S52 IFA Recap

 Gabrielle  O. Alvarez-Tillman - Contributing Reporter.

We've recently covered the Rule 4 draft players, so it's only fair that we do the same with the IFA signings this season. 

1. Akinori Cho the starting pitcher from Japan signed with the Helena Hot Dogs for $26.2M. He shouldn't have any issues with control or against Righties, but whether he makes it in the majors will all depend on how he handles Lefties. The scouts agree that we shouldn't expect too many strike outs with this guy, so I hope the defense behind him is ready to play. His 4-seam fastball ranks up there and has potential to be near top in the league. He's a slightly S52 Arismendy Costilla who just this past offseason signed a max deal. Not a bad comp and I'm sure Cho hopes to one day make the same money. 
2. Giancarlo Gutierrez is looking to make his mark as a Shortstop after signing a $23.6M deal with the Tacoma Aroma....let's hope he doesn't stink it up. He should make good contact versus both Lefties and Righties and has a decent enough to pass at the ML level. Fantastic health and should prove to be rather durable, maybe missing a game or two all season for a little extra rest. I'd expect him to hit 20ish home runs and might steal 15 bases a season but it's getting on base and setting the table for the power guys behind him. He's probably a mix of Rip Bromberg and Vin Melhuse; both of whom are former #1 picks. Like Rip, I expect him to shift over to the hot corner before being promoted to the majors. 
3. Miguel Pena is next and yet another who signed over the $20M mark though only by an additional $500k. He was also the third IFA signing of the season, so the Atlanta Expos jumped on him quick. And I don't blame them considering how pricey IFAs got last season. Top notch control paired with fantastic 4-seasom fastball should help earn quite a few strikeouts over the course of a season. With that control, I wouldn't expect many free bases either. I'd probably look to Season 42's #2 pick, Brian Fukudome as a soft comp. Fantastic add for a team who already has the best pitching staff, and one who has plenty of arms still in the minors. The biggest question will be if this guy makes it to the majors as a Expo or if he's traded before then. My money is on a trade within the next two seasons. 
4. Yet another pitcher in Horacio Marrero has the next largest contract signing, just missing the $20M mark, coming in at $19.5M for the Hartford Rising Stars. He has ML talent, but it might be more of a back of the rotation type. As long as his 4-seam fastball and his ability to pitch against Righties develops, he should be alright. Austin's Roger Walsh would be the one to watch, though he's been roughed up a bit this year; his prior years had a 3.55 ERA on a 1.30 WHIP. 
5. The fantastic pitch calling of Miguel Romero was signed by Huntington Tropics to the tune of $16.1M. But I hope their Bench Coach is ready for a few passed balls with his limited range and he might see a few DL trips in his career, but sometimes you never know about that. The power is there but he'll struggle to make contact, especially against Lefties. Scouts seem to agree that he only walks down the base paths instead of run; consider he's only 5'-11" and 170 lbs that's surprising. His way on base could be through many walks as well. His owner should be thinking Shannon Bunch without all that power. 
6. So far the steal of the IFA period has been Houston Space Cowboys' $12.5M signing of Dominican Republic's Bengie Ramirez. Especially consider he's the better bat than Romero mentioned above and came nearly $4M cheaper - the cost of a first round draft pick. He might only be a future DH, but the guy can hit and for power. Solid contact and handles both handed pitchers well. Outside of Ground Rule Doubles, I wouldn't expect any extra base hits with his speed. Some of our games best power hitters are just out of reach for comps. Though he'll hit lefties better than Omar and righties better than Alex. Keith Halter on the other hand might be a good one, though Bengie will have a worse eye, FAR worse speed, and slightly less power. Similar comps also have Alex Perez and Yangervis Rosa on the list. Rosa matches up much better with speed, though Bengie will handle Righties better maybe slightly less contact. 

S52 Midseason Rankings

 Richard Castle - contributing reporter

Skynet is BACK!!! A virus took down their software for some time, likely caused by their prior issues with the Houston ballclub....not the first time a Houston franchise has had issues with computers. But they've reworked their ranking system using concrete data rather than scouting reports. Let's jump straight to it.

Draft Recap S52

 Gabrielle  O. Alvarez-Tillman - Contributing Reporter.

Yet another draft season in Cobbfather, so let's round up the Rule 4 draft. Time to see how the talent pool shakes out this season. Starting something new this season and going to add in current ML comps to most players - maybe not all. 

1. Portland - Carmen Arnold (P) - Hands down the top pick in the draft. This guy has it all, great K/BB rate, limit base hits, health, and very durable. If Portland can find some players to put around him, they might be on to a future HoF pitcher here. His only downside is the stamina, and lasting long into games. If he doesn't do his conditioning, we might see him out of the pen but Portland will push everything they can to help him develop. Portland has a future Alton Drew with much better control and pitch 2 quality on their hands. 

2.  Oklahoma City - Rolando Salinas (P) - OKC apparently likes to wait to sign their players until after the draft recap. Though appears he might not sign. Maybe they rely on our scouting to sign their players?!? If he signs and pans out, he could be a great combination with Ed Wood from last year. His curveball should be his #1 pitch, but we'll see if he can develop that Split fastball well enough in the minors. Great control, but might not see a ton of Ks. He'll rely on the pitcher's haven in OKC and the fielders behind him. If he signs and develops well, he might turn into OKC's own Victor Ortega.

3. Huntington - Hick English (3B) - Comp pick for spending money on Wei-Yin Wan (1B) over last year's #2 pick Phil Wada (C). Lots of power from the hot corner, though his arm strength falls a little short for the average 3B; but I expect him to make up for it with better range and glove. Health shouldn't be an issue over the years but will he be another power bat that hits .250/.260? Maybe Huntington can keep an eye out for Teheran as to what English will become. 

4. Huntington - Howie Baltz (SS) - Back to back picks this early in the draft, hard to argue with that. The defense on this guy is great, might even win a couple of gold gloves at SS. But I wish the he made better contact or had more power considering his value against Righties. Considering the eye on this guy, he should walk plenty but he moves like tortoise and should be limited to 0-2 steals a season. At the plate he's Buffalo's Don Hernandez with less speed and a better eye. 

5. Washington DC - Dee Valle (2B) - I can't recall a time these guys haven't had a pick within the top 10 since I've been writing. Surely their farm is stocked and ready to dominate for a decade! But let's check this one out. Dee lacks power but more than makes up for it with speed, which both makes sense considering his position on the field. Health is good, though might need to rest a few games a season. At the plate, DC should be looking for a Bernie Molina type, .280 hitter with slightly less HRs but let's call it 12-15 a season. Steals are always hard to gauge given how strict some teams can be on the basepaths and not wanting to give up so called easy outs. 

6. Helena - Mickey Barmes (1B) - After clearing some money via late trades, Helena signs Barmes, and it was well worth it. Highly graded contact, fantastic power from the right side of the plate. He might miss a few throws from the second base and you can forget about the throws from your 3B, but I know plenty of GMs who would still use at him 1B. He's basically Keith Halter without the defense. With the splits he might even be a little better than Halter. 

7. Anaheim - Jimmie Perez (SP) - Anaheim needs pitching, and it should be fun to watch Perez develop over the years. He's not as good against right handed hitters, but if he can live up to expectations he'll be a great #1 or 2 pitcher for the Diablos...assuming he doesn't throw out his arm during bullpen sessions. He reminds me of a slightly better Yuudai Park or a Santiago Terrero but with much better pitch quality. Perez's quality 4-seam and curveball should keep most hitters off balance. The second the Diablos are ready to turn up the heat at the major league level, Perez will get the call!

8. Vancouver - Patsy Shipley (CF) - <insert your joke about the name Patsy> If the power develops he'll be more than just a platoon player, otherwise the weak contact and splits against lefties might hurt him a bit. But I'm getting a lot of Noe Lecuona vibes with this one. The limited range might keep him out of centerfielder but I've seen worse players man the position. But you gotta feel bad for this guy, he's gotta play for the commish's team up in Canada. For his sake I hope he gets traded. 

9. Austin - Boone Rudolph (2B) - Currently player SS in Rookie ball, he'll switch back to 2B in the majors. Some say his power's already maxed out at the age of 18. Contact should be alright, but he'll struggle to put the ball in play. You'd hope with the limited bat, his eye might be a bit better to help him get on base but tough break there. His best hope is to bunt the ball and hope that speed gets him a single. Daniel Taylor with a little less speed and slightly better contact. 

10. Anaheim - Derrek Schlereth (SP) - Another comp pick from not signing last year's Tim Cotts (P) and they stick with another pitcher. Great control that should limit the amount of walks and a high quality velocity that should end in quite a few Ks. But will the quality of his knuckleball and change-up be enough to limit hitters? Del Alvarez's career 4.00 ERA mark could be the baseline. 

11. El Paso - Carl Jackson (RP) - I think we all know this guy will be traded next offseason and if history finds a way to repeat itself, we all know to who. Enough stamina to comfortably get through an inning and a little extra when needed. Superb velocity and control over his 4-seam FB that will rarely leave the yard. Pair that with great control and a way to manage both lefties and rights, we should expect to see Carl Jackson with a few Fireman of the Year awards...assuming he's used as a closer. I'd look to NY's bullpen this season for a few comps in  Gaylord Butler & Radhames Machado.

12. Houston - Benny Ward (LF) - I haven't seen their schedule but I'm guessing Houston might be near the end of their rebuild once they had a few more bats. The power and contact should be fun to watch, but it's too bad Benny has no jets. Health might be a bit of a concern down the road, but with the right training he should be fine. Imagine a one-eyed Chuck Rupe but better defensively and you'll have Ward. 

13. Boston - Ernie Gaetti (SP) - Ernie 'The Yeti' Gaetti is an interesting case. Not too many ML comps, likely due to his lower control; but if he has a saving grace it's his pitch quality of his curveball, change up, and slider all being above average. Health shouldn't be an issue, neither should lasting until the 6th or 7th if he hasn't been roughed up yet. He's got Eric Lehr vibes with less control and less pitch quality. 

14. Montreal  - CJ Frazier (SP) - The make-up of Frazier has some scouts wondering if he'll meet projections, but that control is his high point with no issues versus lefties. If he doesn't hit projections against righties he might struggle a bit. Similar to a few pitchers above him, the pitch quality should help him against those righties. He's Doc Cortes with one less highly rated pitch. 

15. Tacoma - Blake Frankoff (SS) - Scouts can't seem to decide if this guy's glove fits at shortstop or if he'll need shift elsewhere on the diamond. Either way, he's purely a defensively replacement late in the game. He'll be lucky to hit .050 at the ML level. And since my grandma runs faster than him, he won't be any good besides that 9th inning. His bat is so low we couldn't even find a defensive specialist at the ML level that matches his projections. This writer doesn't expect him to be signed, at least not for $2.5M. 

Seems a pretty solid group of draft picks for 1-15 this year. Let's go prospects, it's nearly your time to shine!!