2016 MLB Draft: Five players who fell in round one
There were some players who fell during the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft. While one may have been expected, a few of the others were surprising.
The MLB Draft in a lot of ways has become about signability and how teams can manipulate their draft pools in order to sign the most talent that they can. The Houston Astros are a perfect example of that. Everyone thought they were going to draft Mark Appel a couple of years ago, but they took Carlos Correa and then Lance McCullers, which ended up being two big parts of their current club.
Every team hopes they found their next Mike Trout or Jose Fernandez or Matt Harvey. Last night, the first two rounds of the draft did provide us with some surprises. There were some players who rose like Will Benson and Ian Anderson. We aren’t here to talk about that though. We are here to talk about the guys that fell. The guys that when your favorite team picked, you were shocked he was still there.
It happens in every draft in every sport. Players fall for all sorts of reasons. Signability. Makeup. Injury concerns.
So who are those guys? Who are the five players who fell on draft night and didn’t go exactly where we thought they might? Let’s take a look and see.
Next: The College lefty
P- A.J. Puk
The Florida left-hander was supposed to go number one. He didn’t. His fall is the Oakland A’s gain as they drafted him with the sixth overall pick, and their first first round pick of a pitcher since Sonny Gray.
Puk’s win loss record isn’t going to wow you. He went 2-3 this year for Florida in 15 starts. He struck out 95 in 70 innings, but he had some command issues that prevented him from going deep into games and he did walk 31.
Puk wasn’t the Friday night starter, but to me if you are good you’re good it doesn’t matter what day you start.
Puk is a big guy at 6’6″ 205. He has touched 99 MPH with his fastball and left-handed power arms like that that can start are a dime a dozen. Here’s what our prospect guy Benjamin Chase said about Puk during our live thread last night;
6. Puk was the top player on most boards from early in the year. He’s a 6’7 left-handed pitcher from Florida with a great frame, and he is likely going to move quickly through the system. Puk’s a guy that can run it up to 97-98 and works in the mid-90s frequently late into games. Puk’s slider is considered a plus pitch and his change is considered above-average as well. He’s been inconsistent with his location this spring and had some legal stuff his sophomore year, but there may not be a guy who could help quicker in this draft than Puk.
Next: The high school lefty
P-Jason Groome
Groome was another pitcher who was supposed to go number one. Groome was the number one prospect coming into the draft, including by MLB.com.
He’s a power lefty from south Jersey. The high schooler went to IMG Academy for a year and then went back to his high school and couldn’t pitch because of a transfer rule. Groome struck out 90 in 39 innings.
Groome decommitted from Vanderbilt to go to a junior college, so it’s possible that he doesn’t sign, goes to junior college and then goes back into the draft after next season.
Groome is supposed to be looking for top three pick money, and it will be an interesting negotiation with Boston Red Sox. If the Sox do indeed sign Groome, combining him and Anderson Espinoza would give the Sox two of the more exciting pitching prospect combos in the game.
Here’s our Benjamin Chase on Groome:
12. Red Sox – Groome is arguably the top talent in the entire draft as a very well-rounded lefty pitcher out of high school in New Jersey. He throws four pitches that are all considered above-average to plus, topping out his fastball in the 96-97 MPH range. His big thing isn’t velocity, though as his pitch mix is incredible. Teams have talked about some issues with his maturity and his coachability.
Next: the shortstop
SS- Delvin Perez
Perez was supposed to be the next Carlos Correa. Young shortstop. Puerto Rican. He was a possible top 10 guy, maybe even top five. But then Wednesday happened.
Perez failed a drug test, and then combining that with some other previous character concerns sent his stock down quicker than Chipotle’s.
Because of his failed test, teams questioned his power that emerged this year. I speculated in that post that a team with multiple high picks could target him as a value pick. A team did just that as the Cardinals took him at 23 overall, since they also have three other picks in the top 70. Perez going into the Cardinals vaunted system may end up being the best thing for him.
Here’s Benjamin Chase’s report on him:
23. Interesting organization match. Perez has a ton of bat speed, which is why a lot of people project that he would develop major power on top of great athleticism, projecting solid power/speed combo. He will do well at short defensively for sure, but where the offense falls with the PED tests is what the teams need to know. He’s not Carlos Correa, so that comp isn’t close, but he’s a guy who could be Alcides Escobar with 10-15 HR power if he develops right.
Next: High school outfielder
OF-Blake Rutherford
Rutherford, just less than a month ago, was supposed to go in the top 10 of the draft. His drop is the New York Yankees gain, as the Yankees gain the talented outfielder with the 18th pick in the draft. Rutherford is signed to go to UCLA, but for the Yankees sake, they hope to give him enough money out of their pool in order to prevent that.
Rutherford posted a robust .577 average in high school ball.
The last time the Yankees drafted a outfielder with their first pick was the recently released Slade Heathcott. If Rutherford can develop more power, especially being a lefty at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees may have found a real nice piece for the future that fell into their lap.
Here’s our Benjamin Chase on Rutherford:
18. Rutherford was a victim of some prospect fatigue this year, but he also didn’t do a lot his senior year to really assert himself in the first half of the first round. He’s got solid power, but he wasn’t getting to it all season in high school this year. He has the ability to move well in the outfield, however, his arm is flat bad, like a 30/40 on a 20-80 scale, so he’s likely to be forced to left field.
Next: The College outfielder
OF- Kyle Lewis
The semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, Lewis had a chance for the number one pick also. In fact, he was even mocked there by MLB.com at one point.
Lewis had an outstanding year for Mercer; posting a .395 average with 20 homers and 72 RBI in just 61 games. Last summer in the Cape Cod League, Lewis posted a .300 average there too. There’s a lot of Adam Jones comps out there for him and in watching him swing you can see it.
Lewis was MLB.com’s number three overall prospect and fell to the team that drafted Jones in Seattle at 11 overall. Three of the Mariners top 10 prospects are outfielders, so Lewis will add to that group.
Here’s our Benjamin Chase on the outfielder:
11. The Mariners get the best raw power in the draft, and if you ask me, the best guy to compare him to in the current big leagues at the plate is Nelson Cruz in how Lewis generates his swing for power. Lewis has good defensive chops, playing center now and likely going to be a very good right fielder with his big arm. Lewis has shown that big power with a wood bat at the Cape Cod League last summer. Seattle got a steal here.
Next: Phillies take Mickey Moniak first overall
While these players may have fallen in the MLB Draft, they may have ended up in the perfect places. It will be interesting to see how their careers pan out going forward.