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Kevin from San Francisco, Calif. asks:
I
joined 2 keeper leagues this year after warming up for a season (2006)
and am learning Minors/prospects as I go, with help of Project Prospect
site. So far, out of a 7 rounds (16 teams) minors draft, I have taken
Billy Butler, Luke Hochevar, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Donald Veal in that
order.
Now I am out of
players I feel strongly about and I could use an expert's direction or
tips one way or another. I'm leaning toward hitters and have these to
choose from:
Alberto
Callaspo (top choice right now), Dexter Fowler, Carols Ruiz, Adam
Jones, Carlos Gonzalez, Trevor Crowe, Travis Snider, Daric Barton, John
Mayberry Jr.
Or if any of these pitchers is better upside pick then: Eric Hurley, Troy Patton, Mike Bowden, Sean Gallagher, Brandon Erbe
Any
tidbits of info you have to help choose from these or another I missed?
I feel I'm doing okay and want to get one pick here that gets me a
'ooh, nice pick' from the more experienced guys in the league, talking
trash already.
Thanks a lot!!
Kevin
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Kevin,
It looks like you’re not going to have any problems making a strong selection – there’s still a good deal of talent left on your board. While Alberto Callaspo would be a fine pick to make, there are stronger players available that you should take while you have the opportunity.
In your situation, I would love to pick up a player of Carlos Gonzalez’s caliber. At the age of 20, Gonzalez put up an impressive vital line of .300/.356/.563 at High-A Lancaster before being promoted to Double-A Tennessee. In his 104 games for Lancaster, the slugging outfielder pounded out 35 doubles and 21 home runs. Gonzalez will hit 30+ HR a year in the big leagues and has the potential to become an all-star for the Diamondbacks.
While Gonzalez stands a tier above the other prospects that are available in your draft, there is still a strong pool to pull from for your remaining selections. The next three prospects to consider would be Brandon Erbe, Adam Jones, and Travis Snider.
Brandon Erbe is the best arm that is still available in your draft by a pretty wide margin. While you are looking to add hitters, I wouldn’t look past a young arm like Erbe. The 19-year-old farmhand of the Baltimore Orioles has 145.0 innings worth of experience, where the 6-foot-4 righty has established a strong 1.12 WHIP to go along with a very impressive 190:61 strikeout to walk ratio.
When trying to decipher between Adam Jones and Travis Snider, you’re left with the age-old question of knowing what you’re going to get versus the “world of potential” kind of guy. Jones, 21, is ready to play as a member of the Seattle Mariners today and Snider, 18, is coming off of his first professional season. Jones has a minor league vital line of .285/.346/.446, which is more than solid, but nothing spectacular – Snider has the potential to be a spectacular talent.
In 54 minor league games, Snider has hit 11 home runs on his way to posting a slugging percentage more then 100 points above Jones – Snider’s line reads .325/.412/.567 – go with the potential this time around.
You shouldn’t have any problem impressing the old veterans of the league. To sum it all up, don’t pass on Carlos Gonzalez if you get the chance to select him. Brandon Erbe has the potential to be great. You can’t go wrong with Adam Jones or Travis Snider, but I’d take Snider for his upside. After this group, I’d like looking at Daric Barton, Eric Hurley, and Dexter Fowler as well. Feel good about the options that lie in front of you – you’ll have no problem making noise in the draft.
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