122. Darwin OF Ankiel RHP Steve Strasberg
123. Yuma IF Youkilis (T) RHP Tim Alderson
124. Frostbite Falls LHP Ryan RHP Tanner Scheppers
125. Brooklyn RHP Wainwright RHP Jonathan Meloan
126. Darwin RHP Lidge (T) SS Cristian Guzman $
127. Oakeyland RHP Shields RHP Chad Gaudin
128. Las Vegas IF Cantu RHP Chad Qualls $
129. Black Mesa C Varitek RHP Greg Maddux $
130. Darwin C Molina IF Ty Wigginton $
131. Frostbite Falls IF Blalock RHP Shawn Hill
132. Las Vegas Gagne OF Jason Kubel
133. Frostbite Falls Escobar (T) RHP Russ Springer
134. Oakeyland LHP Walker 1B Daniel Ortmeier
135. Arizona RHP Cordero RHP Nick Blackburn
136. Frostbite Falls IF Kent 1B Lars Anderson
4 comments:
Steve Strasberg. When I first heard it, I knew I'd heard the name before, but didn't know where. So I did some research. He's a righty from San Diego State and is the third-ranked college prospect for the draft. In 2009. Yes, he's a sophomore in college. He'll probably make the Bigs in 2010. At the earliest. In 2013, with Strasberg and ol' Sean O'Sullivan, Darwin should have a great middle of the rotation.
i doubt they will be kept because two reserved roster spots for players who wont play for years on a 40 man roster is alot.
There's a scouting buzz on Strasberg, the kind that doesn't happen that often. I think he'll be in some ML team's staff to stay by 2011. If O'Sullivan has a good year at AA, he'll probably push the Angels or whatever club he ends up with to take him north in 2010. If he struggles, his career path could stall and then Darwin might have to cut him. Baseball's cruel.
And, Matt, this may sound arrogant but I expect that Darwin's owner next year (it won't be me, I'm going expansion) will use most of their picks to protect as much of their core as they can. The 40-man roster is going to change the dynamic, such that there aren't going to be that many prospects year in year out better than the guys you already have. We'll probably end up trimming the Draft to 8 rounds after expansion, too.
Here's Darwin's likely lineup in 2009:
C Saltalamacchia
1B Guillen
2B Figgins
SS Greene
3B Jones
LF Ankiel
CF Hamilton
RF Francouer
DH Ortiz
Berkman and Jones will both cost too much to keep, but I expect Hamilton and Ankiel to blossom this season into two of the best offensive players in baseball. This will be a top hitting club next year, as well. The problem will be the pitching and the club's depth.
Smoltz, the franchise pitcher, will be 41. Kazmir should be protected, as will Putz. But that's it. The Finches will probably have to expose half their rotation and most of their bullpen depth. The Finches will have to take their lumps then, and will really need some of their young pitching to develop (Kershaw, McGee, Scherzer) to fill the slack. Seen from that perspective, you can bet that the Finches will load up on pitchers for the future, even if they have to sit on them for years.
Getting Lars Anderson as the last pick of the draft is a coup. My nephew played against him, and he was the only guy I saw in the Area Code Games who had a better-looking left-handed swing than my nephew....and it was filled with guys who were drafted.
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