Purple Row has already chimed in with their initial thoughts on the Colorado Rockies' 2011 MLB Draft. Overall the draft was given a 'B-' because "There were no steals, but no wasted picks either." It was a sound draft that will likely produce a couple of players on the big league roster a few years down the road. But what about the individual picks?
Purple Row wonders about the team drafting for need but winds up buying into the first two selections:
Both Anderson and Story fill organizational needs. Shortstop is very thin behind All Star Troy Tulowitzki. [...] LHP has also been a weakness in the system, with both Tyler Matzek and Christian Friedrich struggling this year. Beyond them, LHP depth is almost nonexistent in the system. Drafting for needs is often a bad strategy in baseball, but I believe they will get decent value in these two picks.
Second round selection OF Carl Thomore receives two thumbs up because he is a "character" guy who we'll learn is a "grinder." Thomore might just turn into an underrated selection at first glance, but he could turn into a solid big leaguer.
The hope is that 30th round selection John Curtiss can be persuaded to sign a pro contract instead of playing three years for the Texas Longhorns. The following sounds like a fair assessment of how the team drafted:
There is a good mix of projectable upside talent, as well as safer advanced players.
Signings will begin to trickle in over the next few weeks.