Dodgers lock down some draft picks

Federo-what?

Yesterday was the draft deadline- the last day teams could reach agreements with the players they selected in this year's draft.  Surprisingly, the Dodgers seemed to do alright, reaching agreements with their top 9 picks and 28 of their 50 total (at least according to their official draft tracker page).  It appears, however,  that's mostly due to the fact that they went after signable talent, rather than top-tier pricier picks.

It seems like the Dodgers got the memo that the system is barren at 3B and C, as 4 of the top 9 picks went to those positions.  I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to break down the talent drafted- John Sickels of Minorleagueball.com does a great job of that in the linked article- but most everyone agrees it was a pretty bland group drafted by the Dodgers, in what was called a historically deep draft class.  There are a few highlights, though- third round pick Pratt Maynard (pictured above) profiles as an above average MLB catcher offensively, although there are questions about his D behind the plate.  And fourth rounder Ryan O'Sullivan is apparently a second round talent that fell thanks to some "makeup concerns".

All in all, there may not be any superstars in the 2011 draft class, but I'm inclined to trust Logan White and his scouting team.  Obviously constrained financially, it looks like White still managed to fill some of the glaring needs in the organizational depth charts, and the selection of more college players than previous years means the players picked this year could contribute sooner than in the past.

And by contribute sooner, I mean get traded as a PTBNL for Carlos Zambrano in the off-season.