The 2018 CPBL Draft is upon us once again, 88 talented amateurs from various high schools, universities and the industrial league will enter the 2018 draft and hopefully get the opportunity to turn professional.
Draft Pick Strategy for Each Teams
Will the teams pick the high school prospects and spend time develop them? Or select players that are CPBL first team ready and trying to get a boost in the second-half season?
To answer that question above, we will briefly outline each teams’ current/ potential weakness, hopefully this will provide some insight for the draft next week.
- Fubon Guardians: Catchers, Pitchers.
- Uni-Lions: Infielders, Infielders, Pitchers.
- Chinatrust Brothers: Infielders, Catcher, Pitchers.
- Lamigo Monkeys: Outfielders, Pitchers.
But having said all this, with the CPBL being a four-team league, there is always the strategy of picking the best player that is available, regardless of his position.
2018 CPBL Draft Predictions
We have put together a mock draft for the first two round, along with some quick facts about the players. Without further ado, here is our 2018 CPBL Draft predictions.
First Round Predictions
Fubon Guardians – 李振昌 (C.C Lee) RHP
It is not a secret that the Fubon Guardians love signing players with previous overseas experiences. The 31-year-old former MLB and NPB flamethrower 李振昌 (C.C Lee) will be perfect for the Guardians.
Lee will be able to contribute straight away in the second-half season as the late inning reliever, and maybe we will even see the Guardians try to convert him into a starting pitcher in the future.
Uni-Lions – 古林睿煬 (Gu Lin Ruei-Yang) RHP
Gu Lin Ruei-Yang is considered as one of the top high school pitching prospects. The 18-year-old right-handed pitcher can hit 147kph with his fastball and have a good command of his breaking pitches (Curve, slider, sinker, changeup and forkball). He has all the necessary tools to develop into a starting pitcher.
Chinatrust Brothers 戴培峰 (Tai Pei-Feng) C
One of the most balanced high school catcher coming into this year’s draft. Based on the scouting reports, defensively speaking, Tai is good enough to start in the CPBL first team, and is projecting to be the Lamigo Monkeys’ power hitting catcher 林泓育 (Lin Hung-Yu).
Lamigo Monkeys 張偉聖 (Chang Wei-Sheng) OF
The younger brother of the Cleveland Indians’ Triple-A infielder 張育成 (Chang Yu-Cheng) and Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A catcher 張進德 (Jhang Jin-De). Known for his overall athletic ability, arm strength and speed. Chang is projecting to be the Fubon Guardians’ 張正偉 (Chang Cheng-Wei)
Second Round Predictions
Fubon Guardians 高宇杰 (Kao Yu-Chieh) C
The primary catcher of the National Taiwan Sport University, with previous experience playing for Taiwan’s U-23 national team. Known to be a line-drive hitter, above average plate discipline and blocking ability. Kao is considered to be CPBL first team ready.
Uni-Lions 王正棠 (Wang Cheng-Tang) IF
Represented Team Taiwan in the 2017 Summer Universiade. Great plate discipline and quick swing. With his above average speed, Wang is the kind of player that is able to reach on base safely once he puts the ball in play.
Chinatrust Brothers 陳品學 (Chen Ping-Hsueh) P
Former Cleveland Indians farmhand, able to hit 153kph with his fastball. Chen is considered to be CPBL first team ready and should see Chen pitch out of the Brothers’ bullpen towards the end of the second-half season.
Lamigo Monkeys 李丞齡 (Li Cheng-Ling) C
Known for his raw power and arm strength behind the home plate. Li still need a bit more time to develop before he is CPBL first team ready, which is perfect for the Lamigo Monkeys.
Enjoyed the video clips. The youngsters look like ballplayers. Any thoughts on how this year’s draft class compares to last year’s or previous years?
Compared with the 2016 and 2017 draft. The 2018 list is not as stacked as the previous seasons.
Less high profile junior national team players this year. But I guess still got some decent high school prospects.
RHP Gu-Lin and catcher Tai, players like that probably don’t appear every year. So still a decent pick up.
I wrote this blog post pretty late last night, I will probably add a few more potential 3rd and 4th round later today.
The Fubon Guardians probably did the wise thing in choosing the best available young player with the first pick of the draft, but I bet they were disappointed when the Brothers selected C.C. Lee third overall. The Guardians had to think there was a good chance Lee would still be around because of his age when they selected again at the top of the second round.
I think that’s their strategy too. Banking on other team won’t sign C.C Lee. But I think they are better off without C.C Lee anyway. They drafted some nice players last night. I’d say on paper, the biggest winner is Guardians and Lions. They picked up some really nice amateurs.
Brothers’ general manager is saying, C.C Lee’s salary will be at least 200,000 USD to start with.
Lee is probably as close as it comes to a sure thing for a CPBL team. His stuff should be better than what CPBL batters are used to facing, and will probably pitch well in the CPBL through the 2020 season before he starts to get old. It’s a fact that not all high school players pan out, although the odds are probably pretty that the first two selected this year will become good CPBL players.
Lee certainly addresses a weakness the 2018 Brothers have, but as bad as the Brothers were in the first half, it’s extremely unlikely that Lee, even if he’s the league’s best closer in the second half, can get the Brothers up even to second place. However, it looks almost certain that the Brothers will get at worst the second overall pick in the 2019 CPBL Draft at which time they can be expected to select the best young player available.
I think so, given his high strikeout rate and sidearm action in the United States. I think CC Lee will do fine in the CPBL. From my understanding pretty healthy too.
Yeah, it depend how the organisation views it. If healthy, Lee will be a top reliever for at least two to three seasons, if that’s the case, then in exchange for one high school prospect it seems fair. Not sure if they will do it or not, but if Lee can start, then Brothers definitely hit a gold mine there.
Like you said, with high school prospects, sometime you get a gem, sometime it just doesn’ pan out. But historically speaking, first three round tend work out fine. With CPBL being a four team league, in a way, you can say the draft order isn’t that important compare with the MLB, NPB and the KBO.
I’m a bit disappointed that nobody drafted that university Knuckleball pitcher, I guess he is probably not that good, but would be fun to see a starting pitcher in the CPBL uses knuckleball as his primary pitch. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6YqpsFGUHo)