Draft Report Part 3 of 10

Cleveland Penguins (NL)

Timothy Oquist 1st round (38th) Lost their 1st pick, 30th overall but picked up the 38th as compensation. Oquist has some of the greatest power we have seen, but also has a huge hole in his swing…and his glove. Will end up playing LF were his defense will be average and his 30-40 homers with be welcome. With that though will be a 250 avg and many strikeouts. Could wind up on the bus between AAA and the majors for most of his career.

Charlie Merrick 2nd Round (82nd) Drafted as a 3rd basemen, but may be forced to move to RF where his range and glove wont be as much of a factor. Solid across the board, will be a nice backup corner OF’er and Corner INF’er. 300abs 10-12 homers, 260 avg.

Jody Daniels 3rd Round (93rd) A Free agent compensation pick. May make the majors just because of his speed and ability to bunt. Will never be a starter but will be an ideal man off the bench when a steal is needed or as a late inning defensive substitution.

Luther Lane 3rd Round (114th) The love child of Lex Luther and Lois Lane? No, but he does possess one weakness much like a super hero. The ability to hit the strike zone. 2 amazing pitches, 3 more that are effective and splits as good as most major league closers. Despite his wildness could still make the show as a SuB type.

Lonny Cornejo 4th Round (146th) Quality selection by Cleveland here, Lonny will be an excellent LR pitcher. Better then avg splits, control and two pitches that project to better then 75. A very nice selection for the 4th round.

Juan Santayana 5th Round (178th) Pure middle infield glove man, if he makes the majors that means the big league team was probably in a bus crash.

Ralph Ratliff 7th Round (242nd) Has an extreme case of Luther Lane, 2 great pitches, solid splits but somewhat wild. Could be a real sleeper if he gets to work with Crash Davis in the minors.

Draft Grade: B- got a lot of bang for their buck, with 6 potential major leaguers. Seemed to draft better in the late rounds. Cleveland should be commended for doing their homework on the 2nd tier players.

Columbus Clippers (AL)

Ray Lyon 1st Round (18th) Good all-round player, has .300 avg and 20-20 potential. Most likely will move to CF as there are better fielders in the Clippers farm system.

Tomas Ortiz 2nd Round (70th) This is the better fielder in question. A real dynamo with the glove. Wont hit for any power or draw many walks, but should hit righties well enough to start 2/3rds of the time. 0 Homers, 20 steals, .280 avg, 300 obp and a gold glove collection.

Alfredo Pena 3rd Round (102nd) Future pinch-runner and 1st baseman defensive replacement. Will never hit well enough to overcome his defensive shortcomings. Most likely an incredible AAA player. Could have picked better with this one.

Maverick Franklin 4th Round (134th) A nice sleeper pick here, has great control and is fairly tough on lefties. Has trouble against righties and doesn’t posses a quality 2nd pitch. Most likely a Mop up pitcher or a terrific AAA starter.

Don Seneca 5th Round (166th) Big things do come in small packages. The 5’10 Seneca has major league power that could see him hit 30+ homers in the majors. Might never hit above .250 but could draw enough walks to compensate for that. Potential major leaguer at least as a DH/PH.

Kelvim Martin 7th Round (230th) Could be the leftie hitting counterpart to Tomas Ortiz. Great defense and incredible speed. Hits lefties well enough to garner 200 at bats a season.

Draft Grade: B+ anytime you can get 3 potential major leagues shortstops you have done pretty well. Add onto that a solid DH and a decent pitcher you have yourself a very good draft class.


Detroit Grass Lakes (NL)

Tony Caballero 2nd Round (79th) Signed for 3 million, in case you didn’t know 3 million is a lot of money for a 2nd round player. Especially one who only projects to be a #5 or maybe even a LRA. Has a couple of solid pitches but isn’t tough enough on lefties or righties.

Freddie Rogers 3rd Round (111th) Rogers has great splits and 2 very good pitches. His control is still very suspect, should settle in as a solid long relief pitcher. Will probably end up being better then Caballero.

As of now Detroit has be unable to sign their top draft pick, King Brantley, he looks like he would be an excellent closer or at very least SuA.

Draft Grade: D+ Two bullpen pitches and not much else, if they can get Brantley on board their grade would go up to a C.