These were the top five minor leaguers selected in my AL-only draft. I had picks numbered 1 and 5.
After three months, I do not believe any major mistakes were made - given what was known at the time.
That caveat applies to Craig Hansen due to the emergence of Jon Papelbon as the closer in Boston. If that had been foreseen, then Hansen would have been a late 2nd round pick or none at all. How valuable can middle relief prospects be?
1. Brandon Wood - .293/.379/.576 with 27 2B, 2 3B and 17 HRs and 9 SB
2. Alex Gordon - .300/.403/.506 with 20 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR and 16 SB
3. Howie Kendrick -.388/.427/.664 with 23 2B, 5 3B, 12 HR and 8 SB
4. Andy Marte - .272/.336/.455 with 16 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR and 1 SB
5. Craig Hansen - 29.1 IP 2.76 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 32 strikeouts.
Brandon Wood is leads the four hitters with 46 extra base hits (XBH) while Kendrick has lit the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League on fire.
Alex Gordon gives hope to Royals fans that the days of Emil Brown as the five-hole hitter are over, and Indians fans are much too close to clamoring for Andy Marte and any other young players who benefit from a jettisoning of free-agent-to-be and veteran players (Aaron Boone, Casey Blake, Ben Broussard, Todd Hollandsworth, Raphael Belliard.)