not too sure I see Jones having any success in the major leagues. At best, he could be used to eat up innings when the Posse are down by more than 10 runs. I'm not too sure that Hartford will be bringing him into the major leagues. At best, he may make it to AAA.



PICK #17- DARREL COFFIE (RF)
Darrel Coffie
Oklahoma City
Cowboys
Age: 20B/T: L/L
Born: Absarokee, MT
Position(s): RF/1B/LF/DH
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- Drafted out of Northwest College (which has no baseball program... go figure!)
- Signed on 5/12/09 to a minor league contract with a $2,500,000 signing bonus.
- Assigned to Triple A

THE GOOD: Getting a draft pick mid-first round that can be assigned to Triple-A right away is always a great pick. Coffie still has a ways to go on his defense if he's going to survive in the majors, unless he's going to be used in a DH role. If he hits his projections, he will be an average fielder out there in right field, but he will be a valuable offensive piece to the Cowboys plan. Slated to be excellent against right handers, he will make a fair amount of contact and will not be striking out much due to his superior batters eye... again, if he hits his projections. He will need some conditioning at Triple-A as his durability level isn't all that great starting out, but he will get better as time goes on.

THE BAD: Anyone's grandmother could run faster than Coffie, and his speed will not improve at all, whatsoever. On the basepaths, he will be a bit of a liability. Coffie will be spending some decent time on the disabled list as his health is not all that great. He will not be getting much better in that category either. He will see some time in a slump due to his make-up, but his patience will help offset that a little bit.

RECAP: Offensively, Coffie will be a contributor to the Cowboys, if they decide to hold on to him. Though he may contribute, rumors are that the Cowboys may not be looking at him in a long-term way.



PICK #18- FRED LITTLE (P)
Fred Little
New York
Crankees II
Age: 22B/T: L/L
Born: Saddle River, NJ
Position(s): P (SP3)
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- Drafted out of Georgia College & State University
- Signed on 5/12/09 to a minor league contract and a $2,410,000 signing bonus
- Assigned to Low A

THE GOOD: The Crankees got a steal out of the 18th pick of the draft in Little considering how thin this draft was. Little will be great in middle-relief with high control of his potentially dominating four-seam fastball and above-average curveball. Considering his slider is potentially rated at 65, for a third pitch in his arsenal, this could be very good for the Crankees. He will have an above-average health rating, but he will see a little bit of time on the DL.

THE BAD: Little will be giving up the fly-ball almost as much as he will be giving up the ground ball. He will give up a bit more in the air than on the ground, though. Teams will have their share of home runs off of him. There are definitely going to be days where Little will need extra rest considering his low durability.

RECAP: Little will be a valuable commodity to the Crankees, most likely ending up in a middle-relief role. When the bench coach needs a good left-handed match-up, you'll bet Little will be called upon.



PICK #19- DORIAN FORREST (P)
CHICAGO KNIGHTS
(no picture available)
- Drafted out of the University of California
- Remains unsigned

THE GOOD: Forrest will be an innings eater for the Knights and will feature an above-average curveball complimented with a four-seam fastball that will have some velocity behind it. He will have borderline above-average control of his pitches.

THE BAD: Forrest will not be a very durable pitcher, and as the season goes on, his health will be a question. His make-up is below average, which will cause him to lose focus in stressful situations. His splits are not projected to be very good. He will be a fairly patient pitcher, but I'm not sure that his patience will help him in tough situations.

RECAP: His control could help him out, but I'm not too sure that he will make it to the major leagues unless he is paired with a catcher with high pitch-calling ratings.

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