Minor League Fantasy Draft: Round One-Luis Robert

My fantasy baseball league has been quite hectic this year in the cold days of winter.
After many years of existence, we finally made the decision to expand to 12 teams from ten teams, so
as commissioner, I had expansion drafts to run.

Each team would lose two players from their minor league system and then in a week, the minor league draft would begin.
I lost Jose DeLeon, a once highly touted pitcher from the Tampa system that has been riddled with injuries and Sean Reid-Foley, a pitcher that I still like that had his struggles last year for Toronto's AA affiliate in New Hampshire.
Once, I knew what I had lost, I have five picks for my system in the draft and I thought I'd write a small piece on each player that I select.

Picking eighth in round one, I felt I had some good fortune as I was able to select Luis Robert, a 20-year-old outfielder from Cuba with my first pick.
Robert has yet to play a professional game, but I happened to be watching the Indians play the White Sox last year on the day Robert signed with Chicago.
I've noted before that when the Indians play the Chi-Sox and Hawk Harrelson (retiring this year sadly) announces the game, I watch the Chicago network.
The talk during that game was all about Robert and his accolades.
I immediately looked for a video of Robert, found his workout very impressive and filed his name away for later.


Having the chance to add Robert was possible, but unlikely in my opinion,
Joe Werner's Prospect Digest (my go-to book and look for Joe to be doing a podcast with me in the next week or so) has Robert as a future star and compares him more favorably than Yasiel Puig at the same age against the same level of Cuban competition.
Joe's final quote on Robert- "Can someone say star"?.

At 6'3 and being graded as having plus power and plus speed by both Werner and Baseball America and profiling as being able to stay as a centerfielder defensively, Luis Robert seems to me to be a gamble worth taking with massive upside.
Robert will start with either Low A Kannapolis or High A Winston-Salem and in either case, I'll be able to scout Robert for myself and see what I've drafted.
The White Sox think he'll eventually be a middle of the order hitter, in front of another mega-prospect that is winding his way through the minors now - Eloy Jimenez.
What team owns Jimenez's rights in our league?
That would be mine..

Back later tonight from the road office..