EHCC Minor League Draft Analysis Part II - The Revenge!

…And, we’re back! After waiting patiently for 10 months, it’s the exciting conclusion to the 2015 EHCC Minor League Draft analysis! Who did well? Who did poorly? Spoiler alert – we have no idea! It’s the EHCC Minor League Draft! 

EHCC Minor League Draft Review, Part II

by Chief Lawless

Round 2, Pick 1 (Rakeville via Tijuana):

Projected Pick: Orlando Arcia

Actual Pick: Jeff Hoffman

Analysis: Assuming Rakeville GM Jack Reed wouldn’t do his homework until the last minute, probably by copying it off his classmate in homeroom, I naturally figured that he’d go for the name brand of Orlando Arcia, who has shot up draft boards over the last year and a half owing almost exclusively to his defense. But most prospect lists don’t account for how crappy he was with the stick, which is all that matters to EHCC fans, so he would’ve been a terrible pick. But Reed surprised us all and took someone halfways decent instead!

Hoffman has been merely okay in AAA this season, but at the time of the pick was a trendy sleeper pick and a good get for Rakeville, even if he’ll probably end up disappointing everyone he comes in contact with on a baseball diamond for the next 10 years.

Round 2, Pick 2 (Santo Domingo via Weymouth):

Projected Pick: Touki Toussaint

Actual Pick: Trea Turner

Analysis: Turner is a speedster, and can deliver some solid contact at the plate while sticking at a premium position. With a little luck, he could be a Francisco Lindor-type of player for the All-Star Factory. That was a much better pick than my suggestion of Touki Toussaint. He really just has a cool name, but not a lot else going for him. Moving on!

Round 2, Pick 3 (San Juan):

Projected Pick: Sean Newcomb

Actual Pick: Nick Williams

Analysis: Great value for San Juan here. Although he was not as well-known at the time of the pick, Williams has destroyed minor league pitching and rose the ranks on prospect charts this offseason. Sean Newcomb also would have been a good pick, but San Juan (rightly?) decided that offense is the future of the EHCC, and selected accordingly.

Round 2, Pick 4 (Bridgewater via Rio):

Projected Pick: Trey Ball

Actual Pick: Brett Phillips

Analysis: To be fair (to me, obviously), when I made this projection, I was assuming that Las Vegas would be making this pick, and as such, they’d do something dumb, like take a Red Sox prospect they’d kind of, sort of maybe heard about? Because they know nothing about prospects, you see. So that’s why I projected barely-even-a-prospect anymore Trey Ball here, because he had some helium at this time last year, and Howe Dogg has no idea what he’s doing outside of the major league level. Bridgewater obviously has the exact opposite problem.

Side note – can we take a second and talk about how sneaky good Bridgewater is at making trades? They almost never make them, but when they do, holy crap – look out, because you’re probably getting hosed. A minor league pick and a minor protected player (Alen Hanson) for the corpse of CJ Wilson? Hey-o! Jacob DeGrom, Tyler Glasnow, and another minor league pick for Matt Kemp’s desiccated husk? Wowza! No wonder he trades so infrequently. These guys only make a deal if they’re absolutely certain you forgot to bring lube.

Round 2, Pick 5 (Quebec City):

Projected Pick: Jose Peraza

Actual Pick: Jose de Leon

Analysis: Look, I knew they’d take a Jose, I just thought de Leon would be long gone by the time this pick rolled around. Fortunately for They the North, de Leon was still hanging around at pick 17. De Leon is kicking ass and taking names in the notoriously difficult for pitchers Pacific Coast League, averaging over a per inning, with a K/BB rate of nearly 5/1. The Piglets may have even more pitching reinforcements arriving via the LA express (joining this year’s call-up Julio Urias) to help out with the playoff push.

Round 2, Pick 6 (Tokyo):

Projected Pick: Ryan McMahon

Actual Pick: Blake Snell

Analysis: I don’t know what it is with the EHCC’s aversion to McMahon. Maybe it’s the looming specter of Ian Stewart’s long past high-profile bust, but no one was interested in him in 2015. Maybe 2016 will be the year he finally gets rostered. In the meantime, Tokyo makes up for their mistake in passing up better players in the first round to take the uninspiring Grant Holmes, by taking a true diamond in the rough in Blake Snell. Rakeville, meanwhile, misses a golden opportunity at the top of the round to yell SNELL!!!!!

Round 2, Pick 7 (Augusta, but eventually, San Fernando Valley):

Projected Pick: Jesse Winker

Actual Pick: N/A, but eventually, Tim Anderson

Analysis: Augusta strikes out, but, with the benefit of an extra 6 months of research, SFV makes it look good by selecting Tim Anderson (ironically, the guy I projected Augusta to take in the first round, who inexplicably went undrafted until SFV swooped him up in the Spring). Not unlike this column, having an extra 6-10 months to evaluate things tend to make you look better.

Round 2, Pick 8 (Bridgewater via Rio):

Projected Pick: Nick Gordon

Actual Pick: Franklin Barreto

Analysis: Another up and coming shortstop. Is he good? Probably. Was my projected pick? Probably not. But hey, they’re both here, and they’re going to do the best they can with what they’ve got. The Matt Kemp trade just keeps on bearing fruit for Bridgewater.

Round 2, Pick 9 (Rakeville):

Projected Pick: Manuel Margot

Actual Pick: Manuel Margot

Analysis: Joke’s on Rakeville – they took the highest rated available Red Sox prospect they knew, and then the Red Sox traded him to San Diego in the off-season! Ha! He stinks now, Jack Reed! Enjoy!

Round 2, Pick 10 (Santo Domingo):

Projected Pick: Brett Phillips

Actual Pick: Reynaldo Lopez

Analysis: Is Reynaldo Lopez good? The numbers and scouting say…maybe? But probably not. But I’ll give Santo Domingo the benefit of the doubt. They tend to know what they’re doing.

Round 2, Pick 11 (Dublin):

Projected Pick: Brad Zimmer

Actual Pick: Trevor Story

Analysis: As Trevor Story has burst onto the scene this year, I’d say this was an incredible pick and worthy of applause for Dublin…if Dublin hadn’t, by their own admission, forgotten that they drafted Story and let him languish in the minors while he knocked the cover off the ball like a real-life Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez. F+.

Round 2, Pick 12 (Bridgewater):

Projected Pick: Jake Thompson

Actual Pick: Jake Thompson

Analysis: Hey, look at that, I got one right! Thompson is a solid value pick here, a guy who could turn into a pretty solid #3 or #4 for the Weasels down the line. At this point in the draft, you’re just hoping to get a guy who can catch on with the big-league club.

Check back in 2017 for my analysis of the Round 3 Supplemental Picks!

Just kidding, here’s some more analysis for free. You know, I spoil you.

Round 3, Pick 1 (Santo Domingo):

Projected Pick: C.J. Edwards

Actual Pick: Sean Manaea

Analysis: Santo Domingo’s pick here was better. Poor CJ Edwards will never grow up to be a real boy.

Round 3, Pick 2 (Quebec City):

Projected Pick: Dominic Smith

Actual Pick: Jose Peraza

Analysis: Quebec City gets all the Joses they came to pick after all. Good for them – better to roster them now before Donald Trump can build his wall along the Canadian border.

Chief Lawless is EHspn's chief minor league analyst. Though notoriously lazy, he promises to scout a minimum of 3 minor league baseball games per year from his living room couch. If he remembers. Which, let's be honest, he probably won't.