Dutchmen Balance Present, Future In Draft

By Clyde Elkins

Having beaten the odds in the league’s three-team lottery to add consensus first overall selection Jose Abreu to a slow-to-gel lineup, the argument could be made that anything gained after was icing for Elysian Fields. While some subsequent selections off promise, the Flying Dutchmen were unable to address as many needs as hoped in the 2015 MMDA draft.

 The Dutchmen added Jose Abreu with the No. 1 overall pick

With just 603 outfield at-bats on the roster heading into the draft, and without a second-round pick, Elysian Fields elected to spend two high fourth-round selections on outfielders Michael Morse and Ender Incarte, who don’t fit the forward-looking profile of other selections. In the same vein, but at lower cost, the Dutchmen selected Hector Noesi and Chris Young in the seventh and eighth rounds to flesh out a young and injury-hampered rotation.

The Dutchmen held their breath as the second round turned into the third, and the club felt fortunate to acquire pre-draft target Andrew Susac, kicking off the only position run that registered with Elysian Fields, for catchers J.T. Realmuto and Mike McKenry immediately followed Susac off the board. The acquisition of Miguel Montero for two quality relievers did grant the latitude to make this upside pick, with the hope being Susac is ready to stick with the Giants, allowing Buster Posey to slide over to first base more often in the upcoming season.

After the two usage-driven picks in the fourth round, high-risk/high-reward center fielder Michael Taylor joined the Dutchmen in the fifth round, followed by corner infielder/outfielder Ryan Rua in the sixth. Rymer Liriano, taken in the ninth, spit the bit in his first major league exposure and is blocked by newly acquired Justin Upton, Matt Kemp and Wil Myers in the San Diego outfield—not to mention incumbents Will Venable, Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin.  Catcher Tucker Barnhart, taken in the 10th round, has limited offensive potential but gets high grades for his receiving skills, especially as a good pitch-framer. Veterans Juan Francisco and Tsuyoshi Wada filled out the roster with the last two picks.

Due to injury and maturity issues for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, along with Andrelton Simmons’ failure to progress offensively, the lineup has a number of long-term question marks:

Pos	Lineup	Platoon/Backup
CF	James Jones	Cameron Maybin
LF	Ender Inciarte	Ryan Rua
DH	Michael Morse	Juan Francisco
1B	Jose Abreu	Alberto Callaspo
RF	Bryce Harper	Rymer Liriano
3B	Manny Machado	Alberto Callaspo
2B	Kolten Wong	Chris Owings
SS	Andrelton Simmons	Nick Franklin
C	Miguel Montero	Andrew Susac

Acknowledging standard attrition concerns, with Jose Fernandez and Martin Perez already recovering from Tommy John surgery and the others listed below yet to put in a full season as starters, the rotation is also a work in progress:

SP	Projected Rotation
1	Jose Fernandez
2	Zack Wheeler
3	Kevin Gausman
4	Danny Salazar
5	Martin Perez
	Carlos Martinez
	Drew Pomeranz

All these uncertainties hamper the Dutchmen’s desire to move up the timetable to compete through trade. Each potential trade chip, Abreu withheld from consideration, has a blemish that puts them in a sell-low status. The club's best course of action would appear to be to just hold tight and build through the draft, while hoping that a fair percentage of those already on the roster will take a step forward.