RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.—The California Roadrunners went into the draft as prepared as they could be. Mookie Betts was the player who topped the wish list, but when he went to The Breakers at # 4, Josh Harrison was the apparent pick at # 7 when he was available.
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California's second pick in the draft and #23 overall was Steve Pearce, a pre-draft favorite to join the Roadrunners. Manager Mike Siddon felt the need to have an extra pick in the second round to secure Pearce and go after a decent starter a few picks later. Pearce will add a decent bat and will likely be penciled in as the cleanup hitter. With Pearce at 1B, Chris Carter will be the full-time DH.
With pick #27, Collin McHugh was the SP eyed by California, and had been typed in and was 1 pick from sending it out to the league. The Blackhawks spoiled the party by selecting McHugh at #26. The Roadrunners had to scramble to type out a backup pick which would fill a major hole in the roster, so needing a reliable closer they selected Hector Rondon.
With pick #47, Yusmeiro Petit was selected and will be used primarily as a starter. Looking to add more relief innings, pick #87, Dominic Leone will shore up a decent relief corps, while #107 Cory Rasmus was selected as a starter to work in tandem with Petit.
The Roadrunners' rotation will be Tanner Roark, Mike Leake, Jorge de la Rosa, and the tandem of Michael Pineda/Tyler Skaggs along with Petit/Rasmus. Although California already had Antonio Bastardo and J.P. Howell, they felt they needed another LH specialist and selected at #129 Oliver Perez.
Overall, Siddon felt the team improved themselves with the draft, and hope that they can compete in the strong National League Pacific. Good luck to all managers in the upcoming 2015 season.
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