Friday, January 15, 2010

Season 7 Draft Review -- San Francisco Hammer'd Leprechauns

Current ownership took control in season 4, and brought with them one of the best team names in all of HBD. SF has reached the playoffs the last 2 seasons and find themselves in what is quickly turning into one of the more competitive divisions in Cobbfather. Successful drafting cannot be overvalued, and it is even more so when just a few games separate Division winners from the also-rans. Let's see how SF did in the Season 7 draft.

The first of two 1st rounders: Conor Steele is a hard throwing lefty who brings 4 pitches that flash above average potential. His best 2 pitches are his splitter and cutter. Steele does struggle with his control, and it is something that looks like he'll struggle from time to time with throughout his career. Steele is extremely competitive on the mound and has a fiery streak that sometimes gets the best of him. That competitive nature may lend itself better to the bullpen where he can max out his velocity and go right after hitters. Time will tell how SF decides to use him.

The second of the 1st rounders is also a pitcher: Gio Sivilla. Sivilla can be a solid pitcher, but he struggles a bit too much against lefties to think he'll have too much of a future in the big leagues. He uses an above average forkball to induce groundballs, but again lefties aren't fooled by the pitch nearly as well as righties are. Sivilla does have ML ability, but he'll need to develop to his utmost potential and even then is probably no more than a long man; and even then he'll have innings where he'll get hit around some. There definately were better options available with this pick.

SF did add some depth to their system and walk away with a C- overall grade, but they had an opportunity to add better talent than they did with their 2 round 1 picks.