NL East Draft Review

New York Yank-Mes

The Yank-Mes had never drafted any significant players under previous owner Makshim, but replacement gerald007 hoped to turn that around.

Carson Moss, RP- Moss will be a reliable setup man for 60-100 innings a season. At age 22, he only needs two seasons in the minors before he is ML ready. His fastball-curveball combo dominate hitters and sometimes he mixes in a slider.

Ivan Trout, RF- Your average ML bench player. Personally I see trout as a journeyman who plays for a variety of franchises, most of whom will not be successful.

Roger Redman, SP- This second round pick has the potential to be a #5 starter or an effective long reliever. He's 21, so he may not develop as much as the Yank-Mes hope, but he could possibly be a decent, though obviously not comparable, replacement for Juan Cordero.

Grade- C+. New York did not have a bad draft, but it wasn't that good either. The team did draft 32nd overall, so certainly leeway is given.

Should Have Taken- Cesar Campos instead of Ivan Trout. Why take an average bench player when you could have a very good future starting right fielder.

Atlanta Ripettoes

The departure of Greg Perez resulted in the Ripettoes having the 22nd, 25th, and 36th picks in the draft giving them a strong chance at stacking an already young and potent franchise (hey I can pimp my guys a bit.)

Melvin Dixon, 1B- Your typical slugging first basemen. While Dixon won't hit .330 and hit 50 home runs, .290 and 35-40 shots may be appropriate. GM jabronidan clearly will have no use for Dixon due to the presence of Joshua Ford, which gives the Ripettoes a strong bargaining piece in future seasons.

Mitchell Finley, RP- Finley was the best pitcher left on the board at this point and Atlanta did a great job of snagging him. Lefties tend to have success against him, but good control and two strong pitches that are tough against righties will net him success in the big leagues. However, his inability to throw more than 70 pitches a game may make him a better choice in the bullpen than in the starting rotation.

Marvin Palmer, RP- Palmer is 21 so he will only need 2 or 3 seasons to get ready for the show. If his listens to his coaches, expect 65-80 innings of great relief work. Righties have always had tremendous difficulty picking up this guy's delivery.

Domingo Tejada, RP- This 22 year old moved to Mexico, NY from Mexico City, Mexico when he was 8, and while there are reports that he may an illegal immigrant, his signing bonus should more than cover for an attorney. He's not very durable, but the 1 inning he gives you is usually run free.

Grade- A. Atlanta did exactly what they needed by getting the best hitter left in Dixon and 3 relievers to add to the already young Atlanta bullpen.

Should Have Taken- They could not have done better (for their needs) unless other teams had passed on players such as Geraldo Rosado, or one of the big starting pitchers.

Pawtucket G-Maniacs

New owner geltzjg was fortunate enough to have the #7, 24, and 34 selections, respectively. A good draft would help get this team on the right track to trumping the Ripettoes and Yank-Mes.

Jermaine Mueller- Future frontline starter. This guy gets it done against everyone due to some good control and four effective pitches (plus a cut fastball that he only throws to pitchers as any every day player would smash it.) Mueller doesn't tend to pitch complete games, but 6-7 innings of 1 or 2 run baseball is a usual day's work for him.

Josias Acosta- Potential to be an All-Star and Gold Glove center fielder but with one major question mark- Can he stay healthy? Acosta has gone through 2 re-constructive knee surgeries, Tommy John (he used to be a pitcher), and hip replacement before the age of 19! Expect him to be on the DL more than once in his career, it's just a matter of keeping it to 15 days as opposed to 60.

Pat Lynch- He's no Mueller but he gets the job done. Lynch doesn't care where you play him, SP, LRA, RP, Mopup, it's all good, as long as he can help the team win. Pawtucket better have a good defense behind him though as he gets a ton of ground balls.

Bubba Nichols- He will certainly make the majors, though he is best suited for garbage time. His fastball, curveball, and changeup are all effective, but he should learn to listen to his catchers and stop trying that screwball which gets hammered every time.

Boomer Kaline- THIS GUY IS FAST! He hits the ball everytime, and though it doesn't always go very far, his speed nets him a ton of infield singles. Should be good off the bench.

Grade- A-. Mueller will be a 15-20 game winner, but Acosta's health makes it an A- as opposed to an A.

Should Have Taken- Acosta is a huge liability but it was a good gamble late in the first round as geltzjg did not pass up on any great players.

Rochester Regal Beagles

Rochester's high payroll has prevented them from stock piling prospects in the past and may be a problem in this draft.

Vic Venafro- Fanstastic 98mph fastball blows hitters away. He is best suited in the bullpen, preferably in the closer role. Vic is 21 so he will only need around two seasons in the minors before being ML ready. Expect 30-40 saves a season with an era under 4.

Dave Pilette- Won't blow you away and tends to be inconsistent as he'll strike out the side one night and then walk the first two batters on 8 pitches the next. Should be effective as a secondary setup man.

Grade- F. Harsh but Rochester took a relief pitcher with the 9th overall pick who is by no means the next Mariano Rivera.

Should Have Taken- Geraldo Rosado, Malachi Widger, or Melvin Dixon are 3 very good hitters who would have made more of an impact than a relief pitcher.