It's Leon Jackson back to drop some knowledge on this year's draft. Part one of the series covers Philadelphia through Syracuse. Let's get right into it.
Philadelphia Plopping Penguins
John Nakajima Philadelphia Plopping Penguins Age: 20 B/T: R/R Born: Union, NJ Position(s): RF View Hardball Dynasty Profile
First rounder John Nakajima is a great contact hitter with decent power and a nice batting eye. It looks like he will have trouble hitting lefties, however, and could be a liability at the plate against them. He’ll be a great hitter to have against righties though. 2nd round pick Mark Rose is one of the better fielding shortstops in the draft, but has a questionable bat. 5th rounder Dustin Miller was a good value pick and could be a Major League backup.
Final analysis: Philly got some good players, but overall we think they could have gotten more value with their picks than what they got.
Overall Grade: C
Rochester Rolling Rocks
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#2 overall pick Roy Jackson will be a top of the rotation starter for years to come. He has great control and great splits. He doesn’t have any dominating pitches that you usually see from a staff ace, so that would be his only weakness. Still his pitches are good enough, and his other qualities will help him overcome not having one or two dominating pitches. The Rolling Rocks also got Rashun Hughes, solid reliever with great control who will keep the ball down. He’ll be in the majors one day. They landed slick fielding shortstop Edgar Pascual in round 4 as well.
Final analysis: Jackson is a top of the rotation type starter, but after that they didn’t land a lot of depth.
Overall Grade: B
Sacramento Fighting Cornish Hens
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Antonio Singleton is a crafty hurler with great control, keeps the ball down and is outstanding vs. righties. Weaknesses include a mediocre LH split, and his pitches are just ok. Singleton will be a good #2 or #3 starter though, and you can’t really ask for more than that with the 28th pick. The Hens landed Dummy Foster and Marc Burns in rounds 2 and 3. Each could be a #5 starter or Long Reliever at the ML level if they fully develop. 4th rounder Davy Blake could make it as a ML backup with his great fielding.
Final analysis: solid draft for picking from the bottom of the order.
Overall Grade: B+
San Diego Burgundy
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San Diego did a great job landing Mark Randall. He has great control and is solid vs. righties, and keeps the ball down. Perhaps his biggest asset, however, is 3 outstanding pitches. He also has a great pitcher’s park to pitch in. Sounds to me like a future ace. 3rd rounder Wallace Nichols has big league potential if his splits fully develop. Other than those two, not much major league potential from the rest of the picks.
Final Analysis: Randall is a future ace and Nichols was a nice grab in the 3rd round. Could have gotten better value out of their 2nd rounder.
Overall Grade: B
Sioux Falls Great Danes
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Kid Torres was their first round pick, and he has all of the makings of a dominant future Major League closer. It’s hard to find anything bad to say about him, he has great potential across the board. 2nd rounder Randall Hill is another reliever with Major League potential. He should be able to overcome a shaky GB/FB ratio and contribute as a solid setup guy. They got a couple of borderline major leaguers after that, but nothing to write home about.
Final Analysis: The Danes got 2 great ML potential relievers. Torres should contend for many a Fireman of the Year award.
Overall Grade: B-
Syracuse Sycophants
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Alex Lopez is a hard throwing lefty with great control, and an outstanding array of pitches. Weaknesses include mediocre RH split and GB/FB ratio. Still he should be extremely effective at the ML level, and projects to be a solid #2/#3 type starter. With no 2nd rounder, Syracuse landed a good hitting catcher Chuck Mahomes in the 3rd. They also landed good value picks in the 4th and 5th in Russ Stovall and Del Rodriguez.
Final Analysis: Syracuse got a great pitcher in the first and some nice value picks later on. Very good draft.
Overall Grade: A-