With the trade deadline coming up tomorrow.
Teams are working the phone lines trying to wheel and deal.
some are one piece away from a championship.
others are simply out to get value for their players to build on for years to come.
Atlanta --
The Fairfax are looking to board Larry McCovey on a flight to another city. the 25 y/o 2B is toiling in AAA and wants to make a move to get to the majors.
Burlington --
The Coat Factory is truly the place for more than great coats.
They have let it be known that for the right price they will move any SP on their roster not named Seneca or Pan.
Cincinnati --
The Marauders have a glut of SP they are looking to flesh out.
Nash Cobb & Darrell Long are available. as is lefty reliever Bernie Sierra.
The team is said to be seeking OF,SS,3B & C help back.
Monterrey --
The PV's are looking to deal away Christopher Milner. The assumption is that it is for prospects though the team hasn't come out and said so.
Montreal --
The Moose are currently dangling the biggest prize of the deadline.
They have made former AS & GG Walter Mulder available for the right price.
Toledo --
The Lugg Nutts have put setup man Vladimir Vallarta on the block. It's said they're seeking a prospect or two in return for the right-hander.
Wichita --
The Sizzlers are dangling "former lottery pick." Eric McFeely for a big bat at 3B or a SP.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wright Hot Stove Report
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wright World Press Power Rankings
Official WWP Power Rankings --- 7.25.10
Unlike with the WCS rankings - which only takes playoff position into account.
The WWP rankings places the best teams in the highest spots based upon a specific formula.
1.Wichita Wind Sizzlers
2.Salem Blue Jays
3.Burlington Coat Factory
4.Cincinnati Marauders
5.Rochester MCA
6.Texas El Chupacabras
7.Boise Land Sharks
8.Atlanta Fairfax
9.San Antonio Sandbaggers
10.San Diego Padres
11.Philadelphia PnBs
12.New York New York
13.Santa Cruz Banana Slugs
14.New Orleans Perpetual Hangovers
15.Colorado Crushers
16.Cleveland Burning Rivers
17.Chicago Chargers
18.Tacoma Expos
19.Florida Sharks
20.Montreal Moose
21.Washington D.C. West Wingers
22.Monterrey Pit Vipers
23.Tampa Bay Tic-Tacs
24.Boston Braves
25.Portland Rainmakers
26.Scranton Blues
27.Charleston Confederates
28.Montgomery Mudskippers
29.Detroit Tigers
30.Toledo Lugg Nutts
31.Sacramento Hornets
32.Chicago Black Sox(Under the former GM)
Wright World Annual Amatuer Draft Review - Season 15
This season saw the amateur draft yield a impressive crop of talent.
Overall it was strong draft with very few horrific selections made(none in the top 32 this season).
Now the onus will be on the franchises who selected to talent to cultivate and develop them into the future of their ML ball club.
Who will be master of their domain and who will be the court jester?
First Round
1.Charleston Confederates - Robert Kinsler $5,720,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Evan Longoria(minus the power)
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ****
2.Montgomery Mudskippers - Kenneth Smith $3,910,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: B.J. Upton(the good version)
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ****
3.Detroit Tigers - Anthony Hanrahan $3,820,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Rich Harden
Injury Concern Level: 3.0
Major League Projection: *** 1/2
4.Wichita Wind Sizzlers - Willard Gaston $3,720,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Stephen Drew
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ***
5.Toledo Lugg Nutts - George Waterson $3,992,350 MILB/STI
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Drew Stubbs
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: *** 1/2
6.Scranton Blues - Emmett Durbin $4,814,500 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Michael Young
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ***
7.Cleveland Burning Rivers - Tom Gordon $3,440,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: David DeJesús
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: *** 1/2
8.Boston Braves - Aaron Ramsay $3,350,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Ian Kinsler
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ***
9.Sacramento Hornets - Roscoe Stearns $3,250,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Alex Rodriguez
Injury Concern Level: 3.0
Major League Projection: **** 1/2
10.New Orleans Perpetual Hangovers - Steve Witt $3,160,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Adam Wainwright
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ****
11.New Orleans Perpetual Hangovers - Dick Gagne $3,070,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: AJ Burnett
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection:
12.Atlanta Fairfax - Rex Rice $2,970,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: George Sherrill
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ***
13.Montreal Moose - Edwin St. Clair $2,880,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Chad Cordero
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: *** 1/2
14.Portland Rainmakers - Lonny Stein $2,790,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Joba Chamberlain
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: **** 1/2
15.Washington D.C. West Wingers - Banjo Reed $2,690,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Josh Beckett
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ****
16.Cincinnati Marauders - Pedro Valenzuela $2,600,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Josh Hamilton
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ****
17.New York New York - Endy Iwamura $2,500,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Miguel Cairo
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ** 1/2
18.Monterrey pit vipers - Rico Paz $2,410,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Oliver Perez
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ***
19. Scranton Blues - Harry Armas $2,320,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Dan Haren
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ***
20.Tampa Bay Tic-Tacs - Ed Dodd $2,220,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Bronson Arroyo
Injury Concern Level: 3.0
Major League Projection: ***
21.Salem Blue Jays - Diego Quinones $4,823,000 Bonus MLB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Eric Gagne(The Cy Young Version)
Injury Concern Level: 3.0
Major League Projection: **** 1/2
22.Salem Blue Jays - Reagan Kennedy $2,040,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Ian Kennedy
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection:
23.New York New York - Carl Sizemore $2,370,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Chase Headley
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ***
24.Tacoma Expos - Travis Swindell $1,850,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Jayson Werth
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: *** 1/2
25.Rochester MCA - Harry Pescado $1,750,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Orlando Cabrera
Injury Concern Level: 4.0
Major League Projection: ***
26.San Diego Padres - Howard Duvall $1,660,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Erick Aybar
Injury Concern Level: 4.0
Major League Projection: ***
27.Colorado Crushers - Robert Townsend $1,570,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Juan Pierre
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ***
28.Texas El Chupacabras - Jesus Abreu $1,470,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Brett Myers
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: *** 1/2
29.San Antonio Sandbaggers - Cla Bellinger $1,380,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Carlos Quentin
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ***
30.Colorado Crushers - Morgan Benson $1,290,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18
Major League Comparison: Cristian Guzmán
Injury Concern Level: 3.0
Major League Projection: ***
31.Boise Land Sharks - Junichi Nomo $1,550,000 Bonus MILB/STI
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: Scott Podsednik
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ***
32.Philadelphia PnBs - Moose Paronto $1,200,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 19
Major League Comparison: N/A
Injury Concern Level: 3.0
Major League Projection: ***
33.Burlington Coat Factory - Branch Overbeck $1,000,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA:
Major League Comparison: Matt Cain
Injury Concern Level: 2.0
Major League Projection: ***
34.Rochester MCA - Miller Vaughn $960,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA:
Major League Comparison: Craig Counsell
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ***
35.Santa Cruz Banana Slugs - Esmailyn Morlan $920,000 Bonus MILB Contract
Major League ETA: Season 18-19
Major League Comparison: José Bautista
Injury Concern Level: 1.0
Major League Projection: ***
Star Ranking System & potential
***** - Hall Of Famer
**** - Perennial All Star
*** - Solid Major League Contributor
** - AAAA Type
* - Minor League Roster Fodder
Health Concern
5.0 - 0-44 Severe health issues. Potentially projection affecting.
4.0 - 45-59 Very serious health concerns with DL trips likely mutiple times during a season.
3.0 - 60-74 Average health but nothing that should be woefully alarming.
2.0 - 75-89 Solid health and shouldn't make many trips to the DL
1.0 - 90-100 Outstanding health with injuries few and far between. Not likely to be severely injured.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Post-Draft Q&A With DeaconSoule
With the Season 15 draft in the winds we sat down with the general manager of the Cincinnati Marauders to get his thoughts on the draft outcome.
Questions ranging from how he feels about their first round pick as well as how they determine who to take.
TWWT.com: Let's get right to it - What stood out to you about your first round pick Pedro Valenzuela?
DeaconSoule: We saw a kid with a lot of potential with the bat.
He has a great makeup and is constantly at work trying to get better.
We've been scouting him since he was a high schooler so we know quite a bit about what he can do.
He comes from a good background so that makes it easier to spend 2+ million on signing him.
TWWT.com: That seems to be a theme amongst your most recent draftees as of late.
DeaconSoule: Oh definitely, if you are going to invest the money into scouting these kids and bring them into the organization you have to know it will be a sound investment.
You don't want to draft a kid and then see him getting more publicity for off the field antics than on the field play.
We expect that when we draft you that you will represent the organization with pride.
TWWT.com: This selection was controversial to fans and the media as you guys passed up on some of the more lauded prospects in the draft to take him.
What would you say was the vibe on him amongst the scouts in the game?
Deaconsoule: I would say that it's far too early to get upset or excited about a pick from a outsider's perspective.
You have to understand that we don't not go off of what a baseball publication or so called insider says.
Our ways of scouting are completely different and I have to trust the guys that tell me "Hey, this kid is a major league ball player.".
Those concerns come secondary to us and me especially when it comes time to make the pick.
We knew that we were only going to have one pick in the top 4 rounds so we had to make it a home run. And for my money we did just that.
TWWT.com: If you had to make a comparison to a major league player for Pedro who would it be.
DeaconSoule: That's a tough question. He has so much potential with his bat that he could resemble a number of players.
But if i had to choose just one i would peg him as a Josh Hamilton type of player.
TWWT.com: Wow that's pretty high praise considering "insider" opinions of him before the draft.
DeaconSoule: As i said before. We have a certain way of doing things that don't show up in "insider" rankings.
We went into the draft hoping that someone in our top 10 would fall to us.
We had Pedro ranked fairly high and of the picks made in the first round.
Our top 10 all went before pick #30.
TWWT.com: I know that it's not exactly standard issue for teams. But could you talk a little about some of the guys you had pegged as potentially going before your first pick?
DeaconSoule: Of the guys that we were hoping but didn't expect to fall to us.
I would say that Rosco Stearns & Steve Witt would have been the biggest prospects from an impact standpoint. We didn't have them as #1 & #2 on our board but i would say they will likely have the biggest impact out of this draft.
TWWT.com: That's certainly some high praise for guys that you didn't have #1 & #2.
DeaconSoule: Well it's deserved as they are legitimate prospects for their respective clubs.
TWWT.com: Alright so back to your club now. Tell me a little about your draft strategy and focus.
DeaconSoule: Our strategy is to take the best player available whenever out pick comes up.
Regardless of position or need at the big league level.
If you take the player that you feel will be the best long term prospect then everything else will work itself out.
TWWT.com: Would you say you lean more heavily towards college or high school?
DeaconSoule: Honestly if you look at our history it's kinda obvious(laughs). We don't hide it very well at all.
We tend to lean heavily towards the high schoolers in the draft.
We love to grab high upside players who have the projectability to give us a high end player in the future.
TWWT.com: It's widely known that there was a huge revamping of your minor league system as a whole a while back. Can you delve into why that occurred.
DeaconSoule: Well to be honest it was badly needed.
We had started to miss badly on some of players we had taken. A lot of them got into the system and then flamed out before even sniffing the major leagues.
That simply could not continue to happen with this team. We were getting worse as far as record wise on the major league side.
So we had to start placing a serious value upon getting kids with high upside and cultivating them into the core of our future.
TWWT.com: Would you say that the plan going forward is to grab the best value at each pick in the draft?
DeaconSoule: Absolutely. There are often times where you have a guy slide due to the position he plays or because he projects as a RP instead of a starter.
This organization has thrived on getting guys like that either at the top or at the back end of the draft.
Often times you will see a dynamic power hitting first baseman or a polished college reliever fall to the mid to low 20's and you really can't pass up that top of top 10-15 talent to grab a need.
TWWT.com: Just one last question before we let you go. Do you expect your focus to be on the major league or minor league side going forward.
DeaconSoule: I would say it's going to be a lot of both. We don't plan on ignoring either side of the coin.
We are grabbing high quality prospects that could be part of the future of the club or valuable assets to trade for help on the major league side.
It will be a process of assessing the value and determining how to best help the organization.
If it's making a trade like we did with Jesus Leon then we will. If it's not making a move and keeping our farm hands then we will do that as well.
But the goal is make this team into a championship contender and deliver a winner to our loyal fans. Our ownership demands it, the fans expect it and we plan to deliver it year in and year out.
Some Musing On My Part
As a looked around the worlds I am currently a part of.
I asked myself a singular yet complex question.
What are the most prized prospect positions in HBD?
Now to answer this question i had to think back to not only my first season in Wright. But also back to all the seasons i've played.
It was always a constant theme of superficial lust and outward gluttony.
Why do I use such terms you ask? It's a simple answer, it's the truth.
As I combed the deep caverns of my overly active and imaginative mind.
I came to the conclusion that HBD is much like real life in the evaluation of prospects.
Starting pitching is the most highly sought after off all in HBD.
The thought process that really good pitching beats great hitting transfers to the game.
A top 3 starter prospect is worth their weight in gold and then some in the game.
I've noticed that having a top starter is like being handed a blank check.
You can name your price and almost always it will be met by someone.
It's the one thing you can never really overpay for. The right starter can push you from wildcard contender to a potential world series champion(See Pedro Seneca or Darryl Brower).
It's not some brand new revelation i've had however, i've known this since my second season of HBD.
Starting pitching is like the QB or PG of HBD. It makes everything go and having a great one can get you over the hump.
It's the rarest gem in the draft, international free agency, free agency and on the trade market.
Once it has been acquired the chances of the starter being moved are very very low unless a freak of a player comes onto the trade market.
After starters the main position of interest also can be the pitcher's best friend.
The golden glove, silver slugging, base stealing short stop.
One could argue that having the right all around SS is just as valuable as a top tier starter.
The SS for the most part anchors your infield defense.
If they are a true SS they can save your pitcher many heart breaks and headaches.
That grounder up the middle becomes a out. That screaming liner turns into a inning ending double play.
That softly lofted hit becomes a over the shoulder catch for the out.
Less pitches, less opportunities, more outs leads to more wins.
Of course the fielding ratings are moot if the SS is left handed as the game punishes the lefties with more errors(since in real life left handers can only play 1B in the infield.)
Then if the bat is capable of say a 20-100-.280 season.
The value increases even further as the SS becomes the all around SS we talked about earlier.
Clean up hitters are the next most prized amongst prospects.
The power bat who can anchor the lineup is sought after regardless of position.
Normally there is a glut of them at 1B,LF & DH but depending on the league you play in and how special the bat is.
Teams will still seek out a great bat by any means necessary.
Those bats are normally the easier of the prospects we will describe today.
The reason being that the focus is more solely placed up SP,SS and C.
It doesn't stop the need for teams nor does it end the supply and demand.
But the assumption is much like in the NFL draft. You take the rarer prize even if it has less talent, because if it works out the reward is higher.
The final position we will look at is Joe Mauer.
Ok fine we mean catcher but Mauer is exactly what you mean when you talk about a complete catcher.
Outside of a true number one SP, catcher is probably the rarest of all in HBD.
Not just at the prospect level(you may find 1-2 great ones every 2 seasons)but also in the major leagues.
When they are found they do not get moved for anything outside of a true number one.
Most owners are satisfied with a guy who can call a good game and hit .250 without killing their lineup.
But if you can find a true franchise player at the catcher position.
Someone who can mesh with your pitching staff while giving your lineup a elite bat.
I myself would argue that it is the most premier prospect you can have.
Now i realize that some will not agree with me.
Some will ask, "what about RP,CF,2B or 3B?"
I would tell them that while those types of prospects are sought after.
The amount of guys that you can get to play those positions well dilutes the demand for them.
I wouldn't dream of saying that the players at those positions don't deserve credit as a valued farm hand. But in reality the owners of the worlds make
the rules of demand.
Those that were not listed don't make the cut.
But the great news is, more often than not those positions are readily available in trade so getting them is usually easier than chasing anything else.