Iron Pig 2008 Draft Review

Happy new year to all of the NASBL managers and fans. We thought it would be interesting to see how the initial year of IronPig draft choices fared in their rookie seasons.

Round 1, Pick 11: SP, Diasuke Matsuzaka. Diasuke had an excellent year. He won the Tastes Great Cy Young, Rookie of year, had one of the top ERA's of all time (2.60), posted a record of 17-8, struck out 242 batters and pitched 13 complete games. All in all, he had a wonderful first season. Current status: Traded for Jose Reyes.

Round 2, Pick 22: OF, Josh Hamilton. Josh had an up and down year in his first NASBL campaign. He batted 0.247 with 18 doubles, 19 HR and 57 RBI. His OPS was a meager 0.824. He Progressed nicely over the course of the season and we expect great things from him in the upcoming season. Current status: Starting CF.

Round 3, Pick 48 (last pick in round): 3B, Mark Reynolds. Mark had a nice rookie campaign posting a 0.301 average, 24 doubles, 12 homeruns, 49 RBI and an OPS of 0.867. He fared particularly well vs. LH pitching posting a batting average of 0.417. He seemed to lose focus defensively as the season progressed. Current status: 3B platoon.

Round 4, Pick 64 (last pick in round): SP/RP Sean Marshall. Sean had a successful first campaign posting a record of 5 wins and 3 losses, 3.67 ERA with 58 strikeouts. He was a solid contributor and we expect much of the same in the upcoming season. Current status: Relief pitcher and spot starter.

Round 5, Pick 55: OF Carlos Quentin. Carlos had a rough rookie campaign. He posted a line of 0.190, 8 doubles and 2 homeruns. He appeared completely overmatched in his rookie season, but has been tearing the cover off the ball in the winter leagues. We believe that it is too early to decide on a player of Carlos' talent. We believe that he just needs a little bit more time to work on pitch recognition skills. Current status: Full time DH.

Round 6, Pick 66: C Miguel Montero. Miguel had an up and down season. He batted 0.256 in limited action. He appeared to be completely overmatched at the plate. Current status: Traded.

Round 7, Pick 77: SS Eric Aybar. Eric batted 0.231 for the season and never really seemed to get into a rhythm. We believe that he needs more time in the minors. Current status: Released.

Late rounds: All players taken in the late rounds have been served restraining order papers which prohibit them from coming within 100 feet of the IronPig locker room. Management would have preferred something more drastic, but legal counsel strongly objected.