ESPN "Franchise Player Draft"

[theblujay]

So a bunch of ESPN guys take turns picking who they would start their franchise with.

 

Here's the results:

1. MIKE TROUT, LF, LAA

JERRY CRASNICK (ESPN.COM)

 

2. BRYCE HARPER, LF, WAS

DOUG GLANVILLE (BBTN)

 

3. MANNY MACHADO, 3B, BAL

AARON BOONE (BBTN)

 

4. BUSTER POSEY, C, SFO

JAYSON STARK (ESPN.COM)

 

5. CLAYTON KERSHAW, LHP, LAD

MOLLY KNIGHT (ESPN THE MAG)

 

6. EVAN LONGORIA, 3B, TAM

DAVE CAMERON (ESPN INSIDER)

 

7. YOENIS CESPEDES, LF, OAK

JIM CAPLE (ESPN.COM)

 

8. MATT HARVEY, RHP, NYM

TIM KURKJIAN (ESPN THE MAG)

 

9. MIGUEL CABRERA, 3B, DET

ALEX CORA (BBTN)

 

10. JOEY VOTTO, 1B, CIN

C.J. NITKOWSKI (ESPN INSIDER)

 

11. ANDREW MCCUTCHEN, CF, PIT

MIKE PETRIELLO (ESPN INSIDER)

 

12. GIANCARLO STANTON, RF, MIA

JON SCIAMBI (BBTN)

 

13. YU DARVISH, RHP, TEX

DAN SZYMBORSKI (ESPN INSIDER)

 

14. ROBINSON CANO, 2B, NYY

BUSTER OLNEY (ESPN THE MAG)

 

15. JASON HEYWARD, RF, ATL

CHRISTINA KAHRL (ESPN.COM)

 

16. JUSTIN VERLANDER, RHP, DET

RICHARD DURRETT (ESPN DALLAS)

 

17. DUSTIN PEDROIA, 2B, BOS

MIKE GOLIC (ESPN RADIO)

 

18. MATT KEMP, CF, LAD

MIKE GREENBERG (ESPN RADIO)

 

19. TROY TULOWITZKI, SS, COL

DAVID SCHOENFIELD (ESPN.COM)

 

20. JUSTIN UPTON, LF, ATL

OREL HERSHISER (SUN. NIGHT BASEBALL)

 

21. RYAN BRAUN, LF, MIL

JUSTIN HAVENS (ESPN STATS & INFO)

 

22. DAVID WRIGHT, 3B, NYM

MARK SIMON (ESPN STATS & INFO)

 

23. SHELBY MILLER, RHP, STL

CURT SCHILLING (BBTN)

 

24. JURICKSON PROFAR, INF, TEX

PAUL SWYDAN (ESPN INSIDER)

 

25. STEPHEN STRASBURG, RHP, WAS

JIM BOWDEN (ESPN INSIDER)

 

26. FELIX HERNANDEZ, RHP, SEA

SCOTT SPRATT (ESPN INSIDER)

 

27. JOE MAUER, C, MIN

JONAH KERI (GRANTLAND)

 

28. ANDRELTON SIMMONS, SS, ATL

ERIC KARABELL (ESPN FANTASY)

 

29. JOSE BAUTISTA, RF, TOR

MANNY ACTA (BBTN)

 

30. DAVID PRICE, LHP, TAM

KEITH LAW (ESPN INSIDER)

 

 

 

Any thoughts? Would anyone not pick Trout first? (I wouldn't)

Edited June 4, 2013 by theblujay

[G-Snarls]

Those are good players, yep

 

Will Trout ever get back to highest WAR in the game? Dunno.

[theblujay]

Weren't we in the hunt to get Cespedes?

[Randy The Robot]

Harvey is severely overrated. In no way should he be ahead of Shelby Miller, let alone a 15 pick difference. Edited June 4, 2013 by Randy The Robot

[theblujay]

Felix 26th after Strasburg.

 

Price hasn't been taken yet.

[dineke]

Cespedes over Cutch and Stanton? WUT

[G-Snarls]

Weren't we in the hunt to get Cespedes?

 

Yes, we scouted Cespedes and Darvish as much as anybody

 

Yet signed neither

 

Bah

[Frenchsoup]

Chris Davis,Adam Jones,Alex Gordon, and Chris sale all on my list

[theblujay]

Its done now. Jose went 29th.

[theblujay]

Yes, we scouted Cespedes and Darvish as much as anybody

 

Yet signed neither

 

Bah

 

Yeah I wish we had gotten Cespedes...

[dineke]

I don't think this list can be taken seriously. JPA isn't even on it.

[Angrioter]

Brett Lawrie, easy

[kgm1]

i don't think this list can be taken seriously. Jpa isn't even on it.

 

lol ,

[Flashman]

Yes, we scouted Cespedes and Darvish as much as anybody

 

Yet signed neither

 

Bah

 

Chapman too.

 

Never mind, though, we did get Hech ...

[Boxcar]

Stanton 12th is pretty lulzy. Only Cespedes really jumps out at me for being ridiculous.

[theblujay]

They did a 2nd round too, I'm too lazy to post it. Its on ESPN if you want to see it.

[bzapple]

Those are good players, yep

 

Will Trout ever get back to highest WAR in the game? Dunno.

 

Well he's in the top 5 right now, and I like his chances of keeping his current pace (possibly even improving it) better than anyone currently ahead of him.

[dineke]

They did a 2nd round too, I'm too lazy to post it. Its on ESPN if you want to see it.

 

"I really want to see it" - said nobody with at least half a brain ever.

[TheHurl]

I'm pretty sure if I can choose I team I'd want to be in a division with it's Curt Schilling...or the chick.

[TheHurl]

1. Keith Law (David Price): Oscar Taveras. KLaw knows a few things about prospects, and Taveras was his No. 2 guy entering the season, after the already chosen Jurickson Profar.

 

32. Manny Acta (Jose Bautista): Matt Moore. Bautista is a win-now type of building block, but so is Moore, a 24-year-old with terrific stuff, hasn't been overworked and has as good a chance as anybody to be the best pitcher in baseball over the next five years.

 

33. Eric Karabell (Andrelton Simmons). Carlos Gonzalez. Defense in Round 1, offense in Round 2. And even if this mythical team doesn't play its home games at Coors Field, note that CarGo is hitting better on the road this season.

 

34. Jonah Keri (Joe Mauer): Madison Bumgarner. Hard to believe that he doesn't turn 24 until August, but he already has two World Series rings and two 200-inning seasons. He's so efficient that he should be a 200-inning guy for years to come.

 

35. Scott Spratt (Felix Hernandez): Jean Segura. I'll admit I considered Segura late in Round 1, but instead opted for the elite defense of Simmons. Segura won't hit .350 all year, but he's not a bad pick at this spot.

 

36. Jim Bowden (Stephen Strasburg): Jordan Zimmermann. Hey, don't blame Strasburg and Zimmermann for the Nationals' problems this year! Jim was the Nationals' GM when the club selected him in the second round of the 2007, so he's happy to snag him again.

 

37. Paul Swydan (Jurickson Profar): Matt Wieters. Build teams up the middle! Wieters remains a building-block player, despite a slow start to 2013.

 

 

38. Curt Schilling (Shelby Miller): Paul Goldschmidt. Too early for a first baseman? Maybe, but Goldschmidt is more than just a slugger. He's an elite defender at first, swipes some bases, and at 25 is entering his prime years.

 

39. Mark Simon (David Wright): Zack Wheeler. Well, Mark is, after all, a Mets fan. And pretty soon Wheeler will have many fans.

 

40. Justin Havens (Ryan Braun): Prince Fielder. A relatively safe pick considering Fielder's durability and on-base skills. Plus, Justin can now watch that 2011 Brewers highlight DVD that has been collecting dust.

 

41. Orel Hershiser (Justin Upton): Adam Wainwright. OK, so maybe the Cardinals right-hander has never tossed 59 consecutive scoreless innings, but he's pretty good.

 

42. David Schoenfield (Troy Tulowitzki): Miguel Sano. Prospects are overrated! Plus, Sano is only in Class A ball, you say? Sure, but he'll be in Double-A soon, putting him on track for a midseason promotion to the Twins in 2014. And then my future third baseman will start winning home run titles.

 

43. Mike Greenberg (Matt Kemp): Chris Davis. Well, at least one of these sluggers is healthy and producing. And Davis does look legit.

 

44. Mike Golic (Dustin Pedroia): Elvis Andrus. With that double-play duo behind them, the pitchers on Golic's team will be very happy pitchers. Well, assuming the outfield doesn't consist of Raul Ibanez, Lucas Duda and Mike Morse.

 

45. Richard Durrett (Justin Verlander): Adam Jones. This elite center fielder looks even better than his breakout 2012.

 

46. Christina Kahrl (Jason Heyward): Xander Bogaerts. He probably doesn't stick at shortstop, but he's going to hit at whatever position he plays. Plus, his name starts with an X, and he'll be better than Xavier Nady.

 

47. Buster Olney (Robinson Cano): Clay Buchholz. Olney got a close-up look at Buchholz on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, and had to be impressed. Perhaps he can build an entire fake team with all Yankees and Red Sox.

 

48. Dan Szymborski (Yu Darvish): Carlos Santana. We're not privy to the super secret ZiPS projection system that Dan keeps stored in a bank vault somewhere in Maryland, but we have to think it likes a catcher with power and on-base skills.

 

49. Jon Sciambi (Giancarlo Stanton): Yasiel Puig. Could be 80 home runs from this duo in 2014. Or, we suppose, fewer.

 

50. Mike Petriello (Andrew McCutchen): Yadier Molina. Talk about building up the middle. Molina turns 31 in July and caught a lot of games before turning 30, so there's risk that he won't hold up. But he's the kind of guy you take a risk on.

 

51. C.J. Nitkowski (Joey Votto): Austin Jackson. Terrific center fielder and leadoff hitter could have gone in the first round. It's tougher to find an all-around center fielder than a first baseman.

 

52. Alex Cora (Miguel Cabrera): Chris Sale. Some believe he's an arm injury waiting to happen, but there's no denying he's one of the best starters in the game.

 

53. Tim Kurkjian (Matt Harvey): Wil Myers. One future Cy Young winner is set, and here comes the prototypical slugging right fielder to join him. If the Rays would just cooperate and promote him.

 

54. Jim Caple (Yoenis Cespedes): Matt Cain. We know Caple loves those West Coast guys, so let's give him Cain, who is still just 28. Don't overreact to his current 5+ ERA. He'll be fine.

 

55. Dave Cameron (Evan Longoria): Mike Zunino. Mariners fan gets the next great Mariner. Thought about giving him Dustin Ackley or Jesus Montero, picks from last season, but that seemed a bit unfair.

 

56. Molly Knight (Clayton Kershaw): Cole Hamels. What's wrong with Hamels? As with Cain, let's not overreact to two subpar months. A rotation with these two lefties would look pretty sweet.

 

57. Jayson Stark (Buster Posey): Jose Fernandez. Future ace has certainly impressed as a rushed rookie this season.

 

58. Aaron Boone (Manny Machado): Starling Marte. He's playing left field for the Pirates, but could easily move to center, giving Aaron two elite young defenders who have some ability at the plate as well.

 

59. Doug Glanville (Bryce Harper): Starlin Castro. What a fall from grace! A year ago the Chicago Cubs shortstop was the ninth overall selection in Round 1. Now he barely gets chosen at all. I have to admit, he doesn't seem to be growing at the plate or in the field, but Glanville probably has more patience.

 

60. Jerry Crasnick (Mike Trout): Mark Appel. Jerry loves Dylan Bundy, but he was just recently cleared to start throwing for the first time since late March. So let's go off the board and give him a guy who hasn't even started his professional career yet. Thanks us later, Jerry.

[jays_fever]

So Shelby miller is better than Strasbourg..ok

[TheHurl]

I love Strasburg but no way would I start a franchise with him. Of course I'm probably not starting my franchise with pitchers.

[Dr. Dinger]

Lol @ Simmons

[SpeedyGose]

Those are good players, yep

 

Will Trout ever get back to highest WAR in the game? Dunno.

 

Well he is on pace for 8+ WAR this season. So it's certainly quite possible.