thoughts on the Mariners, MLB draft, and more homelinksdraftabout me

2007 Draft: Rounds 6-15

*I’ve abbreviated “25 the M’s Should Be Looking at” to “25TW”


8:39 AM – Ok, I am awake and ready for day 2! Let’s see if I have missed anything already. I probably have.


8:41 AM – The sixth round is well underway, and the Mariners have already made their selection. They picked James McOwen from Florida International University. I’ll look for more information on him.


8:45 AM – The seventh round has begun.


8:46 AM – The Royals took a local product, Hilton Richardson, from Lake Washington High School


8:46 AM – The Cubs just selected Ty Wright, a player I put on the list of ones to watch for today.


8:49 AM – I can’t find stats on McOwen from last year, so I’m guessing he was injured. However, he has shown development in the past two seasons. The M’s must have some scout in love with him, because this is too high for an injured player that’s only shown a little promise from a small school.


8:51 AM – The M’s went with an intriguing pick in the seventh round, pitcher Nick Hill from the Army. I don’t know much about the pitcher, but there aren’t many players selected from the Military Academy. While we’re on the subject, look for Cole White, an infielder, to potentially get drafted from Army as well. I really like Cole White actually, and he almost made the 25TW list.


8:53 AM – The Rangers just took Tim Smith, I guy I considered for the 25TW.


8:54 AM – The Phillies just took Tyson Brummett, a pitcher I considered for the 25TW.


8:55 AM – I looked more at Hill, the latest M’s pick, and he put up great numbers in college, but the Patriot League also heavily favors pitchers. So, the Mariners reached yet again, but I don’t have the heart to rip a selection from the Army, especially a successful pitcher from the Army.


8:56 AM – The White Sox just took Jimmy Gallagher, another player I considered putting on the 25TW.


8:57 AM – Round 8 has begun.


9:00 AM – The Nationals selected Adrian Alaniz, a pitcher I said to look for in Day 2.


9:01 AM – The Mariners latest pick is Donnie Hume, a pitcher from San Diego State. He had solid numbers in an ok conference, so once again the M’s must see something in him making him worthy of this pick. The one notable thing is that he gave up no homers in a conference with several high altitude stadiums. More strikeouts would have been nice, but it looks like he has a knack for keeping the ball in the yard.


9:06 AM – The Red Sox selected Adam Mills with their eighth round pick, the first on the 25TW list off the board today! Mills is a very interesting case. As I said in my write-up, he was sensational this year, and based on this year alone he should have been a very early pick. However, though he had improved steadily through college, he really came on strong out of nowhere this year. On top of that, he’s a short right-hander, which most front offices clearly don’t like. He was definitely worth a selection here, and if Mills is as good as he showed this year, the Red Sox have themselves a steal in this draft.


9:10 AM – The ninth round is underway and the Mariners will be picking shortly.


9:10 AM – The Pirates just took Tony Watson, another on the 25TW off the board! This will sound really bad, but I expect Watson to be better than their first round pick, Daniel Moskos. I have to commend Pittsburgh for a steal here. There’s no way Watson should have lasted this long.


9:12 AM – The Diamondbacks just selected Mark Hallberg, a guy I tagged as a player to watch for in Day 2. His strikeout rate is phenomenal, which is enough to make him an interesting player. He probably doesn’t have enough skills to be a starter in the majors, outside of that amazing strikeout rate.


9:13 AM – The Mariners’ ninth-round pick is Aaron Brown, a pitcher from the University of Houston. Looking up Brown, I’m not sure what the Mariners see in him. His numbers are not good at all, though not nearly as bad as their fourth round pick. Overall, I’m not liking what the M’s have done on day two so far.


9:15 AM – The Cardinals just took Mike Stutes, a guy who was on the Day 2 watch list.


9:16 AM – Going back to the M’s latest pick, Aaron Brown had a 4.98 ERA, with a rather pedestrian strikeout rate this year, and this is easily his best year in college. His home run rate isn’t even that good, and the 17 wild pitches in 88 2/3 innings are not great either. I don’t know what the Mariners see in this guy.


9:19 AM – Round 10 has begun.


9:22 AM – The newest Mariner is Keith Renaud, from Franklin Pierce College.


9:25 AM – I haven’t found any statistics on Renaud, but I watched some scouting video and I am impressed. His fastball was in the low 90s, topping out at 92, and he appears to have some sort of breaking ball and change-up, both of which he can command. The change is not great, but the breaking ball looks decent. Considering it’s the 10th round, this looks like a good pick.


9:27 AM – Hmm, there is some hitting footage of Reynaud too. He’s listed as a pitcher, but I’ll have to try to dig up some of his hitting stats too. I like that he’s a two-way player, especially at a smaller college. It shows athleticism, and the he was likely by far the best player on the team.


9:28 AM – The Tigers selected Dominic de la Osa with their 10th round pick! This is a fantastic choice. I don’t understand how he lasted this long. He’s got a ton of potential. The 25TW list has nearly been completely drafted now.


9:31 AM – The Orioles took Robbie Widlansky, a player on the Day 2 watchlist, with their 11th round pick.


9:32 AM – I found some stats on Reynaud, and he’s definitely a better pitcher. He posted great numbers on the season, and was named by Baseball America the best pitching prospect in Upper New England as well. This is the best pick by the Mariners today so far.


9:33 AM – With their 11th round pick, the Mariners take Josh Dunbar, a catcher from UC-Riverside.


9:33 AM – Local product Matt Hague, a Husky and former Kentwood star, just went to the Indians.


9:34 AM – Going back to Dunbar, this looks like an atrocious pick. All I can say is the guy’s defense better be unbelievable, because he batted .203 this year, with a .265 on-base and .294 slugging, while starting every game this year. My guess is he does have terrific defense considering he never got benched, but there’s no way he’ll ever hit well enough to make it out of the low levels of the minor leagues. Why Mariners, why?


9:39 AM – I decided to look Dunbar’s hitting stats in previous years, and he was better last year, but he’s still bad. I don’t get why the M’s picked this guy this high at all.


9:41 AM – Darin Holcomb, from Gonzaga, was just taken by the Rockies.


9:41 AM – The Diamondbacks just took Bryan Henry, one of the few remaining on the 25TW list. Arizona really got a steal here. He was extremely productive all four years in college, and his stuff isn’t that bad. This is excellent value in the 12th round.


9:42 AM – The M’s latest pick is Ryan Moorer, from Maryland. He’s got an ERA over 5.00, and not that many strikeouts. He only gave up two home runs, but that’s the only redeeming quality I can find. It looks like another bad pick by the Mariners.


9:45 AM – The Astros just took Brian Pellegrini from St. Bonaventure. Kellen Kulbacki got lots of attention for putting up huge numbers at a small school, and he almost went in the first round. However, Pellegrini had similar numbers at a small school, and personally I thought the two were fairly comparable. The Astros may be pleasantly surprised with this pick.


9:51 AM – Are the A’s having a change of heart? Their 12th round pick was a high school player that some considered the fastest player in the draft! I’m speechless.


9:52 AM – The Mariners just took yet another pitcher, Shawn Kelley from Austin Peay. Kelley, like many pitchers the M’s have picked today, doesn’t have a good strikeout rate but also gives up few homers. However, unlike other pitchers, Kelley also has a low WHIP. This was a solid pick.


9:57 AM – The 25TW is down to only two yet to be drafted, Nick Chigges and Josh Collmenter. To be honest, I am not surprised that these are the final two. Chigges is from a really small college and Collmenter has a bizarre windup with pretty bad stuff, but he somehow makes it work.


9:58 AM – The Yankees took Nick Chigges with the final pick in the 13th round. The 25TW is down to just Collmenter. For me, Chigges is the most interesting prospect in the draft. According to my rating system, he’s much better than a 13th round pick.


10:01 AM – The Mariners went local with their latest pick, taking Brandon McKerney from the University of Washington. As much as I like that they picked a local guy, McKerney sported a 6.23 ERA this year, and to be brutally honest there is nothing in his statistics that indicate potential success. The M’s just threw away another pick.


10:11 AM – Joey Pacoriek from Blaine High School was just picked by the Milwaukee Brewers.


10:12 AM – Finally, Josh Collmenter was picked in the 15th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. I’m not surprised he slipped after I watched his scouting video, but with that being said his production cannot be ignored. Everyone from the 25TW list is now off the board! I’ll have to look back, but the Diamondbacks seem to be picking many players I looked at today.


10:13 AM – The M’s just picked Keith Meyer, a pitcher from Duquesne. He’s yet another terrible pick. Seriously, are the M’s just picking names out of a hat? Meyer posted a 7.00 ERA this year with marginal control, marginal strikeouts, and a relatively high home run rate. I guess someone out of this second day slop will develop out of dumb luck, but whatever “strategy” the M’s are using right now is terrible.


10:16 AM – Ryan Hill, a guy on the Day 2 watch-list, was drafted by the San Diego Padres. This is, perhaps surprisingly after yesterday, the first guy the Padres have picked today that I had my eye on.


10:18 AM – The Yankees just picked another Day 2 watch-list guy, Dave Williams. The Yankees are all of a sudden taking players I took looks at.


10:23 AM – With the entire 25TW list having been drafted, here’s the breakdown of players picked by team. The A’s and Padres tied for the most selected off the list with four apiece, and the Devil Rays ended up picking three. The Cubs and Diamondbacks both picked two off of the list, while10 different teams picked one (Orioles, Red Sox, Reds, Tigers, Dodgers, Brewers, Yankees, Phillies, Pirates, and Nationals). That means 14 teams did not take anyone off the list, including the Mariners.


10:31 AM – Since the entire 25TW is now drafted, I am finished doing minute-by-minute coverage. I will provide analysis of the entire M’s draft tonight.

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