Springfield (AP) – The two 2010 NASBL World Series teams showed that in order to play for it all, you need to mortgage the future a little bit. Neither Lake Champlain nor Seattle has a pick in this year’s 1st round. Three teams (Dallas, Slatington, and Lehigh Valley) each have two picks in the first round. The other team without a 1st rounder this year, is Outlaw Josey Wales, who made a pre-draft trade to get Matt Kemp and a 4th rounder instead of taking a chance with an unknown commodity at #5 in the draft.
Since the last day of the NASBL season, the twitters have been ablaze – Heyward, Posey or Buchholz at #1. Without further adieu, the following is the Springfield Times’ Annual First Round Projections.
#1) Dallas Ft Worth – Jason Heyward (RF)
Since Barry Bonds’ retirement, Red and the Spurs have been looking for someone to fill his shoes. Hopefully the Spurs’ fans don’t put that kind of pressure on Jason Heyward, but if anyone can live up to the hype, it is the J-Hey Kid.
#2) Lehigh Valley – Buster Posey (C)
Young, quality catchers don’t come along everyday. The Iron Pigs don’t appear to have anyone at this position that would stop Kevin from taking Mr. Posey, no apologies necessary to Russell Martin. Will Posey be the next Joe Mauer (top catching prospect made good), or the next Matt Wieters/Geo Soto (top catching prospects who still have something to prove to justify their selections).
#3) Vermont – Clay Buchholz (SP)
Would have been the #1 pick in many years, but this draft is loaded so Justin will gladly take him at #3. Buchholz will join Jimenez, Hanson and Braden to give the Sioux, arguably the best young rotation in NASBL.
#4) Georgia – Mike Stanton (RF)
It is amazing that with the #4 pick, Georgia will be able to get such an elite player. Stanton is only twenty years old, has insane power, a plus arm, and outstanding range in right field. Latos is a great starting pitcher, but passing up Stanton proves too difficult for Johnny here.
#5) Slatington (via Trade – originally Outlaw) – Pedro Alvarez (3B)
Adam Leickel gets to make his first choice in the NASBL rookie draft and it is a tough one. While Latos appears to be the proverbial “best player on the board”, the Bulldogs already have six carded starting pitchers on their squad. Alvarez appears to be one of the few young offensive players in this draft that can be difference makers in the long term and Leickel is happy to turn Matt Kemp into him.
#6) Troy – Mat Latos (SP)
Troy’s offense stacks up as possibly the best in NASBL. Adding Latos to the Haymakers staff will mean tough sailing for other teams in the Less Filling West.
#7) Lehigh Valley (via Trade – originally Slatington) – Colby Lewis (SP)
After passing up pitching with its first first-rounder, the Iron Pigs need some innings. Although older than some other options, the Iron Pigs go with the best combination of innings/performance in Colby Lewis.
#8) Illinois – Austin Jackson (CF)
Picking a young, gold-glove caliber defender in centerfield could really help out the Chows pitching staff. A defensive outfield of Bourn, Fukudome, and Jackson would be the best in all of NASBL. Jackson will serve as the heir-apparent to Carlos Beltran, whose days as a perennial “1” in CF appear to be over (Beltran received a “4” this year from HAL) and his youth gives Jackson the edge over Andres Torres.
#9) Freedonia – Madison Bumgarner (SP)
Only twenty years old, Bumgarner has already showed the ability to pitch effectively at the highest levels/pressure of MLB. The Fireflies are betting that this will translate into NASBL success.
#10) Springfield – Neftali Feliz (CL)
Feliz reminds many of a young K-Rod, minus the anger issues. The Topes used a closer by committee last season and have been unable to find a closer since trading away two of the best in NASBL in recent years (Joe Nathan and former first rounder Jonathon Papelbon). In the Tastes Great East you need a guy that you can give the ball with confidence in the 9th inning to win. Many Topes fans point to this as the main reason Springfield finished on the outside looking in on the 2010 NASBL Playoffs. Feliz is young and the perfect closer for the Topes ballpark (unhittable against lefties).
#11) New Jersey – Andres Torres (CF)
The Trash Heap have no real centerfielder on its squad and Torres is a perfect fit in New Jersey. The only reason that he is available at the 11th pick is due to his age. With a team like the Trash Heap, winning now is a viable, and usually the best, option. The Heap hopes that Torres is merely a late bloomer and not a flash in the pan.
#12) Pocono – Jaime Garcia (SP)
Garcia has the best card of any starting pitcher left at this point with more than 100 innings. In addition, Jaime is only twenty four years old. This is a great combination that Bill Anderson simply cannot pass up.
#13) Grundy County – Tim Stauffer (SP/RP)
Grundy County has a really solid team going into the draft with no obvious holes. Therefore, when in doubt, take the best starting pitcher available, innings be darned. As a starting pitcher, Stauffer’s card is only rivaled by that of Felix Hernandez, and last I checked, King Felix is not available in this draft. Use Stauffer’s 83 innings wisely Mr. Howard - and then ride him in the playoffs.
#14) Honolulu – Daric Barton (1B)
Stan loves his defense and Barton is a “1” at 1B. In addition, Barton is an on base machine who led the AL in walks in 2010. The Hawaiians have continually struggled at finding a guy to plug in at 1B year in and year out. At only 25 years old, Barton may finally be the answer to the Hawaiians 1B issues.
#15) Dallas Ft Worth (via Trade – originally Seattle) – Jhoulys Chacin (SP/RP)
At 22 years old, Chacin struck out a guy an inning as a starting pitcher in MLB 2010. The type of electric stuff that Chacin has in his repertoire normally translates very well in NASBL. Red is hoping that Chacin is no exception.
#16) Slatington (via Trade – originally Lake Champlain) – Starlin Castro (SS)
I keep on talking about how deep this draft is. Castro is a testament to this fact. Castro finished in the top 10 in hitting in MLB’s National League in 2010 as a 20 year old shortstop. Normally, you would be talking about a top 5 five pick based on those facts alone. The rap on Castro is that he is extremely error prone, but what 20 year old shortstop not named Andrus isn’t. Great value here for the Bulldogs.
Since the last day of the NASBL season, the twitters have been ablaze – Heyward, Posey or Buchholz at #1. Without further adieu, the following is the Springfield Times’ Annual First Round Projections.
#1) Dallas Ft Worth – Jason Heyward (RF)
Since Barry Bonds’ retirement, Red and the Spurs have been looking for someone to fill his shoes. Hopefully the Spurs’ fans don’t put that kind of pressure on Jason Heyward, but if anyone can live up to the hype, it is the J-Hey Kid.
#2) Lehigh Valley – Buster Posey (C)
Young, quality catchers don’t come along everyday. The Iron Pigs don’t appear to have anyone at this position that would stop Kevin from taking Mr. Posey, no apologies necessary to Russell Martin. Will Posey be the next Joe Mauer (top catching prospect made good), or the next Matt Wieters/Geo Soto (top catching prospects who still have something to prove to justify their selections).
#3) Vermont – Clay Buchholz (SP)
Would have been the #1 pick in many years, but this draft is loaded so Justin will gladly take him at #3. Buchholz will join Jimenez, Hanson and Braden to give the Sioux, arguably the best young rotation in NASBL.
#4) Georgia – Mike Stanton (RF)
It is amazing that with the #4 pick, Georgia will be able to get such an elite player. Stanton is only twenty years old, has insane power, a plus arm, and outstanding range in right field. Latos is a great starting pitcher, but passing up Stanton proves too difficult for Johnny here.
#5) Slatington (via Trade – originally Outlaw) – Pedro Alvarez (3B)
Adam Leickel gets to make his first choice in the NASBL rookie draft and it is a tough one. While Latos appears to be the proverbial “best player on the board”, the Bulldogs already have six carded starting pitchers on their squad. Alvarez appears to be one of the few young offensive players in this draft that can be difference makers in the long term and Leickel is happy to turn Matt Kemp into him.
#6) Troy – Mat Latos (SP)
Troy’s offense stacks up as possibly the best in NASBL. Adding Latos to the Haymakers staff will mean tough sailing for other teams in the Less Filling West.
#7) Lehigh Valley (via Trade – originally Slatington) – Colby Lewis (SP)
After passing up pitching with its first first-rounder, the Iron Pigs need some innings. Although older than some other options, the Iron Pigs go with the best combination of innings/performance in Colby Lewis.
#8) Illinois – Austin Jackson (CF)
Picking a young, gold-glove caliber defender in centerfield could really help out the Chows pitching staff. A defensive outfield of Bourn, Fukudome, and Jackson would be the best in all of NASBL. Jackson will serve as the heir-apparent to Carlos Beltran, whose days as a perennial “1” in CF appear to be over (Beltran received a “4” this year from HAL) and his youth gives Jackson the edge over Andres Torres.
#9) Freedonia – Madison Bumgarner (SP)
Only twenty years old, Bumgarner has already showed the ability to pitch effectively at the highest levels/pressure of MLB. The Fireflies are betting that this will translate into NASBL success.
#10) Springfield – Neftali Feliz (CL)
Feliz reminds many of a young K-Rod, minus the anger issues. The Topes used a closer by committee last season and have been unable to find a closer since trading away two of the best in NASBL in recent years (Joe Nathan and former first rounder Jonathon Papelbon). In the Tastes Great East you need a guy that you can give the ball with confidence in the 9th inning to win. Many Topes fans point to this as the main reason Springfield finished on the outside looking in on the 2010 NASBL Playoffs. Feliz is young and the perfect closer for the Topes ballpark (unhittable against lefties).
#11) New Jersey – Andres Torres (CF)
The Trash Heap have no real centerfielder on its squad and Torres is a perfect fit in New Jersey. The only reason that he is available at the 11th pick is due to his age. With a team like the Trash Heap, winning now is a viable, and usually the best, option. The Heap hopes that Torres is merely a late bloomer and not a flash in the pan.
#12) Pocono – Jaime Garcia (SP)
Garcia has the best card of any starting pitcher left at this point with more than 100 innings. In addition, Jaime is only twenty four years old. This is a great combination that Bill Anderson simply cannot pass up.
#13) Grundy County – Tim Stauffer (SP/RP)
Grundy County has a really solid team going into the draft with no obvious holes. Therefore, when in doubt, take the best starting pitcher available, innings be darned. As a starting pitcher, Stauffer’s card is only rivaled by that of Felix Hernandez, and last I checked, King Felix is not available in this draft. Use Stauffer’s 83 innings wisely Mr. Howard - and then ride him in the playoffs.
#14) Honolulu – Daric Barton (1B)
Stan loves his defense and Barton is a “1” at 1B. In addition, Barton is an on base machine who led the AL in walks in 2010. The Hawaiians have continually struggled at finding a guy to plug in at 1B year in and year out. At only 25 years old, Barton may finally be the answer to the Hawaiians 1B issues.
#15) Dallas Ft Worth (via Trade – originally Seattle) – Jhoulys Chacin (SP/RP)
At 22 years old, Chacin struck out a guy an inning as a starting pitcher in MLB 2010. The type of electric stuff that Chacin has in his repertoire normally translates very well in NASBL. Red is hoping that Chacin is no exception.
#16) Slatington (via Trade – originally Lake Champlain) – Starlin Castro (SS)
I keep on talking about how deep this draft is. Castro is a testament to this fact. Castro finished in the top 10 in hitting in MLB’s National League in 2010 as a 20 year old shortstop. Normally, you would be talking about a top 5 five pick based on those facts alone. The rap on Castro is that he is extremely error prone, but what 20 year old shortstop not named Andrus isn’t. Great value here for the Bulldogs.
4 comments:
Nicely done. Always one of my favorite pre draft articles!
Agree with Kevin, this is a must read for me and I've been anxiously awaiting its posting. Well done again.
Excellent article Smithers! Need to write for the 'My 2 Cents' too.
Great job...I love reading these pick projections!
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