Day 11 - 2007 Round 11

1 RIC Anchormen Chris Perez (P STL)
2 North Kingstown Friars Matt Albers (P HOU)
3 Poland Pandas Jeff Mathis (C ANA)
4 Blind Dogs Alexi Casilla (2B MIN)
5 Bad Ass Bombers Ryan Tucker (P FLA)
6 Rhode Island Quahogs Jeremy Jeffres (P MIL)
7 The Names Nolan Reimold (OF BAL)
8 Modesto Nuts Cedric Hunter (OF SD)
9 Rhody Rampage Brandon Moss (OF BOS)
10 Attack Pigeons of Connecticut Zach Zuercher (P STL)
11 The Carbombs Kyle Drabek (P PHI)
12 The Brew Crew Deolis Guerra (P NYM)

By Brendan Hart

Best Pick- Nolan Reimold- Reimold broke into the majors in 2009 with 15 HR’s and a 279 BA in 104 games after hitting almost 400 with 9 HR’s in AAA. The impressive season seemed to come out of nowhere but in reality was the result of Reimold being an underrated prospect. In four minor league seasons prior to 09 he hit no less than 19 HR’s and finished every season with an OPS close or above 900. While Reimold was a rare good pick by The Names, he didn’t stick with the franchise and ended up with another team similar to all other good players Conor ever had.

Worst Pick- Zach Zuercher- Chris Perez was selected as worst pick and I had already started writing about him until I stopped and looked back at the round. Who is the name of Ben Moss is Zach Zuercher? A simple google search later and I can now say that Zach is a 25 yr old pitcher in the independent league playing for a team in Worchester. He was born in Warwick, RI and played at URI which instantly told me that he had to be drafted by Sully. Needless to say Zach was never a good prospect and was drafted by the Pigeons after compiling a solid season of 43 relief appearances and a 4.12 ERA.

Still Could Make it- Kyle Drabek- Knapp drafted the son of former MLB pitcher Doug Drabek with the 11th pick in the round with the hope that he would develop into a future ace. Drabek proceeded to blow out his elbow the next season and need Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2008 but made his real comeback was in 2009 where he posted a 12-3 record and 150K’s in 158 IP. The breakout season helped him regain his status as a top pitching prospect and helped the Phillies acquire ace Roy Holliday during this past summer. Look for Drabek to break into the majors in late 2010 or early 2011 for the Blue Jays and possibly turn into the ace that Knapp was hoping for when he drafted him in 2007.

% in MLB- 6 out of 12, equals half a dozen