2nd Round Review

For grins and giggles, here is a review and analysis of the TBA 2nd Round, which I now refer to as the "Mortgage the Future" round. This round saw only 7 teams use their pick that they originally owned! As usual, these are only the author's opinions and are intended only for fun.

• 21: (BOS via LON) S. Perez, C: Let's start right off with a bang, because this one confounded me. A major trade brings BOS a future starting C who bashed LHP last season in limited ABs. This was a typical draft location for Perez and Boston seems to be aiming for his catcher of the future. The strange thing here is the price. BOS trades a good SP with potential for being great (J. Zimmermann) plus its 3rd round pick (became Ben Revere) for Perez, a closer (Hanrahan), a mediocre swing (part SP, part RP) pitcher in McClellan, and a 5th rounder. Unless Perez is an all-star that can hit RHP, this is a great deal for rebuilding LON. Hard to call this one a future mortgage because only Hanrahan is good in the present, and RPs are easy to find.



• 22: (NAS) JD Martinez, OF: NAS is rebuilding its offense to go with the competent pitching it has. Martinez is a good OF bat this year, and will be starting on the Astros OF in the future.



• 23: (KC via EVA) B. Belt, 1B/OF: This was an interesting deal. I believe Belt is the best prospect type player available at this point in the draft (I almost took him with the #16 pick), but KC pays a very heavy price for him: 2013 KC #1, 2012 KC #3, and Darren Oliver. So, while I Belt may be good in the future, 1Bs are not hard to find in a 20 team league and I think this was an overpay.



• 24: (LON via NAP) Y. Alonso, OF/1B: LON continues its plan of rebuilding its offense around good present pitching by taking probably the best pure hitting prospect out there.



• 25: (OAH) G. Moscoso, SP: Oahu's plan after the Collmenter pick is now clear: draft the best SP cards available and go for it this year. Like Collmenter, most people question the future value of Moscoso, but there's no denying his near-the-top SP current card value, save for the reduced innings.



• 26: (WAS via MAC) A. Aceves, SP/RP/CL: Like Oahu in the pick before, WAS goes after the best SP card available, albeit one with reduced innings, regardless of possible limited future value. The plan here is to secure a P that can make a good start in each playoff series. Mission accomplished in that regard.



• 27: (MAC via HEL) J. Lyles, SP: With Delgado, who MAC nabbed an inning later, probably the best SP prospect available at this point. MAC's rebuilding goal is proceeding nicely.



• 28: (SAN) R. Vogelsong, SP: Very good card value here for a team that appears intent on, and ready to compete.



• 29: (ORE) O. Hudson, 2B: ORE desperately needed a 2B and went for present value with Hudson over someone like Altuve. Hard to argue with a desperate need, but Hudson probably lasts at least another round given his reduced '2' range rating and his somewhat anemic hitting. Problem is that ORE does not have a pick in the next round. The dangers of mortgaging the future my friends...



• 30: (REN via BOS): A. Rizzo, 1B: Reno grabs high-end 1B prospect in what seems to be a fair value:position pick. REN made need to be patient though: Rizzo may spend part of the season in AAA, but he could turn out to be a fixture for 10 years after that.



• 31: (BOW) A. Chapman RP turned SP?: Right now, HAL gets a dominating LH RP for the bullpen if you can stomach the BBs. This pick is a bit like Neftali Feliz a few years back: are you getting an RP or SP? The Reds continue to say they will prepare him for starting this season, but he may be the 6th man in a 5 man rotation right now. This is a very high-risk, high-reward pick. If Chapman starts and harnesses the BBs, he could be a jewel.



• 32: (BOS via HAL): J. Mayberry (1B/OF): Mayberry put up great numbers last season and stands to see pretty regular time this year at 1B and LF. A nice addition for a team looking to both compete this year and get some future value. Kind of an older JD Martinez.



• 33: (DEL) A. Bastardo, RP: DEL grabs the best LH RP available. A good and balanced LH RP is valuable Strat commodity.



• 34: (REN via VBB) V. Worley, SP: The 3rd Phillies player in a row! A pitcher who put up good numbers last year and is an incumbent for the Phillies rotation. His "Reverse RH" card will be tough to deal with this season.



• 35: (WAS) L. Chisenhall, 3B: Although WAS has high hopes this season, I just could not ignore the possible value in the lefthand-hitting Chisenhall. Frankly, my team is stocked and I can afford to gamble. For this season, he supplements Ryan Zimmerman's PA shortage and his huge power numbers play in my new bandbox, er stadium: Coors Field.



• 36: (DEL via many via WAS): M. Trumbo 1B: Trumbo put up big power numbers but struggled to get on base. If he improves his OB ability, DEL has a steal here. If not, he has a slugger for the bottom of the order, which is not without value. Scouting reports have him switching to 3B in LA this season once he recovers from injury. This would really help DEL who seems to be without a real answer there (sorry Jerry Hairston).



• 37: (REN via BRI via EDG): G. Holland, RP: REN moves up to take the best RP available in our draft trading 2012 REN #3 plus 2013 REN #2. (VBB #5 was also received in this deal.) Quite a bit of future mortgaging for an RP on a team that does not appear serious about competing this season. The strangeness occurs when REN then tries to dump the pick before making it, claiming the trade was possibly made out of boredom.



• 38: (WAS via KC) F. Salas, RP/CL: WAS moves up to this pick by surrendering WAS #3 plus WAS #7 in this draft. I was trying to get Holland, not suspecting that Reno would draft him, but suspecting that COL would take him with the next pick. With Holland gone, I settle for Salas who is super-tough with a good closer rating. At this point, the WAS bullpen is set.



• 39: (COL) A. Alburqueque, RP: Probably the best RP left on the board, albeit one with limited innings. COL was aiming for Holland and Salas and got totally derailed.



• 40: (DEL via BRI): J. Sands, OF: A platoon OF that destroys LHP. Will need to improve against RHP to make this pick worthwhile.

Winners:

1. LON: J. Zimmermann (via trade) and Y. Alonso: I love the JZ trade for London. It was a true example of quality for quantity, plus he received another good pick in this years draft. Oh, yeah, he got a nice 1B prospect slated to be a starter too.
   
2. BOW: A. Chapman. I really like this gamble and would have picked him myself if he made it another 4 picks.
   
3. BRI: No picks! BRI continued to stockpile picks for next season when he may be the only team in the draft! Once again, Mark shows he is clearly the best trader in our league.

Honorable Mention:

• SAN: a good SP card in Vogelsong



• WAS: With 3 picks, WAS gets a high-quality SP for this season (Aceves), and good 3B prospect (Chisenhall), and a very good closer/RP (Salas).



• KC: Belt was probably the best player taken in this round, but the price was just too high.

Less of Winners:

Hey, no one is a loser when we're all having fun! But here's my opinion of some teams that came up a bit short:

• ORE: Desperation at a position makes a team reach for players (O. Hudson).


• DEL: With 3 picks, DEL netted a very good LH RP, barely a top 20 1B (Trumbo) and a short-side platoon OF (Sands). Granted that I may eat my words if Trumbo and Sands develop, but the experts don't see that happening. Just seems like a low take for that many picks.


• COL: While trying to rebuild its bullpen, COL has its two preferred RP/Closers sniped out from under him with the prior two picks. Heartbreaking I'm sure. He possibly got a better RP (Alburquerque) than Salas, but one with 30+ fewer innings.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. I always find the second rounds of our drafts more interesting than the first round.

Now you can tear me up in the comments!