Last year's Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year, Tim Shibuya, took the Forty-Second spot this year. Shibuya received 77 of 246 votes (31%), with Lance Ray second (54), James Beresford third (28%), Angel Mata fourth (25) and Anderson Hidalgo fifth with 20 votes.
Dropped from the next round will be Michael Gonzales (10), Javier Pimentel (6), Steven Evans (6) and Bart Carter (6). We will add five players, Adam Bryant, Danny Lehmann, Evan Bigley, Bobby Lanigan and Jose Gonzalez. Bryant, last year's ninth round pick, had a solid rookie season at Beloit where he hit .245 average in 208 at bats. Lehmann split his time between New Britain and Rochester. Considered one of the best defensive catchers in the organization, Lehmann hit .309 average in 55 at bats in AA while hitting .204 in 137 at bats at AAA. Bigley has consistently been a good hitter at every level he has played at. In 487 at bats at New Britain last year, he hit for a .253 average. Bobby Lanigan was the anchor of the Rock Cats starting rotation as they battled for a play off spot. He led the Cats with 153.2 innings while posting a 8-9 record with a 4.45 ERA. Gonzalez had thirteen saves, a 5-3 record and 2.47 ERA in 62.0 innings at Beloit as the crafty lefty continued to be an effective short reliever.
This round will remain open through noon, Tuesday. I have Dan Osterbrock, Steven Gruver, A. J. Pettersen, Luis Nunez and Markus Solbach on deck. Who do you think should be included in the final seven rounds?