Pre Draft Power Rankings

I what can only be described as a very active 2012 eMLB Winter Meetings I now present the "Miracle Pre Draft Power Rankings".

Texas Division

1. Michigan-5
2. South Texas-6
3. Hackensack-6
4. San Antonio-4

Eastern Division

1. Rochester-6
2. Oviedo-6
3. Atlantic-4
4. Dallas-5

Great Lakes Division

1. Gaylord-5
2. Olivet-5
3. Charlotte-4
4. Mid Michigan-4

West Division

1. Arizona-5
2. North Texas-4
3. Julian-6
4. Springfield-5

Number after team is the total draft picks each team has in the first 5 rounds....if I kept up with them correctly that is. Top 4 teams Pre Draft (no particular order) Arizona/Michigan/Rochester/Gaylord. Botton 4 teams Pre Draft (no particular order) Springfield/Julian/Dallas/San Antonio. As Berg has stated a number of times this will change greatly simply because the lower ranked teams generally have the fewest players, currently, and the strongest teams have the most players. With my ranking I took into account the players I thought would be on a teams bench and those players I did not factor into a teams strength. Example being Julio Borbon, even though he may accumulate some stats throughout the season it's doubtful he will ever leave my bench. Note: he is still available and I'll toss in a 15th rounder for anyone who wants him.

Weekend Update....

In what can only be considered an unusual Winter Meetings really took a left turn for the Miracles on Thursday. With the Miracle braintrust firmly committed to taking Tulo in the draft and putting Ian Desmond on the bench, those thoughts quickly changed. In a long conference call with Ian, GM Chris (I love to trade first round picks) Renner again did just that. Ian emphasized to us that he is in the best shape of his life and assured us that putting him center stage this year would not be a mistake. That being said the Miracles traded their first round, and lottery pick to the South Texas Heat. The Miracles and Heat have had their history of trading in the past and Miracle GM Renner states that our beloved commish continues to be one of the more difficult GM's to work with. When asked to elaborate Renner simply stated that it is easier to get Berg to buy a round of beer than it is to get him to compromise on a deal. Nevertheless pick 1.3 is now in the hands of the Heat with the Miracles getting Prince Fielder, now of the Detroit Tigers along with an 8th round pick. With the Miracles now left without a first round pick Renner went to work reacquiring a pick in round one and found a willing partner in fellow Texas League GM Keith Sankey. After hours of working the phones the two GM's worked out a deal. The Miracles were able to acquire pick 1.12 from the Fire Ants along with a couple of picks for Andre Ethier, recently acquired Carlos Pena (who became somewhat unneeded after acquiring Fielder) and another couple of picks. Both GM's were very happy with the way the trade finally came together. Renner got back into the first round and Sankey picked up a couple of solid players for this year and also snagged a couple of good draft picks as well. Now the question becomes....who do the Miracles select with the 12th pick in round 1? We have a group of names we like but we will just have to see who drops down to us in that slot. It's impossible to determine at this time who that player would be but we know we will be very happy with who we are able to get at that point. We believe that we are probably done dealing but as always are open to listening to offers. We would consider, for anyone who would like an extra late round pick, trading off Julio Borbon along with a 15th round pick to whoever would like him and has room for him this year.

Miracle Changes

In what was anticipated to be a non active winter meetings for the Miracles turned out to include a surprise move and another move not totally unanticipated. On the opening day of the meetings the Miracles traded their 8th round pick for Carlos Pena. Renner was quoted to have said that Pena will give us average to above average number in all categories with the exception of average. Does this mean the Miracles will not draft a 1B. We will soon find out. In their other move the Miracles moved 2B Aaron Hill and picked up a 10th round pick for him. Aaron just wasn't going to get a lot of playing time with us having Zobrist ahead of him on the depth chart. Better to move him to someone that may give him a better oportunity to play. The Miracle GM also stated that Ian Desmond may also be on the move. We like Ian a lot but with the chance of drafting Tulo in round 1 Ian could be expendible. We will have to see. The only other Miracle rumored to be on the trading block is Andre Ethier. He is another player we like a lot and this being a contract year we expect big things from him. As of now we plan on Andre being a Miracle this year and possibly next year as well.

Surprises

The Miracle braintrust has been spending the week before the Winter Meetings huddled in the beautiful Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. Between karioke marathons and trying to watch sports on grossly outdated CRT's in the "awesome" IP Sports book the Miracle management has been holding high level meetings in order to turn around what has been horrible early round drafting in recent years. Having one of the top three picks in round one garantees the Miracles a cornerstone player. It has been determined in these meetings that unless something very unusual happens the Miracles will be standing pat and will not be making any trades. That, in and of itself would be very different from previous years. It has been a forgone conclusion that the top four players...AGon/Cano/Bautista/Tulo would be gone quick. Matt, from the Surge has said that he may go for a young slugger and after a long week of discussion the Miracle GM Renner has gone on the record as saying he would like to take someone with 30 HR and 100+ RBI potential for the next 5 years. Whether this means he sticks with Tulo or goes with the young stud Stanton remains to be seen. Jose Bautista, who the Miracles really like, is unlikely to get a 5 year contract being that he is already 31 but it is really difficult to ignore his numbers the last couple of seasons. As we get closer to the lottery and the winter meetings I'm sure all these questions will get answered.

Miracle Mock Part 2

The bottom half of the first round is not quite as easy to pin down as the top half was so there is the possibility of having some interesting picks here. With such a strong draft owners are wanting to make sure they grab someone who they can place that 5 or 3 year contract on. Coming in at ......

1.9 Oviedo Mets--(or is it the New Jersey Knights???).....tough to figure out here. We have a split personality owner here who on the one hand is an outstanding owner with a tremendous grasp of the game and more often than not makes the right moves at the right time. On the other hand we have the mind numbing whining complainer who is at serious odds with another owner whose name will not be mentioned here (Doyle). How these two personalities co-exist in the same body is beyond me, but I would sure like to be his pharmacist. I would have been able to retire long ago. The pick here is Mark Teixeira. Probably not worthy of a 5 year contract which is why I see Mike trying to move up in round 1. If he wasn't so "set" at OF as he says he is I could see him taking Upton or Stanton and dropping a 5 year on one of them. Doesn't seem to be his style though, but hey, who knows.

1.10 Mid-Michigan Tigers--Justin Upton.....This young star OF will get a 3 year contract from Keith unless he decides to move Miggy in the last year of his contract and place a 5 year on an up and coming star. I'm sure there would be some interest from those of us with empty 5 years should he decide to go that route. Otherwise Upton next to AJax in the OF would sure look nice.

1.11 Gaylord Dingers--Mike Stanton.....There have been some rumblings that a young stud may be taken real high up in this years draft. If it happens, this could be that guy. If not, Mike grabs Mike. Not too different from what happens most cold nights in Gaylord...at least according to the Herald Times gossip section. If Pujols stays put Stanton garners a 3 year.

1.12 San Antonio Fire Ants--Cliff Lee.....This could have been virtually anyone of the top 20 players and they would help the seriously depleted Fire Ants. Going all out last season put Sankey in a bind to start off 2012. Lee will at least give him a solid one/two along with Tommy Hanson. No way a five year goes here so other options may be explored.

1.13 Dallas Redbirds--Hunter Pence.....General consensus here has Hamilton/Cruz slotted to go to Dallas but with Doyle always sniffing around the championship playoffs will he really want to take on either of those injury risks in the first round. Pence is quirky but all he does is flat out rake. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Regardless of the pick I'm sure his bitch buddy will have something to say about it.

1.14 Rochester Red Sox--Paul Goldschmidt.....With Reynolds at 3B and Phillips at 2B this young star will shine brightly in Rochester. Thought perhaps Lawrie here and slide Reynolds over to 1B or possibly even Andrus to man SS but in the end I decided along with my buddy Glen Beck to buy Gold.

1.15 South Texas Heat--Brett Lawrie.....As much as I hate to see this guy end up in South Texas it will be a huge steal if he drops this far. First full year I could easily see 25+ HR, 90+ RBI and 25+ SB to go along with a solid average in a really good lineup in Toronto. With a Fathead already on his den wall, this pick is a lock.

1.16 DEFENDING CHAMPION Arizona Desert Swarm--Cole Hamels.....With a solid offense returning, with the exception of Beckham Josh takes the second best arm in the draft behind Lee and pairs him with King Felix and Chris (my arm is about to fall off from overuse) Carpenter. No 5 year contract given but a 3 year is not out of the question.

Any negative comments made toward owners was done for entertainment purposes only. I hold you all in the highest regard I look forward to other mocks coming out in the near future and certainly look forward to Reynolds tearing them all apart and saying how stupid we all are. There will be a ton of great talent available in the second round and I may even post a mock second round since this has been so much fun.

Miracle Mock Part 1

I'll post the first 8 picks in the upcoming draft based solely on who seems to be a good fit for each team. I don't have any inside info from any owners so as usual I will probably not get many of these right. Big surprise...but then again who does. Of course that statement will prompt a post from someone telling everyone how good they did in last years mock draft or in 2010's or so on and so on. Berg has posted quite a bit throughout the Hot Stove season regarding several players (or groups of players) and also provided a Draft Guide for all to peruse. Thanks for all the info Berg. I'm sure I speak for many of the owners in that regard. That being said there are a few player that will go higher in the draft than they should and some that may fall farther than they should. Was this the plan from Berg all along or was he just being helpful to all his fellow owners. Maybe he is just an evil genius. Anyway, I digress....on to the picks.

1.1 Hackensack--Adrian Gonzalez....Not really noticed day to day or even week to week but at the end of the year the stats are awesome. AGon will wear the Bulls jersey for the next 5 years. Congrats AGon on the mega-deal.

1.2 Olivet--Jose Bautista.....Although Larry may be busy in the Winter Meetings making trades (or not) this big bat will slide nicely into third base for the Killer Eagles. I wasn't much of a believer after one big season but I am now. Only question is does Olivet place a 5 year contract on him.

1.3 Michigan--Troy Tulowitzki.....With Ian Desmond under contract for 2012 this pick must still be made. Tulo is a game changer. As opposed to AGon who flys under the radar most weeks, Tulo's stats jump out at you many weeks. Single handily he can carry a team for entire weeks. If the draft plays out like this, Michigan will entertain offers for this 3rd pick. Let it be known that the price will be staggering. But if this is the player you "must" have we can talk. There are a couple of teams that I think should try and trade up to get a 5 year player and a couple of teams I think would want to trade up to this spot. That being said I have offers written down for each team under mine that I would accept for this pick. Don't be shocked by what I would want in return for this pick. Believe me I will be very happy to see Tulo in a Miracle jersey from 2012-2016. Right smack dab in the prime of his career.

1.4 Atlantic Surge--Robinson Cano.....The offensive cupboard is pretty bare for the Surge so I could see Matt trading off a pitcher or two for picks or players to help out the cause. Cano won't walk much or steal you many bases but in the other categories he is very elite, especially for second sackers. A nice 5 year gets dropped on Cano here.

1.5 Julian Javelina--Jose Reyes.....Jamie has many options available to him here. An elite Reyes gives you a ton of runs, SB's and average. HR's RBI's and walks won't kill you if Reyes has a great year. But if he doesn't have a great year or spends quite a bit of time on the DL this pick could look ugly early. Could be a great 3 yr contract or turn out to be a Dunn/Morales contract from last season.

1.6 Flying Squirrels of Springfield--Andrew McCutchen.....Like Hoyle, Adam could go many ways. Having a 5 year contract open this looks like a very solid option although I could see Justin Upton being taken here as well.

1.7 North Texas Rangers--Mike Napoli.....Everyone knows Adrian fondness for Rangers and having to choose between Napoli, Hamilton, Cruz will be difficult. This is fantasy baseball not real baseball so I take Napoli over the others. He can be slotted in at catcher to give him one of the best two catchers in baseball, fantasy wise, along with Santana. The stats for a catcher will be off the charts with 30+ HR's a distinct possibility.

1.8 Charlotte Orios--Hanley Ramirez.....Trading him away last season, Chris later tried to get him back in trade. He selects him here and gives him a 3 year contract. Nice infield in place with Butler/Utley/HanRam/Wright.

Nothing real earth shattering with these 8 picks although Napoli slotting at 1.7 will raise some eyebrows. The other seven would probably be at or near the top of everyone's mock draft. Tomorrow I post the rest of the first round with some other picks that you may not have seen coming.

Winter Meetings Preview

With the annual eMLB Winter Meetings less than three weeks away the Michigan Miracles are well prepared to put the abortion of 2011 in the rear view mirror. With a strong showing during the Vegas"11" trip, Renner hopes to continue his winning ways during the upcoming meetings.

Needing to fill their 5 yr contract and having one of the first three picks in the draft, the chances of trading out of that spot will be slim. I have never been one to back away from an opportunity, Renner was quoted as saying, but this year will be tough to trade down. Let's just say that the Miracles will be something like the Chicago Cubs in what they would want for their pick. If someone would offer their first, second and third round pick for my lottery pick that would certainly get my attention....otherwise we will gladly draft one of the top four players on our board.

There are some Miracle players that will be available via trade and a couple that could be available via trade. Aaron Hill 2/12 and Julio Borbon 3/12 are the players that fall into the former category and Ian Desmond 2/12 and Andre Ethier 3/12 fall into the latter. We are not especially looking to trade either Desmond or Ethier but there has been some recent interest in those players and I'd be remiss if I didn't at least listen to any offers.

Moreso than in previous years there is a good chance the Miracles won't be big players during this years meetings....but when all 16 of us get together who knows what will happen.