Draft Report, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia

New York Draft Report

1st Rnd, 16th Milt Blake A very deceptive left hander. Has 3 major league pitches and top tier control. Will always have troubles against the better right handed batters but should will out a 3 or 4 spot in the Torrones rotation for sure.

3rd Rnd, 94th Chip Blankenship Could be anything from a 5th starter to a solid closer. 2 above average pitches and a third one that is solid. Doesn’t have the legs to pitch more then 5 or 6 innings and probably not the stuff to be a dominant closer. Probably best suited to pitch out of the pen for 2 or 3 innings at a time.

Grade: C as they have been able to sign any of their other picks it is hard to grade them any higher despite the fact that they did get 2 very solid pitchers.

Norfolk Draft Report

1st Rnd, 8th, Daniel Poppell Drafted as a SP but will have to pitch out of the pen due to his inability to get past 4 innings. Does have very good stuff, buth 8th overall might have been a little early for a mid-relief pitcher.

2nd and 3rd Rnd picks unsigned.

4th Rnd, 118th Raymond Palmer Looks like a part-time catcher, defense is average at best and while he is very good at putting the ball in play will never hit for a great average due to minimal power. Could bat .250-.260 off the bench.

Draft Grade: D+, after a very good draft last year when they picked extremely late…didn’t seem prepared when they had high picks. This draft looks like a missed opportunity.

Philadelphia Draft Report

1st Rnd, 10th, Heath Donovan Wowee, wow wow. Talk about climbing the ladder quickly. After 4 scoreless innings in AA this 20 year old went straight to the majors, and succeeded. Saved 4 games and had a 2.10 era in 25 innings. Still has a long way to go to reach projections but can and should be a stud closer.
3rd Rnd, 88th Pablo Castilla Another draftee who has quickly climbed, this time to AAA. A potential gold glover at SS and has ability to steal every time he is on base. Luckily for the opposition that won’t be very often as he will hit about .250 with a .310 obp.

4th Rnd, 120th Tyrone Johnson By no means an ace but for the rebuilding Hawaiians he could be a solid back end of the rotation starter. Equally tough on righties and lefties with two solid pitches.

5th Rnd, 152nd, Jeff McLemore Score again! He just went 5-2 at AAA and looks like he could be ready for big league service in another season. Pitch selection for him will be key as 4 of his 5 pitches are less then average.

Grade: B+, a nice turn around from last years draft. Can’t say I agree with the quick promotions, but the players do seem to be responding well. 4 solid major leaguers is always a good draft.