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mikev · 06-09-2008, 04:33 PM

Crusaders Select Closer 31st Overall

Sure, taking a relief pitcher with a first round draft pick is a fairly uncommon thing to see.

I guess since the first, ninth, sixteenth, ninteenth, and twentieth picks were all relievers (granted, Buffalo intends to have Reicher work out as a starter), there was a bit of a "thin" feel to the draft when relievers were flying off the draft board in round 1 like that.

After coming up with a fairly reasonable list of who might be available at 31, and watching as Petroni (okay, we need to make his nickname "Expecto"), Thompson, and Fleming disappear several picks before we were up, our draft list had gotten down to a couple names still available.

Nicolae Ionescu, a teenage Romanian born outfielder, was the #1 position player left on the list. His high contact rating and (possibly) above average ratings everywhere else, including his cannon arm, were a pretty desireable combination of skills. The only serious knocks against him were his disturbingly slow speed and the fact that he is horribly, horribly underdeveloped. The kid literally has a '1' for every possible hitting rating right now, which is downright frightening and a recepie for disaster. He went to Birmingham, two picks after our selection.

Another foreign outfielder, Dominican 17 year old Cesar Garcia was the 2nd guy we looked at. Good arm, okay speed, bad strikeout talent, and amazing power potential. With the lack of high power guys in the system, Garcia was looking real nice, but the strikeouts and the low development level were a turnoff, given that he'd probably need 4 or 5 seasons before being ready for the bigs.

So this leads us to the guy who we actually took with the 31st pick: German closer Zorg 'Deuce' Göbelbecker, a 6'3, 220lb 18 year old monster.

Zorg?

Nice.

Anyway, check it out: Dude is rated 4/4/4 talents, throws 98mph, and also throws a curveball and two different change ups. Hell, just for fun we'll compare him to Ringo who was taken 15 spots earlier by Chicago. Both are 4/4/4, both throw high 90s, Ringo is a year younger but more developed and has a tick more endurance. Still, very similar pitchers taken in the middle and closer to the end of the round, so in that respect we're happy with the pick.

As the draft continues, the Crusaders have another pick at #67 overall. Don't get too excited, as it's probably going to be a roster filler type of player at that point in this very thin draft.

06-09-2008, 04:33 PM	#98 (permalink)
mikev Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 4,006 Thanks: 0 Thanked 24x in 19 posts	California Dreamin' vol 6.10 Crusaders Select Closer 31st Overall Sure, taking a relief pitcher with a first round draft pick is a fairly uncommon thing to see. I guess since the first, ninth, sixteenth, ninteenth, and twentieth picks were all relievers (granted, Buffalo intends to have Reicher work out as a starter), there was a bit of a "thin" feel to the draft when relievers were flying off the draft board in round 1 like that. After coming up with a fairly reasonable list of who might be available at 31, and watching as Petroni (okay, we need to make his nickname "Expecto"), Thompson, and Fleming disappear several picks before we were up, our draft list had gotten down to a couple names still available. Nicolae Ionescu, a teenage Romanian born outfielder, was the #1 position player left on the list. His high contact rating and (possibly) above average ratings everywhere else, including his cannon arm, were a pretty desireable combination of skills. The only serious knocks against him were his disturbingly slow speed and the fact that he is horribly, horribly underdeveloped. The kid literally has a '1' for every possible hitting rating right now, which is downright frightening and a recepie for disaster. He went to Birmingham, two picks after our selection. Another foreign outfielder, Dominican 17 year old Cesar Garcia was the 2nd guy we looked at. Good arm, okay speed, bad strikeout talent, and amazing power potential. With the lack of high power guys in the system, Garcia was looking real nice, but the strikeouts and the low development level were a turnoff, given that he'd probably need 4 or 5 seasons before being ready for the bigs. So this leads us to the guy who we actually took with the 31st pick: German closer Zorg 'Deuce' Göbelbecker, a 6'3, 220lb 18 year old monster. Zorg? Nice. Anyway, check it out: Dude is rated 4/4/4 talents, throws 98mph, and also throws a curveball and two different change ups. Hell, just for fun we'll compare him to Ringo who was taken 15 spots earlier by Chicago. Both are 4/4/4, both throw high 90s, Ringo is a year younger but more developed and has a tick more endurance. Still, very similar pitchers taken in the middle and closer to the end of the round, so in that respect we're happy with the pick. As the draft continues, the Crusaders have another pick at #67 overall. Don't get too excited, as it's probably going to be a roster filler type of player at that point in this very thin draft. __________________ 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water. The other 30% is taken care of by Patrick Willis. Global Unified Baseball Association - Vice Commish and San Francisco Seals GM Last edited by mikev; 06-09-2008 at 04:37 PM.