Today, 2pm. Tracker on MLS site. One mock: http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/01...day-a-look-at-the-best-available-players.html Revs have only their own pick (#4) in all 4 rounds.
Can somebody explain the point of the supplemental draft to me? Why doesn't the Superdraft just go four rounds or whatever?
Tough to get excited about the Supplemental Draft - yeah there is the rare success story but a good chunk of these guys don't even make the team and the ones that do almost never see the field. Sometimes the guys picked don't even bother to really try making the team, like Kevin Garcia and Hunter Christiansen in the recent past for the Revs. I'd like to see the Revs give Bustamante and Cintron a shot for the sole reason they're local college kids. That's the extent of my investment in the Supplemental Draft (beyond an idle work distraction).
UConn bio ... NE Revolution @NERevolution With the fourth pick of the first round of the MLS Supplemental Draft,#NERevs select D Jossimar Sanchez from UConn. Apparently, he broke his leg during the season.
I think this could be a steal for the Revs. He's coming off a broken leg, but I think he was probably a second round talent prior to the injury. Worth the risk IMO.
Another good pick IMO. I've never seen the kid play, but it's never a bad thing to draft the leading goalscorer in the country, no matter what conference he was playing in. People were clamoring for Bennet but with Thomas we got a younger striker who doesn't take up an SI spot. I like it.
Ives seems to think that his best position will be as a RB at the pro level, even though he never played there in college to the best of my knowledge...
I will admit Chris Thomas seems like an exciting player - a dominant goalscorer, even from a small conference, is always worth a look. I wonder what made him slip to the 2nd Supplemental round even though he had a good Combine. Given the lack of true forwards on the team, either he or Luke Spencer will probably see some significant playing time this year.
It sounds like he may lack the athleticism and speed for the pro level. Only time will tell... Also, if either of these guys see significant minutes then you can consider this offseason to be a major failure.
Four teams passed in the third round (CHV, POR, DCU, LAG), five teams in the fourth round (those 4 plus MON).
Like the two picks I've read anything at all about in Thomas and Sanchez. Ives mentioned Sanchez as a right back who played centrally because of need. Seemed to imply that he played RB while at UConn and said he would have been a 2nd rounder if not for the broken leg. As for Thomas, guys who score goals are always good. Lesser competition at Elon sure, but the guy led the nation in goals scored. Lots of folks play against lesser competition and rarely do they lead the nation in goals.
Ives doesn't know his ass from his elbow. He never played outside back at UConn. He started off playing as a defensive midfielder and then moved back to CB (arguably his more natural position). I would assume he would play either of those two positions in the pros, and not RB. There's always the chance that he knows something I don't, but nothing I've seen from Sanchez leads me to believe he'll play right back. That being said, I do think he could be a steal assuming he gets healthy.
They used to do that, but there isn't the level of interest to sustain a draft for that long. So, they've just taken the 2nd part off-line. Giving a few days in between allows the teams to generate two waves of press releases and squeeze out a little more media coverage. Presumably they hope he's the proverbial "diamond in the rough" they spotted when scouting Thomas. I think so too. There's a knack for goal scoring that you can't teach - and clearly this kid has it. He may not have the physical tools to create a lot of chances in MLS, but he obviously knows what to do when he gets them (unlike, say, Barrett). He's got the size, so if there are questions, it must be about his speed or agility. Well, there is always the chance, however small, that one of them will actually emerge and earn the p.t. It's happened.
The majority of players who have emerged from the Supplemental Draft to become MLS regulars have taken a long time to develop. Look at Larentowicz and Wondolowski for example, they both spent a lot of time playing minutes in the reserve league prior to seeing the field for an MLS match. If any of our Supplemental picks are going to contribute to this franchise, I'd assume it's at least another year or two down the line.