Darkhorses outfielder Bryce Harper
Who should the Darkhorses have picked with the first selection in the 2013 DTBL Draft? That’s a clown question, bro. With one of the clearest cut decisions in recent memory, the Darkhorses selected 20 year old outfielder Bryce Harper. The Nationals young phenom burst onto the scene last summer at the ripe age of 19 and proceeded to win the National League Rookie of the Year award. He bounced back from a mid-summer slump to tear the league apart on his way to a .270 average with 22 home runs and 18 stolen bases. The home run total was the second most by a teenager in MLB history.
A year after most of the league made the mistake of allowing Mike Trout to slip to the second round, the Darkhorses ensured that the same wouldn’t happen this time around. Of course, Harper has much higher expectations heading into this season than Trout did a year ago since he has a roster spot locked up and is even expected to hit third in the lineup for one of the top World Series contenders. Although both are legitimate five tool players, Harper does have a slightly different skill set than Trout. Harper is projected to be the bigger power threat while Trout has unmatched speed on the bases and in the outfield. The sky is the limit for Harper, and his bust potential seems extremely low.
Harper is only the second player to become a first overall selection in both the MLB and DTBL drafts. Alex Rodriguez is the other, which makes it interesting that Harper is entering the league at the exact same time as ARod’s 16 year career with the Kings is coming to an end. I’m sure the Darkhorses would be happy to get at least a decade and a half of service out of Harper. I’m 99% positive that Harper was the youngest player to ever be drafted by a DTBL team in the first round (maybe any round), an honor he held for less than 24 hours (more on that later). The Darkhorses are looking to bounce back from two straight disappointing, injury-riddled seasons. Harper has the potential to quickly accelerate the rebuilding process, much like Trout did for the Mavericks a year ago.
Last year, the Gators had the tall order of trying to rebuild without the benefit of a first or second round pick. This year, they held onto those picks and wisely used them to pick up a few of the best young players in the draft. With the second overall pick, they selected Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes who made an immediate impact in his first big league season, hitting several prodigious home runs early in the season. He somewhat quietly proceeded to have an outstanding season that surely would have earned him a Rookie of the Year nod if it weren’t for some guy named Trout. Cespedes slugged 23 home runs with 82 RBI and 16 steals. Like Harper, he has big time power potential with the ability to add a bunch of stolen bases too.
If Kris Medlen can come anywhere close to matching his 2012 numbers, the Cougars might suddenly have one of the league’s top pitching staffs. Medlen, a Tommy John surgery survivor, started last season in the bullpen, but then became nearly unhittable after moving into the rotation. He won 10 games with a miniscule 1.57 ERA and a sub 1.00 WHIP. The Cougars selected him with the third pick in the draft. The Demigods then followed with another starting pitcher, Yu Darvish. Along with Cespedes, Darvish was the other key foreign import to the big leagues last season. He displayed overpowering stuff, striking out 221 hitters in just 190 innings. He should help the Demigods recover from a season that was largely derailed by a shaky pitching staff. The Choppers took the Cubs young first baseman, Anthony Rizzo, with the fifth pick. Rizzo had been a highly touted prospect for a number of years, before finally breaking through with a solid season for his third MLB organization. Rizzo figures to be a centerpiece in the Cubs lineup for some time to come.
For the most part, the top five picks were fairly clear cut. I know those five players were the top five on my draft board, and I suspect I’m not alone. But I felt there was a significant drop-off in available talent after those five. Which was kind of fitting because the next five teams all came within an eyelash of winning the championship last year anyway.
For the second straight year, the Jackalope were the first team to select a non-DTBL rookie. With the sixth pick, they took second baseman Danny Espinosa, who spent the last two seasons with the Kings. Espinosa spent almost the entire ’12 season on the Kings bench, but only because he was at a log jammed position. He actually had a very solid year and provides significant power and speed for a middle infielder. He seems to be getting better each year too. Next, the Moonshiners selected closer Fernando Rodney, the obvious #1 relief pitcher on the board. Rodney re-emerged as an elite closer for the Rays, saving 48 games with a ridiculous 0.60 ERA. Seventh is the earliest a relief pitcher has been selected since 2010. But the Moonshiners were in desperate need of a second closer and only had two picks in the first rounds with which to acquire one.
For the fourth straight years, the Mavericks had multiple first round picks. This time, they didn’t acquire the second one until just before they were on the clock with the eighth pick. They dealt one member of their stable of first basemen, Ike Davis, to the Kings for the ninth overall pick. So with two consecutive picks, the Mavericks did what has become their trademark: they selected two young prospects, second baseman Jurickson Profar and third baseman Manny Machado. Both have big upside, but Machado figures to make a more immediate impact since Profar is temporarily without a position in Texas, behind Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler. Of course, this is a similar situation that Mike Trout was in a year ago. Profar just turned 20 a few weeks ago, which is notable for a couple reasons. First, I believe it makes him the youngest player in DTBL history (he’s a few months younger than Harper). Next, he is the first DTBL player to have been born after the inaugural DTBL Draft in January of 1993. So he’s actually younger than this league! (Damn, we’re getting old)
For the second straight year, the Kings used the first round to try to fill their gaping hole at first base. But this time, they did so by trading their pick for Ike Davis. Davis got off to a horrific start in 2012, due in part to his slow recovery from valley fever, which he contracted during spring training. But he rebounded in the second half of the season and turned into one of the leading home run hitters after the break. He finished the season with 32 bombs. Finally, the Naturals used the last pick of the first round to re-acquire catcher Victor Martinez. Martinez missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL suffered over the previous winter. The Naturals were clearly reluctant to let him go after holding him on the roster for the entire season. However, when the opportunity came to pick him up again, they jumped all over it. Although his catching days may be over, he will likely produce stellar numbers at a position that is extremely difficult to fill.
For the most part, there were few surprises in the first round. And I honestly can’t criticize any of the picks. The top five teams went with the best players available, while the second half of the round featured last year’s contenders fill holes and/or proceed with their successful draft strategies.
The pace of the draft has been great so far too. We’re already into the fifth round at the four day mark, so I’d say we are well ahead of schedule. Keep up the good work!