What the F%*k Just Happened?
by: Will “5 Loko” Stanley
It was a nice luscious mid-morning in Seattle, and I had woken up early (a relative term) to see who my Seattle Mariners were going to pick with the #2 overall selection in the 2011 MLB draft.
Unusually sweaty with anticipation, I opened up the online draft tracker just in time to see this:
[#2 -- Seattle Mariners -- Danny Hultzen, LHP, University of Virginia]
Wow.
To say that I was associate (less than) happy would be quite an understatement. It’s not that Hultzen is a bad player by any means, it’s just that 2011 was supposed to be one of those “special” draft years, and settling for something like the 8th best player at #2 is just … well … it sucks.
It didn’t help to have the four players that I for sure wanted more than Hultzen go directly after him in #3 – Trevor Bauer, #4 – Dylan Bundy, #5 – Bubba Starling! and #6 – Anthony Rendon. Honestly, what was more amazing was that Anthony Rendon, the presumed #2 pick all morning, ended up falling to the sixth pick.
Hultzen is by no means a bad player, and he has a legitimate chance to be in the big-league rotation within the next year or so. As a left-hander with solid command, Hultzen throws his fastball, change-up, and slider with maximum effectiveness due to his ability to control the strike zone of his fellow collegiate hitters. He is a terrific athlete, as he bats 5th regularly as the teams designated hitter.
Again, Danny Hultzen isn’t a bad player, but looking at who else was on the board has to make me consider this pick a failure/mistake that only time will be able to heal. My only issue is that with that time, I see those other players making a greater game-changing impact at the Major League level.
Players I’d rather have drafted: Trevor Bauer, Dylan Bundy, Bubba Starling, Anthony Rendon
We had a chance to redeem ourselves though, because at our next pick, #62, there were still quite a few talented players on the board that could develop into all-star caliber players. It got me wondering that, “Maybe they are saving their money for a high-risk pick at #62, maybe they’ll go for the top prep left-hander in Daniel Norris, maybe, just maybe, they won’t make me commit seppuku.“
[#62 -- Seattle Mariners -- Bradley Miller, SS, Clemson University]
Ouch.
Brad Miller, or Bradley as I like to call him, is generally considered an overdraft. Be careful though, as uber-prospect Nick Franklin was thought of in a similar vein a few years ago, and we know how that has turned out. Miller is a gym rat, something we value highly, and he has a high probability of making it to the Majors. The issue? His level of impact. In such a deep draft, one would hope that our second pick would be someone we anticipated as an All-Star level player. Instead, we get a player of seemingly mediocre impact.
Players I’d rather have drafted: Daniel Norris, Dillon Howard, Anthony Meo, Jason Esposito, Andrew Susac, Nick Delmonico.
[#92 -- Seattle Mariners -- Kevin Cron, Huge Man, AZ Highschool]
What is going to be worse for the anti-marijuana-legalization rallying cry than having Smoak and Cron go back-to-back one sunny Seattle summer day. It doesn’t even matter which order they do it, because regardless, you are left with either “Smoak-Cron”" or “Cron-Smoak” and that’s just hilarious. Suffice it to say, this was easily my favorite pick of the day.
In terms of baseball skills, Kevin Cron is a behemoth that is sure to have enough power to crush 30 hrs in the big leagues. Similar to Rich Poythress from a couple years back, he is all bat, and it will be the development of that hit tool that determines whether or not he ever makes it to the big leagues. I vote yes. Talk about power that can play at Safeco — dude is massive.
Players I’d rather have drafted: Yeaaa! We win. He was probably the best player available. You know … the way you should draft. Always.
Once you get past the first couple rounds, it’s basically a crapshoot. That is how you end up with Albert Pujols getting drafted in the 13th round, or Mike Piazza in the 62nd. Some of the players I have an interest in were naturally drafted in the single-digit rounds.
Fearsome foursome:
- Steve Proscia (7th) – The number four hitter on one of the best teams in the country. Sure.
- John Hicks (4th) – The catcher and number three hitter on one of the best teams in the country. Double sure.
- Cavan Cohoes (9th) – Army brat who spends all his time whilst in Germany learning how to play shortstop and hit. Sign me up twice.
- Tyler Marlette (5th) – Highschool catcher with more upside than Hicks.
This was by no measure a terrible draft for the Mariners in 2011. I don’t think it was the best draft we could’ve had, but I understand the reasoning for a lot of these players. Obviously the big one that hurts is Hultzen > the field, but I’m sure we will all forget about it when Hultzen starts pitching well in the big leagues, or if any of those other players start to falter while Danny does not. The price may be prohibitive, but I am certain he will get signed and be up no later than 2013.
Tags: 2011 Draft, Anthony Rendon, Baseball, Beisbol, Bradley Miller, Bubba Starling, Cavan Cohoes, Clemson, Danny Hultzen, Dylan Bundy, Gerrit Cole, Kevin Cron, MLB, MLB Draft, NWRooted, NWRoots, Roots NW, Seattle Mariners, Trevor Bauer, University of Virginia, UVA
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