Dreamweaving the Draft

The draft is all about dreaming on skills. You can bet that with every selection in yesterday’s first round, there was a scouting director and an area scout conjuring up the type of player their draftee could become. I thought it might be a fun exercise — especially given the pessimism that my draft history series provided — to look at who they might have been thinking of. I’m not projecting these futures, and would note the comparisons are rudimentary. But if we’re ever going to skew rose-colored, it should be today. 1. Bryce Harper, RF, Washington Nationals Skills they love: Big left-handed power, big arm. They’ll be hoping for production that looks like: It’s not my comparison, but Larry Walker’s performance in right field is a good benchmark. I’d also point to the peaks of Shawn Green and David Justice as jumping off points. 2. Jameson Taillon, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates Skills they love: Pitcher’s body, strikeout potential...