Gone are the days of the winter free-agent frenzy. Here are the days of savvy drafting and player development.
With only a few impact players hitting the free-agent market these days and trades proving ever more costly, the MLB First-Year Player Draft has become more important than ever. With that in mind, the Diamondbacks know they must make good on their No. 15 overall pick Thursday, as well as their 40 picks after it.
"Team's today are locking their own up," D-backs director of scouting Ray Montgomery said. "They know what they have, and they're comfortable with it. So it's important in the draft to infuse as much talent as we can."
Obviously, that's every team's thinking. Even the New York Yankees count on the draft these days, with marquee players less and less available each year. The trick is getting it right.
The D-backs intend to keep it simple when they make their picks Thursday through Sunday, trusting the evaluations compiled over the past five months and ranked on a "big board" over the past week. That is, adhering to the "best-player-available" philosophy.
That doesn't mean, however, the D-backs weren't looking for a few things in particular when they put together their rankings.
"I think power is hard to come by and hard to find," Montgomery said. "Whether that be hitting power or pitching power, it’s our philosophy that it's always good to look for power across the board if you can find it, and if you can find it in the middle of the field. Those types that play up the middle are hard to find, so we're looking for those types of guys."
So we can guess middle infielders, center fielders and catchers will be among the team's top targets. Also high on the D-backs list of desired traits for whatever player they select: Athleticism.
"You're always looking to add as much athleticism as you can," Montgomery said.
In finding those things, the D-backs look all over. Some teams tend to prefer more experienced, polished college players while others salivate at the chance to select a raw high school talent loaded with potential.
For the D-backs, it goes right back to the game plan -- best player available.
"It's probably more situational," Montgomery said. "I would say we're not averse to doing either. I think we've shown that over the last couple years and historically. Certainly we have the facilities and the system and the player development staff to go either way. It's just really situational based on where we are in the draft and what was taken up to that point."
That highlights another element to this year's draft. The D-backs are in an unpredictable position with the No. 15 overall pick. The position has produced a few solid players recently -- Chase Utley, Stephen Drew and Scott Kazmir -- but not many. Some of that, though, is just coincidence.
Montgomery is confident the D-backs will be just fine with the middle-round pick but admits there is plenty of variable to it, as with any selection, be it first overall or a 40th round flyer.
"There's unknown variables that occur -- guys fall, guys get taken ahead of where you think -- but right now we've got our No. 15 pick targeted down to, I would say, a handful of guys," Montgomery said. "Certainly not knowing who will be coming to us is the difficulty, much like last year with No. 26. There was just no way to know."
Regardless of who they take in the first round, though, we can count on the D-backs targeting pitching throughout. That's just what teams do.
"You need a lot of pitchers to get one to turn out," Montgomery said. "You can never have enough pitching. I know that's the cliché among all clichés, but it really is true."
As much as the draft can be an exercise in futility, it's just as likely to prove fruitful a few years later. Take the D-backs' drafts in 2008 and 2009, for example. Of the team's 2008 class of 50 picks, seven have made it to the majors and only one of those, current starting pitcher Wade Miley (a competitive balance pick, 43rd overall) is with the team.
In 2009, the D-backs nabbed 48 players. Only three of those have made the majors so far, but the two that remain with the team are currently making a near-daily impact: first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (eighth round, 246th overall) and outfielder A.J. Pollock (first round, 17th overall).
That's the reality of the draft: Only a few players each year truly end up making an impact at the big league level. Knowing that, the D-backs have to trust their plan will land then a few success stories.
"We try to get as much information and make as informed decisions as we can at the time, but we are dealing with a time lag between what they are today and what they'll be tomorrow," Montgomery said. "When you have those variables it really is hard to account for the future."
After the 15th pick Thursday, the D-backs will select in Competitive Balance Round A at 36th overall, in the second round at No. 52 overall and in the third round at No. 88 overall. Rounds 4-40 will take place Friday and Saturday.
