2013 Ammy Draft
Players to Reach Majors: 6 of 6
Cumulative Draft WAR (AFBL-level): 13.4
1st Round - #13 Overall
Gravel Rhodes
North Carolina Aviators - 2018-2029 - 13.3 WAR
Sugar-Salem High School - Catcher
With the first ammy draft pick in team history, NC took what they thought would be the future franchise catcher. In actuality, they wound up with an excellent minor-league catcher that couldn't quite make the jump to big league stardom. Rhodes first made the big league team in late 2018, hitting .156 in 9 games. For the next 8 seasons, he'd be NC's #1 catcher, before losing his job to Gil Pinay in 2027. After that, he'd appear in only 33 more big league games before being released by NC prior to Spring Training in 2030. He officially retired in 2031.
Rhodes' best season came in 2024, when he hit .251-16-55 in 144 games, leading the team with 37 doubles. Career line: .247/.279/.389/.667 - 956 games played
2nd Round - #29 Overall
Pete Collier
Georgia Titans- 2018-2021 - -1.2 WAR
Central-Merry High School - Pitcher
Pete was a nice looking pitching prospect for the Aviators. He showed steady improvement over the course of three seasons in the Aviators' rookie league affiliate Delray Beach. Scouts had him projected to be a 6/6/7 pitcher, good enough for the bottom of the rotation if he stayed on track. However, he was drafted by Georgia in the 2017 Expansion Draft, with the 125th overall pick. He had a nice couple of seasons in Georgia's system before topping out as a AAA pitcher. He had a cup of coffee with the Titans in 2018, and found work as a spot starter in the bigs again in 2020. He spent 2021 in the Georgia bullpen, then floundered in between AA and AAA for the rest of his career. Georgia released him in 2027 and he officially retired in 2028.
Career line: 3-8 with no saves, 4.13, 1.47 WHIP in 88 games including 11 starts
3rd Round - #45 Overall
Brad Little
North Carolina Aviators - 2018-2023 - -3.0 WAR
University of Florida - Pitcher
Brad Little spent a full 5 seasons in rookie league, first as a reliever and later a starter. Originally drafted with 5/4/4 potentials, he had become one of our better pitching prospects with 6/5/7 projected ratings by the time he reached AA. Brad made his big league debut late in 2018 in the bullpen, allowing 4 ER in 8.1 innings over the course of 3 appearances. He'd be a September call-up again in each of the following 2 seasons before making the Aviators full-time starting in 2021. However, these were the lean years of the Aviators, when they were among the worst teams in the league. Little was 1-18 in 24 starts in his final season, 2023. He was released by NC the following Spring and retired in 2025.
Career line: 8-39 with 1 save, 6.53 ERA, 1.66 WHIP in 85 games including 57 starts
4th Round - #61 Overall
Ron Hardin
Washington Resonance - 2021-2027 - 4.5 WAR
St. Martinville High School - Outfielder
Scouts thought there was an outside change that Hardin could develop into a slugger, and in his second season in Delray Beach (R), he hit 13 HR in 87 games while batting .305. He followed that up with a nice .314-9-36 season in 96 games for OBX (A). After a promotion to AA Greensboro, he hit just .224 with 1 HR in 20 games. Then, he was drafted by Washington as the 234th pick in the 2017 Expansion Draft. He put together some nice seasons in AA Vancouver and AAA Olympia, but was not very successful at the big league level. Ron hit .302 with 7 HR in 48 games in 2021, his first big league action. In 2024, he appeared in a career best 126 games, but hit just .203 with 10 HR while fanning 133 times. His playing time diminished and he was back in the minors full time by 2028. In August of that year, he was released by the Washington organization. He signed with Pennsylvania the following Spring and was assigned to AAA Pittsburgh, where he put up some of his best numbers since rookie ball. He was batting .325-14-77 through his first 105 games with Pittsburgh when he suffered a partially torn labrum. That injury not only derailed his chances at a September call-up with Pennsylvania, but it also ended his career. He retired in October of 2029.
Career Line: .212/.273/.358/.631 - 388 games played
5th Round - #77 Overall
Jeff Cahill
Virginia Diamond Club - 2025 - -0.1 WAR
Texas Tech - Infielder
Jeff never really looked like a pro prospect. He only spent about 3 weeks in rookie ball before being promoted to OBX (A), where he put up decent numbers (.284-11-65 in 137 games). Jeff fizzled out in AA, where he spent 2 1/2 seasons before being traded to Virginia along with Jim Arthur and Dave Shepard for Juan Hernandez, Chris Lee and Kevin Bryan. There probably have not been any other trades made in AFBL history with a total of 6 lesser-known players. Cahill bounced around between AA and AAA, putting up typical .280 averages here and there. Finally, in 2025, he appeared in 6 games with the big league club, going 1 for 6 with a strikeout. In 2027 he was released and in 2028 he retired from pro ball.
Career Line: .167/.167/.167/.333 - Played in 6 games
6th Round - #93 Overall
JBob Ross
North Carolina Aviators - 2018-2019 - -0.1 WAR
San Diego - Infielder
Bob Ross was taken strictly on his defensive abilities, and perhaps a little for his ability to paint happy little trees. He always put up better numbers than his ratings would have you believe; take 2018, for example, when he hit .291-10-50 in 99 AAA games. That led to a late season promotion, where he appeared in 1 game and went 0-for-1. The following year, he appeared in 8 games and was 3-for-19. After spending 2020 in A and AA, Bob called it quits.
Career Line: .150/.227/.250/.477 - played in 9 games
