Another draft has come and gone, and just like in year’s past I thought I’d put together some of my favorite guys drafted by each team. I won’t give draft grades, per se, because who am I to grade anyone else’s drafts (my draft history hasn’t exactly been sparkling)? But rather, just some of my own thoughts.
Before I get into team-by-team breakdown, one big thought about the draft itself. I LOVE the renovations at Hinckley and love even more the fact that it’s smoke free. We can get started at any time planning locations for future drafts, but if we had to do Hinckley again I liked it much more this year than in year’s past.
But now, onto the more interesting stuff.
BABY SEALS
Fred drafted some players I really liked in spots that I really liked them. Unlike Rem, I think the Montgomery pick was strong and it seemed like industry consensus was he was a top 8-10 pick. I like Tibbs’ hit/power and I think that if he was in NyY rather than SF, he would’ve gotten way more love. Honeycutt scares me, but if he can improve contact rates, watch out! I loved Malcolm Moore and if he sticks at catcher, Fred has a guy there. Fred also got some nice pitchers in very good spots, especially Santucci, Johnson, Beam, and for some reason I really liked Jump.
BALL BUSTERS
Eric’s strategy was simple- pitching, pitching, pitching. And he got some good ones. Last deadline I dropped Moises Chace instead of Seth Johnson due to Johnson’s proximity. Not only did Johnson get rocked in his MLB debut, Chace went on to become a Fangraphs’ top 100 prospect. Excellent move Ray. Needless to say, the fact I couldn’t redraft Chace chaps my ass. Sugano is old as shit, but still very capable on a strong Baltimore team and will get Eric valuable stats this season. I was quietly hoping Hart would fall to me, dreaming he can replicate Fedde’s success coming back from Asia to the MLB. Ullola is a smart pick, as was Early, and I liked where he got both.
BANOCOLATES
Jeff’s top 4 picks are a pretty sight, which is harder than you’d think when you pick as early as he did. Debarge and Culpepper bore me to no end, which means they’ll likely end up being serviceable MLBers or better. Cooper Ingle was one of my more favorite picks of the draft. I had him as a high 3rd round talent and he was another guy that made Fangraphs’ top 100 list. It’s no secret that I love me some catchers, and if I didn’t have as many as I do I would’ve probably drafted both Ingle and the aforementioned Moore (along with some others to be mentioned soon). Full disclosure, I steered clear of pitching for the most part, but I did like the Forcucci and Johnson picks here, along with Bender and another guy I cut, Joel Payamps.
BLOOP AND A BLAST
Oof. New guy comes in and makes a very strong first impression. Benge was the last guy cut from the BA top 100 list, and grabbing him at #16 was nice. I love what Ross did with the next 4 picks of Kellon, Payne, Dix, and Hightower and it wouldn’t surprise me if at least one of those skyrocketed up prospect lists this year. I came into the draft with some guys I absolutely wanted later in the draft, and the top 3 names on that list were Sirota, Harlan, and Conrad Cason. So I’m very happy the new guy stole all of them from me. Ross also grabbed some pitching that I liked including Swan and Hess (I had both as a 5th round talents). Ross had maybe my favorite draft of anyone.
BROB’s BARNACLES
Another year, another impressive draft from Clarkson. Going into this draft I knew that I needed to target guys who I think will become top 100 guys in 2026 or 2027, since I wouldn’t have a chance at the big names guys with how low I was drafting. And that little bitch Clarkson took them from me! Specifically I’m talking about Luke Dickerson (who I love, love, love) and Tommy White, who I was really hoping would fall to me in the back of the 3rd round. Of course I love the top 3 picks, although for whatever reason I am more down on Bazzanna than most; maybe I just don’t trust first round second baseman. I think Alejandro Osuna (who I had as a 3rd round talent) will be a very solid MLB contributor. I have a man crush on Eeles. I also liked some of this pitching, including Owen Hall and especially Dasan Hill who apparently has had two velocity increases since being drafted and is now upper 90s. Finally, rule 5 pick Reifert was sneaky good at the end of the draft.
DANIMALS
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu gives guidelines about deception being a strong element of warfare. Included in this is “Appear weak when you are strong”. I’m convinced that Dan has mastered this craft. Every year he comes into the draft appearing weak (e.g. drafting fake players, routinely reminding us that “I didn’t really look at anything” or “I haven’t done any scouting”, appearing more interested in the gambling and the casino aspect of the draft). And then, when we’re all on our heels and laughing, he swoops in and attacks. We’re all in shock when we see that he had 6 OF THE TOP 20 PICKS. With those picks he drafted perhaps the best players in the draft. Cam Smith appears to be a future stud, perhaps as early as this year. Same with Caglianone. Konnor Griffin was my favorite player in the whole draft, but Josuar Gonzalez wasn’t far behind. Waldschmidt I liked a lot, as well as Baro. Lenyn was another guy I cut and hoped to get back in the draft, especially since it seems like he’s going to have crazy position eligibility and put up decent numbers this year. And then Dan grabs Juneiker in the supplemental. Chen-Wei Shields, etc. etc. etc. So much talent drafted. Oh, and then he ALSO happened to walk away from the draft with FREDDIE FREEMAN. Dan has definitely mastered the art of CPL war.
FAJITA EATERS
I mentioned it earlier, but I tried to stay away from pitching in this draft, because I’ve just been burned too often recently. Having said that, I love the pitching that Rem grabbed here. In particular, Sloan and Sterling were two of my absolute favorites, with Doughty and Forret not being far behind. But Keeler may end up being the best of the bunch. All 4 have what I think are tremendous ceilings. I’m not as high on Salas, but I did like the J15 pick of Coret quite a bit. No lie, I had Dylan Dreiling as a top 50 player in the draft, so grabbing him at 128 is a mind-boggling steal. And I am sucker for under the radar hitters, so I liked Vaz quite a bit as well.
KELLY’S HEROES
I agree with Rem in the JK was a machine with all that he did on draft day. On top of his responsibilities, JK walked away from the draft with some great players. I don’t understand why Trevor Harrison, a BA top 100 prospect, received no love going into the draft and fell all the way to 31. Jack Perkins is kind of the same thing, to a lesser extent. BA had him rated as a top 30 RHP prospect in all of baseball. I don’t love Christian Moore, but getting him at 17 is a hell of a steal. I stayed clear of RP in the draft, but the only two I had considered for my draft board were Montgomery and Bigge, and JK grabbed both. Ogasawara probably sucks, but he’s still relatively young, has a roster spot, and may turn out to be decent. Grabbing him in the supplemental was tasty. And Dorian Soto could be the next sneaky IFA who just blows up.
MOTLEY SHUE
Shue’s first 3 picks are complete lottery tickets, although ones where the jackpot is extremely high. Fountain and Rodriguez have special power, and if one can find a way to at least decent contact, Shue will have himself a 30+ HR hitter. And if both can find there way there, look out. Elian Pena could also be a special bat, and Shue seems to find a way to have his J15 guys work. I really liked a few pitchers in the draft, but Mobley and Hurd along with Eagan and Drake were on that list. My favorite pick may have been the J15er taken at 159- Cabada. The dude can hit and I think that if he develops even decent power he could climb lists quick.
NELLAMANIACS
I’m impressed, but not surprised, with how Nelly improves his drafts year after year. In a relatively weak draft class, Nelly left with some really nice talent. Bryce Rainer seemed to be overlooked a lot but I like him a good amount and think he could blossom into something special. Hyeseong Kim may be yet another Japanese bust (of which I am VERY familiar) or maybe he becomes the Dodgers starting second baseman for the next 10 years. Grabbing him at pick 30 is so pretty. Janek and O’Ferrall are, to me, pretty boring, low-ceiling prospects. But in this draft, maybe they’ll turn out to provide the most value when all is said and done. Schiefelbein was a 7th round talent for me, so getting him in the 10th was really nice. I also liked the J15 gambles of Cedeno and especially Ayden Johnson so late. But my favorite pick was, no surprise, a catcher. I really liked Luciano and he checked a lot of boxes I looked for. Oh I almost forgot about Chris Cortez. LaA is trying him as a starter and if everything clicks he is a really special arm. If nothing else, maybe he is their closer. I liked that pick quite a bit as late as Nelly drafted him.
PRO BOWLERS
Another draft, another glorious haul from Pat. He got the two top pitchers according to the industry, then grabbed two bats that I really, really liked with (foolish) hopes one would get to me in the third round. Griffin Burkholder may turn out to be the best player in this draft. Or maybe Tyson Lewis will. Or maybe Kevin Alvarez will. I actually do like Eddie Rynders and I was hoping he’d go undrafted for me to scout all year. I can’t remember which, but several podcasts I listened to gave him plenty of love. Brecht, Meccage, Bateman, Keyner, and Reyes were all arms that I think can be really valuable. Especially Reyes; I know J15 arms are terrifying, but he was so intriguing to me and he actually was one of the pitchers I would have drafted.
ROLLIN’ GOATS
Not much to go on here, since Goats only had 6 picks. I liked Aroon but 44 was a little high for me. But Cale has a knack for succeeding in what I only try to do- find the stud prospects before anyone knows who they are. Perhaps Aroon is that guy. I did like Edgleen Perez (another catcher) quite a bit and had him as a 7th round talent. I also had Yahil in the 7th and he is similar to the Cubs SS that I drafted (Cruz). My favorite pick here was Ornelas and I really, really wanted him in the 9th or supplemental- hoping that no one else remembered about him.
THE BIG UNITS
I love the fact that Carrol brought on Giles as his co-owner, and the two of them together had a nice draft. Kurtz was #2 overall on my board, and I think he could be an MVP. Corner anchors are so hard to find. Two guys taken lower than I think they probably should’ve were King and Cijntje, and those were great picks. Yeah, Dakota Jordan was comp’d to a blind Bo Jackson, but if the dude can figure out how to see he’s got really special talent. Cunningham, Tolle, and Oakie are all fine pitchers and I can see them adding good prospect depth to the team. Another second baseman who can hit and held a special place in my hear was Pitre, and them grabbing him at #117 was maybe my favorite pick of theirs.
TOM CAT’S
Tommy took some interesting guys this draft. To be transparent, I did not like Nori at all and had him rated very, very far down my board. But I’ve been plenty wrong before. I did like Carter Johnson and it wouldn’t surprise me if he turns out to be better than Morlando, who I also liked. Gabriel Rodriguez has a special eye and if he can get to some power he could put himself on the map. Tom took some high upside shortstops with Thomas and Morii (or is he a pitcher?) who are exciting in their own ways. My favorite pick of Tom’s was Kuroda-Grauer. If he is the same player as Jacob Wilson, but for way, way cheaper, then what a steal for Tom. In a world where .250 is a good batting average, players like Kuroda-Grauer can offer something really valuable.
YOUR MOM
That’s my draft. I had Yorger as the second best J15 in the class and loved being able to trade up to get him. Maybe he sucks hard like my past J15 busts, of which there are many (e.g. Dermis Garcia), or maybe he become closer to my big J15 hit (Julio Rodriguez), But either way, lottery tickets are fun. I love Blake Burke, and I know BA only gave him a 45 grade, but I could care less about defense since hit hit and power grades are so strong. I wanted more SS this draft and only got a couple, but I really liked the ones I did. Two of the three SP I took have pure ace upside, and I thought the Cory Lewis high velo knuckleball was worth gambling on. I got two corner bats with good upside in Long and Mathis, and Mathis was getting more and more buzz in the prospect world leading up to our draft. Oh, and I took two catchers, because I just can’t resist.
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