With the disk out and the cards shipping, I had this idea of writing this article on drafting in APBA Leagues .  I emailed fellow IAL manager Tedd M (aka Teddy Ballgame) and asked him for some quick draft tip suggestions.  By the next day, Teddy had practically written the article for me. 

Take Teddy’s advice to heart.  He’s drafted luminaries such as Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Jeff Bagwell, well the list goes on… 

1) Watch real life baseball games, in person if possible, otherwise get the MLB package & watch as many games as possible.  Look at the rookies that you’re considering drafting.  You must like baseball if you’re playing in a dice baseball league, so then watch & know who you’re drafting.  When a friend saw Curtis Granderson’s first at bat, Ryan Howard as a pinch hitter (he was stuck behind Jim Thome), and Brandon Webb pitch as a rookie versus the Reds, with excitement in his eyes he said, "Teddy Ballgame, These guys are gonna be something!"

2) There is so much data out there on rookie talent.  It wasn’t always that way, but today there are experts on every corner.  Beware there is hardly any criticism when it comes to rookie talent.  Look for subtle, below the radar, comments, when reading scouting reports.  The only sure thing is these young guys will get older. 

3) Look at the stats.  Review the minor league & major league stats, as well as collegiate statistics (there will be an adjustment from aluminum to wood bats).  The stats will give you a glimpse as to the career you can expect from the rookie you’re drafting.

4) How old is the rookie?  Consider age when selecting a rookie to draft.  Often times younger high school & Latino prospects are competing against collegiate athletes.  Sometimes younger players just need to grow into their bodies.

5) Check out walks & strikeouts, both for hitters and for pitchers.  This will give you an idea of whether a pitcher will have control or a hitter will have a .400 OBP.  As a rule, don’t select a pitcher without at least one strikeout letter.

6) Injuries cannot be ignored.  There are many great rookie prospects that have had their careers derailed due to injuries.  Also there are young players who have dealt with injuries, who gone on to stardom once their injuries are in the past.

7) Take into consideration whether the minor league stats were produced in a hitters friendly or pitchers friendly park and/or league.

8) Don’t ignore the gun, speed kills, and the best pitch is still a well located fastball with movement.

9) Don’t ignore the obvious.  Many times there’s a proven youngster who gets bypassed because you know in your gut this other rookie will be great.  Taking the proven commodity will pay off more often than not.

10) When all else fails, draft an Aries, my birthday is April 14th, same birthday as Pete Rose & Greg Maddux.  Also Taurus pitchers seem to do quite well.  Whatever you do, avoid Pisces pitchers like the plague.

Thanks, Teddy!  Your advice is golden! 

The members of the IAL Hall of Fame class of 2011 are:

• Tom Glavine
• Barry Larkin
• Greg Maddux
• Frank Thomas

You can click on each one to get to their bio, accomplishments and stats.  Their ‘plaque’, if you will.  Congrats to all four and the managers who had the pleasure of managing them.  Here is the complete list of Hall of Famers now inducted in the IAL.

Tedd Mallasch and I were talking about the inductees afterwards and he brought up an interesting point.  Both Maddux and Glavine were drafted as D pitchers in their respective rookie drafts.

Drafting D pitchers as rookies may be more common in larger leagues with a larger drafting pool but in the 10-team IAL, it’s pretty rare.  Tedd did a poll among our managers to see when they last drafted one.  A few names came up.  John Smoltz, Sean Burnett, my last goes all the way back to the failed Scott Scudder experiment (remember him? probably not.).

Kudos to Mallasch, who by the way, drafted both Maddux and Glavine.  Both obviously went on to have fine careers in our league.  Not everyone gets so lucky (or drafts so well).

Who out there has drafted a D pitcher as a rookie and then see him go on to make good on his manager’s gamble?  For that matter, anyone take a chance on a prospect with a less than mediocre card and have a great league career for you?

After much anticipation draft day had arrived and the kids were beyond excited. Our 3 pm start time meant a day full of looking through the cards to scout the best players. The league will feature 14 teams this season with 10 returning teams and 4 expansion teams. Only 12 teams drafted as 2 expansion managers were not present on draft day. We held a lottery to determine our draft order going in reverse from first place to last place when choosing a number from the hat. The defending league champion Scuba Divers faced a 1 in 14 chance of getting the first pick and low and behold they walked away with the prized number 1 selection (I went from #1 last season to #12 this year).

 

Round 1 went as follows:

 

1. Scuba Divers: Roy Halladay, Pitcher

2. Jump Ropers: Josh Johnson, Pitcher

3. Team Jackson: Ichiro, Outfield

4. Team Elmo: Cliff Lee, Pitcher

5. Man Children: Felix Hernandez, Pitcher

6. Trego: Tim Lincecum, Pitcher

7. Convicts: Adam Wainwright, Pitcher

8. Hummelcanes: Albert Pujols, First Base

9. Red Wings: David Price, Pitcher

10. Rascals*: Ubaldo Jimenez, Pitcher

11. Speed Talkers*: Clay Bucholz, Pitcher

12. Senators: Trevor Cahill, Pitcher

 

* = Expansion Teams

A fine draft for a bunch of boys and girls!  We could all stand to do as well as they did.

By the way, those cards you see being drafted were a gift from the APBA Company.  APBA CEO John Herson read about Brian’s work with the Bridesburg Boys and Girls Club and contacted him to offer him a complimentary set of 2011 baseball cards.  It’s nice to see them in use!!

Good luck to the Bridesburg Boys and Girls Club 2011 Summer League this year!!

It’s usually pretty interesting and sometimes it’s a harsh reminder of our drafting ability. 

His latest report has a few stinging “reminders”:

Guys,
 
  As of 5/29, how the March First Round guys are doing in 2011:
 
  Mike: BUSTER POSEY (24) : 45-162, .284, 4 HR. DL, Season.
  DonS: JASON HEYWARD (21): 45-140. .214, 7 HR. 15-day DL.
  Todd: MIKE STANTON (21): .48-166. 259, 11 HR.
  TomN: STEPHEN STRASBURG (22): DL, Season.
  Marc: NEIL WALKER (25): 50-192. .266, 6 HR.
 
  Rob: CARLOS SANTANA (25): 46-156. .212, 6 HR.
  John: JAIME GARCIA (24): 11-0 69. 5-1, 3.28.
  Keith: STARLIN CASTRO (21): 50-214. .318, 1 HR.
  Chuck: NEFTALI FELIZ (23): 0-18 19. 10 SVS, 1.45.
  Tedd: MADISON BUMGARNER (21): 10-0 57. 1-6, 3.79.

To be fair, I knew of Stephen Strasburg’s situation when I drafted him.  But who would have thought we would have seen #1 pick Posey (who admittedly, I was drooling over) out for the season and #2 pick Heyward in a lackluster season. 

I’m happy to see Stanton pick it up only because he was my first choice (after Posey of course) and that vindicates that. 

Keep ‘em comin’, Don.  Mine won’t get any worse.

In true reporter’s fashion, Kerry wrote an email worthy of publication.  Here it is:

The AWFL draft took place Saturday. Several managers gathered for a pre-game breakfast at the Mountaineer restaurant in Parkersburg, WV.

Champions IAL Playoffs & Draft Weekend

Left Orlando on a big jet airliner at 8:00 AM, flying SWA to Midway, arrived at the Naperville Best Western after a couple of stops at 1:00 PM.  Unpacked my APBA stuff & unwound, laid back & relaxed, and waited for my playoff foe to arrive.  After driving up from Champaign John Brandeberry unpacked his team bus, the playoff series between the Rising Bamm Beano’s & the Chicago Champions was ready to roll.

The series was a rematch of last year’s World Series, in which the Champions swept to capture their 11th title.  Even though the Champions won 102 games and the Bamm Beano’s got in the last day of the season & the Champs owned Brando, John’s team was built for the playoffs.  With Adam Wainwright & Jair Jurrjens in the rotation and Mariano Rivera & Jonathan Papelbon in the bullpen, anything could happen in a five game series.

It looked like the Champions were on their way after winning game #1 behind Tim Lincecum, only two more wins to go, and then it would be on to the World Series, where either Chuck Lucas’s Northside Hitmen or Keith Smith’s Kentucky Kernels awaited my arrival.  But then, John got off the mat to take games #2 & #3.  Russell Martin hit three homers in the first three games.  Game #4, with the Champs back to the wall, Jose Valverde emerged as a monster out of the pen, going four innings for the victory, to knot the series at two.

It would all come down to one game, mano y mano, Wainwright vs Lincecum, for all the marbles, the whole ball of wax.  Juan Uribe launched two three run bombs in the series, both after lengthy delays, after momentum changing timeouts.  Both times Brando collected himself, called upon a higher power, maybe he was selling his soul for a quality roll of the bones, whatever it was, it worked.  Bamm, it was over & Uribe was series MVP!  My season was over, “Nice season Tedd”, provided little consolation.

Meanwhile the Kentucky Kernels were showing no mercy in sweeping the Northside Hitmen in three straight.  Before long, Keith Smith was being fitted for his crown, after making quick work of the Bamm Beano’s.  Alfonso Soriano was World Series MVP.  CONGRATS KEITH SMITH!!!

The next morning it was time to draft, very strange that no trades were consummated over the weekend.  Before the draft, I was thinking I’d have to make a tough choice of whether to take Jhoulys Chacin, Neftali Feliz, or Mike Stanton.  Only Chacin was still there when it was my turn to pick, but Madison Bumgarner was still on the board, so it was a no brainer.  Bumgarner would join fellow Giants hurlers Tim Lincecum & Matt Cain in the Champions rotation.  Then we had to wait until the last pick of the extra round before taking Chris Sale over Kenley Jansen.

I was like a deer in the headlights with my new Champs squad, nothing looked right, how would this team fit together?  While we were figuring it out, Marcus Bunch had his Upperdeckers rolling, taking five of six.  Next it was time for some revenge against the now rebuilding Bamm Beano’s, the Champs record was above .500 after a 6-0 sweep.

Next up was Papa Bunch & retooled Green Rock Bombers.  After Mike couldn’t roll any friggin dice & David Price was reduced in both of his starts, it was time for Price to fly, literally!  Price was crumpled into a ball, told he wouldn’t start another game this year, and discarded onto the table.  The Bombers dog house was growing as the series went on, thought the ASPCA would be called in to investigate.  4-2 Champs!  The Thunderchickens bested the Champs in a late night series 4-2.

The weekend finale took place Sunday morning against the ever dangerous Molly Putts Marauders.  The Marauders jumped out, taking the first two games, before the Champs woke up in time to win the last four contests.  17-13 on the weekend, after a 1-5 start, I’ll take it.

Next up, the Three Rivers Gamblers.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to check on flight schedules to Pittsburgh.

For a couple of months now, the hot topic in the Transcontinental Baseball League draft has been – who would Munch Marauder’s GM Paul Montague select with his number 1 pick?

It was common knowledge that the first 5 picks were going to be, in some order: Jason Heyward, Buster Posey, Michael Stanton, Carlos Santana and Starlin Castro.  The only question was, what was the order going to be?

I was of the opinion that Jason Heyward was the most talented rookie available and was the obvious #1 selection.  Others roundly (and justifiably) criticized me – Paul had recently traded Brian McCann and the 108th pick in the draft for the 6th and 45th pick and A.J. Pierzynski.  He would NEVER have done that unless he planned on taking Buster Posey.

The plot thickened when the GM of the Brobdingnag Barbarians, Joe Auletta, acquired the #2 pick in the draft as part of a blockbuster 8-player deal (giving up Stephen Drew and Phil Hughes, a second rounder, getting Jimmy Rollins, the #2 pick and a first-rounder next year).  Joe is affectionately known as “The Prince Of Darkness”, and is rumored to possess the power to compel managers to give up their whole draft for a handful of beans, if only they chanced to gaze into Joe’s eyes.

Joe coveted Heyward with the heat of 1000 suns and was feeling confident that with the #2 pick, he would land his prize.

Adding to the suspense was the fact that Paul and Joe would be traveling to the draft in the same car,  spending 3 hours together on the road to Fishkill, NY.  Would Paul be able to avoid Joe’s eyes?

As happened, everyone got in without incident, no draft choices had changed hands.  High Noon (actually, 12:20 or so – the meeting went long) on Saturday Feb 12 arrived.  Paul took the floor and announced the number one selection:

Jason Heyward!

Pandemonium reigned.  To his credit, though, Joe was cool, calm and collected.  He announced his intention to trade the #2 pick down if anyone was interested.  Someone was – Paul Montague!  Joe and Paul want out in the hall for a few moments of discussion, and returned with a deal -
The Marauders had traded the #6 pick and their 2012 first-rounder for the #2 pick and the Barbarians’ 2012 second-rounder.  And with the #2 pick of the 2011 draft, the Marauders selected:

Buster Posey.

The story’s denouement arrived at the #6 selection, after Santana, Castro and Stanton went 3-4-5.  Joe, who is building what he hopes will be a mid-teens dynasty, chose Stephen Strasburg.

Chip writes:

A very weak year for starting pitching and offense in general, with only 1 “B” SP and 1 marquee offensive position player (Beltre).

Berkman slipping to the 3rd Rd and several relatively early prospect picks the only minor surprises. Charlies bypassing Morrow (C W) at #3 & #4 may come back to haunt them.

Let’s take a look at the ABL’s first round:

You can see ABL’s full draft results at their website.

According to John, the RCMBA drafts carded rookies and non-rostered carded vets.  The RCMBA draft lasted 8 rounds.

Here is how their first round went:

1- Posey
2- Heyward
3- Stanton
4- Santana
5- Bautista
6- Strasburg
7- Alvarez
8- Bumgarner
9- Hart
10- Hudson,D
11- Brown
12- Hellickson
13- Walker,N
14- Johnson,C
15- Chacin,J

You can see the full draft order at the RCMBA website.

As an aside, the RCMBA also kept track of their #1 picks throughout their 34 year history and posted them on their website.  It’s a fun read especially when comparing with my own league’s #1 picks.  A lot of them are the same.

Good luck in 2011, RCMBA!!

Even though there are still a couple of weeks before pitchers & catchers report for spring training, and an additional month before my beloved Illowa APBA League kicks off its season with playoffs, the World Series, the rookie draft, & the start of another season, I’ve got baseball on the brain.  So I’ve decided to do a rookie draft preview.  I’ve done many draft reviews, but this is my first shot at a draft preview.  It’s kind of tough to do, without tipping my hand.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on my evaluation.

TOP TEN
C Buster Posey, OF Jason Heyward, P Jaime Garcia, P Daniel Hudson, P Madison Bumgarner, SS Starlin Castro, P Stephen Strasburg, OF Mike Stanton, P Jhoulys Chacin, P* Neftali Feliz

11-20
P Brian Matusz, 3B Pedro Alvarez, P Ian Kennedy, C Carlos Santana, 2B Neil Walker, OF Tyler Colvin, SS Ian Desmond, OF Austin Jackson, P Jonathan Niese, 1B Ike Davis

21-30
3B Danny Valencia, P* Jonny Venters, P* Alexi Ogando, 3B Chris Johnson, OF Jose Tabata, 2B/SS Reid Brignac, P Alex Sanabia, P Mike Leake, P Travis Wood, P Jake Arrieta

31-40
P* Wilton Lopez, C John Jaso, P Wade Davis, OF Logan Morrison, OF Lorenzo Cain, P* Ryan Webb, OF Brandon Boesch, 1B Justin Smoak, 1B Brett Wallace, P* Sergio Santos

41-50
P* John Axford, P Hisanori Takahashi, C Josh Thole, P* Kenley Jansen, P* Craig Kimbrel, P* Chris Sale, P* Zach Braddock, P Jeanmar Gomez, P* Drew Storen, P* Ernesto Frieri

OVERLOOKED ROOKIES
P* Michael Kohn, P* Michael Dunn, P Josh Tomlin, 1B Gaby Sanchez, SS/2B Jason Donald, P Mitch Talbot, P* Fernando Salas, P* Henry Rodriguez, P Jenrry Mejia, P Tyson Ross