The Iron Aquino

 Way back in ’37 mydmond made a draft selection at #17 that would go on to break one of the most incredible records of all time.  Maicer Aquino, some how fell to 17^th in the draft and after an amazing season in rookie ball 21 homers-353 avg-1136OPS. After a promotion the next season all the way up to AA he was almost as good. 26 Homers-20 steals and a 295/371/547 slash line.  Two season in AAA, when honestly he may have already been ready for the bigs, he combined for 53 homers-40 steals-while hitting well over 300.  It would be at the end of that  season that the record breaking would start. He would play 25 games that season and then 2320 more after that for a total of 2345 games in a row.  During that period he would win Rookie of the Year, MVP, 2 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers and get selected to the All-Star team 4 times.  He would be a 20/20 guy 11 times, and a 30/30 guy once.  10 times he would top 100 RBI, 11 times 100 Runs.  Hall of fame?  Hell ya!  As he closes in on 3000 career hits, 1000 Extra Base hits, with a 301 AVG and 337 steals he is also an incredible fielder at 1^st with 135 Plus Plays and only 19 Errors across 1415 games there. When the injury bug finally bite him this season, it might honestly have been for the best. With diminishing power and speed he is probably doing more harm then good to his team. With two seasons left under contract it will be interesting to see how many more milestones he can reach on his way to Cooperstown.

Hall of Fame Class of '55

 

Glavine 300 Welcomes Kendrys Almonte as the class of ’55 Lone Hall Of Fame Representative

In season ’34 Almonte signed as a massive international free agent, a whopping amount of 27 Million dollars. The Mexican native was best suited to play 1^st base, where he did spend about 2/3rds of his playing time making 81+ plays against 31 negatives. He did play almost 800 games in RF where he made a crazy 98 negative plays.  After a bit of a slow star in his rookie season, 26 homers and a 257 AVG.  He then hit 154 homers in his next three seasons combined. He would top 50 homers three more times including 59 in his best overall season that would see him hit 307 with 172 RBI and win his first of two MVP’s. He would win again in season ’46 when he hit a career hit 40 doubles with 54 homers 161 RBI and bat 305.  His career would finish with 2777 hits, 742 of them being homers(4^th all-time), 1886 RBI and a slash line of 286/350/560 and a 910 OPS.  By comparison I have him 7^th among all 1^st basemen in the Hall behind Benito Monatez and ahead of Michael Wang. Having just retired Almonte seems to be enjoying his down time and travelling the world when not spending time with his new wife, Giselle (27) a former model for the Spanish Beauty magazine El Espectador (The Looker)

Glavine300 Season 35 Rule 5 Draft Recap

10.  Darryl Hunter-The 2^nd of two players selected by the then St.Louis franchise, now Colorado. Won two Gold Gloves in his two full seasons playing Left Field (43+ plays). On the offensive side he was pretty much a slap and spray type hitter who could steal a few bases (70 over three seasons) but with a 625 Career OPS his time in the majors didn’t last very long. He is a driving instructor in Eastern Canada specializing in defensive driving during winter months.

9. Carl Lewis-One of two players taken by the Helena franchise Carl was pretty bad his first two seasons going a combined 12-32 with an ERA around 5.70. Put it together in his 3^rd season when he went 9-10 with a solid 3.91 ERA over 177 innings. Lewis now ironically coaches track at his old college, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.

8. Walter Montgomery- Taken 5^th overall Walter didn’t have any great statistical seasons but was very solid in his three big league years. He went 10-9 with a 3.34 ERA in 183 Innings while pitching mostly out of the bullpen. Monty retired after his three seasons and went back to school, getting a degree in Nuclear Physics he now is an engineer at the  Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant.

7. Kendry Matos- Taken 6^th overall, Kendry was a pretty solid bullpen arm over parts of 6 seasons and 1 season as Opener type arm. 416 total innings with a 17 wins and 11 saves isn’t anything great but he did twice pitch over 50 games and twice went over 100 innings while keeping his ERA a respectable 4.15. He is now a “promotor” in his hometown of Tijuana Mexico.

6.  Rico Martinez- The 2^nd player taken Rico had a high ceiling when he was player, hit for the cycle in his final season where he hit 298 with 10 homers and 14 steals. Stole 56 bases in his two other seasons combined but his OBP was barely over 300. The Laguana Beach native now owns a chain of successful Laundromats (Ricos Spin and Cycle).

5. Giovanny Grey- Had some very good seasons, once saving 31 games, then followed that up with three seasons in a row with 90+ innings and an ERA around 3.50. Signed his biggest contract the next season with Colorado and celebrated it by having an ERA over 10.  Grey now writes for his hometown paper and serves on the city council.

4. Bryson Spring-Not sure why Spring stopped playing as he had three very good seasons. Averaged 18 homers and 75 RBI with 20 steals while batting a solid 267. Was below average in RF but was good in LF.  After his baseball career ended no one is really sure what happened to him, the last time he was scene was purchasing a ticket for the movie Nomadland.

3. Alving Baez-A Gold Glove Catcher, Baez was not a real great hitter though. But hell he played 11 seasons and kept his average over 250 for his career while being a tremendous defender at the toughest position in baseball. Alving runs a baseball clinic in the Dominican and a son that is looking to be an International Free Agent next season.

2. Mario McDowell- Hit 170 major league homers with three seasons over 30 and two seasons with over 100 RBI.  Mario only hit 254 for his career but that is a lot of homers.  Was an okay fielder at 1^st base but better suited for time at DH. McDowell now spends his time at home with his family that includes 5 kids and 13 grandchildren.

1. Dustan Kirkland- Taken third overall, Kirkland won a Gold Glove in RF, but was known for his glove work at SS where he made 29 Positive plays.  6 times he reached double digits in homers with a career high of 22 in season ’38.  The smooth fielder is now a spokesperson for a weight loss supplement as the one time 5’8 163LBS Shortstop ballooned to almost 295lbs after his retirement.

Glavine Season 54 Rule 5 Draft Recap

While no future stars seem to have been taken this year we did got some solid role players that look like they might be around for some time.

10. Stefan Mulder-1^st Gorshar selected two players in the draft both of whom would make the top ten this year. Mulder looks like a solid platoon option at LF/1^st as he really dominates lefties. He hit 304 with a 861 OPS while stealing 9 bases in just 247 AB’s

9. Yoo-NahJang-2^nd   The 3^rd player selected in the draft, Jang had a pretty solid season in Colorado playing mostly 2^nd Base. 7 homers and 8 steals in 339 AB’s he also drove in 52 runs.  Not sure his skills will lead to a long career in the Majors.

8.  David Torres-3^rd   Torres was the first player taken and used his defensive abilities to play almost everyday. His offensive highlights were 18 doubles and 8 homers but really shined on the field as he made 10+ plays at 3^rd.

7. Scott Scanlan-SS Another defensive wiz selected by BCP.   He made 11+ plays at SS and connected for 19 homers while stealing 10 bases. Did only hit .188 though. Has the raw tools but it remains to be seen if he can play everyday.

6.  Tony Lee-1^st   Drafted second this season, Lee had a very good all-around season. 14 homers and 15 steals in 421 AB’s while making 10+ plays at 1^st base. The 245 AVG and 318 OBP leave something to be desired.

5. Ugueth Rondon-RP  For a 59 Overall player Ugueth really over achieved. Spinning 66 quality innings going 5-1  and sporting a solid 3.82 ERA and 1.21 WHIP

4. AJ Kennedy-RP  1 of 4 players taken by Goldenboy Kennedy had a great season out of the bullpen. Just under 85 innings he won 5 games while striking out 58 batters. His ERA 3.19 and WHIP 1.22 where super solid as well.

3. Abel Ellis-LF  Of all the batters selected in the draft Ellis looks to be the most dynamic offensive player.  17 Homers and 22 steals he also had 46 Extra base hits. His defense isn’t great and is best suited for 1^st base with some time in LF.

2. Dan Latimore-LR  Danny bounced between the rotation and the bullpen making 17 starts and 22 appearances out of the pen. He went 9-8 in 166 innings striking out 130 batters. The ERA 4.18 was a little high but a solid 1.28 WHIP leads me to believe he can do this again for many seasons

1.  Chase Baltz-RP  Had actually spent parts of two fairly solid season in the majors before this, otherwise might have been a front runner for ROY.  85 games with 129 IP, he went 7-4 with 5 saves.  Struck out an incredible 111 batters while having a low ERA and WHIP 3.20/1.03

Glavine 300 Season 34 Amateur Draft Recap/Rankings

 

Glavine Season 34Amateur Draft Recap/Rankings

1.       Florida  A+                                          12.Syracuse  C+                                23. Pawtucket   D+

2.       Kansas City  A                                    13. Chicago  AL C                              24. Texas  D+

3.       Helena  A                                            14. New Orleans  C                          25. Louisville  D+

4.       Charlotte  A-                                      15. Monterrey  C                              26. Atlanta  D

5.       Pittsburgh  B+                                   16.  Chicago  NL  C                           27. Boise  D

6.       Fargo  B+                                             17. Ottawa  C-                                   28. Colorado  D

7.       San Francisco  B+                             18. Vancouver  C-                            29. Houston  D-

8.       Wichita  B-                                          19. New York AL  C-                        30. Buffalo  F

9.       Rochester  B-                                     20. Tucson  C-                                    31. Hartford  F

10.   Jackson  C+                                         21. Cincinnati  C-                              32.  Las Vegas  F-

11.   Oakland  C+                                       22. New Britain  C-

 

Top Five Best Players Taken: 1. Damion Schwind (NY2) 2. Hanser Upshaw (Hel)                                3. John Bong (FLA)           4. Ivan Rosa (SF)  5. Preston Kohn (NO)

 

Top Five Best Value Picks: 1. Cory Osborn 24-783 (KC) 2. CJ Lieberthal 15-481 (HEL)                         3. Luke Shumaker 11-367 (KC)  4. Fautino Lima 20-643 (CHA) 5. Pedro Olivares 18-606 (FLA)

AL NORTH

Fargo/NY2-gogogadget   1^st Rnd Picks (4-50) (22 YR ML service)

1-4 Damion Schwind-SP  7 All-Star mostly as a Starting pitcher, also won a FOY towards the end of his career when he saved 50 games. Not sure if he has come up for Hall of Fame Vote, but I think he should be in. 227 Wins, almost 3000 K’s

1-50 Del Jenner-C  Won the MVP in rookie ball the year he was drafted but never reached the majors.

13-418 Yoenis Reynoso-REL  Solid late pick, saved a few games here and there while pitching 171 career games.

Draft Grade: B+, love the Schwind pick but after that not much value

 

Ottawa/Tacoma-tomcecil  1^st Rnd Picks (NA)  (5 Years ML Service)

3-120 Bing Mahoney SS  Was a solid glove man who was a decent option at SS for a handful of seasons.  Actually hit 8/9/8 homers over a three year period while making 33+ plays

Draft Grade: C-, not bad getting a player in the third round but it wasn’t anyone who will be remembered

 

Helena/KC -olemiss33 1^st Rnd Picks (3-16) (27 years ML Service)

1-3 Hanser Upshaw 1^st   ROY-5XAS-4XSS-3X World Series- A career 337 hitter in the Playoffs, a 325 hitter in the regular season while also crushing 355 homers with a 904 OPS. Solid pick who is a potential Hall of Famer

1-16 Yorvit Altuve CF- Came up for one season after being drafted as a SS. Played most of his time at DH despite not being a very good hitter. Did steal 19 bases, could have been a solid BU infielder.

15-481 CJ Lieberthal  C  Won himself a Gold Glove in ’42, also had two seasons with 21 homers while finishing his career with 165 round trippers and a solid 721 OPS

Draft Grade: A, great pick at 3 and 481. If 16 had done anything this draft would have been an A+

 

Chicago2/Detriot –goldenboy00 1^st Rnd Picks (14) (12 Years ML Service)

1-14 Adeiny DeLeon SP Started off pretty solid going 24-20 with a low 3 ERA in his first two seasons. Was never great after that finishing 63-64 with a 4.17 ERA

17-555 Felipe Nunez RP  Had a crazy rookie season 71 games-110 innings 7 wins 12 saves but a 5.38 ERA. Pitched 100 games over the next 4 seasons, only once having an ERA below 5.38

Draft Grade: C, I must have gone big on free agents this season with only 1 pick in the first 4 rounds. Team won almost 300 games over the next three seasons so I guess it worked short term.

 

AL EAST

Rochester/Toledo-bearclan1  1^st Rnd Picks (41) (12 years Ml Service Time)

1-41 Patrick Lewis RF  Had a handful of dynamic offensive seasons, stole over 30 bases 3 times. Was not a very good fielder making 68 Negative plays in the OF. If he had played 2^nd or something would have been a really solid player

16-531 Buddy Payton  RP  Averaged about 85 games over a 3 year stint while throwing about 140 innings. Did have a 5.10 ERA over that time though

Draft Grade: B-, I like Lewis but his bad fielding hurts his value. A nice late pick in the 16^th Rnd.

 

New York/Atlanta-rquin9  1^st Rnd Picks (1)  (17 Years ML Service)

1-1   Manual Posada SP  Had a couple of solid seasons even making the All-Star game one time. Finished a career with a record barely over 500 and an ERA of 4.58. Not a very good pick at #1

2-60 Stan Kingston CF  Popped 17 homers one season and 11 the next. Wasn’t match with the glove and didn’t stick around the majors once he came up for arbitration

Draft Grade: C- It really hurts when the first overall pick doesn’t pan out like you expected and when you don’t get anything else it hurts all the more

 

Atlanta/Charlotte-Jimmyof  1^st Rnd Picks (42) (4 Years ML Service)

1-42 Horacio Padilla  RP Played for parts of 5 seasons collecting 7 wins and 8 saves in 8 tries.  Was a solid fielder winning 2 Gold gloves in the minors

4-150 Ed Perez  RP  41 Games and a 7.30 ERA, so he did make the majors…but maybe shouldn’t have

Draft Grade: D This draft was a bit of a dud for Atlanta

 

Pawtucket-shiffy  1^st Rnd Picks (32-57)  (8 Years ML Service)

1-32 Bernard Matheson SP  Never reached the Majors

1-57 Jermaine Bergman RP Never reached the Majors

2-92 Ray Logan   3^rd  Big time power bat averaged 40 homers in about 550 Ab’s. Could not draw a walk however (36 in his career spanning over 1600 plate appearances).

21-700 Ronnie Reese   LF  Did manage to hit 18 homers one season and 22 over the parts of two others. Great production for a 700^th pick

Draft Grade: D+, Reese is a great pick at 700 and Logan isn’t bad for 92^nd. But the zero production from 2 first round picks is a big miss

 

AL SOUTH

Florida-Chunkym  1^st Rnd Picks (34-45) (34 Years ML Service)

1-34 Lance Gilbert CF  Speedy, defensive minded player that made 1 All Star team. Stole 354 bases in his career with 94 of them coming in his All Star season.  968 career hits but only 66 being of the extra base variety

1-45 John Bong 2^nd  Winner of Gold Gloves at both CF and 2^nd, also won 2 WS rings and made the All-Star team once. A powerful bat with good speed he hit 410 major league homers and stole 239 bases. Currently tearing up Low A ball.

4-158 BJ Melton Rel  Had one decent season pitching to a solid 3.97 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. His other two seasons he posted ERA’s over 6.60

18-606Pedro Olivares REL  Wasn’t a bad reliever in his limited games (113) with a career 3.30 ERA  and saving 16 of 17 games. Maybe deserved more of a shot

22-734 Julius Eickhoff C  Played parts of two seasons totally 292 ab’s where he hit 8 homers with a 243 avg. Not bad for a bonus pick

Draft Grade: A+  I really like this draft, a couple of high end picks as well getting some solid value in the later rounds. That makes two strong drafts in a row for chunky

 

Jackson/Little Rock-sylemark  1^st Rnd Picks (25) (9 Years ML Service Time)

1-25 Anthony Francis 3^rd Solid fielder who could pop the long ball fairly well, 110 career homers but was also prone to striking out (509 in 2400AB’s).

3-117 Michael Ledee SS  Mostly played SS, pretty well (24+ plays) but won a Gold Glove at 2^nd base a position he made 36+ plays. Never much of a hitter with a 226 AVG and just 18 homers in almost 800 Career games

Draft Grade: C+ good value out of the 3^rd round pick but a fairly big swing and miss in the first round.

 

New Orleans/Richmond-wallyworld15 1^st Rnd Picks (6) (13 years ML Service Time)

1-6 Preston Kohn   LF  All Star, Gold Glove and WS winner, fielded almost every position very well. Also had some very good hitting seasons early in his career. His peak season’39 saw him hit 35 homers with 102 RBI and 22 Steals. A solid pick.

Draft Grade: C  Kohn was a decent pick but not great. Most picks went unsigned possibly leaving some solid players in the wind.

Monterrey-eric1214  1^st Rnd Picks (28-30-43-56)  (25 Years ML Service Time)

1-28 Thomas Nixon  SP  Mostly a spot starter who only once started more then 30 games in a season. Finished his career with a respectable 62-36 record and a 3.92 ERA

1-30 Ricky Lewis  RP Only pitched in 155 games going 14-14 with 5 saves. Never had an ERA under 4.37 while pitching for any amount of significant time

1-43 Barry Starr  3^rd Burst on the scene as a rookie hitting 19 homers and 37 doubles. Only 36 more homers over the next 5 seasons.

1-56  Rob MacDougal  RP  was not great but did manage to pitch in 300 major league games. Good strike out guy (605 in 691IP) but was also wild, walking 388 batters.

Draft Grade: C 4 first rounders and not a whole lot to show from it

 

AL WEST

Tucson/San Francisco-LCDudes   1^st Rnd Picks (17-52) (9 Years ML Service)

1-17  Paco Uribe  2^nd  A solid fielder at both 2^nd and CF and could hit for okay power (11/12 homers in 2 seasons) while also stealing 51 bases over three full seasons. His 308 OBP however was not great and is most likely the reason his career did not last longer.

1-52 Don Newman C went unsigned

3-109 Kevin Jung  C  A decent fielder but couldn’t really hit (11 homers and 248 AVG over 707 AB’s)

6-205 Quilvio Colome 1^st Huge power bat that cracked 46 homers in just 531 AB’s. With a solid 863 OBP for his career it’s a little surprising he didn’t get more chances to play

Draft Grade: C- some solid pieces that never really got a fair shake in the big leagues. After one of the best drafts last season this was a big step backwards

 

Oakland/Las Vegas-axtell  1^st Rnd Picks (0)  (11 Years ML Service Time)

2-81 Sarma Brown  C  Part time catcher, who blew up in ’44 hitting 9 homers with a 355 AVG in 172 AB’s  for his career only hit .256 though.

21-690 Wellington Santana  REL  Pitched 232 games in his career winning 15 games  while saving 21. Had a respectable 4.75 ERA and 1.50 ERA

Draft Grade: C+, pretty good value for not having any high ranking picks

 

Wichita/Los Angeles-nadawg77   1^st Rnd Picks (10) (12 years ML Service Time)

1-10 Greg Smith SS Was a great hitter for SS, but his glove was probably better suited for 3^rd base. Topped 30 homers twice helping him reach 231 career dingers.

2-70 Denny McGee RP  Got the call for 36 games, pitching 72 innings with a 5.50 ERA

Draft Grade: B-, a bit of a step back from last years great draft, Smith was a solid piece but not enough for a better grade

 

Colorado/St.Louis-picc818   1^st Rnd Picks (9) (10 Years ML Service Time)

1-9 Mac Prior  3^rd  pretty good fielder at 3^rd even better at 1^st, winning 2 Gold Gloves. His 244 avg and 8 homers and 9 Steals per full season were not good enough for either position.

Draft Grade: D, not great return on a top ten pick and no extra value from the later picks as well

 

NL NORTH

Pittsburgh-verik22  1^st Rnd Picks(15-38-47-49)  (29 Years ML Service Time)

1-15 Watty Rowan  RF  3 X All Star who maxed out his power in ’43 win he crushed 41 homers to go with 31 doubles. Finished his career with 287 Homers and a solid 285 AVG

1-38  Ben Price  LF  Pretty good hitter in his three years, averaging 20 homers  with a 282 avg. Couldn’t field all that well but should have been a solid COF/1^st baseman for more then three seasons.

1-47 Dutch Whitman  RP  Played for parts of 7 seasons. Pitching in 199 games to the tune of a 5.34 ERA.

1-49 Dean Leach  LF  270 hitter with a solid 344 OBP, not much power or speed.

2-73 Paul Richards  LF  Got one full season that saw him hit 19 homers and steal 11 bases. 8 years later got 12 more AB’s and collected his last career homer

2-74 Shawn Gray  RP was a pretty strong setup guy for a few seaons. Career 3.71 Era and a 1.27 WHIP in just over 200 innings.

Draft Grade: B+ some sold depth pieces that paired nicely with the talented Watty Rowan

 

Buffalo/Columbus-Ab90  1^st Rnd Picks (27-54) (0 Years ML Service Time)

1-27 Daryl Boyd  RP   Never reached the majors despite looking like a solid Bullpen piece

1-54 Cookie Alcantara  P   Did not sign

Draft Grade: F  Big swing here for AB from an A to F

 

Chicago NL/Burlington-xatosmasher  1^st Rnd Picks (11-26-37)  (10 Years ML Service Time)

1-11  Aaron Blaser  RP  Looked like a solid performer for his 1^st two seasons (95 games-17-6 with 5 saves and an ERA around 4.00). Only won 3 more games in his career and his ERA never got below 4.50.

1-26 Santos Sosa P Did not sign

1-37 Philip Duchscherer  C  Batted 279 with 17 homers in his rookie season. His last season saw him hit 21 homers. Only played 3 other seasons and retired from baseball at 33

 

Draft Grade: C  Blaser and Duch looked like solid picks but their careers ended shortly, the lost draft pick of Santos Sosa hurts as well.

 

New Britian-nosirrommij2  1^st Rnd Picks (18-22-39)  (12 Years ML Service)

1-18  David Ordonez  SS Unsigned

1-22 Devaris White  P  Unsigned

1-39  Travis Schotts  LF   Had a nice 5 year stretch where he averaged 27 homers and about a 260avg while playing above league average defense in LF. Left Pawtucket and was out of the majors two seasons later.

19-622  Clyde Banks   Mostly a back up catcher but did go off for a 21 homer season while driving in 78 runs.  Hit 16 homers  two seasons later accounting for 37 of his career 54 homers.

 

Draft Grade: C-, Banks was a solid late pick and Schotss was decent at 39 but letting the top two picks go unsigned hurts a lot

 

NL EAST

Cincinnati/Hartford-goldgren  1^st Rnd Picks  (21)  (12 Years ML Service)

1-21  Vic Davis  SP   Stepped into the rotation in season 38 but went 5-12 with a rough 5.41 ERA. Lost 3 more games the next season and never played again.

2-82 King Esposito   3^rd  Not a bad fielder at 3^rd/2^nd and even CF but couldn’t hit a lick sporting a .202 avg and just 5 homers in 475 Ab’s

3-113  John Griffin   C  Another good defender, best season was his last when he batted 273 with 5 homers in 282 AB’s

5-177  Bartolo Odor  SS  10+ plays at SS in 105 games, but much like the others not a great hitter, 745 AB’s 9 homers, 1SB and a 224 avg

Draft Grade: C- well done getting the 4 players to the majors, to bad none of them really deserved the time there

 

Syracuse-bdrose   1^st Rnd Picks (20-40-53)  (16 Years ML Service Time)

1-20  Walt Johnson  Rel  Pitched a solid 604 games in the majors. Some seasons good, others not so. But hey 834 innings out of the bullpen is not something to scoff at

1-40 Davey Wheat  2^nd   Hit 13 homers one season and 11 the next.  2 other homers in his career after that and he was done.

1-53  John Moehler  RP  50 career games with a 5.04 ERA , did go 5-3  so it wasn’t all bad

Draft Grade: C+  These draft grades are getting pretty repetitive, better then last seasons D+ for Syracuse

 

Hartford/New York NL-sonofodin52  1^st Rnd Picks (None)  (0 Years of Major League Service Time)

No first round picks and no players ever reached the Show

Draft Grade: F

 

Kansas City/Scranton-pitboss13  1^st Rnd Picks  (19) (39 Years Major League Service Time)

1-19  Johnathan Donnels  DH   While he was drafted as a Catcher spent most of his time as a DH, and for good reason. Hit 359 homers with a career high of 50 in ’43.  Only a 256 career avg but a solid 815 OPS.

2-77 Stuffy Duffy   CF, great name, great glove. 31 positive plays between 3^rd/CF/SS. Had one solid season with the bat where he hit 13 homers and drove in a respectable 53 runs

11-367  Luke Shumaker  Rel  Great long career out of the pen. Picked up a solid 76 wins while also saving 36 games. ERA for his career was 4.17 but had 6 seasons where it was under 4.00

24-783  Cory Osborn  P  Wow just wow, what a great DITR, threw 1075 innings. Saved 34 games one season and won 10 games another. By no means a great ERA 4.29 for his career but come on he was drafted in the 24^th round.

Draft Grade: A, okay no true superstars, but I don’t think I am have seen so much extra value out of players taken outside of the 1^st or 2^nd round.

 

NL SOUTH

Charlotte/New Orleans-purplehaze54  1^st Rnd Picks (5-24-36-46)  (40 years ML service Time)

1-5  Gerald Small  LF   Very good hitter, 426 career homers and 1300 RBI with just over 2000 hits.  Best overall season was ’46 when he won a silver slugger and made the AS team with 44 homers and 118 RBI while batting 295

1-24 Arthur Martin  CF   Got to play full time for 3 seasons and hit over 10 homers every year while stealing at least 22 bases. Also batted 261 so I am not sure why he didn’t play after that. Was not a great fielder as he was probably more suited to 3^rd rather then CF/SS

1-36 Reese Broome   RP  Very solid relief pitcher making 771 appearances with over 1100 innings pitched.  5 times had an ERA under 3.50 while also winning double digits and saving double digits twice.

1-46 Jim Clayton  LF did not reach the majors.

20-643  Fautino Lima  C   Became a very dependable back stop 6 times hitting over 10 homers while only once having over 400 Ab’s.

Draft Grade: A-, nice improvement from last season (D+)  with several very good major league players selected

 

Texas/Memphis-tacosluss  1^st Rnd Picks (8-13) (8 Years ML Service Time)

1-8  Miguel Castro P  Did not sign

1-13 Bernie Dali  SP  Threw 1106 innings with a solid fairly high 4.20 ERA. Record was under 500 at 60-70 . A handful over solid seasons but not what you would want out of a 13^th pick

Draft Grade: D+  Dali is an Okay pick but not really a pick to hang your hat on.

 

Louisville-mattster24  1^st Rnd Picks (29-55)  (1 Year ML Service Time)

1-29  Chico Beato RP never reached the Majors

1-55 Ross Foster  RP Never reached the majors

19-633 Howard Wells  DH drafted as a SS but spent the bulk of his ML time at RF/CF. Did hit 11 homers for St.louis in ’38 but not nearly enough to be a full time DH

Draft Grade: D, Wells is a nice little surprise at 633 but the two first rounders that didn’t pan out hurt way more then he helped.

 

Houston/Nashville-kingkai53  1^st Rnd Picks (33-44-48-58-59)  (1 years ML Service Time)

1-33  Adonis Walsh SS  batted 267 in 90 ab’s no homers and no steals  2 negative plays in CF

1-44 Torey Walker 2^nd  Never reached the majors

1-48  Devin Bell CF  Never reached the majors

1-58  Joe Walker 2^nd   Made 7 positive plays  in his only season in the majors while also batting 307 with 4 homers and 12 steals in just 257 AB’s. Maybe should have played longer

1-59  Alan Newfield  P  Never Reached the majors

Draft Grade:  D-, this one really hurts, 5 picks in the top 60 and barely any major league time from any of them.

NL: WEST

Vancouver/Omaha-outlaw 6-4-3 1^st Rnd Picks (31)  (13 Years ML Service time)

1-31 Nolan Merrick  3^rd  Great fielder at 3^rd winning several Gold Gloves, his transition to SS was not as smooth as he was just above average there. Best season was ’43 when he hit 20 homers and stole 22 bases. 

2-91 Adroin Corbin   RP Came up for parts of 4 seasons and finished his career with a 7.10 ERA

10-347 Davey Baez   SP  Won 10+ games three times but never had an ERA under 4.31

Draft Grade: C-  some ok pieces between Merrick and Baez, but nothing that would bring home a championship

 

Boise-HAWKEYEONE  1^ST Rnd Picks (7-51)  (9 Years ML Service Time)

1-7 Destin Zoltan  SP  got up for 160 starts and won 39 games, lost 57 however while sporting a rough 5.58 ERA

1-51 Adam Rigdon  2^nd Never reached the majors

2-67 Deven Larson  SP  Was actually better then Zoltan in his limited time in the majors, going 12-23 with a 4.77 ERA in 52 career starts

Draft Grade: D The pick at 7 is not great and the 51-67 don’t help much either.

 

San Francisco/Portland-shesaid  1^st Rnd Picks (2-23-35)  (21 Years ML Service Time)

1-2   Ivan Rosa SP  Still going string at age 38, with a chance at the Hall Of Fame, 238 wins, 3017 K’s and a 3.73 ERA. No Cy Youngs but has won over 20 Games twice including an incredible 22-4 season in ‘49

1-23 Alex Mantalban  RF Did not reach the Mahors but did make the AAA All Star team once

1-35  Oswaldo Estralella   Hit 14 homers over 5 seasons that totalled just over 500 AB’s  Not bad but not great

3-96 Chilli Keats   3rd, never reached the majors but is playing still after 20 seasons in the minors. Has 504 career homers mostly at AAA. Also has over 2400 strikeouts so I guess we know why he never got past AAA.

21-672 Zelous Glanville  C got up as a back up for parts of 4 seasons. Not really a great fielder which didn’t help as he was not a good hitter either

Draft Grade: B+  You better get a good player at #2, and they did  The rest of the picks were lackluster at best

 

Las Vegas/Vancouver-aaronbrown99     1^st Rnd Picks (12) (0 Years ML Service Time)

1-12 Omar Williams P  Did not sign

Draft Grade: F-  Most players went unsigned, not really a track record for success