Amateur Draft Interrupts Exciting Season

With the NL East being as competitive from top to bottom as it has ever been, Flash brass had to turn their attention away for a bit to tend to the Amateur Draft. An exciting event in its own right, the draft once again provided glimpses into the baseball of the future. Yet again, Philadelphia had 3 selections in the first round, including the compensation round. Here is a look at the most talented of the new crop of Flash players, those drafted in the first 5 rounds of this year's draft.

Round 1, Pick 22 - Kiki Diaz, RP, Arizona State, 21-years-old
This former Sun Devil is an incredibly versatile relief pitcher with electric stuff. Durable enough to pitch multiple innings per outing, the sky is the limit for Diaz. It is hard to pinpoint any weakness in his arsenal, other than a tendency to get injured during his collegiate career. With proper training, however, Diaz will be a dominant back-end weapon in the years to come.




Round 1, Pick 24 - Sparky Stevens, 2B, Weatherford, 20-years-old
Though he came two picks later than Diaz, Sparky Stevens may actually have been the crown jewel of this year's draft class for the Flash. Though he's not likely to be a Gold Glover at 2nd base, Stevens is a wizard with a bat in his hands. He has got some pop to his swing as well, which is a nice bonus to a very complete offensive player.





Round 1, Pick 37 - Wesley Reynolds, RP, Le Moyne, 22-years-old
Reynolds is a nice pick-up at #37, as he is another major-league quality relief pitcher. Though he is not as useful against right-handed hitting as he is against left, he still throws hard and under control, and his 4-seam fastball and slider can both retire big league hitters. If he reaches his potential, he will be a very competent set-up man.





Round 2, Pick 77 - Jerrod Ramirez, 2B, Union County, 20-years-old
Though his defense is a notch above Stevens, Ramirez will not put up the kind of numbers at the plate that his 1st-round counterpart will. Still, there's a lot to like about his game, particularly how he handles left-handed pitching. And considering how the Flash are absolutely dominating left-handed pitching at the big league level this season, he'd fit right in.

Round 3, Pick 109 - Jack Jordan, C, Texas Christian, 22-years-old
Those familiar with the Flash big league club can compare Jack Jordan to current backup C Jorge Ayala. Though his defensive limitations make him a bench player at best, his discipline at the plate will get him into the lineup quite a bit. He can hit for power and for average, making him very useful off the bench. Luckily his low durability will not come into play if he indeed becomes a bench lifer.

Round 4, Pick 141 - Buck Barber, 1B, Angelina, 20-years-old
Buck is a solid pick considering 140 other players went before him. He is not a power-hitting 1B like most are; instead he relies on making good contact and making the contact count. He's also a unique player in that he's a right-handed hitter who fares better versus right-handed pitching. Tracking his development will be interesting, as he very well could make the major leagues at some point.

Round 5, Pick 173 - Howard Richard, SP, Indiana, 22-years-old
His inability to get right-handers out, as well as his lack of a plus pitch make Richard nothing more than a minor-league innings eater. Still, as those go, he could be worse. He never seems to give up long balls, which should help keep his ERA a bit lower than comparable pitchers. Still, his best pitch is his slider and it lacks enough bite to navigate him through tough innings.

It is worth noting that all of the Flash picks in the first 5 rounds were players out of college, but those in the know will not be surprised by this fact, given that the scouting department scours college campuses a lot more often than it visits high schools.