Season 5 Draft Review

It takes many seasons to find out how a draft has paid off. We've reached the point in Hunter's history where can start evaluating how some drafts are turning out. I have decided to start with Season 5, since that is around the time we got full control of our draft boards and when many of us figured out what we were doing. Even though some of you weren't here when these drafts took place, they have impacted your franchise today. I'll only be looking at first round choices (non-sandwich). I just don't have the time to go deeper than that.

1. Hector DeLeon (SP) Drafted by Bearclaws06 for Charlotte. Traded to Colorado in S6 for Wilfredo Mendoza. Hector was given a $4 million bonus to be the first pick of the S5 draft. After a largely successful minor league career he broke into the majors in S9. Thus far in 2 seasons he is 24-15 with a 5.05 ERA. S10 showed a marked improvement with a 14-7 record and a 4.28 ERA. Hector's ratings are strong and looks to be a solid investment.

Grade: A for pick, but a B for the trade.

2. Steve Crawford (SP) Drafted by mytitan. Steve did not sign and has gone into the great HBD void.

Grade: F

3.Moose Gates (SP) Drafted by Oli35 for Scottsdale. Moose is a big strapping lefty (think David Wells) with a rubber arm. He broke into the majors in S9. After a successful rookie season where he posted a 14-9 mark with a 4.31 ERA, Moose suffered a sophomore slump in S10. Moose posted an ugly 5-17 mark with a 6.79 ERA. Moose has good skills (but shaky control). His lack of solid control may make him a Jekyll and Hyde type pitcher in seasons to come.

Grade: B-

4. Don Sedlacek (SP) Drafted by Dufferman for Baltimore. Sedlacek is a big time innings eater with high stamina and durability, but mediocre splits. He broke into the big leagues in S8 and had it rough, going 5-15. S9 was kinder, with Don going 10-11 with a 4.10 ERA in 200 IP. S10 showed a regression to a 5.48 ERA in only 151 IP. His low splits and lack of a 4th pitch will limit Sedlacek's effectiveness.

Grade: C-

5.Willie Guerrero (RP) Drafted by eclipse33 for Vancouver. Still with the franchise (was Portland Pines in S10, now open). Guerrero is a very talented RHP with above average splits, control, pitches and good stamina for a reliever. After breaking through halfway through S8, he has posted back to back 29 save seasons as the closer for this franchise. A career 1.11 WHIP and 3.64 ERA shows this draft pick was a bullseye.

Grade: A

6.Rudy Puffer (CF) Drafted by cliff357 for El Paso. Traded to Sante Fe in S7. Puffer is a weak defensive CF with neither the range nor glove to adequately man the position. He does bring a solid bat to the table, though. Puffer was promoted to the bigs after his acquisition in S7. He has posted OPS of .903, .838, .750 and .885 in his 4 seasons and has averaged 22 HR per year. A career .287/.345/.492 line is very good for a CF, though he really belongs at a corner OF position.

Grade: B

7.Hector Knight (SS) Drafted by dwevans24 for Sacramento. Still with franchise (LA Baja Racers). Hector is a SS with a solid bat but slightly below average glove. He broke into the bigs in S8 but has played full time for just 2 big league seasons (9 and 10). He has a nice .299 career batting average and a .363 OBP. He is a solid pick.

Grade: B+

8.Sean Guerrero (LF) Drafted by wolfhoundkl for Texas. Still with franchise. As is typical with LF'ers taken high in the draft, Guerrero is a big time masher. His first taste of the bigs came in S6 (!). He has consistenly put up solid numbers and he peaked (thus far) in S10 with a .306/.380/.562 line with 46 HR and 118 RBI.

Grade: A

9.Britt Perkins (2B) Drafted by rockydawg07 for Cleveland. Still with franchise. Perkins has borderline ss skills at 2b and a big stick to go with his glove. He has played 3 full big league seasons and his best to date was S9 (.320/.374/.708 with 48 HR and 127 RBI in 463 AB!) The only knock on Perkins is durability, with just a 67. Because of that, Perkins is limited to about 120 games per season. That flaw knocks him down a half peg.

Grade: A-

10.Sparky Rhodes (CF) Drafted by the e man for Toledo. Traded to Louisville in S9. Rhodes is a CF with nice range but a poor glove and mediocre skills at the plate. He has hit well in the minors, but has not made the majors yet. As of now, he projects as a 4th OF type.

Grade: D+ (for #10 overall, a franchise should do better)

11.Benito Jose (SP/RP) Drafted by bearclan1 for Sante Fe. Still with franchise. Jose is one of those low stamina starters who are sometimes utilized as swingmen. A lefty with mediocre splits, Jose cracked the bigs in S8 and has posted a 4.88 career ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 295.1 innings. He projects as a career long reliever.

Grade: C-

12.Alan Wallace (SP/RP) Drafted by djbradford for New Britain. Still with franchise. Wallace is a lefty with good stamina and a good (but not great) array of pitches. Wallace saw action in the bigs as early as S6. As both as starter and reliever, Wallace has posted a 43-32 record with a 1.39 WHIP and 4.47 ERA. He even won 16 games in S7. He has been a solid contributor and should continue as such.

Grade: B

13.Ignacio Cruz (SP) Drafted by ewchippe for Wichita. Traded to Atlanta in S10. Cruz is a big, strapping RHP with a lot of talent, including pinpoint control. Cruz cracked the bigs in S8, but really established himself in S10 with Atlanta at the age of 23. Cruz became Atlanta's #1 starter. Disregard the 13-12 record and look at the 3.38 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 242.1 innings. Cruz started Game 1 in 2 of Atlanta's 3 playoff series. Definitely should be a top of the rotation starter for the next decade.

Grade: A (trade for Craig Byrne and co. cannot be evaluated yet).

14.Tim Anderson (RF) Drafted by dizzlebob for Pittsburgh. Traded numerous times and is currently a free agent after 6 seasons in the minors. Could possibly break through as a backup corner OF.

Grade: D-

15.Chris Redding (SP) Drafted by squeekyethan for Augusta. Traded to San Fran in S7. Redding made his big league debut in S10 for the Night Demons. In 26 starts he went 13-8 with a 3.27 ERA. He should be a nice backend RH starter for seasons to come.

Grade: B+

16.Zack Marshall (IF) Drafted by gocubz for Chicago. Traded to Texas in S7. Marshall is a poor SS with a mediocre stick. He has played in the bigs for parts of 3 seasons posting a .263/.333/.407 line. He spent all of S10 in AAA. He may have a role as a backup IF someday.

Grade: D

17.Cesar Guzman (LF) Drafted by baldric for San Juan. Still with franchise. Guzman is an excellent defensive LF with a decent stick. He broke in the bigs in S9 and had a nice S10, posting
.274/.337/.512 with 21 HR and 77 RBI. He should be a very solid big leaguer.

Grade: B

18. James Millard (LF) Drafted by buddybee for Ottawa. Not signed.

Grade: F

19.Len Sutcliffe (P) Drafted by mase4342 for Rochester. Still with franchsie. Sutcliffe has good control and stamina but poor durability, which limits his innings. He broke into the bigs in S10 but thew just 28 innings, posting a 2.83 ERA. Can add value as a spot starter or reliever.

Grade: C+

20.Charlie Wise (SS/CF) Drafted by bkdries for Burlington. Still with franchise (now Montgomery). Wise was drafted as a SS but played CF for Montgomery in his first full big league season (S10). His range and glove are a little light for both SS and CF, but his cannon arm should be a plus in center. Wise posted a .271/.328/.406 mark in 155 games for the Marauders. He can slap lefties around and should have a place on a big league roster for a while due to his versatility.

Grade: B-

21.Harry Guzman (SP) Drafted by philo for Colorado Springs. Currently with Richmond War Pigs after being acquired in the Rule V draft in S9. His horrid control precludes him from having any sort of big league career. He did post a 5.97 ERA in 32 big league innings in S9.

Grade: F

22.Matty Glass (P) Drafted by thunderstrik for Arizona. Acquired by Cleveland in S9 Rule V draft. Another pitcher with no control. Pitched just 4.2 big league innings. No future.

Grade: F

23.Juan Zorrilla (1B) Drafted by bjb2378 for San Francisco. Still with franchise. This was a nice find at this point in the draft. Zorilla is a skilled switch hitter with high offensive ratings across the board. In 3 big league seasons, Zorilla has posted .324/.406/.519 and averaged 22 HR and 95 RBI per season. That's no small feat at Petco.

Grade: A

24.Tim Morton (1B) Drafted by pfontaine for Atlanta. Traded to Montgomery in the Ignacio Cruz deal. Morton is a solid first baseman with good power. He can mash lefties but is vulnerable to RHP. He's put together a nice minor league career (.999 OPS), but has yet to crack the majors. He walked as a minor league free agent after S10. He should be able to stick with a team in the bigs at some point.

Grade: C-

25.Sherman Roosevelt (RF) Drafted by tbook for Helena. Traded to Atlanta in S7 in the blockbuster deal for Ariel Guerrero and Rick Tessmer. Roosevelt was drafted as an IF but was converted to RF upon his promotion to the majors in S9. Roosevelt has a solid bat and the skills to play RF and 3B with average to slightly above average ability. In S10, he helped Atlanta reach the playoffs by posting .300/.353/.489 with 19 HR and 78 RBI. He should be a solid contributor for years to come.

Grade: B+ (tbook gets an "A" for the trade as the other pieces coming to Atlanta consisted of a decent LR and a 4-A pitcher).

26.Jerry Ramsey (LF) Drafted by leppykahn for Colorado. Still with franchise. Ramsey is a nice LF with a good stick and excellent speed. Ramsey broke into the majors in S10 and posted .324/.378/.568 in 111 games. He's not a big time power hitter nor does he have overwhelming offensive ratings, but he should be a good player for seasons to come.

Grade: B

27. Chad Holmes (SS) Drafted by radek for NY Mets. Not signed.

Grade: F

28.Delanor Quinn (1B) Drafted by jahu43 for Louisville. Still with franchise. A good minor league hitter, Quinn has an above average eye and contact ratings. Otherwise, he's a fairly average hitter. Could see a few cups of coffee in the bigs at some point.

Grade: D

29.Lon Singleton (3B/1B) Drafted by jdbkaput for St. Louis. Traded to the now LA Baja Racers in S6 in a package for J.P. Mercedes. Singleton is a slightly below average 3B with good power. He's a switch hitter who handles RHP better than LHP. He's played 3 full seasons with LA and put up .276/.335/.497 for his career. He consistenly churns out about 24 HR and 95 RBI per season. He should continue to be a nice player, but may be better suited for a corner OF spot or 1b.

Grade: B (A for the trade for Mercedes)

30. Brent Mayer (P) Drafted by lets_try for Minnesota. Not signed.

Grade: F

31.John Carter (SP) Drafted by mdukes for Washington. Traded to Atlanta in S7 in the Carlos James deal. Atlanta traded Carter to Salem for Cal Newfield in S10. Salem traded him to Pittsburgh shortly thereafter. Carter is a nice RHP with decent splits but subpar control. He looked good his rookie season (S9) for Atlanta when he went 16-12 and a 4.46 ERA and made the ROY ballot.
Carter had a 6.21 ERA in 11 starts in S10 before being dealt to Pittsburgh and being assinged to the minors. He will probably get another chance at the majors, but is no more than a #5 starter.

Grade: C+ (A for trade for James)

32.Victor Medrano (1B) Drafted by leppykahn for Colorado. Traded to Salt Lake City (for Tom Lombard) and then Buffalo. Medrano is a solid lefty hitter with good contact, eye and vR ratings. He has not broke into the bigs yet, but could be a solid contributor if given a shot.

Grade: C