Draft
June 9th, 2009 | by joelucia |With the 7th overall selection, in the 2009 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, the Atlanta Braves select…MIKE MINOR, Vanderbilt.
Now, you’re probably wondering. Why would the Braves select Mike Minor when Tyler Matzek, the best high school arm in the draft, was on the board? Well, signability, of course. This pick was about signability, and nothing else. Minor was Keith Law’s 38th rated player. Thats right, the Braves took a guy who wasn’t graded as a first round talent in the TOP TEN. With THE BEST HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER STILL ON THE BOARD.
Keep in mind everyone…the Braves don’t have a 2nd round pick this year, so its not as if the front office is budgeting money to take a guy with signability concerns that falls.
For the record, Minor is projected as a 4th starter…assuming his control is on. Then he becomes, to quote Mr Law “a strike thrower”. Awesome, a strike thrower! HE DOES WHAT HE’S SUPPOSED TO DO!
It seems to me like Clark wanted Wheeler so bad, and didn’t bother making a backup plan after his stock began to soar over the last week or so. In the last 25 years, the Braves have chosen 4 college pitchers in the first round: Derek Lilliquist, Dan Meyer, Joey Devine, and now Minor. Total games played for the Braves: 67. 2/3 of them were from Lilliquist.
So the moral of the story is that we drafted Minor in order to trade him in 3 years to the A’s. Fantastic.
EDIT: Just found this gem on braves.com…
“There were some pretty good players on that team and I know one of them throws 100 mph, but this guy is a winner,” Clark said. “We’ve been tracking him for a long time. We were hoping for the opportunity to select him and now I’m just hoping for the opportunity to sign him.”
He’s a winner! Man, thats fantastic. Is he also a gritty gamer with great intangibles?
Tags: Draft, Mike Minor
By HansonAce on Jun 10, 2009
Congrate on the new blog site Bigjoe!!
By The Accountant on Jun 10, 2009
I was watching as SF took Wheeler off the Braves hands one pick before. Felt like a slap in the face. I understand not cowering to the wishes of these kids to be signed for millions when they are unproven commodities, so I will not blame Wren or the organization for that.
One question I’ve not heard an answer to: Why did the Braves go without a second round pick this year?
Very good posts so far. Looking forward to more.
By EJRuiz on Jun 10, 2009
I’m not quite as down on this pick as you are, but that’s probably because I don’t really follow prospects until they’re playing pro ball. After reading his scouting report and seeing some highlights, Minor looks alright.
I know many Braves fans were hoping for the second coming of Jason Heyward (an all-world prospect that falls to us almost miraculously) but that was a lucky strike last year. As for your analysis of our reasoning behind the pick, I’m cofused: did we pick him because we were satisfied with him due to his signability or did we do no research beyond Wheeler?
In the NFL, I’ve always believed that teams should go for the surest things early on (most guaranteed money) and higher risk/reward guys later on; that’s a strategy that seems to work well for the best run organizations in that sport. Any chance the Braves were doing the same thing?
By the way, what are your thoughts on our 3rd round pick? I read somewhere that he was considered a second round talent and that he has some upside. Funny how we drafted two guys with second round grades the year when we had no second round picks!
P.S.: Nice looking site you have here, bigjoe. I’ll be checking in on you, so keep up the good work. Go Braves!
By Zach on Jun 10, 2009
I think you’re being a little harsh. While Law may have ranked him #38 he was rumored to be considered at no.3, no.7, no.8, and no.19 and that’s just the spots that I know of. With that many top ten teams in on him I don’t think you can say he wasn’t a first round talent.
Second, he absolutely profiles as more than a #4 starter and I’m not sure where you even heard that. He’s got a great fastball/changeup combo and throws two different breaking balls for strikes. He’s not Chuck James.
The Braves were never in on the big name high school arms with ridiculous contract demands. Everyone should have known over a month ago that the Braves weren’t going to take Tyler Matzek or Matt Purke. It just wasn’t going to happen so there’s no reason to act surprised or upset at this point.
While Minor’s ceiling isn’t as high as some of the high school arms, his floor is much higher as well.
By sean on Jun 10, 2009
Very disappointed with the draft pick….
glad i am first one to comment on your BLOG!
By drdonkeypunch on Jun 10, 2009
he just throws strikes
pounds the zone
isn’t afraid to challenge hitters
GAMER
gritty
scrappy
great clubhouse guy
By MD on Jun 10, 2009
I don’t get the hate on this pick. He’s not going to be an ace. Neither will 99.5% of the pitchers taken in this draft. Instead, he has a much greater chance at becoming a solid, middle of the rotation, contributor than most any other pitcher in this draft.
A lot is being made of this being highest Braves pick in years and how Minor doesn’t match up talent wise. Just my opinion, but Top 10 picks tend to be high risk high reward types because teams picking in the top 10 are so thoroughly lost they will gladly risk a few more years of mediocrity for the chance at an All-Star level player. If this one doesn’t pan out, most of those teams will be back in the top 10 for years to come to try again.
The Braves are somewhat of an exception. They are a solid team with a decent farm system and probably won’t be seeing the top 10 all that often. If you aren’t a team desperate for talent upgrades everywhere, why not go with as close to a sure thing as you can get? This team has super starting pitching prospects and some decent position prospects already in the system. Why not add a guy who developmentally is already pretty far along and can be slotted in to the #4 or #5 spot sooner than later? Even aces only pitch once every five days. Rotation depth beats one ace and four scrubs any day.
By tunafish on Jun 10, 2009
Nice insight, as a 24 yr old (with ties to good ol’ Lock Haven, PA) stuck in Illinois, living and dying with the braves smack dab in the middle of cub nation….
Good luck on the new blog, you’ve got me hooked!
By tunafish on Jun 10, 2009
p.s….and lord willing he will give it his best every 5th day
By joelucia on Jun 10, 2009
I’m not saying anyone else in the draft (besides Strasburg, that is) is going to be an ace…but seriously, a number 4? You can get a number 4 anywhere. Any of these guys we took today can become a number 4 with a little seasoning, which isn’t out of the question. Mike Minor is a number 4 with the 7th overall pick, when guys like Miller, Purke, Matzek, et al are still on the board, and those guys have a floor as a 3 (barring something like Blassitis or a bad home park…poor poor Matzek). It just seems like a luxury pick so early in the draft. You don’t draft 4th starters in the top ten of the draft, unless you’re in a ridiculously small market (coughBullingtoncoughhack).
Also, to the first commenter: the Braves lost their second round pick because of signing Lowe. It would have been a lost first rounder, but that pick was protected because its top 15
By The Accountant on Jun 11, 2009
Thanks Joe. I forget that the draft picks work the same way when you lose/sign a Free Agent like the Braves did with Lowe.