Day 14- 2007 Round 14

1 RIC Anchormen Preston Mattingly (SS LA)
2 North Kingstown Friars Sean Gallagher (P CHC)
3 Poland Pandas Mark Reynolds (SS ARI)
4 Blind Dogs Gabriel Sanchez (C FLA)
5 Bad Ass Bombers Chris Merrero (OF WAS)
6 Rhode Island Quahogs John Jay (OF STL)
7 The Names Jason Botts (U TEX)
8 Modesto Nuts Joey N. Devine (P ATL)
9 Rhody Rampage Luis Cota (P KC)
10 Attack Pigeons of Connecticut Ricky Romero (P TOR)
11 The Carbombs Matt Sulentic (OF OAK)
12 The Brew Crew Craig Hansen (P BOS)

By Brendan Hart

Best Pick- Mark Reynolds- The Pandas scouting department struck gold with the second to last round of the inaugural prospect draft. Reynolds was coming off a great season where Baseball America named him the Class A player of the year after he hit 31 HR’s between two levels and had a BA of over 300. In his first year with the Pandas he landed in the majors and held his own with 17 HR’s in a little over 300 AB’s with a BA close to 280. During the following summer the Pandas decided to deal Reynolds to the Modesto Nuts in a trade that went largely unnoticed. Ian Stewart and Jeff Francis became Pandas and Reynolds because one of the faces of the Nuts Organization. After hitting 28 HR’s in his first season with the team he broke out in 2009 with 44 HR’s and became one of the main reason for the Pandas/Nuts current trade embargo.

Worst Pick- Luis Cota- There’s bad picks, there’s terrible picks and then there’s Luis Cota. When questioned about this pick Lester responded “I think I just started picking royals cause I figured since they sucked so bad they might have some good prospects”. The Rampage chose Cota after he put up a line of 5-11 with a 7.09 ERA in High A. If that wasn’t enough Cota then went on to miss the 2007 season with a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder and was forced to drop back to Rookie Ball. Needless to say Luis was never a prospect and will probably only surface in the MLB as a middle reliever – if that.

Still Could Make it- Chris Marrero- At only 21 years old Marrero still has a chance to be part of the future for the Nationals and Bombers. After Erik drafted him in the 14th round Marrero hit 25 HR’s despite being only 19. Baseball America ranked him 27th overall going into 2008 but injuries ruined his season and he finished with only 11HR’s and a 250 BA. This past year he regained his health and put up decent numbers between A/AA. If he can stay healthy he should have no problem earning a spot in an outfield consisting of Willingham, Dukes and Morgan. Look for Marrero to be a June callup or fighting for a starting role in 2011.

% in MLB- 7 out of 12, with two big league regulars (Reynolds, Romero).