Reader Mock Draft Analysis: Rounds 13-16

Let’s keep it up. A big thanks to our readers that showed up for a mock draft. Even if I talk trash on their picks, I appreciate that they stepped forward and took this chance to practice in the public eye. All readers can see the whole mock here, but the participants are winners for their effort. On to rounds 13-16.

Round 13
ballsdeep	Neil Walker
PirateInTheBay	Jaime Garcia
SJ Athletics of Oakland	Shaun Marcum
32	Jeremy Hellickson
The Fighting Hellfish	Ervin Santana
The Drew Henson`s	Ubaldo Jimenez
Smada	Peter Bourjos
Boo-urns	Geovany Soto
Hebrew Hammer	Kenley Jansen
Kadjilliounaire	Neftali Feliz
Lucky Strikes	Brandon Morrow
Prone to Bone	Sergio Santos

* Neil Walker. He’s so… Neil Walker. He’s the Neil Walker of Neil Walkers. In other words, not a very sexy pick. Last year, Walker didn’t put up a single statistic that was more than a standard deviation above the mean — and yet, he didn’t put up a single stat that was a standard deviation below the mean either. So the whole package was worth about $11 by Zach Sanders’ tool, and it was okay. The only reason I point him out here is that — though ballsdeep needed a second baseman — no second baseman went for the next ~60 picks. That means two things. 1) He could have waited. 2) He got the last player in a tier. 1) is bad, 2) is good.

* Pitching! Can’t quibble too much with the order the starters went in this round, but seeing Ervin Santana right next to Ubaldo Jimenez made me visit their player pages for a little bit. Santana seems safer and more boring. Jimenez has been better than him for most of his career, and is coming off a one-year blip. I’d lean Ubaldo, and the fact that the Hellfish only had C.J. Wilson (whose swinging strike rate and career history seem to suggest that a strikeout rate regression is on the way) and Yovani Gallardo on his staff makes me think that he could have used a higher-variance higher-upside starter there.

* Relievers! I love me some Kenley Jansen and he has some crazy strikeout ability. Go get him. But! Wait until guys like Sergio Santos and J.J. Putz and Joel Hanrahan are off the board, probably. Those guys will start the season as closers, don’t have heart conditions, and are generally safer bets. What’s not to like about Santos, really?

Round 14
Prone to Bone	Tim Hudson
Lucky Strikes	Yoenis Cespedes
Kadjilliounaire	J.J. Putz
Hebrew Hammer	Stephen Drew
Boo-urns	Yunel Escobar
Smada	Jose Valverde
The Drew Henson’s	Lorenzo Cain
The Fighting Hellfish	Josh Willingham (DH)
32	Johnny Cueto
SJ Athletics of Oakland	Melky Cabrera
PirateInTheBay	Joel Hanrahan
ballsdeep	Coco Crisp

* There’s another interesting pair of starters. Tim Hudson and Brandon Morrow couldn’t be more different. Old, punchless and FIP-beater versus young, punchful, and FIP-lagger. This is like a reverse of the Santana-Morrow hookup, and honestly, it makes sense to have both of those kinds on your roster. I’d love them to be my final two pitchers, especially since their strengths and weaknesses even out. Don’t hate on Hudson, anyway. Even if his defense will be bad, he’s an extreme ground-ball guy and can be a decent back-end starter.

* Yoenis Cespedes! Yeah, he’s older than most prospects, but will his new team just install him in the Major League outfield? Sorta doubt it.

* I’d surely take the relievers in this round over the outfielders, but they all have their warts. Putz could put up 50 innings of lights-out ball again, or he could go under the knife. Jose Valverde could eat too many Papa Grandes and lose the job to Joaquin Benoit. But Lorenzo Cain could hit .270 with no power and 20 steals, Josh Willingham could get hurt and lose his pull power, and Coco Crisp could lose the afro in a terrible outfield incident that costs him 70 games. Give me Joel Hanrahan and Josh Wilingham, though, and I’ve got two hammers to your none.

Round 15
ballsdeep	Heath Bell
PirateInTheBay	Hiroki Kuroda
SJ Athletics of Oakland	Ryan Madson
32	Jhoulys Chacin
The Fighting Hellfish	Yadier Molina
The Drew Henson`s	Andrew Bailey
Smada	Mike Moustakas
Boo-urns	Brandon Belt (1B)
Hebrew Hammer	Carlos Marmol
Kadjilliounaire	Jhonny Peralta
Lucky Strikes	Joakim Soria
Prone to Bone	Wilson Ramos

* Maybe we’ve slacking on our reliever pimping? I’ll just say I don’t agree with the order these guys have gone in these three rounds. Hanrahan, Santos and Joakim Soria (and probably even Heath Bell) are ahead of the injury-concern Andrew Bailey and Putz are ahead of the rest. I once coined the idea of ‘thinking stupid,’ so I understand that a guy that has declining peripherals like Valverde might be more secure in his job than he should be, but, still, I’d just wait and take Soria almost two rounds later.

* Hiroki Kuroda in New York and in the American League? Read Zimmerman’s piece for why I think he’ll be a bust.

* Brandon Belt, how I love thee. Bruce Bochy, how I hate thee. These statements are related.

Round 16
Prone to Bone	Jeff Francoeur
Lucky Strikes	Yonder Alonso
Kadjilliounaire	Doug Fister
Hebrew Hammer	Rafael Betancourt
Boo-urns	Jordan Walden
Smada	Gaby Sanchez
The Drew Henson’s	Joe Nathan
The Fighting Hellfish	Derek Holland
32	Huston Street
SJ Athletics of Oakland	Jesus Guzman
PirateInTheBay	David Freese
ballsdeep	Justin Morneau

* Kadjilliounaire — who organized much of this and deserves some propers for his work — zigs when everyone else is zagging here. We all talk about how bad the defense will be behind Doug Fister, and how his walk rate is due for a little regression, and how his ground-ball rate wasn’t even that good, and he says, eh, whatever, he’s mine. I admire the sentiment — there are players (like Jeff Francoeur) that will drop a little foo far in saber-aware leagues, and they become values because everyone hates on them — but I’m not sure that this was quite the moment. Derek Holland pitches in a way worse park, but he has the strikeout punch and the velocity to make him a sleeper, and I woulda ended up with him on my squad in this round.

* Or Jordan Walden. Because I love Walden and Rafael Betancourt here. Huston Street too, why not. See the reliever discussion above.

* Too early for Jesus Guzman, imo. He’s probably going to be a fourth outfielder or in a platoon with Will Venable in left field. Unless this is a bet against the switch-hitting Yonder Alonso, who’s ready for every day play. Guzman is okay, but he’s got a bad glove and no power and I’m sure the Pads are aware of these flaws. I’d take the brittle duo of David Freese and Justin Morneau over him.