In a press conference held earlier today, the Detroit Tigers announced the hiring of Josh Smith as their new general manager. According to Smith, “I am excited about what the previous front office put in place here. I definitely inherit plenty of talent. I will take some time to assess where the franchise is at and in which direction I believe we should go. Then, I will do everything in my power to put this team in position to compete for the long haul. We plan on implementing a cutting-edge method of player evaluation fusing statistics and scouting with the eventual goal of bringing a championship to Detroit.”
Upon taking control of the Tigers, Smith was thrust into the war room and tasked with heading the team’s 2011 rule IV draft. With their first selection at number 10 overall, the Tigers took first baseball Paul Wood out of Wytheville, Virginia. The hulking 1B (standing 6’8’’) with massive raw power will immediately become one of the Tigers top prospects. Smith commented on the pick, stating “the trade of Miguel Cabrera last season left the system bereft of power. Paul’s advanced bat will allow him to move quickly for a high school bat, and we believe he has the power potential to compete for home run titles in the future.”
The Tigers selected another high-ceiling bat in the second round, right fielder Bruce Gwinn. The tall, lanky prep bat hailing from Covington, KY had plenty of helium entering draft day, hitting .464 as a senior in high school and impressing scout at numerous late showcases. Some scouts believe he is the best prep bat out of Kentucky since Austin Kearns, who went seventh overall in the 1998 draft. According to Smith, “Gwinn is a guy we are ecstatic to add to our farm. He does a lot of things well. We believe he has a plus bat with solid average power and advanced plate discipline. We also love what he can do defensively in any of the three outfield positions.”
In the third round, the Tigers tabbed right handed pitcher James Derose out of UC-Irvine. A draft-eligible sophomore, Derose has continually displayed plus command in his years at Irvine. While his fastball only tops out at about 90 mph, Derose also throws an average change, flashing plus potential, and a fringe-average forkball. Derose should fly through the minors and projects as a back of rotation starter.
In the 4th round, the Tigers took Thad Ley, Matt Wieters’ successor at catcher at Georgia Tech. Ley has shown power, but needs to improve his all-around game to make an impact at the big league level. In the 5th round, the selection was Japanese import Saduhiru Yoshimura. Having honed his game at NC State, Yoshimura has average speed and defense, but his bat may not play at the big league level. They closed the draft with centerfielder Brian Dow, out of Arizona State. He has some promise as a fourth outfielder, but his other tools lag well behind his plus speed.
The Tigers now return their attention to the field as they try to make a push for the playoffs, currently just two games out of first. We’ll keep you posted on all the latest happenings in Tigerland.
No comments:
Post a Comment