Posted May 23, 200520 yr comment_2234978 Here is the concept. What is the best roster of players you could put together, picking solely those drafted by your team? For example, with the Phillies, I can select Jimmy Rollins or Mike Lieberthal, but not Jim Thome or Bobby Abreu. However, players originally drafted by the team but later traded or let go are eligible. Hopefully you'll understand after seeing the roster. If you are interested in doing this yourselves, go to The Baseball Cube, select "Teams", select your team, and then select a year. Select "Draft Picks", and from there you can move from year to year by hitting "previous" or "next," or just by changing the year in the URL. Philadelphia Phillies C- Mike Lieberthal 1B- Ryan Howard/Julio Franco (platoon) 2B- Chase Utley SS- Jimmy Rollins 3B- Scott Rolen LF- Pat Burrell CF- Marlon Byrd (Screw you, Ed Wade) RF- J.D. Drew (did not sign) SP- Brett Myers SP- Randy Wolf SP- Gavin Floyd SP- Elizardo Ramirez SP- Adam Eaton CL- Derrick Turnbow RP- Ryan Madson RP- Frank Brooks RP- Geoff Geary RP- Robinson Tejeda RP- Kameron Loe C- Johnny Estrada IF- Nick Punto IF- Lance Niekro OF- Bobby Higginson OF- Jason Michaels Man, talk about a bad track record of drafting pitchers. I had to look around just to find viable relievers. Still, it is worth noting that many of the position players came around during the Ed Wade era.
May 23, 200520 yr comment_2235343 Note: This was insanely hard...Not sure if Mahay and Burks are on any current rosters though. Boston Red Sox C: Scott Hatteberg (Switched from OF) 1B: Tino Martinez 2B: David Eckstein 3B: Jeff Bagwell SS: Nomar Garciaparra OF: Trot Nixon OF: Lew Ford OF: Pat Burrell (Switched from 3B) SP: Aaron Sele SP: Roger Clemens SP: Jeff Suppan SP: Carl Pavano SP: Curt Schilling MR: Casey Fossum MR: Paul Quantrill MR: Chris Reitsma MR: Aaron Harang MR: Peter Munro Bench: SS Adam Everett, 3B Mark Teixeria, 2B Freddy Sanchez, OF Ron Mahay, C John Flaherty, 3B Kevin Youkilis, OF Ellis Burks
May 23, 200520 yr Author comment_2235378 I intended it to be best current lineup, so no way Bagwell would make a passable 3Bman. Teixeria could still play there however. Hell of a starting rotation.
May 23, 200520 yr comment_2235556 I gave up after I went through all the years and ended up with less than half a team. Damn, the Marlins have drafted poorly. Thank God Beinfest makes good trades.
May 23, 200520 yr comment_2235630 What about throwing Casey Blake at 1B for the Phils? It appears that they picked him in the 11th round in 1992 out of HS but did not sign him. He plays the occasional 1st base (31 games in 03, 8 in 04) and has only made 1 error there in 51 career games, so he at least looks passable there.
May 23, 200520 yr Author comment_2235637 I gave up after I went through all the years and ended up with less than half a team. Damn, the Marlins have drafted poorly. Thank God Beinfest makes good trades. Also, Mike Redmond, Luis Castillo, Alex Gonzalez, and Miguel Cabrera signed as amateur free agents.
May 23, 200520 yr Author comment_2235662 What about throwing Casey Blake at 1B for the Phils? It appears that they picked him in the 11th round in 1992 out of HS but did not sign him. He plays the occasional 1st base (31 games in 03, 8 in 04) and has only made 1 error there in 51 career games, so he at least looks passable there. I couldn't see holding Ryan Howard at AAA if it were merely Casey Blake at first base.
May 23, 200520 yr comment_2236626 St. Louis Cardinals C - Yadier Molina 1B - Dmitri Young 2B - Adam Kennedy SS - Jack Wilson 3B - Placido Polanco LF - Albert Pujols CF - Coco Crisp RF - J.D. Drew C - Todd Greene UT - Ryan Freel 3B/COF - Xavier Nady C/COF - Eli Marrero COF - Brian Jordan CF - Jason Michaels SP - Matt Morris SP - Danny Haren SP - Brad Thompson SP - Anthony Reyes CL - Braden Looper LHR - Randy Flores LHR - Rheal Cormier RHR - Cliff Politte RHR - Jay Witasick RHR/Spot Starter - Seth Etherton Very sketchy four man rotation (considering that Reyes hasn't even hit the Majors yet), but tons and tons of options on offense and an actual bullpen. I'd say this is probably a .500-caliber team, maybe a touch below, which speaks to how much Jocketty has accomplished in trade.
May 23, 200520 yr comment_2240080 Detroit Tigers C- Doug Mirabelli 1B- Daryl Ward 2B- David Newhan SS- Chris Gomez 3B- Brandon Inge LF- Dave Roberts CF- Frank Catalanotto RF- Nook Logan SP- Mark Mulder (drafted in the 1995 55th round as a first baseman of all things) SP- Jeff Weaver SP- Mark Redman SP- Brian Moehler SP- RA Dickey CL- Keith Foulke RP- Jason Frasor RP- Kiko Calero RP- Trever Miller RP- Matt Thornton RP- Seth Greisinger Bench C- Robert Fick IF- Tony Clark IF- Andres Torres OF- Eric Valent OF- Bobby Higginson This was quite hard, especially for a team who has been as bad at drafting as the Tigers were during the 90s.
May 23, 200520 yr comment_2240431 Chicago Cubs SP Carlos Zambrano (would it be cheating because he was a FA signing? if so, Greg Maddux) SP Kerry Wood SP Mark Prior SP Dontrelle Willis SP John Garland C Jose Molina 1B ???? 2B Bobby Hill 3B Eric Hinske SS Khalil Greene LF Jason DuBois CF Corey Patterson RF Doug Glanville RP Jon Leiber RP Steve Trachsel RP Kyle Farnsworth RP Kyle Lohse RP Jamie Moyer I've got this here pitching. Honestly, the Cubs haven't drafted a first baseman worth a shit since Mark Grace. I know he was good for many years, but c'mon, couldn't you draft someone to make it to the bigs at a 1B? The Cubs are pretty thin on position player, but the power of their drafting lies in the pitching. I'd take that pitching staff ALL DAY.
May 23, 200520 yr comment_2243101 I'm bored so here are the Pittsburgh Pirates C: Jason Kendall (Changed from OF) 1B: J.J. Davis 2B: Rob Mackowiak 3B: Brandon Larson (Changed from SS) SS: Tony Womack OF: Barry Bonds OF: Moises Alou OF: Tike Redman SP: Tim Wakefield (Changed from 1B!) SP: Chris Capuano SP: Paul Wilson SP: Bronson Arroyo SP: Kris Benson MR: Brian Shoushe MR: Rick White MR: Dustin Hermanson MR: Steve Sparks MR: Jeremy Guthrie Bench: OF Adrian Brown and C J.R. House I can only come up with 20 viable players. Their lineup is pretty lacking outside the 3-4-5 (Bonds, Alou, Kendall). Their starting rotation could hold it's own but the bullpen is iffy.
May 24, 200520 yr Author comment_2250423 I've got this here pitching. Honestly, the Cubs haven't drafted a first baseman worth a shit since Mark Grace. I know he was good for many years, but c'mon, couldn't you draft someone to make it to the bigs at a 1B? The Cubs are pretty thin on position player, but the power of their drafting lies in the pitching. I'd take that pitching staff ALL DAY. Hee Seop Choi signed with the Cubs as an amateur free agent. He counts.
May 24, 200520 yr comment_2254416 I've got this here pitching. Honestly, the Cubs haven't drafted a first baseman worth a shit since Mark Grace. I know he was good for many years, but c'mon, couldn't you draft someone to make it to the bigs at a 1B? The Cubs are pretty thin on position player, but the power of their drafting lies in the pitching. I'd take that pitching staff ALL DAY. Hee Seop Choi signed with the Cubs as an amateur free agent. He counts. I wasn't sure if that counted or not, being as they weren't technically drafted. I can't say that I argue with the Cubs draft strategy, as you can turn pitching prospects into position players through trades and whatnot, as pitching will always be in demand.
May 24, 200520 yr Author comment_2254627 I've got this here pitching. Honestly, the Cubs haven't drafted a first baseman worth a shit since Mark Grace. I know he was good for many years, but c'mon, couldn't you draft someone to make it to the bigs at a 1B? The Cubs are pretty thin on position player, but the power of their drafting lies in the pitching. I'd take that pitching staff ALL DAY. Hee Seop Choi signed with the Cubs as an amateur free agent. He counts. I wasn't sure if that counted or not, being as they weren't technically drafted. I can't say that I argue with the Cubs draft strategy, as you can turn pitching prospects into position players through trades and whatnot, as pitching will always be in demand. Well, the basic idea is just to evaluate a team's development system, not necessarily the draft. Of course, with those who did not sign, it is a bit tricky. As far as draft strategy, it is hard to tell. Sometimes the breaks just run a certain way. Every pick except the very best is a longshot to make the majors.
Create an account or sign in to comment