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Old 10-02-2008, 01:49 PM   #12 (permalink)
injury log
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Looking only at this year's draft, the real life teams that embraced a 'Favor Tools' approach:

Philadelphia Phillies (their first three picks, Anthony Hewitt, Zach Collier and Anthony Gose, are all premium athletes with minimal current ability)

Minnesota Twins (they've focused for years on high upside HS talent, and their pick of Aaron Hicks in the first round this year is no exception, though they picked up more developed guys like Shooter Hunt later in the draft)

Los Angeles Dodgers (Ethan Martin is another high upside HS arm, much like their selections in past years. Still, later in the draft they made several college selections, some, like Kyle Russell, quite established, and Colletti's attitude to the big league roster seems to 'favor ability', not tools)

And the teams that seem to 'Favor Ability':

St Louis Cardinals (they've had a college focus for years, and Brett Wallace, their first rounder this year, was one of the most developed bats in the draft)

Toronto Blue Jays (they picked a developed college bat first this year, and have had a similar focus, with some exceptions, in past years)

San Diego Padres (they picked up Dykstra with their first pick, a guy without much projection left, and even Jaff Decker, a high school pick, was an advanced bat for his age)

The Yankees' amateur philosophy seems to be to buy whatever talent they can find- internationally, they pick up a lot of raw athletes, while in the draft they mix it up, so I would neither call them 'favor tools' nor 'favor ability'. Oakland used to be a 'favor ability' organization, and I'd say they still are, even if they mixed in some HS picks in their last two drafts. Even if Inoa is 16, his current ability is off the charts, so he isn't exactly a raw 'tools' signing, age considered.
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