FanPost

MinorLeagueBall.com 2013 Community Mock Draft

Alright, so the Giants lost two games today by a combined score of 15-1. And would you look at that, the Giants have lost 5 of their last 6 games. Well fear not fellow McCoven because today was a day to look to the future not the past. Over at minorleagueball.com (headed by John Sickels) the 2013 community mock draft was held this afternoon.

For those that don't know the community mock draft is where members of the minorleagueball community take over the draft strategies for all 30 MLB teams. This year MCC's very own Free F.P. ran the draft with some help from shankbone and myself. The draft ran four rounds with the Giants having the #25th, 64th, 101st, and 132nd picks in the draft. Our strategy was to take the best player available instead of drafting for need (with a mind towards bonus demands of course). We also tried to stay true to the Giants style of drafting while also going for the players we liked. Here is what we came up with:

1/25 Rob Kaminsky, LHP, New Jersey HS- Shank, F.P. and I came up with a cumulative list of 10 players we liked for our first pick. First on the list was Phil Bickford, RHP, California HS, but he was selected 19th overall by the Cardinals. Second on our board was Kaminsky who all three of us regarded highly. Kaminsky isn't a big guy, only listed at 6'0/190 but he already throws in the low 90's. He accompanies his hard fastball with probably the best curveball, and one of the best secondary pitches, among the prep ranks. He has the makings of a nice change up as well but he hasn't needed it as he has completely dominated the competition in north Jersey. He is one of the more advanced prep arms in the draft and has a #2 starter ceiling. Baseball America ranked him #21 overall.

2/64 Trey Masek, RHP, Texas Tech, JR- Masek wasn't even on our 2nd round board because we didn't believe he would be available when we picked. Masek is another pitcher on the small size at 6'1/195. His lack of size seems to be his only real flaw as he has a 4 pitch mix and solid velocity. If he were just a couple inches taller he is probably a mid first round pick. In 79 innings, (11 starts) Masek had a 1.82 ERA with 69 strike outs, 22 walks, and 56 hits allowed while not allowing a single home run all year. Masek has a fastball that ranges from 91-94 and peaks around 95 MPH, a two-seamer that comes in a bit slower at 90-93, a circle change that has sink and is about 82-83 MPH, while also mixing in a curveball which is probably his second best pitch and ranges from 76 to 78 MPH. He also throws a slider occasionally which will go from 80-84 MPH. None of his pitches are plus offerings (his fast ball can be considered above average) but he mixes them well and has a great feel for pitching.

Masek views himself as a Roy Oswalt type and has said that he looks up to pitchers like Jake Peavy and Tim Lincecum. He has the ceiling of a #2 starter if he can turn some of his secondaries into pluses or if he gains a tick or two on his fastball. Masek had a very positive showing during summer ball in Cape Cod. Baseball America ranked him #49 on their top 500 draft prospects list. I think we got a bit of a steal here, Masek is an aggressive, hard worker, who will do whatever he can to improve.

3/101 Mason Smith, OF, Idaho HS- After grabbing a couple of arms, we decided to focus on high upside bats, unless a pitcher we really liked fell to us. There was some debate as to who we were going to pick as both F.P. and I were on the Mason Smith bandwagon, while Shank was clamoring for Florida SS Christian Arroyo (who has been linked to the Giants). We went with Smith as his potential upside with the bat was too hard to ignore. Smith is a 6'2/195 with a long, lean athletic build. Here is what Baseball America had to say about him

" He's an above-average runner who covers plenty of ground in center field, but he stands out most for his prowess at the plate. Smith has a short, compact swing and shows the ability to lace the ball hard to all parts of the field. He should grow into some power as he continues to fill out and, if everything clicks, he has five tool potential.

The Giants don't have many players with that profile in the minor leagues so not only did we get a guy that we thought was the BPA we also filled a need. Perfect Game ranked him 94th overall while Baseball America had him ranked 101 overall. He is committed to Utah but has said he plans on going pro if chosen in the top 5 rounds of the draft.

4/132 Daniel Palka, OF, Georgia Tech, JR- With F.P. tending to some business Shank and I ran the show for this last pick. On top of our list were prep shortstops Christian Arroyo and Trae Arbet (California HS) . After those two we had prep pitchers Cal Quantrill and Akeem Bostick ,Daniel Palka, and RHP Ben Lively. Arroyo, Quantrill and Bostick were all taken leaving just Arbet available. After some thought we decided that it wasn't very Giants like to take three prep players in the first four rounds so we removed Arbet from the equation.The Giants have often taken a pitcher in the 4th round, and Ben Lively was someone who we really liked, but having taken two pitchers already we wanted to balance things out a bit.

Palka, in a word, is a masher. He was primarily viewed as a first baseman going into the season but he has surprised scouts in his ability to play the outfield, showing some hidden athleticism to go with a plus arm (he was a successful pitcher out of the bullpen for GT). The 6'2/220 Palka, in 233 at bats, had a line of .335/.429/.635 with 17 homers (4th in the country), 33 extra base hits, 30 walks, and 60 strike outs. He punishes baseballs and may have the most raw power in the draft. His hit tool isn't great overall as his bat speed isn't particularly quick, relying mostly on sheer strength to generate power. He has improved over the last year at making contact but he still struck out quite a bit this season and will almost certainly continue striking out in bunches as a pro which will limit his batting average. Still he has top of the class power and he sees the ball well leading to hard contact and some base on balls. He is a risk, but power hitters like Palka are an extremely rare commodity today and in this draft especially. His continued improvement in all facets of the game shows his game still has some upside and that he is a hard worker. Palka was ranked 112th overall by Baseball America.

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

Recent FanPosts

In This FanPost

Teams
Players