Welcome to the initial Classic Baseball Union draft.  In a few short weeks over twenty two hundred players will have their names sent through the commissioners office. This report looks at the first five baseball players to become of baseball history. The theme of the five picks was franchise-driving youth. All give guys were on the right side of 27 most a few years away from smelling their prime. First off the board was a starting pitcher from Canada named Vincent Gingras.

West Tennessee used their first pick to draft a pitcher who has a high 90’s fastball with movement, and above average secondary pitches. His ability to hold runners and induce ground balls at a rate above 70% should prove to be great assets to the Diamond Jaxx. Gingras is also only 22 years old with a handle on his control, incredible stuff. If Gingras can further develop and build up more arm strength to get further into games he is a lock to be a top pitcher in CBU for a long time, and could very well be knocking the door down into the proposed Hall of Fame. If West Tennessee puts an immobile infield behind Gingras, and he is unable to build up that arm strength he may a classic flame out case.

Going second overall to the Burlington Phishheads was young slugger Angel Vazquez. The 6’6, 205 pound, 22-year-old, switch hitter from Arizona does it all right. He hits well, hits for power, and has a very developed eye. Vazquez may have been a reach at number two because he plays first base and he is below average defensively at that.  Vazquez is also strictly station-to-station on the base paths, luckily that will not matter if he’s putting the ball over the wall. Look for Vazquez to crush right-handed hitters, and do more than hold his own against southpaws. Vazquez is a franchise hitter in the making, its unfortunate that his defense is below average.

Following Vazquez was another young slugger who stations at first base. Santiago Lopez is a polished hitter at 21 years old who brings the power from the left side. Lopez mashes right-handed pitchers, and while he will feature a noticeable platoon split, there is no reason to sit him versus lefties. Lopez unlike Vazquez has some pretty decent leather at first base. Scouts also rave about Lopez’s untapped potential for power. This year he is projected for around 30 home runs, scouts say he could end up hitting fifty as he matures. Redbank really got a popular player who will put people in their seats, lose a lot of baseballs in the outfield stands, and who has unlimited potential for power.

The Sioux Falls Uber Giraffes were sitting with the fourth pick unsure of what direction to go. After scouting dozens of potential first round picks they finally settled on making one of the most defensively versatile in the draft, who carries a big bat. Bryan Wigmore a right-handed hitter who can play all the infield positions, could hold his own in the outfield in a pinch, and has the consistent bat to be thinking about Babe Ruth awards each season. He is 23-years-old, and his fatal flaw resides in his lack of speed on the base paths, but he makes it up with a good baseball brain. He has all the right tools, and with the proper grooming Wigmore will be a household name.

The fifth pick of the draft saw the Middletown Mansfields go get the next young super ace available in the draft pool. Earl Grant from Pamona, California features a blistering fastball, a sweeping slider, a better than average curveball, and a subpar change up. If Grant can learn to improve his change up, build up arm strength, he can be one of the top five pitchers out of this draft, his velocity sits around 97 mph, and he tends to hold runners at an impressive rate.  He also is a candidate for the Brooks Robinson award from the mound, which only helps turn balls from that 60% groundball rate into more outs.