It's time for the 7th edition of the Power Rankings! Florida maintained their hold on #1 in this edition of the rankings, with a solid, not spectacular 9-6 record since the last rankings. The hottest team in the league right now is #2 Memphis, who went 13-2 in the last rankings period, bumping Sacramento to #3.
Other teams who've been hot since the last rankings are #4 New York Pride (10-5), #5 New York Primetimers (11-4), #6 Austin (11-4), #11 Syracuse (10-5), and #15 St. Louis (10-5)
Now the standard teams on the rise and teams on the decline section:
Teams on the rise: Memphis, New York (AL), New York (NL), Austin, Syracuse, St. Louis
Teams on the decline: Fargo, Hartford, Huntington, Detroit, Ottawa
Here is the seventh edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!
Rank
Team
Record
Prev
1
Florida
72-33
1
2
Memphis
67-38
4
3
Sacramento
67-38
2
4
New York (AL)
63-42
5
5
New York (NL)
61-44
9
6
Austin
60-45
11
7
Burlington
62-43
3
8
Chicago
60-45
7
9
Jackson
59-46
6
10
Rochester
57-48
8
11
Syracuse
55-50
17
12
Vancouver
55-50
10
13
Honolulu
54-51
13
14
Charleston
53-52
14
15
St. Louis
52-53
19
16
Boston
52-53
16
17
Oakland
50-55
20
18
Dover
50-55
21
19
Fargo
51-54
12
20
Hartford
51-54
15
21
Buffalo
47-58
25
22
Huntington
49-56
18
23
Colorado Springs
46-59
27
24
Durham
47-58
23
25
Detroit
46-59
22
26
Ottawa
47-58
24
27
Sioux Falls
46-59
26
28
Texas
44-61
28
29
Atlanta
41-64
29
30
Kansas City
40-65
30
31
Cheyenne
39-66
31
32
Los Angeles
37-68
32
Check back for the next edition of the rankings after game 120!
Colorado Springs’ top pick was RF Esteban Amezaga, who has great contact and has the power of a 100 leprechauns. In our estimation – that adds up to a lot of 40 HR plus seasons. He also has a very good batting eye. There’s a slight concern with his splits, but it shouldn’t affect his numbers much. Supp pick Milt Ramsay was a nice find – and projects to be a middle of the rotation starter – great control, good splits, a couple of nice pitches, but tends to leave the ball up in the zone. 2nd rounder Al Lugo is another masher, but his subpar splits may limit his effectiveness if he reaches the majors. They got a few decent players after that – another masher, a couple of defensive wizards, and a decent arm or two – who might have a shot at the bigs in some capacity.
Final Analysis: The first two picks are great prospects – after that it gets a little shaky.
#2 overall pick Dennis Gulan is a future all star. He projects excellent or better in all of the hitting categories, and has tremendous speed and baserunning ability on top of that, and also great defensive skills. It’s hard to come up with any negatives about him. 2nd rounder Pepper Cunningham is a righty with superior control, 4 great pitches, great velocity and GB/FB ratio. Mediocre splits and durability are the only thing holding him back from stud status. Hurler Paulie Thompson was a nice value in the third round, and could pitch in the bigs one day. They had a few other good value picks in the later rounds as well.
Final Analysis: Gulan is a hugh catch for them, and they got a few other solid players as well.
Oakland’s top pick was lefty hurler Marvin Collier – who definitely has major league potential – projecting excellent across the board, except for splits – which are still good, just not great. He could be a solid middle of the rotation guy for years to come. 2nd rounder Brandon Stone is similar to Collier, except his control isn’t as good, which makes his big league potential questionable. They haven’t signed their 3rd – 5th rounders yet, and landed a decent arm or two after that.
Final Analysis: We really like Collier, but aren’t that impressed with the rest of the class.
Vancouver’s first rounder, Chip James, might have been the best pure hitter in the draft. There’s no doubt he can absolutely crush the ball. His drawbacks are his limited durability – which may limit him to 110-120 games or so per season, and the fact he’d probably be better off as a DH than a C because of his defense. Regardless of where he plays, his bat will be a major asset to the Blaze lineup. 2nd rounder Al Rios is a decent arm, who could probably be a back of the rotation guy in the bigs if needed, but more likely would be best in long relief. They got a decent arm or two in the later rounds, including a nice reliever in round 3.
Final Analysis: James is pure hitting goodness – the rest of their draft didn’t impress much though.
Atlanta’s owner was absent for the draft, so let’s see how AI did for them! First rounder Hector Matthews is a workhorse lefty, with excellent control and velocity, is very good against lefties, can keep the ball down, and has good pitches. A slight weakness is his RH split, although it’s not too much of a concern. Matthews looks like a #2 starter, with upside to be a #1. They got a nice value in 3rd rounder RP Bret Fleming, who has a shot at the majors. Other than that, not much really stands out about Atlanta’s draft class.
Final Analysis: Simmy didn’t do all that bad by them – Matthews is a great prospect
Austin’s top pick, 3B Ernest Bailey projects out nicely at the plate, with his strength being his ability to hit lefties. He wouldn’t be a liability though against RHP either. He’ll put up solid numbers at the plate, but not quite all-star caliber. Not a bad value at all at #28. 2nd rounder Raymond Stone, is an above average hitter for a catcher, and has excellent defensive skills – definitely a nice grab in round 2. They got a few other fringe major leaguers, although nothing spectacular. It may be the first draft class ever with both a Hick and a Hod. Hod Kreuter has nice power, for what it’s worth.
Final Analysis: 2 solid players in the first 2 rounds, although neither will be an all-star.
Florida got a nice pitcher in righty Gene Burke for picking from the 32 spot. His only glaring weakness is that he doesn’t keep the ball down well, but he looks very good in all other categories. He should be able to crack a major league rotation one day. Supp pick Gus Wood is a nice long relief prospect with excellent control, RH split, and 2 great pitches. 2nd rounder Harold Fraser is a decent 2B prospect, about what you’d expect to find at the end of the 2nd round.
Final Analysis: They got a few nice prospects here picking from the bottom.
Top pick Kenny Cooper hasn’t signed yet, word is he’s holding out for Longhorns College Football Season Tickets. No clue if this guy is any good – we have no info. They had a 2nd first rounder in SP Bob Halter. Halter has superb control and velocity, and very nice splits and GB/FB ratio. It also looks like he’s a workhorse who can eat innings. The quality of his pitches isn’t great, which is a concern, still, he should be an excellent big league pitcher one day. Supp pick SS Jaime Davis is a contact hitting specialist with some power, and can really hit lefties. He is a legit shortstop defensively, which makes him a nice addition to the system. They haven’t signed their picks from rounds 2-5, and nothing else really impressed us.
Final Analysis: Halter and Davis are two very nice prospects, but 5 out of the top 7 picks unsigned has to be considered a disappointment.
First rounder Willie Seay projects to be an excellent fielding shortstop with a good bat, particularly against lefties. He has above average power – we’ll say maybe 25 HR a year, which is a bonus at the shortstop position. Supp pick Phillip Owens is a catcher with great contact and power, a nice batting eye, but only mediocre splits. He projects to be a decent, not great catcher defensively, and has an eye-popping 100 projected durability, something you don’t see often from a catcher. 2nd rounder Jerry Wise and 3rd rounder Dingo Farquhar are fairly good arms with a shot at making the majors. They got a few other decent players in the later rounds who could be fringe major leaguers.
Draft Analysis: Seay and Owens are good hitters – but you would have thought pitching would have been more of a priority – at least there’s always trades!
First rounder Dwight Weatherford is a speedy 2B with great baserunning skills. He has great range, but only an average glove on defense. His strength at the plate is against lefties – everywhere else batting wise he is good, but not spectacular. He should put up decent numbers, but will never be an all star. Supp pick B.C. Willis has tremendous power and is solid at the plate vs. lefties – but has weak contact and below average batting eye. Seems like a platoon type at best vs. lefties in the bigs. 2nd rounder Harry Dorsey was a good value pick, with major league potential. Later on, they landed a couple of defensive wizards and a few decent arms.
Final Analysis: It was a fairly deep draft for Burlington – but lacked any real standouts.
First rounder Larry Ramsay projects solid across the board in splits, contact, power and batting eye, although isn’t spectacular in any one category. He’s good defensively, and would be an excellent 2B or 3B – he’d be a reach as a shortstop. Not a bad pick up at the #30 spot. They landed some decent arms in the 2nd and 3rd round in Bonilla and Valdes – they could each possibly make it to the majors. And they had a few other good arms later on with potential as well.
Final Analysis: Not a bad draft for Chicago, but not spectacular
The Radicals landed 2BJumbo Almanzar with the fifth overall pick, and did quite well for themselves. He has outstanding power, splits and batting eye, and nice contact as well. In Durham, he could easily hit 40 HR a season with a .290 average. He’s not spectacular defensively, but with his hitting skills, we’re sure Durham is willing to overlook that. 2nd rounder Eduardo Hernandez is a nice hitting first baseman, with a great batting eye, especially against lefties. He doesn’t have a lot of power, but should put great AVG and OBP. Durham picked up a handful of useful arms in the later rounds. Unfortunately their 3rd and 4th rounders wanted top 5 pick money and probably won’t be signed. But some of the ones that did sign do have major league potential.
Final Analysis: One superstar, a good bat, and a bunch of good arms – I’d say that’s a nice draft.
Fargo first rounder Gorkys Lira (nice name) projects to be a dominant closer once he fully develops. He has practically no weaknesses – his RH split isn’t ideal, but his other ratings more than make up for it. Good value for the 23rd pick. Fargo hasn’t signed their supplemental pick, 2 2nd rounders, or their 3rd round pick, but after that inked a few fringe major league players.
Final Analysis: Lira is a nice add, and will be dominant, and got a couple of other decent players too. Points off for not signing picks 2-5, but hey, it’s ploppie!
Top pick Endy Donatello is a quality masher, the exact type of player you’d expect New York to pick. He has very good contact, splits and batting eye as well, and looks to have a bright future at the plate. Defensively, he’s passable as a catcher, but should make up for the lack of defensive skills at the plate. He was a very good value pick at #27. Supp pick Gary Cuddyer is a nice pitching prospect that should end up making the majors. 2nd rounder 2B/CF Alex Chen was a nice value for where he was picked. In addition, they picked up a handful of useful relievers.
Final Analysis: Very deep draft for New York, the extra comp picks helped, but they certainly made the most of them.
Top pick 2B Tommy Jordan is quite the threat at the plate, with tremendous contact, splits and batting eye. He doesn’t have huge power, but could still knock out 15-20 per season. Still, his biggest asset will be batting average and OBP, which he will excel greatly at. He also has superior baserunning skills, although only slightly above average speed. All in all, a very nice add for Sioux Falls. Supp pick Socks Quinn was a very nice value and should be a solid 2B or 3B in the majors. 2nd rounder Jacob Itou has to be considered a steal, and should be a dominant reliever in the bigs. 3rd rounder Elmer Jefferies could be a back of the rotation guy in the bigs. The next slew of picks also have potential to be role players at the major league level.
Flinal Analysis: An excellent draft for Sioux Falls that greatly improved their system.
St. Louis’s first rounder, RP Donne Forbes has caused quite the controversy due to some faulty info leaked by some usually trustworthy scouts. The issue has WhatIf Sports digging through thousands of old tickets, so the rumor has it. Although he may not be exactly what St. Louis thought, Forbes still looks like he’ll make quite the impact in the majors. His control, pitches, and LH split are outstanding, and has a good RH Split and GB/FB ratio. He has all the makings of a dominant closer. 2nd rounder Wallace Vernon can crush the ball, especially against lefties. His performance vs. righties is a slight concern, but not enough to prevent him from being a big time slugger. Their picks that followed featured some great defensive players, and some guys who can hold their own at the plate, and a couple of decent arms. Expect a few of these guys to see Major League playing time.
Final analysis: A very deep draft for St. Louis – despite the Forbes controversy!
Cheyenne had the number one overall pick and selected SS Vic Costilla. Costilla has a great glove, arm and accuracy. His range is slightly below what you’d like to see for a SS, but he’ll still be fine there. He has an excellent bat, with good power, and very nice splits and batting eye. He’s also a good baserunner - .290 BA and 30/30 should be his annual production with upside for higher numbers, which is great for a SS. 2nd rounder Willy Mo O’Keefe could see the majors as well, with solid batting ratings, and good fielding skills. Alfredo Perkins is a good reliever for a 4th rounder, and they got more decent arms in rounds 6 and 7.
Final Analysis: This appears to be a solid class for Cheyenne, which you’d fully expect drafting from the #1 spot.
Top pick Eddie Merritt hasn’t signed and is yet another player the Gazette has no info on. I guess the Gazette scouting team was lazy this year. They got a second first rounder in hurler Vance Cook who looks to be a solid long reliever or setup guy in the majors. He has great splits and pitches, but his control and ability to keep the ball down are a bit suspect. Supp round pick Mike Pratt looks to be a useful power hitting 3B who could start one day at the Major League level. Their 2nd Supp pick RHP Larry Robinson has tremendous ratings across the board – his only downside is limited durability, but he should still be an extremely effective pitcher in the bigs. 2nd round pitchers Don Hoffman and David Grant also look to have major league potential. And they landed a few useful players in the later rounds as well.
Final Analysis: Great draft for Honolulu, they made the most of the several comp picks that they had; however their top pick hasn’t signed yet, which keeps them from getting the top grade.
First Rounder RF Glen Acquilino is a pure hitter with great splits, batting eye and contact. He has decent, but not great power. We’re thinking .315 BA and 20 HR will be his typical year, which is still very useful. He has good baserunning skills, but not much speed, and also a great arm and accuracy for a RF. He’s a good prospect indeed. Their 2nd rounder is a hoss – literally – Hoss Stock projects to be a future gold glove shortstop who can be somewhat decent at the plate. The thing I can’t explain is why he’s playing catcher at the Rookie League level. 4th Rounder Matt Brown was a nice value pick for them, and they got a couple of other decent pitchers who are borderline major leaguers.
Final Analysis: A nice class for LA, but c’mon move Hoss over to short, will ya!
Sacto picked 31st in the first round, and ended up getting a very nice pitcher in SP Scott Rolle for that slot. He has great control, decent splits, and 3 very good pitches, with a 4th good one to boot. He could definitely be in a major league rotation. Sacto continued raking in the quality SPs in rounds 2-4 with Brook Breen, Manny Bierbrodt and Garland Golub. All very good value picks for where they were drafted. They went offense the next several rounds landing some useful players who could be role players at the major league level.
Final Analysis: Very good, deep draft for Sacramento – especially from where they were picking.
Charleston’s first rounder was masher Quinton Allen, who will be a sure-fire superstar for years to come.His ratings at the plate are outstanding across the board.I’d expect nothing less than multiple .300/40 HR seasons in his future.His downside – he’s not that speedy – does that count?Charleston didn’t have another pick until the 4th round, where they landed a bunch of mediocre arms, one or two who may make it to the bigs for a cup of coffee one day.
Final Analysis:Didn’t get much else besides Allen, but he alone makes their draft a smashing success.
Grade:B+
Huntington Liberators
Huntington’s first rounder was hurler Sean Ford, who has yet to sign, and the Gazette has no info on this player, none, nada, not even if he is a lefty or a righty.All we know is that he has a really ugly mug.2nd rounder Adrian Jones is strong in the field, but may not have the range to truly be an effective shortstop, and is only ok at the plate.Other than that, they got a handful of mediocre arms, and a few defensive wizards.
Final Analysis: Not a great draft, especially if they can't sign Ford.
Jackson’s top pick was Peter Kelly, a defensive wonder at SS, who should rack up a number of gold gloves down the line.He looks like he should be able to hold his own at the plate, albeit he won’t post spectacular numbers.He has some speed, but lacks the baserunning prowess to be an elite steal artist.All in all, he’s not bad at all for a late first rounder.2nd rounder Alberto Jacquez is a solid hitting CF, although he doesn’t have ideal range for the CF position, he should be serviceable, and post decent numbers at the plates.Their 3rd rounder was defensive catcher Richie Hall, and the rest of the crop were borderline major leaguers at best.
Final Analysis:They got some good role players, although no future stars – at least offensively, but their top 2 picks could start in the bigs.
Memphis didn’t have a first rounder so their top pick was 2nd rounder Yuniesky Lopez – great splits and pitches – poor control, velocity and GB/FB ratio – he probably won’t make the majors.3rd rounder Deivi Armas was a nice value pick, he could end up being a long reliever in the bigs, if he reaches his projections.They were able to snag a couple more decent relievers in the later rounds as well.
Final analysis:They came away with some decent relievers – although they could have done better with their 2nd rounder.
First round pick Jody Gragg is an excellent hitter, with projected great splits and batting eye.His power is good, not great, and his contact is mediocre.It looks he won’t be all that useful in the field, and is better off as a DH.Still, his bat will definitely warrant him being in the lineup as a DH.2nd rounder Earl Cook is another nice bat, not quite the level of Gragg, but still good, and looks like he can be solid defensively behind the plate.After that, they got a handful of offensive prospects – a few could make the majors as backups.
Final Analysis:Very nice 1st and 2nd round picks – solid players for sure.
Dover’s first round pick, righty Kelly Bowie has projects to have a great RH split, and 4 good pitches.He has a good GB/FB ratio as well, and looks to be a workhorse with his strong durability/stamina ratings.His big downside is mediocre control.Based on his other ratings, he should be able to overcome that, and be a solid #3 or #4 starter in the bigs.Dover didn’t have a 2nd round pick, and the rest of their draft featured a couple of borderline Major League pitchers, and an extremely good field shortstop.
Final Analysis:Bowie should be solid, not much to speak of here otherwise.
Hartford’s first rounder was lefty reliever Preston Johnson.Johnson looks like he will have control and splits that are just ok and superior GB/FB ratio, velocity and pitches.It will be interesting to see if he will be just good in the majors, or a stud.He should be able to contribute nonetheless.Hartford picked up a very nice 2nd baseman in Paul Newfield in the supp round, who looks like a future major league starter.Their second supp round pick was Harold Milner, a rangy centerfielder with excellent speed and baserunning skills.SS/3B Bubba Burks was a nice pickup for a 5th rounder.
Final Analysis:Hartford got some players who will help them at the Major League level for sure, although it remains to be seen how much of an impact they will have.
NY’s first rounder was right Cory Ramirez who looks like he can be a workhorse – his other pluses are good splits, the ability to keep the ball down in the zone, and 2 very good pitches.His big downside is his control, which projects to be very mediocre, and we’re not sure his other skills are good enough for him to be dominant.Still, he should be a serviceable #5 SP in the bigs, who can eat up a lot of innings.Supp pick Luke Montgomery is a hold out, and the Gazette has no info on this player.Best of luck with those negotiations!After that, New York got a handful of pitchers who are borderline major leaguers at best, and a couple of fielding wizards with not much skill at the plate
Final Analysis:Ramirez is ok, but not great.Montgomery, if he signs, and has skills, could be the deciding factor in whether this draft is a boom or bust.
