Draft Re-Cap

A lot of activity around here lately, especially centered around the draft as well as some minor trade activity. So the blog has been neglected.

We'll try to get Calzones fans up to date on all the happenings in the Calzones universe, but let's start by recapping the draft.

We didn't have a first round pick, having traded those away in a flurry of offseason activity. So our first selection came at pick 3 in round 2, and we selected 18 year old SP Xavier Gómes. Gomes helped lead Lakewood HS to the 2010 HS Championship by posting a 7-1 2.85 mark in 12 starts, walking just 9 while striking out 94 in 75.2 ip. Gomes has gotten off to a great start at Taku, allowing just 2 runs in 8 innings in his first start, and following that with a complete game shutout in his second start.

5 picks later, we selected Kenny Bender with pick 8 in the second round. Bender is 21 year old out of East Carolina who can bring it in the mid 90's. He has also gotten off to a great start at Taku, besting more highly touted Tempe prospect Darryl Lewis in his first start, allowing just 1 earned run in 7.1 innings while punching out 10 and not walking a batter. Much like Gomes, Bender followed his good first outing with a complete game shutout of Barrow, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6.

In round 3 we had three selections, and we started by adding closer Willie Owens. Owens had a career era of 1.37 in 4 seasons at the college level, striking out 110 while walking 11 in 91.2 innings while notching 52 saves.

At pick 13 in round 3 we selected another college reliever, this time Artie Gillespie. Gillespie's stock really rose with us after a fine senior season at the college level, and we can see him someday maybe working in the setup role at the PEBA level.

At pick 18 in round 3, we selected high school pitcher Mike Peterson. Sadly, Peterson blew out his elbow in his second start and has been lost for the season. For the second year in a row we've lost a third round pitcher to a season ending injury.

With the 3rd pick in round 4, we grabbed a third high school starter, this time Anastasio Hernández. We think Hernandez might have been a bit overlooked because of some less than spectacular numbers at the high school level, but he suffered from poor defense and we think he's a lot better than those numbers would indicate. He has the stuff to dominate hitters if he ever harnesses the control. He has gotten off to a fine start at Taku, allowing just 3 er in 15 innings over his first two starts.

We didn't have a pick in round 5, traded to Connecticut in the Kirkland deal, so after grabbing 6 pitchers with our first 6 picks, we drafted CF Charles Green from Bishop Moore HS. Green has awesome speed, and we think he will eventually hit for more power. We have some concerns about his weak arm, but that is something we have time to work on.

In round 7 we had two selections, one near the front of the round at pick 3, and one near the back of the round at pick 22. We were hoping to get two players in this round, and were torn as to which one we should take first. Our ears in the draft room picked up that Palm Springs was looking hard at Bobby Wilder, so we were concerned that he wouldn't make it to us at the back of the round. So we took Wilder with the selection at #3 in the 7th round. Wilder is an 18 year old who puts the bat on the ball, striking out just 22 times in 703 at bats at the high school level while posting a .388 obp for his career.

With the selection at #22 in the 7th round we grabbed HS C José Gonzáles. Gonzales is another player who does very well at putting the bat on the ball, striking out just 30 times in 432 at bats at the HS level. Gonzales also has great tools behind the plate. He likely won't see a lot of playing time at Taku this season with Oliva and Luna in front of him, but he should be the starter at Taku next season.

We didn't have another selection until round 12, where we took MR Pat Hayes. Hayes is hard throwing 21 year old who has a meager two pitch repertoire and serious control issues. He's a longshot to ever make it very in the organization unless he can begin to harness the control.

With pick 3 in round 13, we selected 18 yr old 3b Roland Brown. Brown has some versatility and may eventually make a decent utility infielder, but he will really have to do a lot of hard work on cutting down on the strikeouts if he is to last very long in professional baseball.

With pick 3 in round 14 we grabbed 21 year old SP Harlan Mack. Mack throws in the low 90's, but his straight fastball too often becomes a souvenier. He'll really need to turn that around in a hurry, and at age 21 the prospects of that happening aren't all that great. He'll probably serve as minor league filler for a couple of seasons before venturing off into a more suitable career.

At pick 3 in round 15 we chose 21 year LF Ben Sharp. Scouts aren't terribly high on Sharp, he's a bit of an unknown quantity after receiving just 1 at bat his entire college career. He has some moderate speed and a cannon for an arm, so we'll give him a cursory look and see if he might surprise us.

Round 16 saw us draft 21 yr old MR Dean Hairston. Scouts are a bit mixed on the hard throwing Hairston. Some say he's very bad. Others say he's downright awful.

Round 17 saw us draft 21 year old SP Kane Wiley. More minor league filler.

In round 18 we drafted Austin native Jason Wheeler, more as a favor to a local sponsor than anything else. Wheeler is a good kid with no talent and has since been released.

Round 19 saw us draft Doug Cameron. Due to the rash of injuries to our minor league pitchers, Cameron has gotten a reprieve and is still on the roster at Taku. He'll need to impress quickly if he is ever to advance in pro ball, and he did pick up a 4 inning save in his first professional appearance. We may get him a spot start or two to see if he'll show us anything.

We'll be back with some more organizational updates shortly.