Who Are You Watching in the Supplemental Draft?

In that he’s SoCal so there’s a Schmid familiarity but he’s definately a “high” midfielder. Not a box to box type, so he may not fit.

The danger with the draftable internationals is that they are signed to MLS contracts already. They don’t fight for a roster spot. There are a roster spot.

… Sammy Ochoa.

I agree with your assessment of some of the intriguing players still on the board. I doubt any of them will still be available in the second round of Tuesday’s supplemental draft. But I’m OK with that. None of these players fits the Sounders’ needs or would compete for starting minutes. Ochoa is likely to start the season as Montero’s partner up top. For my money Ochoa was the steal of the Supplemental Draft.

Of the players you’ve listed the one who is most likely to have an impact for the right team in 2012 is Paniagua. He will fit as a wing on a team that needs one and could compete for minutes in the right situation. I do like Yamada and Ibarra for the Sounders but doubt that they will have a shot at either barring a trade.

Defenders/Keepers & Mids/Forwards
RJ Allen, Shawn Singh, Karo Okiomah, Michael Green, Kirk Urso all intrigue me.

And maybe any of the internationals.

RJ Allen is probably the best natural RB in the draft (which isn’t saying much) and I think we could still use depth there. Yamada was far and away the best of the internationals at the combine. I probably wouldn’t draft either if they have a guaranteed contract.

Most of the remaining players who have garnered public attention play either wing or defensive CM. A couple of other players that had their moments at the Combine were Evan James, Luke Holmes and Eder Arreola. James had moments of individual brilliance at the combine, but didn’t seem to connect well. He shined when he did something individual. Holmes was the opposite. He played well as the interim link between Yamada and Finlay during Finlay’s hat trick game. He made intelligent runs, showed decent vision and good service. Arreola also had his moments.

Of the 3, my preference was for Holmes. Consumate team play at least in the Combine. Might be an interesting player to take a flyer on if he’s available when the Sounders pick.

Another thing to remember is that the Sounders will get to select two players when it is time for them to pick. This changes the dynamic a bit.

Matt Grasch interviewed Sigi about the Supplemental Draft and Sigi had an interesting observation about the Sounders’ approach. Due to the depth of the current squad, the chances of a Supplemental pick sticking with the team are long. But the team is looking to select players with an eye toward potentially helping them develop in a lower league and then come back in the future with the Sounders. It is something that gets talked about periodically, but I found it telling that Sigi mentioned it in an interview for the Sounders’ own site.

Found it interesting that the league’s website list of top players available for the Supplemental Draft was very International player heavy. Half the players they listed in their Top 10 are International invitees.

Yes, some of these players are worthy candidates, but their list feels more like a response to the invited internationals not getting chosen in the Super Draft than an honest assessment of the remaining skill players available.