Fearless Forecaster

Unfortunately, the Fearless Forecaster (oooohhhhh, ahhhhhhh) is unable to do his annual pre-draft report on the ammys. So, he has asked that we (Nick TEX and Steve PGH) publish the report this year. We cannot compete with the likes of Fearless. We understand that this is like the team of juggling monkeys performing in place of the Beatles, but we shall do our best. We start with the prediction of the Top 10 picks in the draft. This is who we feel that these teams should take if they are smart. Unfortunately, Fearless is not always listened to. After that are all the players in this ammy pool ranked by position. After the blurb about them is where we predict they will be taken. Have fun, and give us feedback. We would be interested for you all to weigh in on this pool.

The Top 10 Picks in This Year's Draft:

1. The Angels are in a major rebuilding mode. They have holes at many positions. Every good manager knows, when you are starting to rebuild, focus on pitching. This draft pool makes it an easy choice. The Angels will select Chief Bender as their Ace for the future.

2. The Blue Jays are also in rebuilding mode. The holes are many for this team as well, so a good franchise type bat should do the trick. The Blue Jays will draft the versatile and talented Hack Wilson to improve the heart of their lineup.

3. The Orioles are a team that has fallen from greatness, but seem to be close to climbing to the top again. Their most solid position is first base, with Lou Gehrig sealing that up. So, they will draft a young outfielder to compliment Gehrig in the lineup. The Orioles will select RF Frank Howard who will swing for the fences regularly.

4. The Rangers were able to move up and get another top 5 pick. This team is looking for youngsters to keep their dynasty going strong. The Rangers have no holes on their team, so they are left taking the best available. The Rangers will select 1B Clue Haywood as another young bat that will give them options.

5. The Cubs made a splash in the free agent market this year, signing a very good outfielder. However, they still have one outfield spot open, and it will be filled as the Cubs select Willie "Pops" Stargell to be a home run hitter and middle of the lineup guy.

6. The Padres have some good young prospects acquired over the last few years. What they don't have, though, is a good cather, one of the most important positions on the field. The Padres will select C Ray Fosse to use his hot bat at the plate, and his superb defense and arm behind it.

7. The Mets have great young pitchers that will soon be ready to propel this team to the top. What they don't have is a dominant bullpen guy to close out games. The Mets will take RP Clay Carrol as they build for the near future.

8. Next up are the White Sox. The White Sox have gotten much younger recently, and are looking to build a future winner. This time in the draft, they take the best available, which is P Ray Washburn. He will help their rotation in a few years.

9. With the 9th pick from the Giants are the Cubs again. Having already taken a great power hitting bat in the draft, they will now add depth to their pithing. The Cubs will take P Pat Dobson to go with the alredy great future rotation he has.

10. Rounding out the top 10 are the Angels with the Red Sox pick. After taking a stud pitcher 1st overall, they will now acquire some hitting. The best available hitter at this point is CF Bobby Tolan. He will patrol the center field for the Angels nicely and will hit for a pretty good clip too.

And there you have it.

And now, here are the players ranked by position:

Catchers

1. Ray Fosse- The best C in the draft. Great defense (80 FA, 84 AS) and a good bat. Top 10.
2. Bill Plummer- Solid all around catcher. Late 1st.
3. Pat Corrales- Decent CH (67) and good D. 2nd.
4. Paul Casonova- Not great at the plate but a cannon for an arm (90)
5. Fred Kendall- May find his way on a team as a roster filler. 5th.

First Basemen

1. Clue Haywood- A stud power hitting 1B. GF (41) and PL (84) are geared for the fence. Top 5.
2. Wes Parker- 1B falls off quite a bit after 1. Sold hitter with decent speed. 2nd half of 1st.
3. Nate Colbert- Solid at everything. 2nd half of 1st.
4. Jim Beauchamp- CH is good enough to see him as a decent backup 1B. @nd
5. John Milner- Decent power (72). 2nd.
6. Mike Fiore- Has a little power (67). 3rd.
7. Ray Webster- Career backup. 3rd or later.

Second Basemen

1. Ron Hunt- A groundball hitter with good CH (78) makes him the best middle infielder in the draft. 1st round.
2. Horace Clarke- Solid defender and decent hitter. Late 1st.
3. Dave Cambell- best defensive 2B in the pool. Not the best hitter though. 2nd.
4. Gary Sutherland- Could see some time as a backup. 3rd.
5. Van Kelly- Can play 2nd or 3rd. Decent backup. 3rd.
6. John Donaldson- Can play several positions, but none very well. 3rd.
7. Steve Hunts- Again, versatility isn't always a good thing. 4th.

Third Basemen

1. Ed Charles- A shallow pool for 3B. Charles is solid. 1st.
2. Dick Green- A backup on almost every team. 3rd.
3. Coco Laboy- Cool name, but little talent. 3rd.
4. Pete Spiezio- Roster filler. 5th.
5. Bill Sudakis- You hope this guy doesn't play, 'cause it means your 2 other 3B went down.

Shortstop

1. Frank Duffy- decent hitter and can play 2 positions well. Late 1st.
2. Bobby Wine- Good speed and superb D at 2B and SS. Could be a pitchers best friend. Late 1st.
3. Darrell Chaney- Decetn at several positions. 2nd.
4. Gene Michael- Good defender; bad hitter. 3rd.
5. Jose Arcia- Almost fast enough to pinch run. Late.
6. Jackie Hernandez- We are not sure if this is a guy or a girl...but he/she throws like a girl. Late.
7. Tommy Dean- Cheap roster fillers anyone? 5th.

Left Field

1. Willie Stargell- Pops is a great power hitter (88) and should have a great career. Top 5.
2. Cito Gaston- Good all around player. Hits well, runs well, plays OF and 1B well. 1st.
3. Larry Stahl- Good speed makes him a solid outfielder. Late 1st.
4. Ollie Brown- Not a great hitter, but goof LF D guy and a canon for an arm. 2nd.
5. Ron Fairly- Decent power but poor defense. 2nd.
6. Willie Crawford- Solid hitter. Decent 5th outfielder on the roster type. Late 2nd.
7. Al Ferrara- Decent CH should find him a roster spot in AAA. 3rd.
8. Ron Woods- OF like him are a dime a dozen. 3rd.
9. Angel Bravo- Can play every position, but none better than 55. Nothing angelic about him. Late.
10. Tommy Reynolds- I'm really just going for entertainment at this point. Late.
11. Steve Hovley- Are you still reading this? Just move onto the CF.

Center Field

1. Bobby Tolan- Good fielder at 1B and OF. Nice all around player. 1st.
2. Billy Conigliaro- Some nice pop in his bat. Good #2 hitter possibly. Mid 1st.
3. Del Unser- Good CH/SP combo and good fielding makes him a good find. Mid 1st.
4. Jerry Morales- Good at putting the bat on the ball, but low speed may hurt him. Late 1st.
5. Ty Cline- Decent CH/SP. Good backup. 2nd.
6. Ken Berry- Good fielder. 3rd.
7. Ivan Murrell- Can play 1B. Good utility backup.
8. Hank Allen- If you draft him, maybe someone will get him confused with Hank Aaron and you could trade him. Late.

Right Field

1. Hack Wilson- Franchise caliber player. Great CH, good PH and SP, but a 94 SC rating makes him special. Top 5.
2. Frank Howard- Good hard hitting power guy. Has 90 PH and a 70 PL. Top 5.
3. Ken Harrelson- Decent power; versatile defense. 2nd.
4. Russ Snyder- Decent CH and SP. 2nd.
5. Mack Jones- A low CH, high power good SP guy. These guys have some value, but they strike out a lot. 2nd.

Starting Pitchers

1. Chief Bender- Should be one of the best pitchers in the game. Top 3
2. Ray Washburn- Has the potential to be a better than average starter. Mid 1st
3. Pat Dobson- Could be a decent starter or a solid closer. Mid 1st
4. Jim Maloney- Has great stuff if he can locate his pitches. Late 1st
5. Steve Hargan- Has the potential to be a back end of the rotation guy. Late 1st
6. Milt Wilcox- Ditto on this guy. Late 1st/Early 2nd
7. Bo Belinsky- Has good control of his pitches. 2nd
8. Dave Roberts- Solid sinker, but not much else. 2nd
9. Jimmy Merritt- Good chance to make it as a long reliever. 2nd
10. Clay Kirby- Strong arm, but may not throw enough strikes for it to matter. 3rd
11. Mike Corkins- May be most valuable in the bullpen. 3rd
12. Dick Selma- Very strong arm, but may serve up a lot of longballs. 3rd
13. Wayne Simpson- Changeup not good enough to fool many hitters. 3rd
14. Billy Champion- Could be a fan favorite with the AAA club. 4th
15. Steve Renko- Arm doesn't tire easily. 4th
16. Jim McGloth- Outside chance of making it. 4th
17. Danny Coombs- Probably a career minor-leaguer. 5th
18. Steve Arlin- Roster filler. 5th
19. Al Santoni- Same for him. 5th

Relief Pitchers

1. Clay Carroll- Will be one of the best closers in the league. Top 10
2. Wayne Granger- Should be a solid closer. Mid 1st
3. Jack Baldschun- Could be a decent setup guy. Late 1st
4. Paul Doyle- Has a strong arm. 2nd
5. Roberto Rodriguez- Superb control. 2nd
6. Ron Willis- Should find a spot in the bullpen. 2nd
7. Ron Herbel- Could serve as a long or middle reliever. 3rd
8. Jerry Nymun- May get a shot in middle relief. 4th
9. Gary Ross- Unlikely to contribute. 5th
10. Tommy Dukes- Better get his dukes up for all the times he'll plunk batters. 5th