1st Round 2021; Bags select Ben "Cadillac" Morton

The amateur draft always a favorite time of the year for GM Josh Swain.  The way real teams build their core is to through the draft.  Jersey Shore is no exception to the rule, just look at their former 1st round picks: Mike Bryant, Matt Doyle, Richard Coker, Lawrence Schroeder, Fabrice Brodeur, Gianluigi Ciottone, Roland Martin, Gerald Johnson, Matthieu Vancini....and those are just 1st and 1st round compensatory picks over the past 10 years.  

The D-Bags selected 24th this year and for the 3rd year in a row and for the 4th time in 5 years they chose to selected a prep player over going the going the college route.  They selected out of Sante Fe High School, Catcher Ben Morton, or simply as his teammates call him.....Cadillac.  In his senior year and first year as a starter, Morton caught 36 of the teams 40 games while hitting 8 doubles, 6 homers and driving in 33 runs.  He finished with a triple slash line of .299/.389/.493.  While not lighting it up like a lot of first rounders in high school do, Jersey's scouts see  the tools  While his defensive tools won't light the world on fire, scouts predict him to be middle o the road if he can live up to his potential, but his bat is why he got chosen here.  "We have his bat and gap as plus tools and his power at plus-plus.  He will never be a guy who walks a lot and probably will strike out his fair amount of times, but catchers are still one of the more rare positions in the BSA and if he can refine his hitting tools he could be one of the better hitting catchers in the league, but he has a long ways to go for that.  I imagine he struggles pretty good with A pitching, but being at age 18 we have a lot of options going forward," said GM Swain.

Jersey won't pick again until the 62nd overall pick which will be their regular 2nd round pick.  While that is a lot of players to be picked between now and then, don't be surprised to see GM Swain find a player who will turn out to be productive, it's just what they do in Jersey during a draft.

Last year's 1st round pick Miguel Serna, who was drafted 21st overall last season, is starting to pick it up in A ball after struggling last season.  While the power hasn't come around he is hitting .251 and has 20 doubles in A ball.  Jersey's other 1st round pick, SP Ben Head, another prep player, is improving as well.  He has reduced his BB/9, while picking up his K/9 and H/9.  His FIP is 4,43 and will probably spend the rest of the year in Manhattan to improve.  2nd round pick and 63rd overall last season 2B John Moore is really picking it up in AA.  Moore turned 24 this year has shown off his speed with 18 steals, 18 doubles and 3 triples.  He has struggled in the field, but management has him playing shortstop trying to improve his range there as he has been scouted to be one of the better fielding 2B at the AA level.  Chances are he will be playing in AAA before the year is done.

GO D-BAGS

Superstar in the Making?;Meet Rookie Ricardo Berroa

Not really too surprising but in his 2+ months in the big leagues, rookie Ricardo Berroa is excelling and adding another dangerous bat into an already potent offense in Jersey Shore.  He was called up June 21st to play mainly against right handed pitching and hasn't looked back since.  He started his career with a 16 game hit streak and through 49 games played and 194 plate appearances, Berroa has a line of .324/.387/.497 to go along with 13 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs and 6 stolen bases.  

Berroa was discovered by scouts early in the 2016 season in Cuba and began his ascent through the Jersey Shore farm system.  He came out of the gates a raw but talented 19 year old and was named the #22 prospect in all the BSA by the OSA scouting department prior to the 2017 season.  That season he would go on to have a monster season in A ball putting up a 5.9 WAR and rightfully earned promotion to AA the following year.

As a 21 year old in AA, he would top his monster year in A ball by posting a 6.1 WAR to go with his .562 slugging percentage and 49 doubles.  Jersey knew they had something special in Berroa.  He was kept in AA the first month and a half of the 2019 season before being promoted to AAA Tuscaloosa.  He would struggle adjusting to AAA pitching at first, but ended the 2019 season with a .273/.398/.528 in 66 games.  

With a crowded outfield in Jersey Shore which included Vancini, Dodd, Torres, and Ibarra, Jersey chose not to invite Berroa to spring training and named him the starting LF in Tuscaloosa.  The first 2.5 months of this season showed Jersey management they had no choice but to promote him.  Berroa was hitting a career high .351 to go with an outstanding .466 on base percentage and an OPS of 1.207 when he got the call to the big league club.  It was also the first time in his career where his walks would out number his strikeouts. 

Combined with Jersey's 24 year old rookie starting 1B Tadahisa Kisuki and their trio of young starting pitchers in Jose Ramos, Sergio Martinez and Ramon Ruiz the future is bright for the D-Bags. Though it seems like he has been on the team forever as well, Dave Dodd is just 26 and on pace for another 5.5+ WAR season.  So while the days of the solid core of Bryant/Perez/Morrow/Ellis get older this new group of core players look to help Jersey remain competitive well beyond the foreseeable future and hopefully for the next decade.

GO D-BAGS

Jersey Shore's 2014 Amateur Draft

The 2014 was an exciting one for Jersey Shore having compensation picks for free agents they totaled 9 picks in the first 4 rounds and 14 picks total.  As the draft wound down bats filled the draft board, taking 12 of 14 position players.

Their first pick came with the 28th overall pick.  The Bags selected 22 year old SS Lawrence Schroeder out of the U of Virginia.  Schroeder is a rangy SS who hits with good contact and for average power with a decent eye.  He hit .340, had an OBP of .453 and hit 45 HR's in his college career.  He will be sent to AA Gainesville where he should play right away and should have one of the quicker paths to the big leagues of any player in the draft.

With their 2nd pick in the draft, and 34th overall (former pick of the Toronto Titans and compensation for SP Jose Brito) the D-Bags selected 22 year old OF Armando Gonzales out of the University of Florida.  Gonzales played mainly CF in college but projects as a corner OF with good contact and great eye potential, scouts see him as an ideal #2 hitter.  He finished his college career witha .323 BA, and a .481 OBP and will also report to AA Gainesville.

For their 3rd pick and 48th overall in the supplemental round (compensation for Brito) the Bags took Gonzales teammate at Florida, 22 year old OF Matthieu Vancini.  Vancini follows in a similiar to mold to Gonzales, good contact and low power.  Vancini though has a knack for limiting strikeouts and has more speed.  He will join the first 2 picks in AA.

3 picks later, at 51st overall (compensation for SP Hector Hernandez) Jersey selected their first HS player of the draft in 19 year old 3B Cesar Reyes.  Coming out of Sante Fe HS in New Mexico, Reyes played 2 years of HS ball hitting with a 185 OPS+ both years.  Reyes isn't the most athletic player but projects with plus gap and power potential.

In Round 2, at pick 77, (formally belonging to Jacksonville, compensation for Hernandez) the Bags went back to college and selected 2B Armando Martinez.  Martinez is a Domincan born player who played his college ball at Texas Tech.  He plays every IF positions, but mainly stays on the right side at 1B and 2B.  He is a high contact hitter, but doesn't add too much else.  Hit .355 with a .455 OBP in 518 college AB's.

With their own 2nd round pick, the Bags took an interesting player in college 1B Clay Hawkins out of Arizona.  Hawkins was selected last year by Seattle, but didn't sign.  Hawkins was at UA for 4 years, but only had 4 AB in his first 2 seasons and then bust out.  Back to back 20 HR seasons led Arizona both years.  Sources say he is asking for a large signing bonus, so it could get interesting.

The rest of the draft is as follows:

3rd: 3B Jesse King - 19 year old high contact player out of Washington

4th: C Pedro Ramos - 22 year old college player from Rutgers

5th: P Wayne Barksdale - 19 year old projected MR from Pennsylvania

6th: SS Henry Paul - 19 year old speedy IF from New York

7th: P Tony Gurerrero - 22 year old P from Penn State

8th: RF Ben McKay - 22 year old util player from Pittsburgh

9th: P Sean Shaffner - 22 year old MR from USC

10th: RF Dan Pierce - 19 year old speedy OF from Arizona

This is the most drafted players the Bags have ever brought in one year.  How many of these players are future D-Bags?  Hopefully we will see a lot of them in the future.

GO D-BAGS