2017 MLB Draft Live Post

JSerra Catholic HS (CA). Royce Lewis. 1. player. 2. The Minnesota Twins have the benefit of picking first while also in first place. They are working a deal here to get multiple picks later in the draft certainly as Lewis will go cheaper than many players available on the board. Lewis has tremendous bat to ball skills, elite speed, and the frame that should allow him to develop average to above average power. I’d project him into center field, and I think he’s a guy who projects to a young Carl Crawford offensively. He has a great work ethic and gets huge points for make up. Excellent top choice.. IF/OF

RHP/SS. Notre Dame HS (CA). Hunter Greene. 2. player. 61. The Reds were not shied away by any talk of signing bonus, just as they were not last season when they gave Nick Senzel the largest bonus in the first round as the #2 draft. Greene is known for his elite arm, and in the Reds system, they need an arm that can profile as a future elite starter as they have plenty of guys who project as solid mid-rotation guys or good relievers, but not that front line guy in their system. 102 MPH helps with that front line status right away!

player. 127. The Padres are looking hard for upside, and there may not be more upside than Gore. He’s got elite talent, with a fastball that can reach the upper 90s, excellent curve, and a change that he has good feel for. His leg kick has concerned some teams, but it seems that he comes out of it very consistently in his landing point, allowing good control and command. He’s incredibly athletic and should be able to adjust well due to that.. LHP. Whiteville HS (NC). MacKenzie Gore. 3

University of Louisville. Brendan McKay. 4. player. 21. Interesting that the Rays announced McKay as a first baseman, and not as both. That is very intriguing as he has projection as a guy who would have a profile of Sean Casey at the plate with a good average and 30+ doubles and 20+ home runs, though there are questions about his power upside. I’m interested how leaving behind the pitching will affect his hitting.. 1B/LHP

Vanderbilt University. Kyle Wright. 5. player. 17. This is absolutely the best-case scenario for the Braves. Wright is an elite college pitcher with a tremendous fastball that has movement all over the place along with some very good off speed stuff and competitiveness on the mound. Wright has very good mechanics that are very repeatable. He should be able to move quickly for the Braves, allowing them to develop guys like their high school group from 2016 slowly and let them grow as Wright moves quickly to the big leagues.. RHP

North Davidson HS (NC). Austin Beck. 6. player. 96. One of the most variable players in the draft this season, Beck was injured his junior year that cost him the summer showcase that meant a number of scouts did not see him. After he returned, he had filled out his body significantly, giving him big power potential, but many feel like his increased mass has altered his bat path, even though he does have plus bat speed. Beck has very good raw defensive tools, but will need to work on his routes to stay in center. Very possibly the highest upside guy at this point, and a good pick for the A’s in that regard.. OF

player. 8. The most highly regarded pure bat in the draft, Smith is a guy who coming into conference tourney time had more home runs on the season than strikeouts. He has an advanced feel for the barrel of the bat and really has exceptional pitch and zone recognition. He will likely be moved to the outfield with some guy named Goldschmidt in Arizona, but he has the ability to work well in a corner outfield spot and his bat should definitely play with future power projection.. 1B. University of Virginia. Pavin Smith. 7

player. 6. Back to back Virginia hitters, and Haseley is a guy that has really came forward in the 2017 season. I like Haseley defensively in center as an above-average defender that could move to a corner and be an absolutely elite defender. His bat has come forward in a big way in order to project him as a future plus power bat with tools across the board offensively.. OF. University of Virginia. Adam Haseley. 8

University of California at Irvine. Keston Hiura. 9. player. 76. The Brewers got a good one here. Hiura has a big time bat, arguably the best pure contact bat in the draft. The big question was Hiura’s elbow this spring as he will likely need Tommy John surgery this year once he’s selected, but he’s hit through the spring as a DH. Hiura is a solid second baseman and would handle a corner outfield spot well as well. The bat will certainly play, however.. IF/OF

OF. Ballard HS (KY). Jordon Adell. 10. player. 102. One of the best athletes in the entire draft with a tremendous work ethic, Adell will immediately be the top prospect in the Angels system as a guy who has incredible raw tools. Adell is a big time worker and will be motivated to be the absolute best he can be. It could be very fun down the road to see Trout and Adell in the same outfield.

RHP. Concordia Lutheran HS (TX). Shane Baz. 12. player. 4. The Pirates really work well with someone who knows how to work with his fastball and change. Baz is definitely that guy, though he has three other picks as well on top of the fastball and change, so his pitch repertoire will be likely refined by the Pirates. One of the things that is under-appreciated by the typical fan about the Pirates approach is their teaching to filling up the zone, and Baz does that already, so this is truly a good fit overall.

Carlsbad HS (NM). Trevor Rogers. 13. player. 82. Curious pick to me, personally. With a guy like DL Hall on the board, it’s hard to understand going Rogers here, though he may have the higher upside eventually. Rogers is tall and lean, and it will be interesting to see how he handles filling into his frame as he’s added significant velocity as he’s added just a little size to his frame to this point. Rogers has some inconsistency in his delivery at this point still to work out, but he does have a big upside.. LHP

Pratto has one of the best overall bats in the entire draft. He’s got a bat that should move quicker than the usual high school player, with a pretty swing from the left side and elite defense at first base if he stays at the position. He could work well as a corner outfielder as he has that level of athleticism, but he is already considered a premium defender. at first base.. 1B. Huntington Beach HS (CA). Nick Pratto. 14. player. 7

University of North Carolina. J.B. Bukauskas. 15. player. 135. In March/April, Bukauskas was seen as a top 3-4 pick in the entire draft. He came out this spring and absolutely dominated the competition. Size concerns and a couple bad starts to finish the season dropped Bukauskas down the board some. He has legit skills, with a fastball that can reach the upper mid-90s and a slider that is arguably the best individual pitch in the draft. He could move quickly as a reliever or develop his change further and move reasonably quick as well as a starter as well.. RHP

43. Working his way up to the top 5/10 picks this spring before his elbow popped, Schmidt joins what is becoming a long list of injured elite arms in the Yankee system. When healthy, Schmidt has a four pitch mix with elite top end velocity, so it will be interesting to see how he develops.. RHP. University of South Carolina. Clarke Schmidt. 16. player

A college bat that moved up a ton this spring, White is a guy with a unique profile as a first baseman that could legitimately play center field as well. He is a contact over power guy currently, with plus level speed.and his plus to double plus contact ability. He can spray line drives everywhere right now, so working that to legit power over the fence is definitely feasible.. 1B. University of Kentucky. Evan White. 17. player. 62

Faedo is one of the guys who was a legit top 10 arm most of the season and has finished strong, so it was surprising to see him fall to this point. He’s definitely a Tigers guy with a top-level fastball/slider combination with a change that’s a work in progress. He could move quickly if the change works well. Much like Funkhouser last season, I think this is the perfect organization for Faedo to land in.. RHP. University of Florida. Alex Faedo. 18. player. 63

OF. Leadership Christian Academy HS (PR). Heliot Ramos. 19. player. 31. Ramos is one of my favorite players in the draft. One of the youngest players in the draft, he may be a guy who takes some time to develop, but he has legit double-plus future power that he has flashed. Ramos also has plus speed and the defensive abilities to handle center field at present. It will be interesting to see how the Giants develop Ramos.

Like Faedo, I think this is a perfect fit of system and player. Peterson is a guy with four above-average pitches and the ability to sequence his pitches well. What impressed me most in the season was to watch him work in the season when he was actually not having his best stuff as he was able to still work well to keep his team in the game.. LHP. University of Oregon. David Peterson. 20. player. 3

11. Interesting fit, but definitely the highest value player on the board right here for the Orioles. Hall is a guy with a ceiling that rivals that of Gore and possibly better present stuff. He throws an incredible curve that can absolutely dominate hitters. The Orioles will likely let him work his way up the system at his pace, but I think Hall’s feel for pitching could allow him to move quickly for a high school arm.. LHP. Valdosta HS (GA). DL Hall. 21. player