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Team Press Releases / 2016 First-Year Player Draft
« on: February 08, 2018, 11:10:40 am »
2016 First-Year Player Draft
Players to Reach Majors: 5 of 5
Cumulative Draft WAR (AFBL-level): 104.24
Notes: 46.3 WAR was from Weaver?s time with New Mexico, West Virginia & New Jersey. The 2016 Draft would be the last time that the franchise would be drafting as the California Golden Eagles.
Round 1, Pick 4 (4th Overall): SP Tim Weaver ? Retired 2034
Tim Weaver
Tim Weaver was a borderline Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with a great changeup. He?s currently in the top third of several high-profile all-time AFBL leaderboards, including win percentage (.6375), WAR (50.77), strikeouts (2,240), and wins (160).
Despite his good track record and stories from former players of his great leadership ability in the clubhouse, he found himself traded three times in his career before finally settling into New Jersey in 2024 in his age 28 season. He?d spend a career-high 8 seasons with the Athletics and two more in AAA in 2032-33 before retiring in 2034.
Weaver was a 3-time All-Star, a 2-time 20-game winner, and won the Federation Cup Series with New Jersey in 2026. The following season in 2027 he was off to an amazing 8-0 start with 0.94 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 76.1 innings before tearing his rotator cuff and missing the better part of a calendar year.
Weaver wore #49 for Maryland.
TIM WEAVER WAS TRADED TO NEW MEXICO DANGER ON MARCH 17, 2020 FOR:
Right-handed starting pitcher Charlie White was a good prospect who had bounced around from New Jersey to Ontario to Idaho to New Mexico before landing in Maryland. White spent most of 2020 as part of the Ocean City Crabpots (AA) rotation, a club that won the National League title that year. In 2021, he went down injured for almost a year with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and was never the same thrower. White made 111 decent or poor starts for -0.5 career WAR and appeared in 186 games overall for Maryland from 2022-2028. White wore #29.
1B/3B Bobby Kodo was a popular player who held down first base and backed up third base for Maryland from 2020-2027. He was a decent contact hitter and is still #10 in Maryland career batting average with .270. Despite his local popularity, his 4.8 WAR in 8 years with the club wasn?t that great and there is still a recurring thought among scouts that Kodo could have become an All-Star caliber player if he took baseball more seriously. Kodo wore #6.
Switch hitter Scotty Knox is a Maryland club legend who played first base and the corner outfield positions from 2020-2028. Knox had 9 seasons with at least 20 home runs and is still currently third in club history with 224 home runs, fifth in total bases with 1,746, fourth in OPS with .822 and second in hit by pitch with 51. Knox went to the 2022 All-Star Game as a left fielder. He also led the league in games started in 2020 with 157. Knox wore #58 and every year there is an unsuccessful campaign by fans who petition the club to have the number retired.
#17 Jeff Baker spent parts of 14 seasons with the Bridegrooms before retiring after the 2033 campaign, 7 of those seasons as the starting catcher. Unlike many Maryland acquisitions, Baker stayed away from major injuries and was a solid 16.2 WAR performer. He is currently #3 in career games played for the ?Grooms with 1,491. Baker was regarded by the fans as a good squad player but was in many ways completely forgettable for someone with such a long tenure, never forming the emotional bond with the fans that Bobby Kodo and Scotty Knox did in the half the time.
Round 2, Pick 4 (20th Overall): LF Jeff Cahill ? Retired 2035
Jeff Cahill
Jeff Cahill is one of those players who whenever he started to get into a really good groove he would get an injury that would bring his momentum to a halt and leave lasting consequences on his skills. Once named the #5 prospect in the AFBL, Cahill was drafted to eventually be a devastating presence in the middle of the lineup. But his string of injuries meant that he never delivered on the power potential and instead he settled into a long career as a consistent singles and doubles hitter.
Cahill spent most of his playing time in left field from 2024-2033 but he was also filling in on a regular basis as competent cover in right field. He was sent down to AAA Annapolis Destroyers in 2034 and spent two seasons there before retiring.
While Cahill never lived up to the (possibly unreasonable) expectations, he is still currently fourth in Bridegrooms history in games played (1,326), OBP (.356), and hits (1,400). For his career he was a .271/.356/.395 hitter with an OPS+ of 108 and 19.1 WAR.
Cahill wore #33, which has been recently worn by star pitcher Bob Parker.
Round 3, Pick 4 (36th Overall): CF Orlando Gandarilla ? Retired 2031
Orlando Gandarilla
Injuries took their toll on many early draft picks in Maryland?s history, and Orlando Gandarilla was no different. After a breakout 5 WAR season at age 28 in 2020 where he hit .241/.305/.461 with 29 home runs, a badly sprained ankle and fractured wrist robbed him of some power. He was still a 2-3 WAR player until being beaned in the head and suffering symptoms of post-concussion syndrome in 2027. He hung on for the 2028 & 2029 seasons but retired in 2031. His 1,172 games played is current 6th all-time for the club. While his primary position was center field, he also played over 200 games at both shortstop and left field. Gandarilla wore #48 for 12 seasons.
Round 4, Pick 4 (52nd Overall): 3B Al Jones ? Retired 2026
Al Jones
Al Jones was traded to the then-named New York Brewers one year to the day after being drafted by California, so he only played briefly in the minors for the organization. He played parts of four years at the AFBL-level for NY though from 2018-2021 and posted a 31.5% career strikeout rate and -0.7 WAR in 1,116 plate appearances.
Jones didn?t give up on a major league career and played 5 seasons in the New York system for AAA Brooklyn from 2022-2026. But he was never called back up despite hitting at least 27 home runs in 4 of those 5 seasons.
AL JONES WAS TRADED TO NEW YORK BREWERS ON NOVEMBER 15, 2017 FOR:
SS Ben Crossin was a workman-like player for the Bridegrooms in 2018 & 2019 before being traded in the previously discussed deal with Class of 2015?s Enrico Leon to West Virginia. The most notable thing about Crossin was that there was controversy when he came to the club and took #34 which until the 2017 season had been worn by recently traded team leader and All-Star Kevin Reynolds.
CF Firdus Ovchiyan was thrown into the deal simply because of his name. He never made it to the majors and became a birdwatcher and nature photographer in Cape May, New Jersey.
Round 6, Pick 4 (84th Overall): 2B Joe Baldwin ? Retired 2033
Joe Baldwin
Joe Baldwin was a decent second baseman who put up 11.7 career WAR over 9 seasons. Not bad from someone picked 84th overall. He was at the center of a local media controversy after the completion of the 2025 season when he had his best-ever year (leading the league in doubles and posting a 6.4 WAR) but ending up losing the team MVP vote to sentimental favorite Kevin Reynolds. Reynolds, who only had 3.5 WAR, had recently returned to the worst club in baseball in a trade after spending 5+ years in Colorado. Baldwin went .260/.343/.384 with 833 hits and 393 walks in 3,631 career plate appearances.
Players to Reach Majors: 5 of 5
Cumulative Draft WAR (AFBL-level): 104.24
Notes: 46.3 WAR was from Weaver?s time with New Mexico, West Virginia & New Jersey. The 2016 Draft would be the last time that the franchise would be drafting as the California Golden Eagles.
Round 1, Pick 4 (4th Overall): SP Tim Weaver ? Retired 2034
Tim Weaver
Tim Weaver was a borderline Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with a great changeup. He?s currently in the top third of several high-profile all-time AFBL leaderboards, including win percentage (.6375), WAR (50.77), strikeouts (2,240), and wins (160).
Despite his good track record and stories from former players of his great leadership ability in the clubhouse, he found himself traded three times in his career before finally settling into New Jersey in 2024 in his age 28 season. He?d spend a career-high 8 seasons with the Athletics and two more in AAA in 2032-33 before retiring in 2034.
Weaver was a 3-time All-Star, a 2-time 20-game winner, and won the Federation Cup Series with New Jersey in 2026. The following season in 2027 he was off to an amazing 8-0 start with 0.94 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 76.1 innings before tearing his rotator cuff and missing the better part of a calendar year.
Weaver wore #49 for Maryland.
TIM WEAVER WAS TRADED TO NEW MEXICO DANGER ON MARCH 17, 2020 FOR:
Right-handed starting pitcher Charlie White was a good prospect who had bounced around from New Jersey to Ontario to Idaho to New Mexico before landing in Maryland. White spent most of 2020 as part of the Ocean City Crabpots (AA) rotation, a club that won the National League title that year. In 2021, he went down injured for almost a year with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and was never the same thrower. White made 111 decent or poor starts for -0.5 career WAR and appeared in 186 games overall for Maryland from 2022-2028. White wore #29.
1B/3B Bobby Kodo was a popular player who held down first base and backed up third base for Maryland from 2020-2027. He was a decent contact hitter and is still #10 in Maryland career batting average with .270. Despite his local popularity, his 4.8 WAR in 8 years with the club wasn?t that great and there is still a recurring thought among scouts that Kodo could have become an All-Star caliber player if he took baseball more seriously. Kodo wore #6.
Switch hitter Scotty Knox is a Maryland club legend who played first base and the corner outfield positions from 2020-2028. Knox had 9 seasons with at least 20 home runs and is still currently third in club history with 224 home runs, fifth in total bases with 1,746, fourth in OPS with .822 and second in hit by pitch with 51. Knox went to the 2022 All-Star Game as a left fielder. He also led the league in games started in 2020 with 157. Knox wore #58 and every year there is an unsuccessful campaign by fans who petition the club to have the number retired.
#17 Jeff Baker spent parts of 14 seasons with the Bridegrooms before retiring after the 2033 campaign, 7 of those seasons as the starting catcher. Unlike many Maryland acquisitions, Baker stayed away from major injuries and was a solid 16.2 WAR performer. He is currently #3 in career games played for the ?Grooms with 1,491. Baker was regarded by the fans as a good squad player but was in many ways completely forgettable for someone with such a long tenure, never forming the emotional bond with the fans that Bobby Kodo and Scotty Knox did in the half the time.
Round 2, Pick 4 (20th Overall): LF Jeff Cahill ? Retired 2035
Jeff Cahill
Jeff Cahill is one of those players who whenever he started to get into a really good groove he would get an injury that would bring his momentum to a halt and leave lasting consequences on his skills. Once named the #5 prospect in the AFBL, Cahill was drafted to eventually be a devastating presence in the middle of the lineup. But his string of injuries meant that he never delivered on the power potential and instead he settled into a long career as a consistent singles and doubles hitter.
Cahill spent most of his playing time in left field from 2024-2033 but he was also filling in on a regular basis as competent cover in right field. He was sent down to AAA Annapolis Destroyers in 2034 and spent two seasons there before retiring.
While Cahill never lived up to the (possibly unreasonable) expectations, he is still currently fourth in Bridegrooms history in games played (1,326), OBP (.356), and hits (1,400). For his career he was a .271/.356/.395 hitter with an OPS+ of 108 and 19.1 WAR.
Cahill wore #33, which has been recently worn by star pitcher Bob Parker.
Round 3, Pick 4 (36th Overall): CF Orlando Gandarilla ? Retired 2031
Orlando Gandarilla
Injuries took their toll on many early draft picks in Maryland?s history, and Orlando Gandarilla was no different. After a breakout 5 WAR season at age 28 in 2020 where he hit .241/.305/.461 with 29 home runs, a badly sprained ankle and fractured wrist robbed him of some power. He was still a 2-3 WAR player until being beaned in the head and suffering symptoms of post-concussion syndrome in 2027. He hung on for the 2028 & 2029 seasons but retired in 2031. His 1,172 games played is current 6th all-time for the club. While his primary position was center field, he also played over 200 games at both shortstop and left field. Gandarilla wore #48 for 12 seasons.
Round 4, Pick 4 (52nd Overall): 3B Al Jones ? Retired 2026
Al Jones
Al Jones was traded to the then-named New York Brewers one year to the day after being drafted by California, so he only played briefly in the minors for the organization. He played parts of four years at the AFBL-level for NY though from 2018-2021 and posted a 31.5% career strikeout rate and -0.7 WAR in 1,116 plate appearances.
Jones didn?t give up on a major league career and played 5 seasons in the New York system for AAA Brooklyn from 2022-2026. But he was never called back up despite hitting at least 27 home runs in 4 of those 5 seasons.
AL JONES WAS TRADED TO NEW YORK BREWERS ON NOVEMBER 15, 2017 FOR:
SS Ben Crossin was a workman-like player for the Bridegrooms in 2018 & 2019 before being traded in the previously discussed deal with Class of 2015?s Enrico Leon to West Virginia. The most notable thing about Crossin was that there was controversy when he came to the club and took #34 which until the 2017 season had been worn by recently traded team leader and All-Star Kevin Reynolds.
CF Firdus Ovchiyan was thrown into the deal simply because of his name. He never made it to the majors and became a birdwatcher and nature photographer in Cape May, New Jersey.
Round 6, Pick 4 (84th Overall): 2B Joe Baldwin ? Retired 2033
Joe Baldwin
Joe Baldwin was a decent second baseman who put up 11.7 career WAR over 9 seasons. Not bad from someone picked 84th overall. He was at the center of a local media controversy after the completion of the 2025 season when he had his best-ever year (leading the league in doubles and posting a 6.4 WAR) but ending up losing the team MVP vote to sentimental favorite Kevin Reynolds. Reynolds, who only had 3.5 WAR, had recently returned to the worst club in baseball in a trade after spending 5+ years in Colorado. Baldwin went .260/.343/.384 with 833 hits and 393 walks in 3,631 career plate appearances.
