Time to head out to the NL West to see how that division's draft went. Here's the scoop!
Cheyenne Chiefs
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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.
Grade: A
Honolulu Haoles
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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.
Grade: A (A+ if Merritt signs)
Los Angeles Marlowes
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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!
Grade: B
Sacramento Fighting Cornish Hens
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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.
Grade: A