2020 WHEBO Rookie Draft Review: Round One

2020 WHEBO Rookie Draft Review: Round One

By Rory Noble

Everyone needs to understand that reviews such as this tend to be very subjective. What one person finds as a good attribute someone else may see as a mediocre attribute, or maybe even an insignificant attribute. Look at the so-called experts who discuss and debate real-life professional sports and you can see valid arguments made in most instances where people disagree with one another.

In my experience with OOTP leagues (specifically) and other online leagues (fantasy) I find one thing to be a fairly common theme: people overvalue their own players and undervalue draft picks. That being said, I have made every attempt to look at the overall positives and negatives for the draftees and make intelligent/honest grades for those players. While I do use some personal perspective, I have tried not to use the “I would never select that player because…” perspective. Some will not agree with these grades, for one reason or another. I’m fine with that.

Pick #1: SP Alex Jurez

          Age: 22

          Overall/Potential: 20/75

          Pros: Good work ethic, blazing fastball, groundball pitcher

          Cons: Most likely a future closer/set up man unless the changeup develops

Grade: B+ (Even if he ends up working out of the bullpen he’ll be a star, just not as big as if he were a front-line starter)

Pick #2: SP Manny Perez

          Age: 22

          Overall/Potential: 30/75

          Pros: Good leadership skills, three exceptionally strong pitches, a bit ahead of the curve in development

          Cons: Control may become an issue if skills begin to diminish

Grade: A (Easily one of the top three starters in this draft.                                                Could hit the ML squad within a couple of years)

Pick #3: SP Jim Stephens

          Age: 21

          Overall/Potential: 25/75

          Pros: Team leader, lefty, keeps runners close to the bags

          Cons: If there is a negative, it’s the need to develop more                                                 control

Grade: A (He could have easily gone #1 or #2, future ace)

Pick #4: SP Tony Hermosilla

          Age: 21

          Overall/Potential: 30/60

          Pros: Good work ethic, solid pitching skills, three exceptional pitches

          Cons: Again, another youngster where control needs to be developed to be successful

Grade: A (If the control develops quickly, watch for this youngster to rise to the ML level when he’s 24)

Pick #5: CF Murdoch Vallis

          Age: 18

          Overall/Potential: 20/65

          Pros: Solid contact and power potential, great on the basepaths, can play any OF position with more training

          Cons: Arm strength may limit him to LF/CF

Grade: A (Probably the top-rated hitter in this class by most GM’s)

Pick #6: SP Nelson Cano

          Age: 21

          Overall/Potential: 20/70

          Pros: Plays with intelligence, good pitching skills with exceptional pitches, endurance to go deep into games

          Cons: Holding runners close may require a strong-armed catcher to help him out

Grade: A- (If he had a changeup that was guaranteed to develop, he would be a true monster on the mound)

Pick #7: SP Pedro Ortiz

          Age: 21

          Overall/Potential: 20/60

          Pros: Will throw at 100+ mph on a consistent basis, above average stamina

          Cons: Control is appears to be the weak point in his game at this time

Grade: B+ (Not sure if Vegas should have taken Ortiz or snagged a hitter here)

Pick #8: SS Alex Manzano

          Age: 21

          Overall/Potential: 30/65

          Pros: Solid at 2B/3B defensively, good power and plate discipline

          Cons: Contact skills are just average, not much of a threat on the basepaths

Grade: B+ (Will definitely be solid in the field though his BA might be a bit below average most seasons)

Pick #9: SP Tobias Mangerico

          Age: 22

          Overall/Potential: 30/65

          Pros: Good pitching abilities, two exceptional “out” pitches

          Cons: OOTP history shows that most low-rated changeups often don’t develop, he has a changeup and a circle change

Grade: B (A Top 10 selection that may or may not end up in the rotation)

Pick #10: 3B Willie Juarez

          Age: 23

          Overall/Potential: 30/75

          Pros: Power hitting corner IF, exceptionally good defensive skills, already some development in his offensive skill set

          Cons: Might struggle with batting average against the league’s elite pitchers

Grade: A (The kind of player most teams would want defending the hot corner)

Pick #11: 1B Chris Valdes

          Age: 19

          Overall/Potential: 20/55

          Pros: Good power potential, flyball hitter, high work ethic

          Cons: Needs to develop defensively, could be another to                                                 struggle against elite pitchers

Grade: A- (A solid choice in the middle of the round that should develop into a great RBI man)

Pick #12: CF Casey Marmot

          Age: 21

          Overall/Potential: 25/55

          Pros: Good defensive ratings, great threat to score on the basepaths, possible two-way player

          Cons: Should have solid extra-base hit production, might have trouble producing a good batting average consistently, control may be an issue

Grade: A- (Developing two-way players is tough, but there’s always a chance that things go well)

Pick #13: SP Luis Romero

          Age: 23

          Overall/Potential: 30/65

          Pros: Good pitching/pitch ratings, plays with intelligence, already some early development

          Cons: Needs work on holding runners on base, another with a possible non-developing changeup

Grade: A (Most likely projects into a #2 or #3 starter role but should be a solid contributor regardless)

Pick #14: SP Nick Williams

          Age: 22

          Overall/Potential: 20/60

          Pros: Great stamina, nice cutter/curve combination to keep most hitters off-balance

          Cons: Changeup may or may not develop, movement and control need some work

Grade: B+ (If the changeup and control develop, this is a much better selection than the grade indicates)

Pick #15: SP Kamakana Van buizen

          Age: 22

          Overall/Potential: 35/60

          Pros: Early pitch development with three great pitches, groundball pitcher

          Cons: Average stamina, could have trouble keeping runners close

Grade: B+ (His pitching and pitch ratings should help him become a consistent winner)

Pick #16: SP Nelson Nino

          Age: 18

          Overall/Potential: 20/60

          Pros: Great control potential and endurance, should keep runners in check on the basepaths

          Cons: That control needs an extreme amount of development, questionable changeup development

Grade: B (Probably relegated to the bullpen if that changeup doesn’t get better)

Pick #17: SP Nate Marks

          Age: 20

          Overall/Potential: 20/60

          Pros: Good work ethic, team leader, solid pitching ratings overall

          Cons: Low endurance, control needs work

Grade: A- (He might not pitch many complete games, but he should be a winner at the ML level)

Pick #18: SP Andres Vega

          Age: 23

          Overall/Potential: 20/60

          Pros: Five pitches to work with, intelligent player, enough stamina to go deep into most games

          Cons: Needs to work on control, questionable changeup

Grade: A (Just having five pitches to work with should be enough to make him a great pitcher; if the change develops…wow!)

Pick #19: CF Jonathan Avila

          Age: 22

          Overall/Potential: 30/50

          Pros: Can play any OF position at a high level, absolute speedster on the basepaths, solid hit-for-average guy

          Cons: Low plate discipline

Grade: A (Add the good work ethic to all of this and you have a winner)

Pick #20: SP Matthew Patel

          Age: 23

          Overall/Potential: 25/55

          Pros: Three good pitches to work with plus an average splitter, will keep runners close

         Cons: Average control that still needs work

Grade: B+ (A likely candidate for a middle rotation spot but should win his share of games)

Pick #21: SP Edgar Marmolejo

          Age: 18

          Overall/Potential: 20/45

          Pros: Groundball pitcher, exceptional fastball/splitter combo

          Cons: Non-existent changeup, weak at holding runners on base

Grade: C+ (He’s a middle reliever, not a starter, though he has the endurance to come in and take over for several innings)

Pick #22: SP Rueben Rodriguez

          Age: 18

          Overall/Potential: 20/50

          Pros: Good work ethic, keeps runners close, great fastball/slider combo, potential two-way player

         Cons: Low control, questionable changeup, low fielding skills

Grade: A- (A reliever/1B hybrid that should do well at the plate and on the mound)

Pick #23: CF Vinnie Medina

          Age: 17

          Overall/Potential: 20/55

          Pros: Great contact/gap potential, great speed on the basepaths, great outfield range

          Cons: Lower-than-average plate discipline, currently rather error-prone in the OF

Grade: B+ (With proper development he should be a solid contributor at left or center field)

Pick #24: SP Ludovic Despires

          Age: 21

          Overall/Potential: 20/60

          Pros: Good work ethic, velocity should top 100 mph when fully developed

          Cons: Low-rated changeup, has trouble keeping runners close on the basepaths

Grade: B- (He’s a reliever if the changeup doesn’t develop and might have trouble in high leverage situations)