Jeter recaptures all-time hits record

Derek Jeter recaptured the all-time hits record just days into the 2013 season, overtaking Vladimir Guerrero, who caught the Marietta shortstop late last season.

Jeter had one hit in the season opener against Bridgewater to reach 2,700 hits. He then collected two more hits in the 19-inning nightcap of the opening day doubleheader to match Guerrero at 2,702 hits.

The 2,703rd hit of Jeter's career was an infield single to short off lefty reliever Luis Avilan in the eighth inning of Friday night's 5-3 loss at Hoboken.

It was just a year ago that Jeter tied Barry Bonds for first all-time in career hits, before surpassing Bonds during Passover. Looming not far behind, however, was Guerrero, who surpassed Jeter with a strong finish to end the 2012 season.

Chipper Jones of Newark (now Brick City) announced his final season will be 2013 and enters the year third all-time in hits, with 2,671, barely 30 behind Guerrero and Jeter. Alex Rodriguez, who came over to Las Vegas from Hopatcong in the offseason, is the only other active player in the top 10, with 2,567 hits, starting this year just eight hits behind Bonds.

Jeter began his 17th season in Marietta this year, averaging 169 hits per season. He entered the year first all-time with 2,420 games played -- an average of 142 games per year. He has never played fewer than 101 games (2011) and that was an abberation because he's played at least 150 games 13 times, and a full 162 games three times.

Career Retrospective: Chris Carpenter

If it's the last that the DMBL will see of Chris Carpenter he certainly went out in a blaze of glory.

Carpenter, who will turn 38 later this month, recently said he fears that he may never pitch again after continuing symptoms from a blot clot in his shoulder. And don't confuse him for the soon-to-be 48-year-old Cris Carpenter, whose career consisted of eight relief appearances in 1993 with Austin.

Carpenter arguably saved his best seasons for last, tasting postseason glory in two of his final three years. He was on the mound in Game 7 to clinch the Bridgewater's first title in 2010, striking out 10 and walking two while going the distance to secure a 7-1 win over Newark. Marietta's rotation was so stacked last season that he didn't make an appearance in the Mighty Men's four-game sweep of Vancouver in the DMBL World Series.

The New Hampshire native pitched nine seasons across 13 years in the DMBL. He broke in with Columbia as the first pick of the fifth round in the 1999 draft. He spent two seasons there (only 34 starts) before a brief three-game stint with Philly in 2001. After few years off, Carpenter came back strong in 2005 when Tijuana made him its first-round selection (11th overall, after Khalil Greene and before Danny Kolb). He made the move with the franchise to South Boston, and won a career-high 17 games in 2006 before splitting 2007 between South Boston and Vancouver. The Gang dealt him straight up to the Iron First for Prince Fielder.

Then, Carpenter was hit with the injury bug again, taking off 2008 and 2009 before finishing his career with a flourish. Bridgewater (which still played in D.C. at the time) wisely plucked Carpenter in Round 7 of the 2009 draft as an ineligible player, since he was still recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned in glorious fashion, going 16-10 with career bests of 3.59 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and nine complete games, in leading them to the postseason.

After bringing Bridgewater its first championship, Carpenter was dealt to Marietta in a complex, three-way deal involving Las Vegas, which included the likes of Josh Hamilton, David Price, Mark Teixeira and Alex Gordon, among others.

Carpenter made his name as a gutty workhorse in the clutch, eclipsing 200 innings in his last three seasons, including a career-high 234.3 (and career-high 179 Ks) in 2011 with the Mighty Men. Over his career, he averageD one complete game every eight starts; his 26 complete games (along with seven shutouts) rank in the top 20 all-time, in just 221 career starts (11.75 percent CG %). His seven shutouts ties him for 20th all-time, with seven other pitchers, including several still active.

Carpenter is 88-73 (.537), which ranks him about 30th in all-time wins, tied with Jason Schmidt, one better than Hideo Nomo and Henderson Alvarez, and one behind David Wells. He posted six winning seasons and lost precisely 10 games in four different seasons (only one of which was under .500). Interestingly, Nomo was the last pick of the 4th round in 1999, by Arkansas, just before Carpenter. He has a career ERA of 4.67 ERA and WHIP of 1.39.

Hall of Fame? Not quite. Damn fine career? You bet!

Brick City Bonanza

The Opening Day cuts always seem to attract the vultures, as a lot of teams' castoffs are quickly redistributed around the league. But one team seemed to feed the vultures more than others, and that team is the newly christened Brick City Batmen.

The Batmen, formerly the Newark Sugar Bears, were one of a handful of teams that maxed out their rosters in the draft. Former owner Craig Garretson was notorious for often making the final draft pick every season. So right from the start, the Batmen had a large number of cuts to make. But two days before Opening Day, Brick City signed three additional players, forcing them to make 13 total cuts. Let's take a look at who got scooped up:

The number 1 target of the Batmen castoffs was Clay Buchholz. Buchholz was claimed by 5 teams, finally ending up on Philadelphia. Buchholz debuted in 2010 with Blue Ridge and then was traded twice in 2011, ending up with Hoboken. Buchholz was only moderately successful in the DMBL, owning a 19-19 career record with a 4.24 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, but is still only 28 and has some upside.

Next, Amityville claimed 27-year old pitcher Jake Arrieta. Arrieta had a disastrous season for Livingston last year (4-15, 5.90) but the Ant Slayers see some potential in him. It's doubtful that we will see Arrieta in the DMBL this season though.

Marietta, who was denied in their claim for Buchholz, settle for 26-year-old Ivan Nova. Nova had a solid rookie season for St. Louis last season (13-9, 4.63). Marietta plans to send Nova to the minors, however, and re-examine him next season.

Blue Ridge was busy scraping the bottom of the waiver barrel. The Bombers earlier snagged Andrew Miller from Hillsborough's scrap heap. That same day, they also grabbed rookie right-hander Zach McAllister from Brick City. McAllister has already been sent down to Blue Ridge's farm team, but may resurface if the Bombers need a spot starter or if injuries hit.

Hoboken claimed ineligible pitcher Jeff Niemann, who started his DMBL career with the Cutters back in 2010. Niemann has yet to have a successful season though, owning a career 11-26 record to go along with a disastrous 6.39 ERA.

Finally, the Sardine City Straphangers grabbed promising right-hander Andrew Cashner. Cashner holds some potential to become a starting pitcher, but will start the year pitching relief for the Sardines' AAA team. Cashner missed much of the previous season with an injury and will attempt to recover arm strength in the bullpen. Whether he'll see any action with the big club remains to be seen.

So who didn't get claimed? Outfielder Gerardo Parra could get some looks later when teams are in need of an outfielder. Rookie Lucas Harrell could find a role when injuries hit someone's pitching staff. Nate Eovaldi and Jordan Lyles are young enough that a team may stash them for the future. Other teams looking for a comeback player may take a chance on Gavin Floyd, Bud Norris or J.A. Happ.

Batting stars of spring training

We all know spring training numbers don't matter. For instance, Adam Dunn of Las Vegas would project to 81 doubles and 81 walks in 2013, based on his spring training appearances (he was 1-for-1 with a double and a walk in just two games). But even the limited 30 games this spring can offer some small window into what can be expected during the 2013 regular season.

BATTING

Blue Ridge's Andrew McCutcheon could be a leading candidate for the Mitch in 2013, based on his spring. The centerfielder powered a big Bombers offense, leading the league in slugging (.602), total bases (74) and tied for home runs (9), and finished second to Ryan Braun in RBIs with 29. He was among three Bombers in the top 10 in runs scored. Braun, the Sardine City slugger, led the league in RBIs with 31 and also tied McCutcheon for the league lead in home runs.

Amityville's Andre Ethier also put up an impressive spring, with a line .315/.371/.584, whacking eight doubles and scoring 20 runs.

Five players, including two Boston Baked Beans, hammered eight homers to finish second: Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez, Bridgewater's Carlos Beltran, Evan Longoria of Sardine City and Hillsborough rookie Chris Carter (who had a league-high 30 strikeouts).

Philly's Roger Bernadina played over his head almost all spring and lost the "batting title" in the final days to Livingston rookie Yasmani Grandal (.340), whose teammate Coco Crisp led the league in steals (8). Luis Cruz was another Endzone Animal who played above his head, finishing second in the batting race at .336, while smacking 14 doubles. He crushed lefties (1.128 OPS) and held his own versus righties (.762).

Livingston shortstop Ian Desmond owned the longest hit streak of the spring, at 17 games, one better than Amityville's Howie Kendrick. Melky Cabrera of Arkansas led the league in hits with 45 while 2011 Mitchell Award winner Joey Votto of Hopatcong scored a league-high 28 runs. Both batted .331 to tie for fourth.

FIRST ROUNDERS, ROOKIES
Grandal was among the bright spots among those picks in the early rounds of the 2013 draft. Will Middlebrooks repaid Hillsborough's faith for moving up to snag him with the second overall pick. If there were spring training rookie of the year candidates, he'd be among them, hitting .302 and slugging .540 while leading all rookies in RBIs with 26 -- third in the league -- and seven homers. He also was among the league leaders in hits and total bases while playing full-time at third base.

On the down side of the first round: Hopatcong's Brandon Moss, chosen third overall, struggled mightily, hitting just .159/.203/.246 with 25 strikeouts and 4 walks in 23 games. Fellow first-rounder Jed Lowrie didn't fare much better, hitting .173/.287/.280 while getting most of the ABs in Hoboken at shortstop. Like most of the first-rounders, Allen Craig, selected after Moss by Amityville, had a modest spring, with a line of .276/.339/.419. He did slug .577 against left-handed pitching.

Playing primarily first base against right-handers, Matt Carpenter, the first of the Las Vegas Rat Pack's two first-round picks, sported a line of .253/.387/.360. Perhaps most impressive for the 10th overall pick were his 17 walks against nine strikeouts. It was the polar opposite of Rowdy's first round selection, (eighth overall) Chris Davis, who had 28 strikeouts and 4 walks. It was night and day for the Roddy Pipers' first basemen, mashing left-handers (1.011 OPS) but certainly not righties (.528 OPS). The last first-rounder, Vancouver's Wade Miley, was solid in three starts (3.63 ERA, 1.21 WHIP,  0-2) but was outshined by teammate Jacob Turner, taken several rounds later, who turned in a stellar spring: 1.27 ERA, 1-1, and 1 shutout in 4 starts.

Todd Frazier, taken 15th overall by Blue Ridge, showed some pop, slugging four homers and seven doubles, which contributed to a line of .259/.296/.509 while manning third base in all 30 games. Justin Ruggiano, the 13th overall selected, played right field for Philly most of this spring, hitting a respectable .278/.333/.436.

Rookie Anthony Rizzo wasn't selected in this year's draft (Arkansas scooped him up last year, with fellow prospect Matt Harvey) but he had an impressive .338/.356/.549 line, primarily against right-handers.

For a look at some of the pitching stars of the 2013 DMBL spring training, see our earlier post.

Spring training review

Will success in what is essentially 30 practice games translate into wins in the regular season? Who knows, but let's take a look at the 2013 spring training results and see if we can't take away some kind of predictions for teams and players.

If spring training is any indication, the four division winners would be Philly, Blue Ridge, Las Vegas and Rowdy. Hopatcong would settle for a wildcard and the other wild card would be decided via tiebreaker between Hillsborough and Amityville.

Philly (21-9) edged out three teams for the best record, one game better than Las Vegas, Hopatcong, and Blue Ridge (20-10). Seven teams finished .500 or better, including three at .500. Livingston and Marietta brought up the rear, finishing 11-19. A six-game winning streak by Rowdy to complete spring training saved the Van Slyke division from having all four squads finish below .500. The coldest teams to conclude the spring were Hillsborough and Newark, both losing five straight.

Philly and Las Vegas led the league in runs with 163 (5.4/game) while Newark (which has since changed its name to Brick City Batmen) packed the weakest punch (98/3.3). On the flip side, Philly and Hopatcong yielded the fewest earned runs (98/3.3) compared with Sardine City's league-high (140/4.7). Boston sported the worst run differential at -41, with Bridegewater next at -32.

Some of the biggest names in the league sat all spring, among them Marietta closer Mariano Rivera and Hoboken ace Clayton Kershaw. Other big names got a taste of playing time, such as Hillsborough's Justin Verlander and top overall draft pick Kris Medlen of Las Vegas.

PITCHING

Hopatcong's Jake Peavy made a case for being a McDonald candidate this spring, leading the league with a 0.91 WHIP, 8.6 R/9 and 48.3 innings pitched (tied with Newark rookie Yu Darvish). Peavy, who made all of one start for the Floating Fish last year (the season finale), tied with Philly's Trevor Cahill and Jarrod Parker of Amityville for the most victories and best record at 5-0. Peavy also was among the top 10 in ERA (2.98, 7th) and strikeouts (26, T-5th).

Peavy's competition for best pitcher of the spring came mostly from Parker, who was tops among starters in ERA (1.54) and also quality starts (6, tied with Phil Hughes of Blue Ridge). Other impressive performances came from Hopatcong veteran Andy Pettitte, coming back from a year off, who finished 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA, including two complete games and a shutout. Darvish led the league in strikeouts (41) and K/9 (7.6) but also walks (33).

Leading the league in saves, tied with 12, were Blue Ridge's David Hernandez and Philly's Ryan Cook, and between them only blew one (Hernandez). Cook did not allow an earned run -- and only two hits -- in 13.7 innings. Other stellar relievers this spring were Octavio Dotel of Livingston and Vancouver's Brad Ziegler. Both sported league-best WHIPs of 0.80, along with respective ERAs of 0.83 and 1.15.

The Blue Ridge bullpen also saw the top two relievers in holds, Tim Byrdak (7) and Mitchell Boggs (6). Boston had two of the busiest relievers, with Rafael Soriano tops in appearances with 20, followed by teammate Greg Holland with 19, who tied with Bridgewater lefty Robbie Ross. Amityville's Craig Kimbrel looks poised to avoid a sophomore slump, compiling seven saves in 11 games, with 16 strikeouts in 12.3 innings, good for 11.7 K/9. He also had a sterling 0.73 ERA and 0.65 WHIP.

An impressive bullpen was found in Arkansas where three relievers had ERAs of less than 1.00 (Casey Fien, Sergio Romo and Drew Storen). Fien was a workhorse, logging 28.7 innings in 17 games, while sporting 0.63 ERA and 0.66 WHIP.

The Falcons also boasted a triumvirate of impressive rookies in their rotation. Matt Harvey, drafted as an ineligible prospect last year, ranked third in the league with 32 strikeouts, going 3-2 with a respectable 4.50 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Four of A.J. Griffin's six starts for Arkansas were considered quality. The first-rounder went 2-4 with a 4.30 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while logging a team-high 44 IP. Second-rounder Alex Cobb was perhaps most impressive, compiling an ERA of 2.52 and 1.23 WHIP, with 3 wins against 2 losses.

Hillsborough kept the reins on Justin Verlander, who made just three starts but six appearances this spring. He had an impressive shutout but his spring totals were hardly Verlander-esque: 5.91 ERA, 1.73WHIP. The Hit Men's first-round selection saw more action but not much success: Lance Lynn compiled a 5.08 ERA and 1.49 WHIP while going 1-2 in six starts.

Even first overall pick Kris Medlen had to shake off some cobwebs this spring, going 1-1 with a mediocre 4.05 ERA but a 1.10 WHIP for Las Vegas. The Rat Pack's second first-rounder, reliever Huston Street, made 11 appearances with a 3.68 and 1-0 mark.

Next time we'll take a look at the batting stars of spring training and the rest of the 2013 first-rounders.

2012 Round 1 Review

They say you really can't grade a draft until a few years later but that doesn't stop the gasps and guffaws in the war room that some picks bring. And what better time to review last year's first round selections than on this revered holiday that is draft  day. (The asterisk indicates the player was protected this past offseason.)

1. Lucas Duda*, OF, Amityville

Duda arrived hoping his batting and some
fashion sense rubbed off on the Ant Slayers.

The Ant Slayers maneuvered up to pry away the top pick from Hopatcong and move up just one slot, for the price of a 2013 second-rounder. Duda had a excellent rookie campaign, bashing 25 home runs and 32 doubles, with 96 RBIs and 90 runs scored (the latter two categories best among rookies). He hit a reasonable .261 while most all of his damage was done against righties, slugging .496, as the Ant Slayers primary first basemen.

Duda finished fourth in the Pat Listach Rookie Of the Year Award voting, earning a 1st-place vote and a 3rd-place vote (6 points). Amityville must still believe in the lefty power bat, protecting him in the offseason, but he's not likely to see action with the big club.

2. Brandon Beachy*, SP, Bridgewater
This pick originally started with Amityville but after a flurry of picks changed hands between the Ant Slayers and Hopatcong and Bridgewater, it was the Mallers who ended up with it. Beachy was impressive, finishing with a team-high 16 wins (leading all rookies) against 7 losses and a sketchy 4.84 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. Still an impressive year, mind you, with 220 Ks in 182.1 innings and 32 starts. Most of his success came in the first half, propelling the rookie into the starting role for the Diamond League all-stars, gaining 10 votes, just ahead of Philly's Roy Halladay, with nine.

Beachy tied for 5th in Listach voting (with Corey Luebke, Al Albuerqueue and Craig Kimbrel, all garnering one 1st-place vote (5 points). He was dealt to Las Vegas in the offseason for a slew of draft picks where he's expected to team with the likely top pick in this year's draft, Kris Medlen.

3. Jemile Weeks, 2B, Newark
The best thing you can say about Weeks was that he led all rookies in at-bats (662) and plate appearance, starting 160 games at 2B for the Sugar Bears. He did pop 36 doubles and collect 181 hits in an otherwise mediocre season that saw him hit .273. Weeks was a 50-50 chances to steal a base: he swiped 18 bags -- but also was caught 18 times! He was pretty aggressive at the plate too, striking out 115 times against just 25 walks.

4. Cory Luebke, SP/RP, Hopatcong
The Floating Fish ended up with the #4 pick after all the jockeying between Amityville and Bridgewater. And they probably couldn't be happier. Luebke turned it on in the second half of the season (10-2, 2.67 ERA, 133 Ks, 104.2 IP) to help Hopatcong to its first-ever division title. He finished the year 13-8 with a 3.74 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a league-leading 242 strikeouts despite 80 walks in 33 starts, good enough for someone to cast a 1st-place ballot for him in ROY voting. Unfortunately, it must have all taken a toll on the lefty because he will miss the 2013 DMBL season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

5. Philip Humber, SP, Arkansas

Maybe he didn't duplicate his no-no but
Humber had a quality year for the Golden Falcons.

Humber flew under the radar much of the year as Beachy, Luebke and others garnered the spotlight, but led all rookies in decisions, going 15-13, with a 4.21 ERA and 1.39 WHIP and logging 220 innings in 32 starts for the Golden Falcons. It wasn't enough to make a ROY ballot, but a successful season nonetheless, the only Arkansas starter to post a .500 record and leading the squad in wins. Someone did recognize his success, casting a 3rd-place vote for him in ROY balloting.

6. Vance Worley, SP, Blue Ridge
Worley was much in the same boat as Humber: not the stellar season of others, but quality for the Bombers. He went 12-10 with a solid 4.19 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. He had more wins than rookie teammate Jeremy Hellickson (11), but Hellickson like many of last year's ROY candidates was drafted as a prospect the previous year. Worley was rewarded with 4 votes on the all-star ballot, falling short of making the team.

7. Brandon McCarthy*, SP, Newark
McCarthy original broke in with Vancouver in 2006 as a second-round pick and then took a few years off., bouncing around reserve lists before getting tapped by the Sugar Bears. He finished with a rather pedestrian record at 10-8, despite a 3.57 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He also got some love in all-star voting, with 4 ballots, but fell short. He logged 189.1 innings in 27 starts fo the Sugar Bears. The pick originally belonged to Marietta

McCarthy was protected but not by Newark. He was dealt to Sardine City in exchange for closer Jason Motte just before the deadline.

8. Emilio Bonifacio, SS, Hillsborough
The speedster was eligible in center as well but made 132 starts for the Hit Men at shortstop. He swiped 16 bags but was caught 12 times and scored 61 runs. He batted .250 with just 16 doubles and  same number of triples as home runs -- 4. The switch-hitting Bonifacio was impressive against lefties, hitting .325 with a .392 OBP but struggled versus right-handers, hitting just .224 with an equal .273 in OBP as well as SLG in 362 at-bats.

9. Brett Lawrie*, 3B, Livingston

Lawrie was ineligible for Livingston
last season anyway, so WTF, why not?

There are no stats to review for the third-base prospect, since the expansion Livingston franchise went with an ineligible selection for its first-ever draft pick. At a minimum, he's expected to platoon at third base against left-handers.

Unless the franchise -- which changed its name from Last Place to the Lords of Swing since last year's draft -- selects another third basemen today, Lawrie could very well be thrown out to the hot corner in his rookie campaign and just plug away.

10. Ivan Nova, SP, St. Louis
Nova put together a season as good as you could hope for from a rookie starter for an expansion team. He finished 13-9, leading the team in wins, to go along with a 4.63 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. He also made 31 starts, which included two complete games and a shutout, nearly reaching the 200-inning plateau (196.1).

11. John Mayberry, CF/1B, Vancouver
His power numbers were similar in some respects to the top pick, Duda, and even outhomered him by one (26) to lead all rookies in long balls. He also drove in 60 RBIs and scored 63 runs, along with whacking 18 doubles. Overall, he hit .257 and slugged .489, with an OPS of .833.

Mayberry was serviceable against right-handers with a .766 OPS (.239/.342/.424), but was a lefty killer with a .993 OPS (.298/.352/.641), though interestingly, he split his 26 homers evenly between both sides of the plate. He mainly patrolled right field for the Fisters but also saw some spotty time in the corner outfield positions, figuring in 123 games overall.

This pick originally belonged to the Carolina Mudcats (who have since been renamed Rowdy Roddy Pipers), but sent to Vancouver along with a 5th rounder this year in exchange for center fielder Adam Jones.

12. Javier Vazquez, SP, Sardine City
It was a season full of surprises for Vazquez. First, he was taken in the first round pick, then the 35-year-old made the all-star team. Overall, he finished 9-12, tossing 189.3 innings in 31 starts. He logged a 1.22 WHIP and 3.90 ERA. He added to his career numbers, breaking into the top 25 in several all-time categories, including wins, game starts and innings.

He found success in Sardine City, where he fashioned an 8-5 record with a 2.90 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 20 starts (13 quality starts). But it all came apart after he was shipped to Bridgewater in exchange for Doug Fister, who had struggled for the Mallers. What ensued was perhaps the biggest reversal of fortunes in recent memory.

Vazquez went just 1-7 in 11 starts (3 quality) for the Mallers, including a 6.45 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. Meanwhile, Fister twirled 10 quality starts among his 13 starts for the Straphangers, including two shutouts, going 7-3 with a 2.29 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, keeping Sardine City in the playoff hunt until late in the season.

13. Mike Carp, 1B, Vancouver
Carp saw action in the outfield and first base for the Iron Fist but primarily served as the DH during his 44 games in Vancouver. There wasn't much to distinguish his 2012 season: .245/.307/.358, with 3 home runs and 22 RBIs, and it didn't make much difference whether he was facing a left-hander or a righty.

Marco Scutaro was just pscyhed to remain
with Hoboken this offseason,

14. Marco Scutaro*, SS, Hoboken
If you had to guess which first-rounder would most likely be protected in the next offseason, it's a safe bet you would not have gone with the 36-year-old journeyman utility infielder. Scutaro had his moments for the Cutters, starting 111 games at shortstop, splitting time in a platoon with Ramon Santiago, who played against lefties. But eventually he lost playing time to J.J. Hardy after he was acquired from Philly in a deadline deal.

Scutaro's overall line wasn't pretty (.233/.287/.328) but he did smack 24 doubles. Most of his success was found against lefties, with an .813 OPS (.329/.356/.457), despite limited action (70 at-bats). This season he's also eligible at 2B.

15. Aaron Crow, RP, Arkansas
The young fireballer struck out 86 batters in 77.1 innings but only managed a 4.89 ERA  and a dreadful 1.68 WHIP (thanks to 51 walks). He appeared in 58 games, logging two saves, and going 1-4 for the Golden Falcons.

Philly originally held this pick but handed it over just before the 2012 midseason trade deadline in a blockbuster deal that brought them David Wright and Johan Santana, among others.

16. Josh Collmenter, SP, Hopatcong
After the dust settled in the Hopatcong-Las Vegas-Bridgewater exchange, the Floating Fish ended up with two first-round picks, including the final pick in the round.

Collmenter teamed with Luebke and Josh Tomlin to give the Floating Fish an impressive, if improbable, no-name rotation that rewarded the franchise with a deep run into the playoffs. Collmenter wasn't going to win any award with his numbers but every rotation needs an innings-eater. He was 13-12 despite a 4.47 ERA, and twirled three complete games among his 32 starts. He ranked second on the team in innings pitched (217.1) and had a respectable 1.24 WHIP. Interestingly, three of Hopatcong's starters finished with 13 wins.

So, what say you, a year later, who was the best pick of the 2012 first round? The worst?