The Draft

The Indians drafted 20th and got the 3rd best position player on their board. I was surprised to say the least. My thinking was that I would maybe get my 4th or 5th ranked players at best, both of them actually fell all the way to the supplemental round. The first two position players on my board went in the top 10, so it wasn't a case of poor ranking.

The best starting pitcher on my board went #1. I didn't think he would go that high, but did expect him in the top 5 or 6. After my first 5 position players I had 12 pitchers, 7 of them starters. I had actually expected to get one of the starters drafting 20th. I was surprised that only two were off the board when my turn came around. The rest went late first round to early 2nd round. That left me with the relievers that I wanted with the second and third picks though.

The biggest reason the players on my board fell where they did was the High School players. All the other drafts I have been in had been somewhat light in this area. Since the others had been light, I kind of expected the same here.

As for the formula builder, several of us have come to the conclusion that its purpose was to rank position players or pitchers but not both at the same time. Even tickets sent in has kind of eluded to same the conclusion. I have used the formula builder one time for the draft, it had very weak pitching so it was simple to put them back where they belonged but other than that, the old way is easier to me.

After studying the top 25 players in each of my drafts this go round I have come to some conclusions. For one, each teams draft board is actually geared for organizational needs whether you like it or not. All you have to figure out is which player is the best, especially in the first round. That is why most go with the best player available, but (always one) you must make sure he is.

As for scouting, it is personal choice. They say High School players advance more rapidly than college players. That is actually a smoking mirror, as their projections usually have a bigger disparity, the system is designed to close the gap and to do that bigger increases are needed. After the first three seasons, chances are a High School player and a College player with the same projections will probably look identical. The College player will have a slight advantage in maturity where the High School player will play longer at the ML level, though his first couple seasons could be underachieving.

I have wondered how a GM could draft a good player without spending much on scouting. After much contemplation and heavy use of a calculator I have found the answer and can now do it by sight. Though, the answer could be for naught, as they have figured out how it is done also and may close that hole. Then again if they do that, you might as well close yours eyes and guess.