Thread: MLB Draft Discussion: Day 2

Originally Posted by old nurse

Maybe they are drafting players they can sign below slot so they can take risks later by drafting a player they can bribe out of college.

Hey! Old Nurse! Were you whistling past any graveyards when you typed this?

But seriously, is there a plan afoot to draft bunches of inexpensive college potential starters with late-round picks and hope that a SP version of a Jared Burton or two emerges, ala the Twins "find-some-RPs-by-quantity-invites" spring training plan?

Relievers can turn into starters. Remember Santana was in the bullpen?

Remember this is a draft. No player is a lock to make The Show.

I just can't understand why anyone would draft a projected reliever. Relievers are what you pull off the scrap heap during the rule 5 draft, or what you do with a starter when he doesn't pan out, or what you pay $1M for in free agency. This is confounding. Either they're not even trying, or they have some mysterious secret plan.

Originally Posted by nicksaviking

Does anyone have a draft tracker? All I can get is the live feed from MLB's website but if they are providing a tracker showing who's currently being picked, I can't find it. Maybe they are doing this to prevent other sites from picking up this info? I can't find a working tracker on CBS or ESPN either.

mlb.com main page in the center has a link for the tracker. It is not live so you have to go back and recheck the page.

Originally Posted by nicksaviking

Does anyone have a draft tracker? All I can get is the live feed from MLB's website but if they are providing a tracker showing who's currently being picked, I can't find it. Maybe they are doing this to prevent other sites from picking up this info? I can't find a working tracker on CBS or ESPN either.

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/mlb/e...raftcaster.jsp

None of the college pitchers have particularly great strikeout rates. All around one per inning, which is good but not great for a pro prospect. Melotakis' is a little higher but against mediocre competition, and of course all of them mostly worked in relief.

What are they playing at?! I wanted gausman in the first round because he was a starter! Then they take a outfielder but o well we have plenty other high picks to invest on starters. We have not drafted a starting prospect yet! In the first 2 and comp rounds! What is there deal. I no fans don't know as much as scouts and front office personnel, but any dummy can see that we haven't addressed a single need yet. What a joke. I can't believe I've let myself be fooled into thinking they realize that they need to change their philosophy in order to save our minor league system.

Originally Posted by Gernzy

Relievers can turn into starters. Remember Santana was in the bullpen?

Remember this is a draft. No player is a lock to make The Show.

OK, tell me then...now which of these illustrious top 100 picks is the next Johan?

The only thing I see is the Twins are thinking they have been repeatedly burned by drafting "proven starters" who burned up their arms and ended up needing TJ surgery or worse and have come to the conclusion that "less is more"...

I think the strategy is to draft good arms. Regardless of how they were used in college or High school. If they kid has a good arm, we can use them. I wouldn't get too worked up about the lack of starting experience.

Originally Posted by old nurse

mlb.com main page in the center has a link for the tracker. It is not live so you have to go back and recheck the page.

Thanks, I had collapsed that part of the page thinking it was just a pop up for their advertiser.

Originally Posted by minn55441

I think the strategy is to draft good arms. Regardless of how they were used in college or High school. If they kid has a good arm, we can use them. I wouldn't get too worked up about the lack of starting experience.

Amen to that. I especially liked a comment I read on an MLB.com scouting report about a guy who "has a frame that projects like Brendan Morrow". Huh?

Originally Posted by jokin

OK, tell me then...now which of these illustrious top 100 picks is the next Johan?

The only thing I see is the Twins are thinking they have been repeatedly burned by drafting "proven starters" who burned up their arms and ended up needing TJ surgery or worse and have come to the conclusion that "less is more"...

None are the next Johan. Plus there were ZERO proven starters in this draft anyways. Like Minn55441 said draft good arms and see what happens.

Originally Posted by Gernzy

None are the next Johan. Plus there were ZERO proven starters in this draft anyways. Like Minn55441 said draft good arms and see what happens.

Probably unfair then, to use the Santana illustration in your initial analysis.

If a player's college team doesn't like him as a starter, doesn't that indicate something? Ga. Tech maybe is one thing, but Northwestern State? What's next, a guy who wasn't good enough to start for his high school?

The advantage to college players is theoretically that they are less risky and closer to the Bigs. But taking on projects adds risk and development time.

Wow...love the Adam Walker pick. Player with the best power in the draft. Compared to Stanton? That would be something.

You people are so damn negative. I was just saying that relievers can be turned into starters. If you hate the way we draft go be a Yankee fan...geez

Adam Walker's dad was RB for the Vikings. No, not Herschel.
http://www.judolphins.com/baseball/roster/140/2401/

Here are Walker's stats at JU this year:

Player	avg	gp-gs	ab	r	h	2b	3b	hr	rbi	tb	slg%	bb	hbp	so	gdp	ob%	sf	sh	sb-att	po	a	e	fld%
WALKER, Adam Brett	.343	56-56	210	44	72	14	0	12	42	122	.581	29	2	47	3	.426	1	0	19-20	391	17	11	.974

Obviously they will give most if not all these guys a chance to start. The Twins do not have much of a history of doing this but they are attempting to do it with both Boer and Boyd, both profiled as relievers last year. They also gave Gutierez a shot to start coming out of Miami. Hopefully the results are better this time around. I think most of the frustration comes from the passing on names people are more familiar with. I just wonder if these guys still have "power" arms when they get converted to starter.

Originally Posted by Gernzy

You people are so damn negative. I was just saying that relievers can be turned into starters. If you hate the way we draft go be a Yankee fan...geez

On a more positive note, it was just tweeted that the pitcher from Rice projects as a major leaguer by this September, which probably means we'll see Chargois in a Twins uniform by 2015...