Draft Report: Tucson, Vancouver, Wichita

Tucson Draft Report

1st Rnd, 5th, Adam Byrne Hard throwing right hander with a screwball to make Fernando green with envy. Will give up his fair share of hits but most certainly has the stuff to be a top 3 member of any staff.

2nd Rnd, 51st, Will Nation This young lefthander has 4 big league pitches and control to match. Will struggle daily against right handed bats but should slide nicely into the tail end of the rotation.

3rd Rnd, 83rd, Arthur Miller Another leftie SP, not nearly as crafty though. His control struggles will more then likely limit him to bullpen duties.

4th Rnd, 115th Jeremy Turner Pudgey rightie that will serve wellas a SuB type. Two solid pitches and decent control should be enough to overcome less then ideal splits.

5th Rnd, 147th Ollie Middlebrook Speedy, smooth fielding SS that may wind up as a defensive sub…or may end up in AAA with bunch of minor league gold gloves.

Draft Grade: B, Two major league SP’s, two bullpen pitchers and a defensive wiz. It would be tough to ask for anything more.

Vancouver Draft Report

1st Rnd, 17th, Willie Alarcon Last year Vancouver may have got the best SP, this year they grabbed maybe the best RP. A perfect slider, a rubber arm, pinpoint control and tough on both sides of the plate.

2nd Rnd, 63rd, Jim Tomberlin One of the best pure fielders ever. Could be a starter just because of his glove. If only he could run.

3rd Rnd, 95th, Brian Tatum a very solid fielding 3rd baseman, pretty quick and can hit for pretty good average as well. Probably a stop gap starter at best.

Draft Grade: B-, another solid draft for Vancouver, would like to see what he would do with extra picks one year.

Wichita Draft Report

1st Rnd, 9th, Mike Garland, Sweet swinging SS that can steal…but not for Wichita. Looks like he will be playing Basketball somewhere.

1st Rnd, 33rd, Scott Bonds Interesting RP, great splits, 4 good pitches but his arm doesn’t seem to have the juice to pitch very long…or often.

1st Rnd, 41st, Phil Bannister Closer of the future. Throws hard, and where he wants to. Two good pitches but sometimes lets up and allows batters to get to many good pitches to swing at. Still a closer for sure.

2nd Rnd, 56th, Willis Riley Crafty lefthander that can mix in 4 pitches that are all very good. Has lots of problems with right handers but should still grab a spot in the rotation.

Grade: B, Another good draft for Wichita, had they been able to sign Garland they may have had the best draft of all teams. The future is very bright in Wichita.