The 2017 MLB draft is now complete. How did each team do?
We at Call to the Pen have covered the MLB draft in many ways coming into the draft this week from mock drafts to draft profiles to team profiles. Now that the draft is complete, let’s take a look at how each team fared in the draft, going in draft order.
First, a review of CTTP mock drafts along the way:
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Final Mock (2-rounds)
We’ll start with the #1 overall drafting team, the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
Day One
Round 1, Overall 1 – Royce Lewis, SS, California HS
Round 1, CBA, Overall 35 – Brent Rooker, OF, Mississippi State
Round 2, Overall 37 – Landon Leach, RHP, Canadian HS
Lewis may not have the highest overall upside in the draft, but he’s not far off, and he is one of the few guys who is a legit first rounder who should stick up the middle as a shortstop or a center fielder. Rooker absolutely destroyed the SEC this season and was drafted by the Twins last season, so there were a lot of ties between the two this year, though few had him going this early. Leach is an intriguing prospect from Canada who actually profiles much more raw than Mike Soroka, a fellow Canadian in the Atlanta Braves system, but does have a lot of similarities in his pitchability and approach to pitching.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 76 – Blayne Enlow, RHP, Louisiana HS
Round 4, Overall 106 – Charlie Barnes, LHP, Clemson
Round 5, Overall 136 – Andrew Bechtold, 3B, Chipola College
Round 6, Overall 166 – Ricardo De La Torre, SS, Puerto Rico HS
Round 7, Overall 196 – Ryley Widell, LHP, Central Arizona College
Round 8, Overall 226 – Bryan Sammons, LHP, Western Carolina
Round 9, Overall 256 – Mark Contreras, OF, UC-Riverside
Round 10, Overall 286 – Calvin Faucher, RHP, UC-Irvine
Enlow was considered one of the most elite pitchers this year. He very likely has the best curveball in the right-handed HS class this year, and brings premium velocity and athleticism with it. The Twins also got a very impressive power bat in JuCo product Bechtold. The other big talent guy in the third day was De La Torre, a Puerto Rico prospect who really has excellent footwork and instincts in the field. His bat is behind his glove, but he’s certainly highly regarded. The rest of day 2 was spent primarily on “senior sign” types that help to keep costs down, but many of those guys can turn into good relievers and bench players in the end.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 316 – Gabriel Rodriguez, OF, Puerto Rico HS
Round 12, Overall 346 – Bailey Ober, RHP, College of Charleston
Round 13, Overall 376 – Jared Akins, OF, Fresno State
Round 14, Overall 406 – Derek Molina, RHP, Merced College
Round 15, Overall 436 – Rickey Ramirez, RHP, Fresno State
Round 16, Overall 466 – Cade Smith, RHP, Canada HS
Round 17, Overall 496 – Andrew Cosgrove, C, North Carolina State
Round 18, Overall 526 – Colton Burns, OF, UC-Santa Barbara
Round 19, Overall 556 – Jordan Gore, SS, Coastal Carolina
Round 20, Overall 586 – Tyler Gray, RHP, Central Arkansas
Round 21, Overall 616 – Colton Waltner, C, San Diego
Round 22, Overall 646 – Christian Broussard, RHP, Cal State-Los Angeles
Round 23, Overall 676 – Jared Finkel, RHP, Iona
Round 24, Overall 706 – T.J. Dixon, OF, Samford
Round 25, Overall 736 – Carson Crites, 2B, Southeastern Louisiana
Round 26, Overall 766 – Jordan Spicer, RHP, Polk State
Round 27, Overall 796 – Chandler Taylor, OF, Alabama
Round 28, Overall 826 – Joe Record, RHP, UC-Santa Barbara
Round 29, Overall 856 – Griffin Roberts, RHP, Wake Forest
Round 30, Overall 886 – Alex Robles, RHP, Austin Peay
Round 31, Overall 916 – Luke Miller, 3B, Indiana
Round 32, Overall 946 – Nick Brown, RHP, William and Mary
Round 33, Overall 976 – J.J. Robinson, 1B, Lewis-Clark State College
Round 34, Overall 1006 – Max Meyer, RHP, Minnesota HS
Round 35, Overall 1036 – Adam Oviedo, SS, Texas HS
Round 36, Overall 1066 – Josh McMinn, RHP, Oral Roberts
Round 37, Overall 1096 – Patrick Bailey, C, North Carolina HS
Round 38, Overall 1126 – Benjamin Rodriguez, C, Pepperdine
Round 39, Overall 1156 – Jonny DeLuca, OF, California HS
Round 40, Overall 1186 – Austin Bizzle, RHP, Alabama State
Rodriguez is a legit two-way guy with big power from the left side and can touch low-90s off the mound, even though he’s had nearly no instruction on the mound. Possibly my favorite player in the third day was right-hander Jordan Spicer from Polk State JuCo. His fastball/slider/curve combo would make an elite reliever, but if the Twins can get him signed, his pitch mix could allow him to really be an asset going forward.
Of the guys who could be rough signs, 34th rounder Meyer is a local guy with a commitment to the University of Minnesota and projects to be much more after time in college. Oviedo is a guy who flashes big tools, but he’s also committed to TCU. DeLuca is a guy who is a track and baseball recruit for Oregon that is very raw at baseball, though his extreme athleticism makes him a very intriguing prospect.
The fun guy to track in the third day for the Twins will be Ben Rodriguez, who is listed at 6’6″ and 240 pounds, who they list as a catcher and has incredible raw power but cannot translate it to games.
Overall Outlook
When the Twins called Lewis’ name first overall, many Twins fans were less than enthused when there were legit options for higher-rated players on many boards for the #1 overall pick. When the first day ended with Rooker and Leach, many Twins fans were ready to revolt over the plan.
The second and third days of the draft should please those who were upset, as there are plenty of talented players that will be able to absorb the cost savings from Lewis and allow for a much higher level of talent than a typical draft.
Cincinnati Reds
Day One
Round 1, Overall 2 – Hunter Greene, RHP, California HS
Round CBA, Overall 32 – Jeter Downs, SS, Florida HS
Round 2, Overall 38 – Stuart Fairchild, OF, Wake Forest
Reds fans have to be excited about this collection on day 1. Downs was likely drafted a bit earlier than projections, but when you’re getting Greene, you’re likely having to alter a few financial things along the way. Of course, Downs is an excellent prospect in his own right with the defensive chops to stay at short along with a solid offensive skill set. Fairchild has been an excellent defender throughout his collegiate career with speed whose power jumped forward this season to give him a legit profile as a guy who could go 20/20 at his best or fill out as a 4th outfielder with skills across the board.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 77 – Jacob Heatherly, LHP, Alabama HS
Round 4, Overall 107 – Cash Case, SS, Florida HS
Round 5, Overall 137 – Mac Sceroler, RHP, Southeastern Louisiana
Round 6, Overall 167 – Tyler Buffet, RHP, Oklahoma State
Round 7, Overall 197 – Mark Kolozsvary, C, Florida
Round 8, Overall 227 – Connor Ryan, RHP, Illinois-Chicago
Round 9, Overall 257 – Packy Naughton, LHP, Virginia Tech
Round 10, Overall 287 – Robby Howell, RHP, Central Florida
The Reds grabbed Heatherly, who I like better as an elite relief prospect than a future starter, but after he and Case, a likely 3B as a pro with an easy swing, they focused on college signees. One intriguing pick here is Kolozsvary, the Florida catcher who filled in very well with starter Mike Rivera went down with injury. He’s got a good catching profile, and his bat has shown success in wood bat leagues previously.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 317 – Jared Solomon, RHP, Lackawanna JuCo
Round 12, Overall 347 – Tommy Mace, RHP, Florida HS
Round 13, Overall 377 – Ricky Karcher, RHP, Walters State JuCo
Round 14, Overall 407 – Brody Wofford, OF, Chipola College
Round 15, Overall 437 – Nate Scantlin, OF, Kansas HS
Round 16, Overall 467 – Ryan Nutof, RHP, Michigan
Round 17, Overall 497 – Junior Harding, RHP, Chipola College
Round 18, Overall 527 – John Ghyzel, RHP, Rochester
Round 19, Overall 557 – Seth Lonsway, LHP, Ohio HS
Round 20, Overall 587 – Blake Wiggins, 3B, Southern Nevada JuCo
Round 21, Overall 617 – Christian Lindsay-Young, RHP, Niagara County JuCo
Round 22, Overall 647 – Justin Bellinger, 1B, Duke
Round 23, Overall 677 – Adrian Chacon, RHP, Tampa
Round 24, Overall 707 – Anderson DeLeon, RHP, Iowa Central JuCo
Round 25, Overall 737 – Doug Norman, RHP, LSU
Round 26, Overall 767 – Tyler Brown, RHP, Ohio HS
Round 27, Overall 797 – Clay Fisher, SS, UC-Santa Barbara
Round 28, Overall 827 – Harrison Rutkowski, LHP, New Jersey HS
Round 29, Overall 857 – A.J. Bumpass, OF, Cincinnati
Round 30, Overall 887 – Garret Shoenle, LHP, Indiana HS
Round 31, Overall 917 – Dondrae Bremner, 2B, Canada HS
Round 32, Overall 947 – Michael Bono, RHP, Santa Clara
Round 33, Overall 977 – Brady McConnell, SS, Florida HS
Round 34, Overall 1007 – R.J. Barnes, OF, Ohio HS
Round 35, Overall 1037 – Stephen Keller, RHP, Texas HS
Round 36, Overall 1067 – Logan Chapman, RHP, South Carolina HS
Round 37, Overall 1097 – Robert Touron, RHP, Florida HS
Round 38, Overall 1127 – Tyler Littlefield, SS, California HS
Round 39, Overall 1157 – Zach Gahagan, 3B, North Carolina
Round 40, Overall 1187 – Ian Jenkins, OF, Georgia HS
The Reds chose to go the junior college route rather than the high school route to get guys to go over-slot on in the third day. An interesting theme among many of them, including Solomon and Karcher, is the need to work on mechanics to tap into what could be electric stuff.
Seemingly in round 34, the Reds chose to boot the draft, drafting a number of guys who likely won’t be signing in McConnell, Keller, and Chapman, as each has a fairly strong college commitment, all to SEC schools.
Overall Outlook
Getting Greene gives the Reds the chance to have a generational player in hand along with some excellent upside selections outside of Greene. I really like the JuCo approach in the third day to add players who could have big upside down the road, even if as a mid-rotation starter or regular in a lineup that doesn’t reach a star status. That would be exceptional value from the third day.
San Diego Padres
Day One
Round 1, Overall 3 – MacKenzie Gore, LHP, North Carolina HS
Round 2, Overall 39 – Luis Campusano-Bracero, C, Georgia HS
Round CBB, Overall 69 – Blake Hunt, C, California HS
The Padres continued a trend of some confusing moves on the first day, grabbing two prep catchers in the first day out of three selections. Of course, that’s not what will make or break the day for the Padres. That will be the gifted left arm of MacKenzie Gore, one of the premium athletes in the entire draft. He may need some development, but his upside on the mound is absolutely incredible.
Campusano has a very high ceiling behind the plate with present work still needed, but some big improvements in his physicality over the last year has seen significant improvement on his defensive skills across the board. His bat is really power-only at this point. Hunt has more natural defensive skills behind the plate, but he took a big jump offensively this year after adding some significant muscle to his frame.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 78 – Mason House, OF, Texas HS
Round 4, Overall 108 – Sam Keating, RHP, Florida HS
Round 5, Overall 138 – Jonny Homza, 3B, Alaska HS
Round 6, Overall 168 – Aaron Leasher, LHP, Morehead State
Round 7, Overall 198 – Nick Margevicius, LHP, Rider
Round 8, Overall 228 – Olivier Basae, SS, Alabama HS
Round 9, Overall 258 – Alex Cunningham, RHP, Coastal Carolina
Round 10, Overall 288 – Dominic Taccolini, RHP, Arkansas
Day one strategy began to make more sense here as the Padres were able to line up two picks in rounds 3 and 4 that were rumored as high as the back end of the first round in mock drafts this spring.
House is a guy who’s a five tool type at a corner, but likely not a center fielder in the end, but with raw plus power and plus speed when underway, he’s an elite athlete. Keating is a guy with highly projectable stuff, two breaking pitches that look to work as plus pitches, and some feel for a change. He just has plenty of growing into his body yet to do. Homza is a huge projection guy, in more ways than one. Third base may even stretch him defensively, but he has some incredible raw power, but he’s going to be a guy that needs plenty of time to develop.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 318 – Chandler Newman, RHP, Chattahoochee Valley JuCo
Round 12, Overall 348 – Tom Cosgrove, LHP, Manhattan
Round 13, Overall 378 – Fred Schlichtholz, LHP, Fresno State
Round 14, Overall 408 – Vijay Miller, RHP, East Mississippi JuCo
Round 15, Overall 438 – Cole Bellinger, RHP, Arizona HS
Round 16, Overall 468 – Joey Cantillo, LHP, Hawaii HS
Round 17, Overall 498 – Jason Pineda, 1B, New York HS
Round 18, Overall 528 – Cam Sanders, RHP, Northwest Florida State JuCo
Round 19, Overall 558 – Nick Feight, 1B, UNC-Wilmington
Round 20, Overall 588 – Duke Ellis, OF, Panola JuCo
Round 21, Overall 618 – Greg Lambert, OF, Southern Illinois
Round 22, Overall 648 – Jake Lyons, RHP, Weatherford JuCo
Round 23, Overall 678 – Luis Roman, 3B, Texas Wesleyan
Round 24, Overall 708 – Harrison Simon, RHP, Loyola Marymount
Round 25, Overall 738 – Robbie Podorsky, OF, McNeese State
Round 26, Overall 768 – Daniel Cabrera, OF, Louisiana HS
Round 27, Overall 798 – Christian Rovinson, OF, Florida HS
Round 28, Overall 828 – Noel Vela, LHP, Texas HS
Round 29, Overall 858 – Jalen Washington, C, Ohio State
Round 30, Overall 888 – Chandler Seagle, C, Appalachian State
Round 31, Overall 918 – Tyler Benson, OF, Bloomsburg
Round 32, Overall 948 – Matthew Batten, SS, Quinnipiac
Round 33, Overall 978 – Caleb Boushley, RHP, Wisconsin-La Crosse
Round 34, Overall 1008 – Henry Marchese, OF, Illinois HS
Round 35, Overall 1038 – Kevin Abel, RHP, California HS
Round 36, Overall 1068 – Shane Muntz, C, Pennsylvania HS
Round 37, Overall 1098 – Logan Browning, LHP, Florida Southern
Round 38, Overall 1128 – Jeremy Smith, RHP, Southwestern Oklahoma State
Round 39, Overall 1158 – Justin Paulsen, 1B, Missouri State
Round 40, Overall 1188 – Chad Stevens, 3B, Washington HS
After grouping college signees into the 6-10 rounds, the Padres opened the third day with more college and JuCo options before picking a familiar name to the NL West in Cole Bellinger, the brother of Dodgers breakout rookie Cody Bellinger. Cole is a pitcher who is committed to Grand Canyon, but many have said he could bought out of that commitment fairly well as a day 3 guy.
They followed that selection up with two more high school picks that were projected to be tough signs in Cantillo and Pineda. However, the guy who I was a big fan of in their day 3 could be a very tough sign in Daniel Cabrera. Cabrera is signed to his home state school, LSU, and he has a ridiculous amount of natural power in a very pretty left-handed swing.
Overall Outlook
While just lining up the first two days and a number of the college and JuCo picks on day 3 would be a tremendous upside draft, but if they could lock down a couple of Cantillo, Pineda, Cabrera, or Kevin Abel, a San Diego prep righty that has tremendous mechanics and a strong commitment to Oregon State, the draft would look incredible right now.
I’m very impressed by their day 3 selections, and they were able to get a number of arms that project well in bench or bullpen roles on day 3 to fill out the upside of the first two days as well.
Tampa Bay Rays
Day One
Round 1, Overall 4 – Brendan McKay, 1B/LHP, Louisville
Round CBA, Overall 31 – Drew Rasmussen, RHP, Oregon State
Round 2, Overall 40 – Michael Mercado, RHP, California HS
The Rays caused quite a stir when they announced McKay as a first baseman when his name was called, but it came out quickly that the Rays intended to give McKay the chance to both pitch and hit initially in the minor leagues. Rasmussen has been brilliant this season, and he has come off of Tommy John surgery this season without missing a beat, tossing upper 90s as a reliever and taking over as a starter now that the Beavers need it. If he’s just a closer, the pick isn’t as great, but he should have big upside coming off of his TJS as a starter.
Mercado is one of my favorite pitchers of the entire draft from the prep ranks in California. He has present stuff, has the work with Driveline that has been shown to be excellent in both improving velocity and also increasing strength, and is one of the most cerebral pitchers of this class. He could be a guy to move quickly.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 79 – Taylor Walls, SS, Florida State
Round 4, Overall 109 – Drew Strotman, RHP, Saint Mary’s
Round 5, Overall 139 – Josh Fleming, LHP, Webster
Round 6, Overall 169 – Zach Rutherford, SS, Old Dominion
Round 7, Overall 199 – Hunter Schryver, LHP, Villanova
Round 8, Overall 229 – Riley O’Brien, RHP, College of Idaho
Round 9, Overall 259 – Andrew Gist, LHP, Georgia
Round 10, Overall 289 – Phoenix Sanders, RHP, South Florida
Interestingly, there were all college selections in the second day for the Rays, which speaks to the high number that the team assumed that McKay will require to sign. Fleming is very intriguing as a D-III lefty with a good frame and present upside. O’Brien follows suit from the right side as an NAIA pitcher with big upside, though likely more suited for a bullpen role.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 319 – Justin Lewis, RHP, Kentucky
Round 12, Overall 349 – Carl Chester, OF, Miami
Round 13, Overall 379 – Erik Ostberg, C, Hartford
Round 14, Overall 409 – Vincent Byrd, 1B, Long Beach JuCo
Round 15, Overall 439 – Bryce Brown, OF, Jackson State
Round 16, Overall 469 – Caleb Bolden, RHP, Texas HS
Round 17, Overall 499 – Chris Muller, RHP, Texas-San Antonio
Round 18, Overall 529 – Michael Smith, OF, San Jacinto JuCo
Round 19, Overall 559 – Tyler Day, RHP, Colorado Mesa
Round 20, Overall 589 – Andrew Quezada, RHP, Cypress JuCo
Round 21, Overall 619 – Paul Campbell, RHP, Clemson
Round 22, Overall 649 – Alex Valverde, RHP, Miami Dade JuCo
Round 23, Overall 679 – Zack Mozingo, RHP, Mount Olive
Round 24, Overall 709 – Jordyn Muffley, C, Parkland JuCo
Round 25, Overall 739 – Andrew Miller, C, Southwest Tennessee JuCo
Round 26, Overall 769 – Scott Schreiber, 1B, Nebraska
Round 27, Overall 799 – Blake Pflughaupt, LHP, Galveston JuCo
Round 28, Overall 829 – Justin Bridgman, SS, Nevada
Round 29, Overall 859 – Ryan Askew, RHP, Mercer
Round 30, Overall 889 – Gavin Williams, RHP, North Carolina HS
Round 31, Overall 919 – Chris Williams, C, Clemson
Round 32, Overall 949 – Seaver Whalen, 3B, Lewis-Clark State
Round 33, Overall 979 – Ivan Pelaez, LHP, Faulkner
Round 34, Overall 1009 – Trey Hair, 2B, Evansville
Round 35, Overall 1039 – Garrett Anderson, RHP, Florida Gulf Coast
Round 36, Overall 1069 – Kyle Goodbrand, UC-San Diego
Round 37, Overall 1099 – Cole Cabrera, OF, Hawaii HS
Round 38, Overall 1129 – J.J. Schwarz, C, Florida
Round 39, Overall 1159 – Jonathan Stroman, New Mexico HS
Round 40, Overall 1189 – Allen Smoot, 3B, San Francisco
After only one high school player chosen in the first two days, the Rays chose just one such player on day 3, truly indicating the level of money they feel they’ll have to dish out to their first three picks, especially McKay. Gavin Williams is one guy that they want to sign, with a major projectable arm that already hits mid-90s with many feeling he’ll develop into a guy who can hit triple digits.
While the majority of the third day will be JuCo and college guys that should sign, one intriguing pick is 38th round selection J.J. Schwarz, who after his freshman season would have likely been a top 10 overall selection but has fallen significantly over the last two seasons before he got eligible to be drafted.
Overall Outlook
The Rays draft will weigh heavily on their success in day one, and primarily on how McKay develops, but there are a lot of intriguing picks in day three from the JuCo ranks that should end up a solid pro. However, this draft will sit heavy on the shoulders of the three guys drafted on day one.
Atlanta Braves
Day One
Round 1, Overall 5 – Kyle Wright, RHP, Vanderbilt
Round 2, Overall 41 – Drew Waters, OF, Georgia HS
Wright and Waters is a dream first day for the Braves. They could not have designed the day any better as Wright fell to them to #5. He’s already signed for a reported $7M, so that’s a big reason he fell, but after that early pick, many were thinking the Braves might go cheap in the 2nd round, but instead, they went hard after arguably the best player on the board at the time in Waters, widely considered the best player in the Braves’ home state of Georgia.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 80 – Freddy Tarnok, RHP, Florida HS
Round 4, Overall 110 – Troy Bacon, RHP, Santa Fe JuCo
Round 5, Overall 140 – Bruce Zimmerman, LHP, Mount Olive
Round 6, Overall 170 – Jordan Rodgers, 3B, Tennessee
Round 7, Overall 200 – Landon Hughes, RHP, Georgia Southern
Round 8, Overall 230 – John Curtis, LHP, Lenoir-Rhyne
Round 9, Overall 260 – Riley Delgado, SS, Middle Tennessee State
Round 10, Overall 290 – Jacob Belinda, RHP, Lock Haven
The Braves went after one of the biggest upside arms in the entire draft in Tarnok, a 6’4″ arm that can already touch mid-90s and has a ton of projection left, expected to get to triple digits as he matures. Bacon was another interesting pick, and not just because of the food-related name, but because of his incredible fastball along with two pitches that project as plus. He would be a guy that fits in the mold of guys like Patrick Weigel, who the Braves took from the collegiate bullpen and allowed to start as professionals.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 320 – Drew Lugbauer, C, Michigan
Round 12, Overall 350 – Hagen Owenby, C, East Tennessee State
Round 13, Overall 380 – Connor Simmons, LHP, Georgia Southern
Round 14, Overall 410 – Keith Weisenberg, RHP, Stanford
Round 15, Overall 440 – Austin Bush, 1B, UC-Santa Barbara
Round 16, Overall 470 – Garrison Schwartz, OF, Grand Canyon
Round 17, Overall 500 – Cutter Dyals, RHP, North Carolina A&T
Round 18, Overall 530 – Zack Soria, C, Florida International
Round 19, Overall 560 – Tanner Allison, LHP, Western Michigan
Round 20, Overall 590 – Justin Smith, OF, Florida JuCo
Round 21, Overall 620 – Connor Johnstone, RHP, Wake Forest
Round 22, Overall 650 – Justin Morhardt, C, Bryan
Round 23, Overall 680 – Troy Conyers, LHP, San Diego
Round 24, Overall 710 – Jackson Lourie, RHP, Rhodes
Round 25, Overall 740 – Jake Taylor, Oklahoma HS
Round 26, Overall 770 – Charlie Carpenter, C, South Carolina-Upstate
Round 27, Overall 800 – Randy Bednar, OF, Maryland HS
Round 28, Overall 830 – Brett Brocoff, RHP, Nevada HS
Round 29, Overall 860 – Cade Cavalli, RHP, Oklahoma HS
Round 30, Overall 890 – Hayden Wynja, LHP, Indiana HS
Round 31, Overall 920 – Ryan Miller, RHP, Clemson
Round 32, Overall 950 – Reid Detmers, LHP, Illinois HS
Round 33, Overall 980 – Chris McMahon, RHP, Pennsylvania HS
Round 34, Overall 1010 – Ricky Negron, 3B, Tampa
Round 35, Overall 1040 – Jason Rooks, OF, Georgia HS
Round 36, Overall 1070 – Chase Blueberg, RHP, Feather River JuCo
Round 37, Overall 1100 – Dean Miller, OF, Riverside JuCo
Round 38, Overall 1130 – Adam Groesbeck, OF, Air Force
Round 39, Overall 1160 – Joe Sanchez, LHP, Florida HS
Round 40, Overall 1190 – Baron Radcliff, OF, Georgia HS
The Braves obviously knew that they were going to be dumping heavy finances into the first few picks of the draft based on their work in the third day. Starting in round 25, they drafted a load of guys that they knew were strong commits to college, guys who weren’t likely to sign at that point in the draft, but giving them the opportunity to be drafted.
Lugbauer will be a project with the bat anyway, so moving him from third to catcher would be a double project, but his raw power is tough to match in the entire draft. Beyond him, the biggest story of day 3 for the Braves draft is prep catcher Jake Taylor, who will not sign and will attend college. Fans of the movie Major League will understand the fun of a guy named Jake Taylor who plays catcher being drafted by a team with a Native American logo.
Overall Outlook
This draft was set for the Braves after the first day in getting Wright and Waters. Everything else after that is gravy for the organization, but it appears the highly-regarded scouting department of the Braves has likely found a few second and third day gems as well to go along with those two “prizes” from the selections.
Oakland Athletics
Day One
Round 1, Overall 6 – Austin Beck, OF, North Carolina HS
Round CBA, Overall 33 – Kevin Merrell, SS, South Florida
Round 2, Overall 43 – Greg Deichmann, OF, LSU
The Athletics grabbed one of the biggest upside players in the entire draft in Beck. His tools across the board are absolutely impressive. They then followed up with two excellent college players, both with elite skills on the opposite ends of the spectrum – Merrell with incredible speed and Deichmann with tremendous power.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 81 – Nick Allen, SS, California HS
Round 4, Overall 111 – Will Toffey, 3B, Vanderbilt
Round 5, Overall 141 – Santis Sanchez, C, Puerto Rico HS
Round 6, Overall 171 – Logan Salow, LHP, Kentucky
Round 7, Overall 201 – Parker Dunshee, RHP, Wake Forest
Round 8, Overall 231 – Brian Howard, RHP, TCU
Round 9, Overall 261 – Jared Poche, LHP, LSU
Round 10, Overall 291 – Jack Meggs, OF, Washington
The big name in day 3 is clearly Nick Allen, the best high school defensive shortstop with some solid offensive projection. The rest were primarily college signees to allow the A’s to sign their first four selections of the draft.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 321 – Ryan Gridley, SS, Mississippi State
Round 12, Overall 351 – Aaron Arruda, 1B, Fresno State
Round 13, Overall 381 – Wyatt Marks, RHP, Louisiana-Lafayette
Round 14, Overall 411 – Garrett Mitchell, California HS
Round 15, Overall 441 – Josh Reagan, LHP, South Carolina
Round 16, Overall 471 – Payton Squier, OF, UNLV
Round 17, Overall 501 – Josh Falk, RHP, Pittsburgh
Round 18, Overall 531 – Ray McDonald, OF, Illinois-Chicago
Round 19, Overall 561 – Michael Danielak, RHP, Dartmouth
Round 20, Overall 591 – Osvaldo Barrios, RHP, Puerto Rico HS
Round 21, Overall 621 – Heath Donica, RHP, Sam Houston State
Round 22, Overall 651 – Bryce Conley, RHP, Georgia State
Round 23, Overall 681 – Malik Jones, RHP, Missouri Baptist
Round 24, Overall 711 – Slater Lee, RHP, Cal Poly
Round 25, Overall 741 – Hunter Hargrove, 1B, Texas Tech
Round 26, Overall 771 – Nate Webb, C, California HS
Round 27, Overall 801 – Ben Spitznagel, OF, UNC-Greensboro
Round 28, Overall 831 – Pat Krall, LHP, Clemson
Round 29, Overall 861 – Adam Reuss, RHP, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Round 30, Overall 891 – Cody Puckett, LHP, Middle Tennessee State
Round 31, Overall 921 – Brandon Withers, RHP, James Madison
Round 32, Overall 951 – Caleb Evans, RHP, Liberty
Round 33, Overall 981 – Jake Lumley, 2B, Canisus
Round 34, Overall 1011 – Justin Jones, 2B, UNLV
Round 35, Overall 1041 – Cooper Goldby, C, Lewis-Clark State
Round 36, Overall 1071 – Logan Farrar, OF, Virginia Commonwealth
Round 37, Overall 1101 – Raymond Gil, 3B, Florida HS
Round 38, Overall 1131 – Wil Hoyle, 2B, North Carolina HS
Round 39, Overall 1161 – Haydn King, LHP, California HS
Round 40, Overall 1191 – Jacob Hoffman, SS, Stanford
While the gem of day 3 is absolutely Mitchell, the guy who intrigues me is the guy selected just ahead of him in reliever Wyatt Marks, who has a heavy 92-93 fastball with a wicked curve. He struck out nearly 2 batters per inning this year out of the bullpen through pitch movement and a bit of deception in his delivery.
Overall Outlook
If someone had told you that a team would have drafted Austin Beck, Nick Allen, and Garrett Mitchell, that person would have been disbelieved as getting all three of them in the same draft would have seemed absolutely impossible. To get them along with Merrell and Deichmann is a huge draft.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Day One
Round 1, Overall 7 – Pavin Smith, 1B, Virginia
Round 2, Overall 44 – Drew Ellis, 3B, Louisville
Round CBB, Overall 68 – Daulton Varsho, C, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The Diamondbacks went college-heavy on the first day, but it’s hard to argue with any one of the picks they made. Smith is arguably the most mature bat in the entire draft, and if he can handle a transition to a corner outfield spot, he could move quickly to the major leagues with a contact-over-power approach.
Ellis may be one of the most powerful college bats available this season, and he’s a guy who has enough athleticism to handle a corner outfield spot if he doesn’t stick at third base. Varsho is one of my personal favorites in this draft, the son of former big league outfielder Gary Varsho. He could end up moving to his father’s position as a pro, but he has the raw skills that could allow him to be a quality backstop as well with good athleticism.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 82 – Matt Tabor, RHP, Massachusetts HS
Round 4, Overall 112 – Harrison Francis, RHP, Florida HS
Round 5, Overall 142 – Buddy Kennedy, 3B, New Jersey HS
Round 6, Overall 172 – Brian Shaffer, RHP, Maryland
Round 7, Overall 202 – Jose Caballero, SS, Chipola JuCo
Round 8, Overall 232 – Tim Susnara, C, Oregon
Round 9, Overall 262 – Camden Duzenack, SS, Dallas Baptist
Round 10, Overall 292 – Ryan Grotjohn, SS, Cal State-Bakersfield
The Diamondbacks used the likely savings from their first day’s picks and used that to select three high school picks in their first three picks of the second day. Tabor is the most highly regarded arm of the Northeast this season, with excellent stuff and a good frame that projects well. Kennedy went to the same high school as Mike Trout, and the Diamondbacks would be overjoyed if he had just 2/3 of the career! Kennedy does have an intriguing build to follow as he gets raw power and speed out of a frame that doesn’t look like it should produce that.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 322 – Tra’Mayne Holmes, OF, Faulkner
Round 12, Overall 352 – Matt Brill, RHP, Appalachian State
Round 13, Overall 382 – Riley Cabral, RHP, Chipola JuCo
Round 14, Overall 412 – Keshawn Lynch, 2B, State JuCo of Florida
Round 15, Overall 442 – Clayton Keyes, OF, Canada HS
Round 16, Overall 472 – Jeff Bain, RHP, Cal Poly Pomona
Round 17, Overall 502 – Trent Autry, RHP, Florence-Darlington Tech
Round 18, Overall 532 – Kevin Watson, OF, Oregon HS
Round 19, Overall 562 – Ernie De La Trinidad, OF, UNLV
Round 20, Overall 592 – Dominic Mirogilio, C, San Francisco
Round 21, Overall 622 – Jack Maynard, RHP, UNC-Greensboro
Round 22, Overall 652 – Cole Stapler, RHP, Nicholls State
Round 23, Overall 682 – Matthew Peacock, RHP, South Alabama
Round 24, Overall 712 – Jancarlos Cintron, 2B, Nova Southeastern
Round 25, Overall 742 – Cole Bartlett, RHP, Missouri
Round 26, Overall 772 – Abraham Almonte, LHP, Philadelphia
Round 27, Overall 802 – Andrew Eyster, OF, Florida HS
Round 28, Overall 832 – James Johnson, RHP, Lamar
Round 29, Overall 862 – Tarik Skubal, LHP, Seattle
Round 30, Overall 892 – Ryan Dobson, OF, Fresno State
Round 31, Overall 922 – Cole Percival, RHP, California HS
Round 32, Overall 952 – William Gorman, OF, Rochester Institute of Technology
Round 33, Overall 982 – Renae Martinez, C, Oklahoma
Round 34, Overall 1012 – Dan Swain, OF, Siena
Round 35, Overall 1042 – Zachary Almond, C, Catawba
Round 36, Overall 1072 – Boyd Vander Kooi, RHP, Arizona HS
Round 37, Overall 1102 – David Vasquez, SS, Florida HS
Round 38, Overall 1132 – Emerson Hancock, RHP, Georgia HS
Round 39, Overall 1162 – Nathan Reynolds, SS, Louisiana-Monroe
Round 40, Overall 1192 – Terence Connelly, 3B, UNC-Wilmington
Day 3 for Arizona was an interesting mix of college, JuCo, and high school players. The guy who most intrigues me is 12th rounder Matt Brill, a big-armed righty, who missed all of 2016 with Tommy John and showed up with big velocity in 2017. He’ll be a reliever, but he could be a good one.
He could be a very difficult sign, but an intriguing name is 31st round selection Cole Percival, the son of former big league closer Troy Percival. He’s a big kid, who’s grown to be 6’6″ with plenty of projection, but he’s likely to play for his dad at UC-Riverside.
Overall Outlook
The combination of day one college picks and day two high school upside guys should allow for a good return from the draft class for Arizona. They are excited about the upside of Smith for sure, but guys like Tabor and Kennedy should bring plenty of intrigue as well.
Philadelphia Phillies
Day One
Round 1, Overall 8 – Adam Haseley, OF, Virginia
Round 2, Overall 45 – Spencer Howard, RHP, Cal Poly
Haseley is a guy who has drawn a ton of buzz this spring as his power has come to join his already present defensive skills in center field and contact skills. He’s been good for the Cavaliers on the mound and in the outfield, but he’ll be just an outfielder at the pro level. Howard is a highly projectable pitcher for a college pick with plenty of work still needed as he’s still raw, but his stuff is very polished, likely pushing promotions along the way.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 83 – Connor Seabold, RHP, Cal State Fullerton
Round 4, Overall 113 – Jake Scheiner, 3B, Houston
Round 5, Overall 143 – Ethan Lindow, LHP, Georgia HS
Round 6, Overall 173 – Dalton Guthrie, SS, Florida
Round 7, Overall 203 – Nick Maton, SS, Lincoln Land JuCo
Round 8, Overall 233 – Jhordany Mozquita, LHP, Dominican Republic
Round 9, Overall 263 – Jack Zoellner, 1B, New Mexico
Round 10, Overall 293 – Connor Brogdon, RHP, Lewis-Clark State
Day two picks were highlighted by one of my favorite collegiate players this season, Dalton Guthrie, a smooth fielding shortstop who may only project as a bench infielder, but he’s still fun to watch due to his all-out style. Mozquita was required to go through the draft process after the Phillies initially attempted to sign him as an international free agent.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 323 – Jake Holmes, SS, Arizona HS
Round 12, Overall 353 – David Parkinson, LHP, Mississippi
Round 13, Overall 383 – Colby Fitch, C, Louisville
Round 14, Overall 413 – Zach Warren, LHP, Tennessee
Round 15, Overall 443 – Alex Garcia, RHP, UC-Santa Barbara
Round 16, Overall 473 – Kyle Dohy, LHP, Cal Poly Pomona
Round 17, Overall 503 – Austin Listi, OF, Dallas Baptist
Round 18, Overall 533 – Damon Jones, LHP, Washington State
Round 19, Overall 563 – Addison Russ, RHP, Houston Baptist
Round 20, Overall 593 – Brady Schanuel, RHP, Parkland JuCo
Round 21, Overall 623 – Jakob Hernandez, LHP, Texas-Arlington
Round 22, Overall 653 – Brian Mims, 2B, UNC-Wilmington
Round 23, Overall 683 – Shane Drohan, LHP, Florida HS
Round 24, Overall 713 – Kevin Markham, OF, Texas-San Antonio
Round 25, Overall 743 – Jesus Azuaje, SS, Glendale JuCo
Round 26, Overall 773 – Quincy Nieporte, 1B, Florida State
Round 27, Overall 803 – Yahir Gurrola, OF, North Florida
Round 28, Overall 833 – Bill Sullivan, RHP, Delaware HS
Round 29, Overall 863 – Bailey Cummings, RHP, San Jacinto JuCo
Round 30, Overall 893 – Matt Kroon, 3B, Central Arizona JuCo
Round 31, Overall 923 – Danny Mayer, OF, Pacific
Round 32, Overall 953 – Sati Santa Cruz, RHP, Central Arizona JuCo
Round 33, Overall 983 – Benjamin Brown, RHP, New York HS
Round 34, Overall 1013 – Kyle Hurt, RHP, California HS
Round 35, Overall 1043 – Brian Morrell, RHP, New York HS
Round 36, Overall 1073 – Joe Breaux, OF, McCennan JuCo
Round 37, Overall 1103 – Edouard Julian, 2B, Canada HS
Round 38, Overall 1133 – Landon Gray, C, Weatherford JuCo
Round 39, Overall 1163 – D.J. Stewart, 3B, Missouri HS
Round 40, Overall 1193 – Paul Coumoulos, OF, Florida HS
The Phillies targeted primarily college players in the third day, and though they ended up with primarily college players early, they still could have some signability issues. The team did target quite a few JuCo players as well, drafting 7 of them on the third day.
Overall Outlook
The Phillies have been pursuing the high upside, low floor targets the last few years in their rebuild, and this year’s draft seemed to indicate a shift in that to some degree as they drafted plenty of college and JuCo players that should move quickly and have the experience to have higher floors than the more high school focused picks of the last few seasons.
Milwaukee Brewers
Day One
Round 1, Overall 9 – Keston Hiura, 2B, UC-Irvine
Round CBA, Overall 34 – Tristen Lutz, OF, Texas HS
Round 2, Overall 46 – Caden Lemons, RHP, Alabama HS
Tons of upside all around in this first day for the Brewers. I love Hiura’s bat, and I think he’s going to move quickly once he gets his elbow injury taken care of. He will most likely play second base within the Brewers system initially and move from there if needed, but the contact skills are elite.
Lutz is a tremendous power bat with a right field profile of power arm and power bat. Lemons is a 6’6″ lean pitcher who is just starting to fill out, and he has a ton of projection in his arm, with some scouts believing he could end up touching triple digits along with a potential plus slider and above average feel for a change for a high schooler. He’ll move slow, but Lemons could have an incredible ceiling once things all click.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 84 – K.J. Harrison, C, Oregon State
Round 4, Overall 114 – Brendan Murphy, LHP, Illinois HS
Round 5, Overall 144 – Nick Egnatuk, 3B, New Jersey HS
Round 6, Overall 174 – Devin Hairston, SS, Louisville
Round 7, Overall 204 – Bowden Francis, RHP, Chipola JuCo
Round 8, Overall 234 – Jayson Rose, RHP, Utah
Round 9, Overall 264 – Dallas Carroll, 3B, Utah
Round 10, Overall 294 – Alec Bettinger, RHP, Virginia
The Brewers quickly gobbled up one of the highest-rated catchers on the board in the draft this spring in Harrison, who was moved to first base his first two seasons in deference to Logan Ice, but has some legit skills as a catcher in his own right. They followed that with two more high school picks before going into “cheap college sign” mode.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 324 – Max Lazar, RHP, Florida HS
Round 12, Overall 354 – Je’Von Carrier-Ward, OF, California HS
Round 13, Overall 384 – Abdiel Layer, SS, Puerto Rico HS
Round 14, Overall 414 – Gage Workman, SS, Arizona HS
Round 15, Overall 444 – Christian Santana, RHP, Florida HS
Round 16, Overall 474 – Justin Bullock, RHP, North Carolina HS
Round 17, Overall 504 – Leugim Castillo, OF, New York HS
Round 18, Overall 534 – Ledgend Smith, LHP, Oklahoma HS
Round 19, Overall 564 – Noah Campbell, SS, North Carolina HS
Round 20, Overall 594 – Austin Rubick, RHP, Ventura JuCo
Round 21, Overall 624 – Dylan File, RHP, Dixie State
Round 22, Overall 654 – Brandon Presley, LHP, Florida Southwestern State JuCo
Round 23, Overall 684 – Cam Robison, RHP, Florida HS
Round 24, Overall 714 – Robbie Hitt, RHP, Quinnipiac
Round 25, Overall 744 – Karlos Morales, LHP, California HS
Round 26, Overall 774 – Carson McCusker, OF, Folsom Lake JuCo
Round 27, Overall 804 – Cody Martin, RHP, Tampa
Round 28, Overall 834 – Roberto Delgado, RHP, Oklahoma City
Round 29, Overall 864 – Brent Diaz, C, Louisiana Tech
Round 30, Overall 894 – Cody Beckman, LHP, North Carolina State
Round 31, Overall 924 – Rylan Kaufman, LHP, Texas HS
Round 32, Overall 954 – Miller Hogan, RHP, Saint Louis
Round 33, Overall 984 – Kyle Jacobsen, OF, Georgia HS
Round 34, Overall 1014 – Garrett Crochet, LHP, Mississippi HS
Round 35, Overall 1044 – Davis Bradshaw, OF, Mississippi HS
Round 36, Overall 1074 – Kenny Corey, 3B, UC-Santa Barbara
Round 37, Overall 1104 – Christian Taugner, RHP, Brown
Round 38, Overall 1134 – Robbie Rojas, C, Sam Houston State
Round 39, Overall 1164 – Robert Henry, OF, Brown
Round 40, Overall 1194 – Trevor Koenig, LHP, Minnesota HS
The Brewers take a different approach from many teams in the third day, picking nearly all high school picks and really just seeing who they can get for a deal. That led to the Brewers drafting 16 high school players on the third day alone, on top of the four selected in the first two days, giving them 20 high school selections in their 41 overall picks.
Overall Outlook
The Brewers went hard after high upside, even in their collegiate picks. Hiura and Harrison have a ton of untapped potential, even as college players. Lutz’s power in the outfield could be an intriguing mix with the power/speed combo players the Brewers have throughout the system, like Brett Phillips and Lewis Brinson.
Los Angeles Angels
Day One
Round 1, Overall 10 – Jordon Adell, OF, Kentucky HS
Round 2, Overall 47 – Griffin Canning, RHP, UCLA
Home run of a first day for the Angels. Adell immediately becomes the top prospect in the Angels system, and he has an incredible tool set. One of the most athletic players in the draft, Adell has 80-grade make up, and he’ll be a good citizen in the Angels system as he works his way up. Canning was receiving talk in the middle of the first round until concern about his work load over the season drove down his draft stock due to injury worries. He has a good balance of pitches that should allow him to move quickly as a mid-rotation starter.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 85 – Jacob Pearson, OF, Louisiana HS
Round 4, Overall 115 – John Swanda, RHP, Iowa HS
Round 5, Overall 145 – Joseph Booker, RHP, Alabama HS
Round 6, Overall 175 – Jonah Todd, OF, Auburn
Round 7, Overall 205 – Dennis Brady, RHP, Mercer County JuCo
Round 8, Overall 235 – Connor Riley, RHP, South Carolina-Aiken
Round 9, Overall 265 – Brett Hanewich, RHP, Stanford
Round 10, Overall 295 – Daniel Procopio, RHP, Niagara
The Angels stayed after high-impact guys early, grabbing three high schoolers and a solid JuCo arm in their 8 picks. Pearson has a huge amount of raw power and could work in center field, but he’d be a plus defender in a corner. Swanda is a “cold-weather” arm from Iowa with a very good fastball/curve combo, but he also has a ton of projection left.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 325 – Jeryell Rivera, LHP, Puerto Rico HS
Round 12, Overall 355 – Keith Rogalla, RHP, Creighton
Round 13, Overall 385 – Kevin Williams, OF, Samford
Round 14, Overall 415 – Sam Fuller, RHP, Georgia HS
Round 15, Overall 445 – Hunter Brittain, C, Alabama HS
Round 16, Overall 475 – Spencer Griffin, OF, Wharton County JuCo
Round 17, Overall 505 – Caleb Scires, OF, Nevarro JuCo
Round 18, Overall 535 – Tyler Stevens, RHP, New Mexico
Round 19, Overall 565 – Isaac Mattson, RHP, Pittsburgh
Round 20, Overall 595 – Mitchell Traver, RHP, TCU
Round 21, Overall 625 – Devon Perez, RHP, Oklahoma
Round 22, Overall 655 – James Ziemba, LHP, Duke
Round 23, Overall 685 – Zac Ryan, RHP, Georgia Tech
Round 24, Overall 715 – Harrison Wenson, C, Michigan
Round 25, Overall 745 – Matt McCann, SS, Farleigh Dickinson
Round 26, Overall 775 – Zane Gurwitz, 2B, Texas
Round 27, Overall 805 – Brandon Sandoval, RHP, Vanguard
Round 28, Overall 835 – Bernabe Camargo, SS, Galveston JuCo
Round 29, Overall 865 – Cobi Johnson, RHP, Florida State
Round 30, Overall 895 – Jeremy Beasley, RHP, Clemson
Round 31, Overall 925 – Jon Malmin, LHP, Texas
Round 32, Overall 955 – David MacKinnon, 1B, Hartford
Round 33, Overall 985 – Tyler Walsh, RHP, Belmont
Round 34, Overall 1015 – Weston Smith, RHP, Texas HS
Round 35, Overall 1045 – Brady Feigl, RHP, Mississippi
Round 36, Overall 1075 – Steven Rivas, OF, California HS
Round 37, Overall 1105 – Peyton Glavine, LHP, Georgia HS
Round 38, Overall 1135 – Jacob Rogers, 3B, Nevada HS
Round 39, Overall 1165 – Josh Hatcher, OF, Georgia HS
Round 40, Overall 1195 – Matt Russell, RHP, Missouri HS
The Angels went strong after a select few high school players in the third day among a number of college and JuCo picks, but the one that really catches my eye is Georgia prep righty Sam Fuller, a guy with a fastball that can work into the mid-90s, but typically works more around the low-90s with good movement. Fuller’s on the smaller side, which is what kept him off the radar on many scouting lists at 6′ even, but he’s got the stuff and frame that could project well if he’s given time to develop and can be bought out of his West Virginia commitment.
Overall Outlook
The Angels addressed a system in need of high upside by going after just that, starting with the player with arguably the highest upside in the entire draft. Not many players have come along in the last 30 years that would make a legit comparison to Bo Jackson athletically, but that’s exactly what Jordon Adell is, and with his work ethic, it’s easy to see him succeeding.
Chicago White Sox
Day One
Round 1, Overall 11 – Jake Burger, 3B, Missouri State
Round 2, Overall 49 – Gavin Sheets, 1B, Wake Forest
The White Sox were highly rumored to be considering collegiate players for their system, which fits their current model to not have a lengthy rebuild, but to find high-impact players that would be able to impact the major leagues within the next 2-3 seasons.
Burger and Sheets were two of the most prolific power hitters in all of college baseball in 2017. Burger has a history of showing power in wood bat leagues. This is intriguing as Burger and Sheets could both move fairly quick, and current incumbent first baseman Jose Abreu is arbitration eligible until he becomes a free agent after the 2019 season. He could also become a trade option for the White Sox with these draft selections.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 87 – Luis Gonzalez, OF, New Mexico
Round 4, Overall 117 – Lincoln Henzman, RHP, Louisville
Round 5, Overall 147 – Tyler Johnson, RHP, South Carolina
Round 6, Overall 177 – Kade McClure, RHP, Louisville
Round 7, Overall 207 – Evan Skoug, C, TCU
Round 8, Overall 237 – Sam Abbott, 1B, Washington HS
Round 9, Overall 267 – Craig Dedelow, OF, Indiana
Round 10, Overall 297 – J.B. Olson, RHP, Oklahoma
The White Sox continued their college focus in day 2, only selecting one high school player, and that was even a first baseman, albeit one who was quite raw as baseball was Abbott’s second sport in high school (to water polo).
Two names to note in the day 2 picks would be their third round selection, who is not related to the former Diamondbacks outfielder of the same name, but does have across-the-board tools in the outfield that would allow him to project in a corner outfield spot. The other guy to note is 7th round pick Evan Skoug, considered one of the top college hitters coming into the season before he scuffled with the bat. Many wondered about his ability to stick behind the plate in a similar way that evaluators wondered about last season’s first round pick Zack Collins.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 327 – Will Kincanon, RHP, Indiana State
Round 12, Overall 357 – Justin Yurchak, 3B, Binghamton
Round 13, Overall 387 – Tate Blackman, 2B, Mississippi
Round 14, Overall 417 – Alex Destino, OF, South Carolina
Round 15, Overall 447 – Tyler Frost, OF, Gonzaga
Round 16, Overall 477 – Logan Taylor, OF, Louisville
Round 17, Overall 507 – Blake Battenfield, RHP, Oklahoma State
Round 18, Overall 537 – Hunter Kiel, RHP, LSU
Round 19, Overall 567 – Anthony Herron, RHP, Missouri State
Round 20, Overall 597 – David Cronin, 2B, Illinois-Chicago
Round 21, Overall 627 – John Parke, LHP, South Carolina
Round 22, Overall 657 – Joseph Benitez, LHP, South Carolina-Aiken
Round 23, Overall 687 – Mikey Duarte, SS, UC-Irvine
Round 24, Overall 717 – Vince Arobio, RHP, Pacific
Round 25, Overall 747 – Jose Garcia, OF, Texas-Rio Grande Valley
Round 26, Overall 777 – Michael Staudinger, OF, Azuza Pacific
Round 27, Overall 807 – J.J. Muno, SS, UC-Santa Barbara
Round 28, Overall 837 – Laz Rivera, 2B, Tampa
Round 29, Overall 867 – Joe Mockbee, LHP, Michigan State
Round 30, Overall 897 – Ryan Erickson, LHP, Iowa
Round 31, Overall 927 – Parker Rigler, LHP, Kansas State
Round 32, Overall 957 – Greg Minier, LHP, Washington
Round 33, Overall 987 – Kevin George, LHP, Menlo
Round 34, Overall 1017 – Michael McCormick, RHP, Eastern Illinois
Round 35, Overall 1047 – Riley Crean, RHP, Indiana HS
Round 36, Overall 1077 – Alex Widmer, RHP, Ohio HS
Round 37, Overall 1107 – Ted Andrews, RHP, Tulane
Round 38, Overall 1137 – Dylan Horvitz, C, Illinois HS
Round 39, Overall 1167 – Chance King, RHP, IMG Academy
Round 40, Overall 1197 – Angelo Smith, LHP, Illinois HS
The White Sox continued their heavy focus on collegiate picks, not even selecting a high school player on day 3 until the 35th round, typically an area of the draft where a team may select a player that they’re comfortable with losing to signing issues.
The White Sox’s first two selections are both very intriguing guys to follow. Kincanon has a hard sinker that he can run into the mid-90s but has more effective movement in the lower 90s along with an average change and slider that lead to many believing that he’ll be a future reliever, but if he could build command on both of his secondaries, the sinker is good enough that he could work as a Tim Hudson type. Yurchak is not likely to profile at third base defensively as a pro, but his bat is elite in contact ability with a frame and BP displays that portend to future game power.
Overall Outlook
The college approach in the White Sox draft this season will allow them to stock a shallow system quickly with college tested players that can add talent to especially the lower levels right now. The draft does rely heavily on the White Sox system ability to develop bats, so they will need to show that they can do that consistently to get the most out of this draft class.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Day One
Round 1, Overall 12 – Shane Baz, RHP, Texas HS
Round 2, Overall 42 – Steven Jennings, RHP, Tennessee HS
Round 2, Overall 50 – Calvin Mitchell, OF, California HS
Round CBB, Overall 72 – Conner Uselton, OF, Oklahoma HS
You could not put together more upside in the first day than the Pirates did here. Baz is an incredible talent, and even after being burned by having one of the two guys who did not sign last year with Nick Lodolo, who went to TCU (where Baz is committed, interestingly enough), the Pirates were not scared off by his strong college commitment. Jennings is a guy who was not 100% for much of the spring after tearing his ACL in football in the fall, but he’s seen his fastball pop to the upper 90s with two potential plus breaking pitches.
The two outfielders are both toolsy types as well with Mitchell being a near-DH in athleticism, so his bat will be his carrying tool, but he has plus contact and power projection. Uselton is a more across-the-board tools type with above-average tools across the board, though as he fills out, many feel he’ll end up a premium defensive right fielder with a plus arm and raw plus power.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 88 – Dylan Busby, 3B, Florida State
Round 4, Overall 118 – Jason Delay, C, Vanderbilt
Round 5, Overall 148 – Deon Stafford, C, St. Joseph’s
Round 6, Overall 178 – Cody Bolton, RHP, California HS
Round 7, Overall 208 – Jared Oliva, OF, Arizona
Round 8, Overall 238 – Blake Weiman, LHP, Kansas
Round 9, Overall 268 – Bligh Madris, OF, Colorado Mesa
Round 10, Overall 298 – Beau Sulser, RHP, Dartmouth
The Pirates went hard after college picks on day 2 after getting a ton of upside on day 1, but they still didn’t eschew talent in their picks either. Busby finished with good power in the ACC and has shown power with wood, Delay is a very good defensive catcher that could turn into more with even a touch of growth into his bat, Oliva has turned from walk on to competing for a conference batting title with raw power to boot, and Madris flashed double-plus power in D-II this season.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 328 – Alex Manasa, RHP, Jackson JuCo
Round 12, Overall 358 – Hunter Wolfe, SS, Walters State JuCo
Round 13, Overall 388 – Tristan Gray, 2B, Rice
Round 14, Overall 418 – Chris Sharpe, OF, Massachusetts-Lowell
Round 15, Overall 448 – Gavin Wallace, RHP, Fairfield
Round 16, Overall 478 – Hunter Stratton, RHP, Walters State JuCo
Round 17, Overall 508 – Mason Martin, OF, Washington HS
Round 18, Overall 538 – Shea Murray, RHP, Ohio State
Round 19, Overall 568 – Jacob Webb, RHP, Kansas HS
Round 20, Overall 598 – Will Reed, RHP, Harford JuCo
Round 21, Overall 628 – Robbie Glendinning, SS, Missouri
Round 22, Overall 658 – Brett Pope, SS, Western Carolina
Round 23, Overall 688 – Ben Bengston, SS, Hartford
Round 24, Overall 718 – Nick Valaika, SS, UCLA
Round 25, Overall 748 – Eddie Muhl, RHP, George Washington
Round 26, Overall 778 – Lucas Tancas, OF, Long Beach State
Round 27, Overall 808 – David Lee, RHP, Florida
Round 28, Overall 838 – Matt Seelinger, RHP, New York HS
Round 29, Overall 868 – Brock Deatherage, OF, North Carolina State
Round 30, Overall 898 – Manny Bejerano, C, Broward JuCo
Round 31, Overall 928 – Jesse Medrano, 3B, Fresno State
Round 32, Overall 958 – Hector Quinones, RHP, Midway
Round 33, Overall 988 – Ryan Valdes, RHP, South Florida
Round 34, Overall 1018 – Mason Ward, LHP, Kennesaw State
Round 35, Overall 1048 – Drew Fischer, RHP, Amherst
Round 36, Overall 1078 – Ryan Hoerter, RHP, Wisconsin HS
Round 37, Overall 1108 – Kyle Watson, SS, Mississippi
Round 38, Overall 1138 – Christopher Peurifoy, OF, Georgia Tech
Round 39, Overall 1168 – Mike Gretler, 3B, Oregon State
Round 40, Overall 1198 – Tyler Osick, 3B, Chipola JuCo
The Pirates drafted a high amount of JuCo guys early on day 3, taking four in the first 10 picks of the day, but primarily the focus of the day was getting plenty of college guys to allow them to keep their overall draft pool in check after their first day.
Overall Outlook
If the Pirates had stopped after day 1, this would be a successful draft, but the Pirates picked up a large amount of talent in the next two days as well with plenty of upside, even as college players. I’ll be very interested to see how this draft ages in their system.
Miami Marlins
Day One
Round 1, Overall 13 – Trevor Rogers, LHP, New Mexico HS
Round CBA, Overall 36 – Brian Miller, OF, North Carolina
Round 2, Overall 51 – Joe Dunand, 3B, North Carolina State
While I’d have gone a couple other directions, I understand that Rogers makes sense in the Marlins plans. He’s a long, projectable lefty that can be a future ace, but he has a very low floor as well with struggles with his consistency in his arm slot. He is one of the older high school players this year as well. Miller is a center fielder, but he projects as a likely 4th outfielder more than a future starter. Dunand is probably the guy who is the most impressive pick of this grouping, the nephew of Alex Rodriguez, a big, strong hitter with an above-average arm and plus power, though his contact ability grades as average or even a tick below average.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 89 – Riley Mahan, 2B, Kentucky
Round 4, Overall 119 – Colton Hock, RHP, Stanford
Round 5, Overall 149 – Ryan Lillie, RHP, UC-Riverside
Round 6, Overall 179 – Taylor Braley, RHP, Southern Mississippi
Round 7, Overall 209 – Sean Guenther, LHP, Notre Dame
Round 8, Overall 239 – Jared Barnes, C, South Alabama
Round 9, Overall 269 – Cameron Baranek, OF, Hope International
Round 10, Overall 299 – Denis Karas, 3B, Cal
The Marlins went hard after college production in the second day. One of the guys who could be very intriguing is Colton Hock, Stanford’s dominating closer this year. Hock had a very good run in the Cape Cod League last summer as a starter, and his heavy sinker and tight curve could work in either role.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 329 – Dakota Bennett, LHP, Alabama HS
Round 12, Overall 359 – Josh Roberson, RHP, UNC-Wilmington
Round 13, Overall 389 – Jan Mercado, C, Puerto Rico HS
Round 14, Overall 419 – Demetrius Sims, SS, Bethune-Cookman
Round 15, Overall 449 – Brady Puckett, RHP, Lipscomb
Round 16, Overall 479 – Gavin Fritz, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Round 17, Overall 509 – Dillon Cyphert, LHP, Gulf Coast State JuCo
Round 18, Overall 539 – Bryce Howe, RHP, Oral Roberts
Round 19, Overall 569 – Micah Brown, SS, Lewis-Clark State
Round 20, Overall 599 – Matt Givin, RHP, Colorado HS
Round 21, Overall 629 – Ben Fisher, 1B, Eastern Kentucky
Round 22, Overall 659 – J.D. Osborne, C, Tampa
Round 23, Overall 689 – Tyler Curtis, 3B, Lynn
Round 24, Overall 719 – Montana Parsons, RHP, Baylor
Round 25, Overall 749 – Evan Estes, RHP, Merced JuCo
Round 26, Overall 779 – Gunner Leger, LHP, Louisiana-Lafayette
Round 27, Overall 809 – Doug Domnarski, LHP, Connecticut
Round 28, Overall 839 – Vincenzo Aiello, RHP, Oklahoma
Round 29, Overall 869 – Henry McAree, RHP, Lewis-Clark State
Round 30, Overall 899 – Michael Donadio, OF, St. John’s
Round 31, Overall 929 – Harrison White, OF, Yale
Round 32, Overall 959 – Elliott Barzilli, 3B, TCU
Round 33, Overall 989 – Kyle Farjad, LHP, Palm Beach State JuCo
Round 34, Overall 1019 – Karl Craigie, LHP, Texas-San Antonio
Round 35, Overall 1049 – Tyler Holton, LHP, Florida State
Round 36, Overall 1079 – Josh Alberius, RHP, Arkansas
Round 37, Overall 1109 – Jared Price, RHP, Maryland
Round 38, Overall 1139 – Cody Roberts, C, North Carolina
Round 39, Overall 1169 – Brandon Boone, RHP, St. Edward’s
Round 40, Overall 1199 – Andrew Turner, 3B, Long Island
The Marlins went almost all college and JuCo players in the third day, only selecting two high school players. However, the guy I’m most intrigued by isn’t one of the high schooler’s, it’s Lewis-Clark State shortstop Micah Brown, who is a plus defender with a plus-plus arm and speed, and he has the ability to be a legit option as a power reliever if the Marlins chose to take the bat out of his hands.
Overall Outlook
The Marlins made some questionable picks on day one, and then had to go heavy college on day 3 to afford those picks, so this could be a questionable draft into arguably already the worst system in MLB.
Kansas City Royals
Day One
Round 1, overall 14 – Nick Pratto, 1B, California HS
Round 2, overall 52 – M.J. Melendez, C, Florida HS
Round CBB, overall 73 – Evan Steele, LHP, Chipola JuCo
The Royals went hard after upside, grabbing arguably the best contact hitter in the high school class, and a guy that many say profiles as similar to current Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer. Pratto could work at a corner outfield spot, but he is considered an elite defender at first, so it is likely he stays at first to let his pretty swing develop.
Melendez was the best combination of defense and offense upside among the entire catcher class, let alone just the prep catching class. Steele is a fun pick to watch as well, a low-slot lefty with excellent movement on his pitches that has the repertoire to work as a starter, but also the delivery and arm slot that usually leads to the bullpen.
Day Two
Round 3, overall 90 – Daniel Tillo, LHP, Iowa Western JuCo
Round 4, overall 120 – Michael Gigliotti, OF, Lipscomb
Round 5, overall 150 – Charlie Neuweiler, RHP, New York HS
Round 6, overall 180 – Tyler Zuber, RHP, Arkansas State
Round 7, overall 210 – Brewer Hicklen, OF, Alabama-Birmingham
Round 8, overall 240 – Holden Capps, LHP, Central Oklahoma
Round 9, overall 270 – J.C. Cloney, LHP, Arizona
Round 10, overall 300 – Jordan Floyd, LHP, Kansas State
The Royals continued to go after upside in the first three picks of the day. Tillo is a big-armed lefty that could be an elite reliever but has enough feel of a change to consider a starting role. Gigliotti is a ridiculous athlete, though his draft spring did not go as he would have liked after an impressive summer where he flashed other-worldly speed. Neuweiler was a late-rising prospect this spring as a teammate of Quentin Holmes who has a projectable body along with an excellent frame to handle the work he’ll need to do to move forward.
Day Three
Round 11, overall 330 – Sal Biasi, RHP, Penn State
Round 12, overall 360 – Collin Snider, RHP, Vanderbilt
Round 13, overall 390 – Cason Sherrod, RHP, Texas A&M
Round 14, overall 420 – Isaiah Henry, RHP, Texas HS
Round 15, overall 450 – Robert Garcia, LHP, UC-Davis
Round 16, overall 480 – Christopher Hudgins, C, Cal State Fullerton
Round 17, overall 510 – Julio Gonzalez, SS, Florida Gulf Coast
Round 18, overall 540 – Marlin Willis, LHP, Georgia HS
Round 19, overall 570 – Korry Howell, SS, Kirkwood JuCo
Round 20, overall 600 – Bryar Johnson, RHP, South Carolina HS
Round 21, overall 630 – Isaiah Smith, OF, Washington HS
Round 22, overall 660 – Josh Mitchell, LHP, Pittsburgh
Round 23, overall 690 – Matt Morales, SS, Palm Beach State JuCo
Round 24, overall 720 – Connor Mayes, RHP, Texas
Round 25, overall 750 – Tyler James, OF, William Carey
Round 26, overall 780 – Garrett Suchey, RHP, Alabama
Round 27, overall 810 – Nick Hutchins, C, Southern Illinois
Round 28, Overall 840 – Tylor Fischer, RHP, Texas HS
Round 29, Overall 870 – Travis Jones, OF, Texas
Round 30, Overall 900 – Adam Bainbridge, LHP, Old Dominion
Round 31, Overall 930 – Justin Vought, C, Pennsylvania HS
Round 32, Overall 960 – Andrew Beckwith, RHP, Coastal Carolina
Round 33, Overall 990 – Damon Olds, RHP, Indiana State
Round 34, Overall 1020 – Jack Klein, RHP, Stanford
Round 35, Overall 1050 – Reed Rohlman, OF, Clemson
Round 36, Overall 1080 – Brady Cox, C, Texas-Arlington
Round 37, overall 1110 – Trevor Hauver, SS, Arizona HS
Round 38, overall 1140 – Montae Bradshaw, OF, Patrick Henry JuCo
Round 39, overall 1170 – Justin Mitchell, C, Missouri HS
Round 40, overall 1200 – Yaniel Ramos, SS, Puerto Rico HS
The Royals scattered some high school selections in their third day among a plethora of college picks, hoping to keep their costs reasonable. One guy I’ve been intrigued by in the third day grouping is the 23rd round pick from JuCo in Florida, shortstop Matt Morales. Morales is a smooth shortstop, one of the more fun defensive shortstops to watch. He has a plus run tool and above-average contact skills. His power is tough to gauge in his current environment, but he could be a guy who hits for gap power.
Overall Outlook
The Royals have a ton of upside in this draft, one of the biggest upside drafts in the entire draft this year. Pratto is a personal favorite, but getting Tillo in the third and a solid grouping on day 3 will allow them to have a very good overall draft, and this could go down as a draft that re-tools their system.
Houston Astros
Day One
Round 1, overall 15 – J.B. Bukauskas, RHP, North Carolina
Round 2, overall 53 – Joe Perez, 3B, Florida HS
Round 2, overall 56 – Corbin Martin, RHP, Texas A&M
Round CBB, overall 75 – J.J. Matijevic, 1B, Arizona
With extra picks from the St. Louis hacking punishment, the Astros loaded up on talent in the first day, with much of that talent being collegiate. Bukauskas is a guy who has been rumored up to the top 5 this season with his performance and raw stuff, but he finished on a poor note and the Astros gobbled him up in the 15th spot.
Perez was announced as a 3B, and he’ll need TJS either way, but he did draw some rave reviews for the raw power in his arm off the mound this spring before his elbow was injured. Martin was a worthy pick at the back of the first round with legit mid-rotation stuff that should move quickly, though his work load this year may lead to not a lot of pro work this season. Matijevic is one of the best pure bats in the entire college class, leading the nation in doubles at the end of the regular season. He’s played mostly DH and 1B in college, but has enough athleticism to think he could handle left field as well.
Day Two
Round 3, overall 91 – Tyler Ivey, RHP, Grayson JuCo
Round 4, overall 121 – Peter Solomon, RHP, Notre Dame
Round 5, overall 151 – Nathan Perry, C, Virginia HS
Round 6, overall 181 – Jake Adams, 1B, Iowa
Round 7, overall 211 – Parker Mushinski, LHP, Texas Tech
Round 8, overall 241 – Corey Julks, OF, Houston
Round 9, overall 271 – Mike Papierski, C, LSU
Round 10, overall 301 – Kyle Serrano, RHP, Tennessee
Day two picks seemed to indicate that the Astros believe they’ll have to go over slot significantly to get their first day all signed. That said, they still were able to get a number of intriguing picks, including Iowa masher Adams, who hit very well in Big 10 competition. Adams is a big guy that doesn’t project anywhere on the defensive spectrum, but he absolutely crushes balls that he contacts, and if he can make even average contact, he’ll move quickly.
Day Three
Round 11, overall 331 – Brandon Bielak, RHP, Notre Dame
Round 12, overall 361 – Jonathan Lacroix, OF, Seminole State JuCo
Round 13, overall 391 – Jake Meyers, OF, Nebraska
Round 14, overall 421 – Carlos Diaz, OF, Puerto Rico HS
Round 15, overall 451 – Kyle Davis, 2B, West Virginia
Round 16, overall 481 – Adrian Tovalin, 3B, Azusa Pacific
Round 17, overall 511 – Matt Ruppenthal, RHP, Vanderbilt
Round 18, overall 541 – Tim Hardy, LHP, Tusculum
Round 19, overall 571 – Roman Garcia, 1B, San Diego
Round 20, overall 601 – Hunter Martin, RHP, Tennessee
Round 21, overall 631 – Chas McCormick, OF, Millersville
Round 22, overall 661 – Patrick Mathis, OF, Texas
Round 23, overall 691 – Brett Bond, C, Missouri
Round 24, overall 721 – Alex House, RHP, Florida Atlantic
Round 25, overall 751 – Marty Costes, OF, Maryland
Round 26, overall 781 – Josh Rojas, 2B, Hawaii
Round 27, overall 811 – Adam Bleday, LHP, Penn
Round 28, overall 841 – Richard Slenker, 3B, Yale
Round 29, overall 871 – Andres Santana, OF, Florida HS
Round 30, overall 901 – Cody Bohanek, SS, Illinois-Chicago
Round 31, overall 931 – Cole Watts, LHP, Skyline JuCo
Round 32, overall 961 – Martin Figueroa, C, Rhode Island
Round 33, overall 991 – Reid Russell, OF, Lamar
Round 34, overall 1021 – Noel Pinto, LHP, Connors State JuCo
Round 35, overall 1051 – Trei Cruz, SS, Texas HS
Round 36, overall 1081 – Josh Breaux, C, McLennan JuCo
Round 37, overall 1111 – Matthew Merrill, RHP, Oklahoma HS
Round 38, overall 1141 – Trey Cumbie, LHP, Houston
Round 39, overall 1171 – Colton Shaver, 3B, Brigham Young
Round 40, overall 1201 – Chase Farrell, RHP, California HS
The Astros stayed plenty in the Texas area in the third day, especially with their last 10 picks. The guy I’m very intrigued by in the day 3 group (outside of Diaz, who is very impressive as a Puerto Rican that’s very raw), is catcher Brett Bond, a switch-hitter from Missouri. He has very good skills behind the plate, but what is impressive is his power at the plate, and he really broke through this season, with a .307/.385/.507 line and experience with wood.
Overall Outlook
The extra picks in the first day allowed the Astros to grab some very high-level talent. They were more conservative the next two days to ensure the signability of that first day, but they could reap the rewards of Bukauskas and Martin impacting the rotation by 2019, which would easily make the entire draft a success.
New York Yankees
Day One
Round 1, Overall 16 – Clarke Schmidt, RHP, South Carolina
Round 2, Overall 54 – Matt Sauer, RHP, California HS
The Yankees were certainly looking to get a pair of high end players with their first two picks, and it was unlikely they could put together this type of pairing if they went for someone else first and hoped to draft Schmidt second. Schmidt will be returning from Tommy John surgery in 2018, but his upside is absolutely immense. Sauer was a guy who was being viewed as a late first round pick with excellent size, stuff, and projectability.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 92 – Trevor Stephan, RHP, Arkansas
Round 4, Overall 122 – Canaan Smith, OF, Texas HS
Round 5, Overall 152 – Glenn Otto, RHP, Rice
Round 6, Overall 182 – Dalton Lehnen, LHP, Augustana
Round 7, Overall 212 – Dalton Higgins, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Round 8, Overall 242 – Kyle Zurak, RHP Radford
Round 9, Overall 272 – Austin Gardner, RHP, Texas-Arlington
Round 10, Overall 302 – Chad Whitmer, RHP, Southern Illinois
The Yankees prepared to load the third day with cash and to ensure they could sign their first two picks by going after primarily college guys in the second day. One guy of personal interest is Lehnen, a lefty from my home state that likely profiles as a reliever with a big fastball and a pair of breaking balls, but is still a legit prospect from a state that rarely produces one.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 332 – Shawn Semple, RHP, New Orleans
Round 12, Overall 362 – Steven Sensley, OF, Louisiana-Lafayette
Round 13, Overall 392 – Eric Wagaman, 1B, Orange Coast JuCo
Round 14, Overall 422 – Harold Cortijo, RHP, Maryland HS
Round 15, Overall 452 – Aaron McGarity, RHP, Virginia Tech
Round 16, Overall 482 – Ricky Surum, SS, Mount Olive
Round 17, Overall 512 – Chris Hess, 2B, Rhode Island
Round 18, Overall 542 – Garrett Whitlock, RHP, Alabama-Birmingham
Round 19, Overall 572 – Ron Marinaccio, RHP, Delaware
Round 20, Overall 602 – Ryan Lidge, C, Notre Dame
Round 21, Overall 632 – Bryan Blanton, RHP, Catawba
Round 22, Overall 662 – Janson Junk, RHP, Seattle
Round 23, Overall 692 – Colby Davis, RHP, Arizona HS
Round 24, Overall 722 – Pat DeMarco, OF, Georgia HS
Round 25, Overall 752 – Riley Thompson, RHP, Louisville
Round 26, Overall 782 – Austin Crowson, LHP, Lane JuCo
Round 27, Overall 812 – Alex Mauricio, RHP, Norfolk State
Round 28, Overall 842 – Shane Roberts, RHP, Florida HS
Round 29, Overall 872 – Tristan Beck, RHP, Stanford
Round 30, Overall 902 – Jake Mangum, OF, Mississippi State
Round 31, Overall 932 – Jimmy Herron, OF, Duke
Round 32, Overall 962 – Alika Williams, SS, California HS
Round 33, Overall 992 – Jacob Stevens, RHP, Boston College
Round 34, Overall 1022 – Jordan Butler, LHP, Florida HS
Round 35, Overall 1052 – Steven Williams, C, Georgia HS
Round 36, Overall 1082 – Andrew Abbott, LHP, Virginia HS
Round 37, Overall 1112 – Tanner Burns, RHP, Alabama HS
Round 38, Overall 1142 – Brent Burgess, RHP, Spartanburg Methodist JuCo
Round 39, Overall 1172 – Andrew Nardi, LHP, Ventura JuCo
Round 40, Overall 1202 – Hayden Cantrelle, SS, Louisiana HS
The Yankees loaded their third day with a bunch of guys who were going to be tough signs and were projected to go much earlier. Certain guys like Beck, Mangum, Williams, and Burns are almost certain to end up in college in 2018, but getting just one of them to sign would be a huge coup.
Overall Outlook
The early picks were impressive with how the Yankees manipulated their picks in order to get the players they did. If they did get a couple of those bigger name guys on day 3 to sign, this would be an incredible draft.
Seattle Mariners
Day One
Round 1, Overall 17 – Evan White, 1B, Kentucky
Round 2, Overall 55 – Sam Carlson, RHP, Minnesota HS
For what the team was targeting to do, there is not a much better-executed first day than the Mariners, which is tremendous when picking at 17 and 55. White is a guy with an elite college bat, something the Mariners definitely coveted, and he had late helium that had him projected as high as the top 10, so to get him at 17 was a solid value. The real value, though, is Carlson, one of the bigger values of the entire draft. Carlson had teams in the top 10 with interest in an underslot deal, but his dollar figure from that point became more difficult to match after that point, and he fell all the way to the Mariners, and they were wise to jump on that!
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 93 – Wyatt Mills, RHP, Gonzaga
Round 4, Overall 123 – Seth Elledge, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Round 5, Overall 153 – David Banuelos, C, Long Beach State
Round 6, Overall 183 – Oliver Jaskie, LHP, Michigan
Round 7, Overall 213 – Max Roberts, LHP, Wabash Valley JuCo
Round 8, Overall 243 – Billy Cooke, OF, Coastal Carolina
Round 9, Overall 273 – Jorge Benitez, LHP, Puerto Rico HS
Round 10, Overall 303 – Randy Bell, RHP, South Alabama
After going for big guns early, the Mariners needed to go after some senior sign types right away on day 2. However, they still were able to go after one intriguing upside guy in Benitez, a Puerto Rico prep arm that is long and lanky, but can already eclipse 90 and has some flashes of a plus breaking pitch. He’ll be a project, but the upside is immense.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 333 – J.P. Sears, LHP, The Citadel
Round 12, Overall 363 – Darren McCaughan, RHP, Long Beach State
Round 13, Overall 393 – Luis Alvarado, RHP, Nebraska
Round 14, Overall 423 – Trevor Casanova, C, El Camino JuCo
Round 15, Overall 453 – Tommy Romero, RHP, Eastern Florida State JuCo
Round 16, Overall 483 – Orlando Razo, LHP, UC Davis
Round 17, Overall 513 – Jamal Wade, RHP, Maryland
Round 18, Overall 543 – Myles Christian, OF, Mississippi HS
Round 19, Overall 573 – Kevin Santa, SS, Tampa
Round 20, Overall 603 – Troy Dixon, C, St. John’s
Round 21, Overall 633 – Connor Hoover, SS, North Georgia
Round 22, Overall 663 – Johnny Adams, SS, Boston College
Round 23, Overall 693 – Sam Delaplane, RHP, Eastern Michigan
Round 24, Overall 723 – Louis Boyd, SS, Arizona
Round 25, Overall 753 – Bryan Pall, RHP, Michigan
Round 26, Overall 783 – Austin Hutchinson, RHP, Mt. Olive
Round 27, Overall 813 – Collin Kober, RHP, McNeese State
Round 28, Overall 843 – Johnny Slater, OF, Michigan HS
Round 29, Overall 873 – David Gerber, RHP, Creighton
Round 30, Overall 903 – Scott Boches, RHP, Marist
Round 31, Overall 933 – Ryan Costello, 3B, Central Connecticut State
Round 32, Overall 963 – Ryan Garcia, 1B, Point Loma Nazarene
Round 33, Overall 993 – Chris Castellanos, LHP, Stanford
Round 34, Overall 1023 – David Hesslink, LHP, MIT
Round 35, Overall 1053 – Hunter Lonigro, RHP, Pennsylvania HS
Round 36, Overall 1083 – Heston Kjerstad, OF, Texas HS
Round 37, Overall 1113 – Jesse Franklin, OF, Washington HS
Round 38, Overall 1143 – Kolby Somers, LHP, Oregon HS
Round 39, Overall 1173 – Jack Smith, SS, Washington HS
Round 40, Overall 1203 – Zachary Needham, 3B, Edmonds JuCo
The Mariners went hard after college guys in the third day, knowing they wouldn’t have a lot of funds to go over slot. They did scatter in some interesting JuCo and high school players, and one that caught my eye was their 32nd round selection, Ryan Garcia, who played D-II ball, but he has a profile not altogether dissimilar to Evan White defensively at first base as an excellent athlete that could handle a move to the outfield fairly well, though his bat is power led over contact.
Overall Outlook
The White and Carlson picks were a brilliant first day, and they did well filling in the draft around it. Carlson is one of my favorite arms in the entire draft, so I’ll definitely be watching him, and I’m very intrigued where White ends up defensively with the rare ability to handle center field and first base both.
Detroit Tigers
Day One
Round 1, overall 18 – Alex Faedo, RHP, Florida
Round 2, overall 57 – Reynaldo Rivera, OF, Chipola JuCo
This was essentially the second coming of the scout who told me that last season when he saw the selection of Kyle Funkhouser by the Tigers that he knew that the Tigers would be able to develop Funkhouser into an excellent pitcher. Faedo and the Tigers are a perfect match as well, and I’d imagine we’ll see Faedo do very well as a Tiger prospect. Rivera was a big piece of the JuCo champion Chipola team that won the national title, OPS’ing 1.375 on the season with tremendous raw power and plus contact.
Day Two
Round 3, overall 95 – Joey Morgan, C, Washington
Round 4, overall 125 – Gio Arrierra, RHP, Palm Beach State JuCo
Round 5, overall 155 – Sam McMillan, C, Florida HS
Round 6, overall 185 – Dane Myers, RHP, Rice
Round 7, overall 215 – Brad Bass, RHP, Notre Dame
Round 8, overall 245 – Max Green, LHP, Pepperdine
Round 9, overall 275 – Luke Burch, OF, Kent State
Round 10, overall 305 – Garrett McCain, OF, Oklahoma State
Knowing that the first two picks would likely be fairly spendy picks, the Tigers went after guys who were going to likely be cheaper signs right away on day 2, with their only high schooler being Florida prep catcher Sam McMillan, a defense-first catcher who is a project with the bat.
Day Three
Round 11, overall 335 – Garett King, RHP, Cal Baptist
Round 12, overall 365 – Will Vest, RHP, Stephen F. Austin State
Round 13, overall 395 – Cole Peterson, SS, St. Bonaventure
Round 14, overall 425 – Antoine Mistico, OF, Arizona HS
Round 15, overall 455 – Teddy Hoffman, OF, Texas State
Round 16, overall 485 – Carson Lance, RHP, Lamar
Round 17, overall 515 – Billy Lescher, RHP, Penn
Round 18, overall 545 – Dylan Rosa, OF, Kent State
Round 19, overall 575 – Ryan Karstetter, 3B, State JC of Florida
Round 20, overall 605 – Dylan Burdeaux, 1B, Southern Mississippi
Round 21, overall 635 – Jordan Pearce, 3B, Nevada
Round 22, overall 665 – Colby Bortles, 3B, Mississippi
Round 23, overall 695 – Mitchell Stalsberg, LHP, Winona State
Round 24, overall 725 – Jordan Knutson, LHP, Missouri State
Round 25, overall 755 – Dylan Stock, RHP, Binghamton
Round 26, overall 785 – Drew Crosby, LHP, Memphis
Round 27, overall 815 – Jake Bivens, SS, Michigan
Round 28, overall 845 – Cameron Warner, 2B, TCU
Round 29, overall 875 – Grant Reuss, LHP, Michigan State
Round 30, overall 905 – Kyle Thomas, RHP, Northwestern Ohio
Round 31, overall 935 – Nick Storz, RHP, New York HS
Round 32, overall 965 – Drew Carlton, RHP, Florida State
Round 33, overall 995 – Jake Nelson, RHP, Penn
Round 34, overall 1025 – Ro Coleman, RHP, Vanderbilt
Round 35, overall 1055 – Jeff Criswell, RHP, Michigan HS
Round 36, overall 1085 – Jesse Heikkinen, LHP, Michigan HS
Round 37, overall 1115 – Shane Cooper, SS, Hutchinson JuCo
Round 38, overall 1145 – Steve Mann, OF, Michigan HS
Round 39, overall 1175 – Jack Leftwich, Florida HS
Round 40, overall 1205 – Rhys Cratty, 2B, Canadian HS
In a class loaded with Michigan players and collegiate players, the guy who stands out in the day 3 crew is 19th round pick Ryan Karstetter. He is a very athletic third baseman, with many feeling he could be a plus defender in a corner outfield or even move behind the plate, where he’d be a big receiver, at 6’4 and 200+ pounds, but his flexibility and athleticism could allow that to work. Offensively, he has plus power and above-average bat control.
Overall Outlook
The Tigers will be living in this class on their day one picks, but there are enough intriguing options on day 2 and 3 to support Faedo, who should be incredible in the Tigers development system. Rivera should be fun to watch in his own right.
San Francisco Giants
Day One
Round 1, Overall 19 – Heliot Ramos, OF, Puerto Rico HS
Round 2, Overall 58 – Jacob Gonzalez, 3B, Arizona HS
The Giants pulled off one of the best misdirections of the draft season as they had everyone thinking they were hard after either a high school arm or a college player. Never was a high school bat really rumored hard to the Giants. Not only did they go high school with both of their day 1 picks, they picked one of the biggest upside players in the entire draft in Ramos, who is one of the youngest players in the draft with incredibly explosive tools.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 96 – Seth Corry, LHP, Utah HS
Round 4, Overall 126 – Garrett Cave, RHP, Tampa
Round 5, Overall 156 – Jason Bahr, RHP, Central Florida
Round 6, Overall 186 – Bryce Johnson, OF, Sam Houston State
Round 7, Overall 216 – Logan Harasta, RHP, Buffalo
Round 8, Overall 246 – John Gavin, LHP, Cal State Fullerton
Round 9, Overall 276 – Aaron Phillips, RHP, St. Bonaventure
Round 10, Overall 306 – Rob Calabrese, C, Illinois-Chicago
A number of college picks on day 2 after two big upside guys in the first day, but the Giants still got some guys that should be very interesting to track. Tampa righty Cave seems to me like a guy who could really be a value. He’s got a tremendous arm with velocity and a breaking pitch. However, he’s shown the ability to handle a change in limited action thus far as well, so you could see the Giants turning him into a starter and getting a ton of value out of him.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 336 – Doug Still, LHP, Missouri State
Round 12, Overall 366 – Aaron Bond, OF, San Jacinto JuCo
Round 13, Overall 396 – Tyler Schimpf, RHP, Texas
Round 14, Overall 426 – Michael Sexton, 3B, The Master’s
Round 15, Overall 456 – Orlando Garcia, SS, Texas Tech
Round 16, Overall 486 – John Russell, RHP, Connecticut
Round 17, Overall 516 – Brac Warren, RHP, Oregon
Round 18, Overall 546 – Christopher Corbett, C, Rollins
Round 19, Overall 576 – Frankie Tostado, OF, Oxnard JuCo
Round 20, Overall 606 – Keaton Winn, RHP, Iowa Western JuCo
Round 21, Overall 636 – Logan Baldwin, OF, Georgia Southern
Round 22, Overall 666 – Greg Jacknewitz, LHP, Xavier
Round 23, Overall 696 – Shane Matheny, 3B, Washington State
Round 24, Overall 726 – Nico Giarratano, SS, San Francisco
Round 25, Overall 756 – Franklin Van Gurp, RHP, Florida International
Round 26, Overall 786 – Kyle McPherson, SS, James Madison
Round 27, Overall 816 – Matt Brown, RHP, San Jose State
Round 28, Overall 846 – Peter Lannoo, RHP, Cornell
Round 29, Overall 876 – Frank Rubio, RHP, Florida
Round 30, Overall 906 – Sean Watkins, OF, Cal State Los Angeles
Round 31, Overall 936 – Keenan Bartlett, RHP, Richmond
Round 32, Overall 966 – Blake Rivera, RHP, Wallace State JuCo
Round 33, Overall 996 – Peyton Maddox, C, Virginia Military Institute
Round 34, Overall 1026 – Connor Nurse, RHP, Florida HS
Round 35, Overall 1056 – Dalton Combs, OF, Huntington
Round 36, Overall 1086 – Joey Maciano, LHP, Southern Illinois
Round 37, Overall 1116 – Andy Rohloff, RHP, Central Florida
Round 38, Overall 1146 – Antonio Saldana, LHP, Illinois HS
Round 39, Overall 1176 – Brad Dobzanski, RHP, New Jersey HS
Round 40, Overall 1206 – Liam Jenkins, RHP, Wabash Valley JuCo
The Giants stuck with a college and JuCo focus on day 3, but that does not mean they missed out on upside. Tostado is younger than a few of the guys being picked out of high school this season, and he’s an incredible upside guy with the ability to stick in center field and show plus contact and power at the plate.
Overall Outlook
The drafting of Ramos may not be a typical page from the Giants’ drafting play book, but he is an extreme talent, and he could be a tremendous guy in their system, likely immediately possessing the highest upside of any player in the Giants system.
New York Mets
Day One
Round 1, Overall 20 – David Peterson, LHP, Oregon
Round 2, Overall 59 – Mark Vientos, 3B, Florida HS
Peterson is one of the more underappreciated arms in the draft class, in my view. He has four above-average pitches and knows how to sequence them well against college hitters. Vientos is an incredible high school bat who should profile as a plus defender at third with the ability to grow into a legit hitter with plus contact and above-average power.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 97 – Quinn Brodey, OF, Stanford
Round 4, Overall 127 – Tony Dibrell, RHP, Kennesaw State
Round 5, Overall 157 – Matt Winaker, OF, Stanford
Round 6, Overall 187 – Marcel Renteria, RHP, New Mexico State
Round 7, Overall 217 – Connor O’Neil, RHP, Cal State Northridge
Round 8, Overall 247 – Trey Cobb, RHP, Oklahoma State
Round 9, Overall 277 – Cannon Chadwick, RHP, Arkansas
Round 10, Overall 307 – Stephen Villiness, RHP, Kansas
With two highly regarded picks in the first day, the Mets trimmed in their spending immediately on day 2 to ensure they had money to make some moves later in the draft.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 337 – Jack Schneider, OF, Kentucky HS
Round 12, Overall 367 – Bryce Hutchinson, RHP, Florida HS
Round 13, Overall 397 – Nate Peden, RHP, Florida HS
Round 14, Overall 427 – Matt Duce, C, Dallas Baptist
Round 15, Overall 457 – Dylan Snypes, SS, Oral Roberts
Round 16, Overall 487 – Raphael Gladu, OF, Louisiana Tech
Round 17, Overall 517 – A.J. Labas, RHP, Florida HS
Round 18, Overall 547 – Carl Stajduhar, 3B, New Mexico
Round 19, Overall 577 – C.J. Van Eyk, RHP, Florida HS
Round 20, Overall 607 – Yadiel Flores, RHP, Puerto Rico HS
Round 21, Overall 637 – Aaron Ford, LHP, Tennessee Wesleyan
Round 22, Overall 667 – Joshua Payne, RHP, West Texas A&M
Round 23, Overall 697 – Jose Sierra, LHP, Monroe JuCo
Round 24, Overall 727 – Joey Cavallaro, RHP, South Florida
Round 25, Overall 757 – Laine Huffman, SS, Long Beach State
Round 26, Overall 787 – Gavin Garay, SS, St. Petersburg JuCo
Round 27, Overall 817 – Billy Oxford, RHP, Azusa Pacific
Round 28, Overall 847 – Jeremy Vasquez, 1B, Nova Southeastern
Round 29, Overall 877 – Liam McCall, RHP, Florida HS
Round 30, Overall 907 – Ian McWilliams, RHP, Tennessee HS
Round 31, Overall 937 – Ryan Selmer, RHP, Maryland
Round 32, Overall 967 – Kaylor Chafin, LHP, Texas A&M
Round 33, Overall 997 – MacLeod Lozer, RHP, Michigan
Round 34, Overall 1027 – Jake Eder, LHP, Florida HS
Round 35, Overall 1057 – Kyle Wilson RHP, Crowder JuCo
Round 36, Overall 1087 – Robby Kidwell, C, Brunswick JuCo
Round 37, Overall 1117 – Joshua Walker, LHP, New Haven
Round 38, Overall 1147 – Daniel Alfonzo, 3B, New York HS
Round 39, Overall 1177 – Noah Nunez, RHP, California HS
Round 40, Overall 1207 – Ronnie Taylor, RHP, Kentucky HS
The Mets picked a number of players out of the Sunshine State in the third day, selecting Florida high school, JuCo, and college players. While a trio of Florida high school righties selected before the 20th round should all likely sign, the guy that is very intriguing but is likely headed to college at Vanderbilt is lefty Jake Eder, also a Florida prep arm.
Overall Outlook
The Mets hit a home run on day one, and if they could sign a couple of their late picks on day 3, it’d add to what should be a deep class of solid prospects to influx their system.
Baltimore Orioles
Day One
Round 1, Overall 21 – D.L. Hall, LHP, Georgia HS
Round 2, Overall 60 – Adam Hall, SS, Canada HS
Round CBB, Overall 74 – Zac Lowther, LHP, Xavier
The Orioles certainly were ecstatic to get one of the top lefties in the entire draft, high school or college, in Hall. Hall has elite upside and very good present stuff as he enters development in the Orioles minor league system, which could allow him to move fairly quick. Adam Hall was highly regarded coming out of the summer, and a lack of viewing by many this spring seemed to allow other players to pass him by. However, he’s still one of the most elite athletes to come out of Canada in some time. Lowther is a college lefty who was expected to be a “cheap” sign.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 98 – Mike Baumann, RHP, Jacksonville
Round 4, Overall 128 – Jack Conlon, RHP, Texas HS
Round 5, Overall 158 – Lamar Sparks, OF, Texas HS
Round 6, Overall 188 – Mason McCoy, SS, Iowa
Round 7, Overall 218 – Ben Breazeale, C, Wake Forest
Round 8, Overall 248 – Jimmy Murphy, RHP, Fordham
Round 9, Overall 278 – T.J. Nichting, OF, Charlotte
Round 10, Overall 308 – Josh Keaton, RHP, Adams State
While the Orioles planned on needing to spend big to get their two Halls under contract, they still found talent in the second day with big armed righty Baumann in the 3rd round and a pair of Texan high school picks before going toward the college signings.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 338 – Trevor Craport, 3B, Georgia Tech
Round 12, Overall 368 – Tucker Baca, LHP, St. Katherine
Round 13, Overall 398 – Reed Hayes, RHP, Vanderbilt
Round 14, Overall 428 – Cameron Ming, LHP, Arizona
Round 15, Overall 458 – J.C. Escarra, 1B, Florida International
Round 16, Overall 488 – Logan Allen, LHP, Florida HS
Round 17, Overall 518 – Greg Jones, SS, North Carolina HS
Round 18, Overall 548 – Jacob Brown, OF, North Carolina HS
Round 19, Overall 578 – Adam Stauffer, RHP, Pennsylvania HS
Round 20, Overall 608 – Scott Burke, RHP, UCLA
Round 21, Overall 638 – Jose Montanez, C, Puerto Rico HS
Round 22, Overall 668 – Luke Ringhofer, C, South Dakota State
Round 23, Overall 698 – Bryndan Arredondo, C, Lamar
Round 24, Overall 728 – Jason Willow, SS, Canada HS
Round 25, Overall 758 – Willy Yahn, 3B, Connecticut
Round 26, Overall 788 – Cameron Bishop, LHP, UC-Irvine
Round 27, Overall 818 – Nick Vichio, RHP, Missouri Baptist
Round 28, Overall 848 – Zack Jarrett, OF, Charlotte
Round 29, Overall 878 – Matthew Hammonds, LHP, Sonoma State
Round 30, Overall 908 – Will Robertson, OF, Davidson
Round 31, Overall 938 – Robbie Thorburn, OF, UNC-Wilmington
Round 32, Overall 968 – Max Hogan, 2B, Missouri Southern State
Round 33, Overall 998 – Ryan Wilson, LHP, Pepperdine
Round 34, Overall 1028 – Tim Naughton, RHP, North Carolina State
Round 35, Overall 1058 – Keegan Collett, RHP, Northern Oklahoma JuCo
Round 36, Overall 1088 – Tyler Coolbaugh, SS, Angelo State
Round 37, Overall 1118 – Cole Haring, OF, McLennan JuCo
Round 38, Overall 1148 – Bobby Miller, RHP, Illinois HS
Round 39, Overall 1178 – Sam Glick, LHP, California HS
Round 40, Overall 1208 – Niko Leontarakis, RHP, Tallahassee JuCo
The Orioles approached their third day in an intriguing fashion, lining up college selections early until they got to round 16, when they began picking a number of high school players, drafting high schoolers with 6 of their next 9 selections.
Of those picks, the bookends are the two most intriguing to me. I am a big fan of Allen and his ability to sequence on the mound with 3 pitches, even though he doesn’t really have great projection. The other end is a more upside based guy in Willow, a Canadian infielder who played third on the national team this spring and looked very natural there with very promising bat speed and raw power.
Overall Outlook
The picks of the two Halls in the first two selections were two excellent picks and immediately add a ton of talent into one of the most bare systems in the game. If they could sign half of the high school picks they made on day 3, the Orioles system would get a serious influx of talent compared to their current talent base.
Toronto Blue Jays
Day One
Round 1, Overall 22 – Logan Warmoth, SS, North Carolina
Round 1, Overall 28 – Nate Pearson, RHP, JC of Central Florida
Round 2, Overall 61 – Hagen Danner, C, California HS
The Blue Jays wanted a college/polished arm with upside along with a solid bat in the first round. No way they thought that Warmoth would be there for them at 22, and they likely did a happy dance in the draft war room when he was there to be selected. Add in the incredible upside in Pearson’s right arm, and you have a textbook first round for the team’s desires. Grabbing Danner at 61 may cost some money, but his ability to be an impact player if at catcher or on the mound had him rumored well into the first round at various points of the spring, so getting him in the late 2nd is a solid value.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 99 – Riley Adams, C, San Diego
Round 4, Overall 129 – Kevin Smith, SS, Maryland
Round 5, Overall 159 – Cullen Large, 2B, William & Mary
Round 6, Overall 189 – Brock Lundquist, OF, Long Beach State
Round 7, Overall 219 – Colton Laws, RHP, Charlotte
Round 8, Overall 249 – Kacy Clemens, 1B, Texas
Round 9, Overall 279 – Zach Logue, LHP, Kentucky
Round 10, Overall 309 – Justin Dillon, RHP, Sacremento State
While teams pursue college signs in the third day, the Blue Jays took a different approach, getting two solid collegiate prospects in Adams and Smith, who were both legit day one considerations for many teams. It’s also intriguing that one of the senior sign picks made was one of Roger Clemens’ sons as Clemens had a fairly turbulent, albeit successful, time in Toronto in his career before requesting a trade out of town.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 339 – Donnie Sellers, RHP, Wake Forest
Round 12, Overall 369 – Matt Shannon, RHP, Angelo State
Round 13, Overall 399 – Brody Rodning, LHP, Minnesota State
Round 14, Overall 429 – P.K. Morris, 1B, Florida HS
Round 15, Overall 459 – Ryan Noda, OF, Cincinnati
Round 16, Overall 489 – Ty Tice, RHP, Central Arkansas
Round 17, Overall 519 – Kobie Russell, C, Hawaii HS
Round 18, Overall 549 – Jordan Barrett, LHP, Elon
Round 19, Overall 579 – Cordell Dunn, C, Mississippi HS
Round 20, Overall 609 – Tanner Kirwer, OF, Niagra
Round 21, Overall 639 – Turner Larkins, RHP, Texas A&M
Round 22, Overall 669 – Gunnar Halter, SS, Seminole State JuCo
Round 23, Overall 699 – Daniel Richardson, RHP, California HS
Round 24, Overall 729 – Colin Brockhouse, RHP, Ball State
Round 25, Overall 759 – Cooper Davis, OF, Canada HS
Round 26, Overall 789 – D.J. Neal, OF, South Carolina-Sumter
Round 27, Overall 819 – Sam Weatherly, LHP, Michigan HS
Round 28, Overall 849 – Davis Schneider, 3B, New Jersey HS
Round 29, Overall 879 – Joseph DiBenedetto, LHP, Nova Southeastern
Round 30, Overall 909 – Reilly JOhnson, C, State JC of Florida
Round 31, Overall 939 – Graham Spraker, RHP, Quincy
Round 32, Overall 969 – Jacob Condra-Bogan, RHP, Georgia Southern
Round 33, Overall 999 – Matthew Gunter, LHP, Hawaii Pacific
Round 34, Overall 1029 – Maverik Buffo, RHP, Brigham Young
Round 35, Overall 1059 – Brandon Polizzi, OF, Cal State Dominguez Hills
Round 36, Overall 1089 – Jonathan Cheshire, RHP, Davenport
Round 37, Overall 1119 – Justin Watts, RHP, Southern Indiana
Round 38, Overall 1149 – Marcus Reyes, LHP, San Diego State
Round 39, Overall 1179 – Ben Fariss, RHP, California HS
Round 40, Overall 1209 – Sean Ross, OF, California HS
The Blue Jays took a very aggressive approach in the third day, going after a lot of high school and JuCo players. Roughly 1/3 of all the team’s picks were high school and JuCo players, and day three was just a tick higher rate.
While not the most elite future pro, I’d like to highlight lefty Brody Rodning from Minnesota State. Being from the upper Midwest, I heard about his story this spring from a few sources, and while he’s a guy who stuff will likely be in a LOOGY role, perhaps getting into a straight reliever role as a pro with a fastball that tops out in the lower 90s, he had a very impressive personal performance this season. He lost his mother to cancer during the season this year, and he went out the next day after she passed away and threw a shutout, following that up with seven shutout innings in his next start. To say the two starts were emotional would be putting it lightly.
Overall Outlook
Toronto grabbed guys that fit their plan perfectly, yet also possessed a ton of upside early on in the draft process. They’ll see how quickly Warmoth moves as a college shortstop with a highly regarded offensive profile along with the upside of their next four picks.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Day One
Round 1, Overall 23 – Jeren Kendall, OF, Vanderbilt
Round 2, Overall 62 – Morgan Cooper, RHP, Texas
While the Dodgers are known for their pursuit of ceiling and upside, it’s feasible that they got as much upside going with two college guys as if they’d have gone high school in each spot, and it’s probable that they saved cash by going after the college picks. Kendall is a legit 5-tool guy, but his swing and miss dropped him down the draft board. Cooper had a legit plus hard curve before TJS that hasn’t fully recovered, though his velocity came back this season, and the Dodgers could be the beneficiaries of his velocity ticking back up to sitting in the mid-90s with that curve moving back to a plus (or even developing to a double-plus) pitch.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 100 – Connor Wong, C, Houston
Round 4, Overall 130 – James Marinan, RHP, Florida HS
Round 5, Overall 160 – Riley Otteson, RHP, Utah
Round 6, Overall 190 – Wills Montgomerie, RHP, Connecticut
Round 7, Overall 220 – Zach Pop, RHP, Kentucky
Round 8, Overall 250 – Rylan Bannon, 3B, Xavier
Round 9, Overall 280 – Connor Strain, RHP, Evansville
Round 10, Overall 310 – Zach Reks, OF, Kentucky
Wong is one of my favorite prospects as a legit catcher with a bat that could allow him to move around if needed. Wong has the defensive versatility to play some infield as well, as he started his college career as a shortstop. The Dodgers made good use of their first high school pick, grabbing Marinan after he dropped down past the second round projection he had going into draft day. Marinan has been gaining velocity into the mid-90s and has a slider that some project as a double-plus pitch.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 340 – Jacob Amaya, SS, California HS
Round 12, Overall 370 – Andre Jackson, RHP, Utah
Round 13, Overall 400 – Marshall Kasowski, RHP, West Texas A&M
Round 14, Overall 430 – Josh McLain, OF, North Carolina State
Round 15, Overall 460 – Marcus Chiu, 2B, Marin JuCo
Round 16, Overall 490 – Evy Ruibal, RHP, Notre Dame
Round 17, Overall 520 – Nathan Witt, RHP, Michigan State
Round 18, Overall 550 – Max Gamboa, RHP, Pepperdine
Round 19, Overall 580 – Zach Willeman, RHP, Kent State
Round 20, Overall 610 – Donovan Casey, OF, Boston College
Round 21, Overall 640 – Joshua Rivera, SS, Puerto Rico HS
Round 22, Overall 670 – Justin Hoyt, LHP, Jacksonville State
Round 23, Overall 700 – Connor Heady, SS, Kentucky
Round 24, Overall 730 – Preston Grand Pre, SS, Cal
Round 25, Overall 760 – Mark Washington, RHP, Lehigh
Round 26, Overall 790 – Devin Hemmerich, LHP, Norfolk State
Round 27, Overall 820 – Jeremy Arocho, SS, Maryland HS
Round 28, Overall 850 – Justin Lewis, LHP, Cornell
Round 29, Overall 880 – Deacon Liput, 2B, Florida
Round 30, Overall 910 – Chris Roller, OF, McLennan JuCo
Round 31, Overall 940 – Hunter Mercado-Hood, OF, San Diego
Round 32, Overall 970 – Tyler Adkison, OF, San Diego State
Round 33, Overall 1000 – Brett De Geus, RHP, Cabrillo JuCo
Round 34, Overall 1030 – Dan Jagiello, RHP, Long Island-Post
Round 35, Overall 1060 – Colby Nealy, RHP, Washington State
Round 36, Overall 1090 – Riley Richert, RHP, Howard JuCo
Round 37, Overall 1120 – Corey Merrill, RHP, Tulane
Round 38, Overall 1150 – Preston White, OF, Birmingham-Southern
Round 39, Overall 1180 – Logan White, C, Arizona HS
Round 40, Overall 1210 – Clayton Andrews, LHP, Cabrillo JuCo
The Dodgers approached the third round getting proven college performers who have some upside to develop into more as pros. McLain is possibly the fastest player in the entire draft, Gamboa has a delivery that has some issues but has incredible raw stuff, Casey’s a legit two-way guy, and Washington is a big 6’7″ guy with a lot of projection left in his arm.
Overall Outlook
The Dodgers drafted right along the line of what they do, finding the best overall talent at their draft slots, whether it’s a college player or high school player. Kendall in the Dodgers org is a very good fit.
Boston Red Sox
Day One
Round 1, Overall 24 – Tanner Houck, RHP, Missouri
Round 2, Overall 63 – Cole Brannen, OF, Georgia HS
The Red Sox chose to go after an opposite approach to 2016, where they were willing to offer big money to Jason Groome and take a hit on the rest of their draft. This season, the Red Sox ended up going nearly opposite, drafting a pitcher that many saw as slipping in the first round in order to spread money throughout the first two days of the draft.
Houck will possibly be signing for an under slot number, but he’s got elite presence on the mound. He throws a sinker/slider combination, but his sinker is his primary pitch. I see some definite similarities to former Red Sox closer and starter Derek Lowe in Houck. Brannen is an incredible athlete who projects to play center field and use his speed to provide gap power until his body fills out to offer some more over-the-fence power.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 101 – Brett Netzer, 2B, Charlotte
Round 4, Overall 131 – Jake Thompson, RHP, Oregon State
Round 5, Overall 161 – Alex Scherff, RHP, Texas HS
Round 6, Overall 191 – Zach Schellenger, RHP, Seton Hall
Round 7, Overall 221 – Tyler Esplin, OF, IMG Academy
Round 8, Overall 251 – Zach Sterry, 1B, Oakland
Round 9, Overall 281 – Tanner Nishioka, OF, Pomona-Pitzer
Round 10, Overall 311 – Jordan Wren, OF, Georgia Southern
The Red Sox signed a combination of college signable players and upside players as well. Scherff may have the most life on his fastball of any prep pitcher in the class, and he pairs that with a plus change. Thompson could be a high-upside under slot signee as a guy who returned from surgery to be the co-ace at Oregon State this spring.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 341 – Andre Colon, SS, Puerto Rico HS
Round 12, Overall 371 – Beau Hanna, C, Georgia HS
Round 13, Overall 401 – Garrett Benge, 3B, Oklahoma State
Round 14, Overall 431 – Aaron Perry, RHP, West Virginia HS
Round 15, Overall 461 – Marcus Ragan, OF, East Mississippi JuCo
Round 16, Overall 491 – Kutter Crawford, RHP, Florida Gulf Coast
Round 17, Overall 521 – Frankie Rios, SS, USC
Round 18, Overall 551 – Dominic LoBrutto, LHP, Florida International
Round 19, Overall 581 – Angel Gonzalez, OF, Puerto Rico Baseball
Round 20, Overall 611 – David Durden, OF, Georgia HS
Round 21, Overall 641 – Lukas Young, RHP, Mobile
Round 22, Overall 671 – Hunter Haworth, RHP, Chico State
Round 23, Overall 701 – Donny Diaz, RHP, San Jacinto JuCo
Round 24, Overall 731 – Charlie Madden, C, Mercer
Round 25, Overall 761 – Kory Behenna, LHP, Wingate
Round 26, Overall 791 – Trenton Denholm, RHP, California HS
Round 27, Overall 821 – Xavier LeGrant, 2B, Spartanburg Methodist JuCo
Round 28, Overall 851 – Oraj Anu, OF, Florida HS
Round 29, Overall 881 – Tyler Dearden, OF, New Jersey HS
Round 30, Overall 911 – Andrew Carber, RHP, Chipola JuCo
Round 31, Overall 941 – Michael Osinski, 3B, Longwood
Round 32, Overall 971 – Tyler Ahearn, RHP, Cal State San Marcos
Round 33, Overall 1001 – Tanner Raiburn, LHP, Grambling State
Round 34, Overall 1031 – Luis Torres, OF, Puerto Rico HS
Round 35, Overall 1061 – Trey Ganns, 1B, Northern Kentucky
Round 36, Overall 1091 – Rio Gomez, LHP, Arizona
Round 37, Overall 1121 – Carson Teel, LHP, Oklahoma State
Round 38, Overall 1151 – Jose Garcia, C, Florida HS
Round 39, Overall 1181 – Ridge Chapman, RHP, Spartanburg Methodist JuCo
Round 40, Overall 1211 – Cody Masters, OF, Texas HS
The Red Sox had a number of areas they got players from in the third day. The team seemed to hit one particular area hard, the Puerto Rican high school market, with three prep players from the country. The team also scattered a large number of JuCo picks in the third day.
Overall Outlook
The Red Sox scattered signable players in and out of the draft in order to balance the high upside players they selected later in the draft. It will be very interesting to see who the team gets under contract because there is significant upside, especially in their day 3 haul.
Washington Nationals
Day One
Round 1, Overall 25 – Seth Romero, LHP, Houston
Round 2, Overall 65 – Wil Crowe, RHP, South Carolina
In pure upside, big time upside in the arms the Nationals got on day one. In term of risk, even bigger risk in those arms. Romero carries the bulk of the risk as he was suspended multiple times in his collegiate career before being kicked off the team this spring. Some of those incidents can be excused as youthful indiscretion, but the final straw was getting into a fight with a teammate, and while in the case of a similar situation with prospect Michael Kopech, Kopech immediately accepted blame and apologized, there was no such response from Romero, which raised red flags with a number of team officials I talked to this spring.
Crowe is a year removed from Tommy John, so there is some risk involved, but the Nationals are very comfortable with their ability to aid in pitchers recovering from Tommy John, so Crowe continuing his progression post-surgery in their organization is actually a very good fit.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 103 – Nick Raquet, LHP, William & Mary
Round 4, Overall 133 – Cole Freeman, 2B, LSU
Round 5, Overall 163 – Brigham Hill, RHP, Texas A&M
Round 6, Overall 193 – Kyle Johnston, RHP, Texas
Round 7, Overall 223 – Jackson Tetreault, RHP, State JC of Florida
Round 8, Overall 253 – Jared Brasher, RHP, Samford
Round 9, Overall 283 – Alex Troop, LHP, Michigan State
Round 10, Overall 313 – Trey Turner, RHP, Missouri State
The first two picks for the Nationals will likely be high dollar signings, so it made sense that the team went after senior sign picks right away on day 2 and did not pick a single high school player. I’ve been intrigued by Hill, who is a guy with a plus sinker and a plus change, and if he could develop a hard curve or a biting slider to pair with those two, he could be a dominant starter.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 343 – Justin Connell, OF, Florida HS
Round 12, Overall 373 – Jackson Stoeckinger, LHP, JC of Central Florida
Round 13, Overall 403 – Eric Senior, OF, Midland JuCo
Round 14, Overall 433 – Anthony Peroni, C, New Jersey JuCo
Round 15, Overall 463 – Bryce Montes de Oca, RHP, Missouri
Round 16, Overall 493 – Jake Scudder, 1B, Kansas State
Round 17, Overall 523 – Jared Johnson, LHP, Palm Beach State JuCo
Round 18, Overall 553 – Nick Choruby, OF, Texas A&M
Round 19, Overall 583 – Jonathan Pryor, OF, Wake Forest
Round 20, Overall 613 – Jake Cousins, RHP, Penn
Round 21, Overall 643 – Leif Strom, RHP, Pierce JuCo
Round 22, Overall 673 – Nelson Galindez, LHP, Florida HS
Round 23, Overall 703 – Jamori Blash, 1B, Cochise JuCo
Round 24, Overall 733 – Timmy Richards, SS, Cal State Fullerton
Round 25, Overall 763 – Dave Smith, RHP, Long Beach State
Round 26, Overall 793 – Kameron Esthay, OF, Baylor
Round 27, Overall 823 – Darren Baker, SS, California HS
Round 28, Overall 853 – Nic Perkins, C, Drury
Round 29, Overall 883 – Alex Dunlap, C, Stanford
Round 30, Overall 913 – Austin Guibor, OF, Fresno State
Round 31, Overall 943 – Jeremy McKinney, RHP, Indiana State
Round 32, Overall 973 – Phil Caulfield, 2B, Loyola Marymount
Round 33, Overall 1003 – Adalberto Carrillo, C, USC
Round 34, Overall 1033 – Bennett Sousa, LHP, Virginia
Round 35, Overall 1063 – Jackson Cramer, 1B, West Virginia
Round 36, Overall 1093 – Gabe Klobosits, RHP, Auburn
Round 37, Overall 1123 – Kody Gratkowski, 3B, Alabama HS
Round 38, Overall 1153 – Jake Boone, SS, California HS
Round 39, Overall 1183 – Kai Nelson, OF, New York HS
Round 40, Overall 1213 – Max Engelbrekt, LHP, Oregon State
The Nationals hit the JuCo circuits hard in early day 3, grabbing 4 of the first 7 picks on the third day from JuCo ranks. While neither will sign, the family relations of 27th round Darren Baker, the son of Dusty Baker and famous for being swept up by J.T. Snow in the 2002 World Series, and Jake Boone, who would be the fourth generation of Boones to make the major leagues if he gets there some day, and there has never been a family have four generations represented, though the Boones are among only four with three generations making the major leagues.
Overall Outlook
While there is some significant off field risk with Romero, the Nationals have to feel that they can handle that risk, and Romero’s raw talent was absolutely among the ten best talents in this entire draft without off field issues, so there’s an elite player in there if he can keep his nose clean.
Texas Rangers
Day One
Round 1, Overall 26 – Bubba Thompson, OF, Alabama HS
Round 1, Overall 29 – Chris Seise, SS, Florida HS
Round 2, Overall 66 – Hans Crouse, RHP, California HS
A brilliant first day in upside. Thompson has a ton of athleticism as a legit D-I prospect as a football player and baseball player. He may take some time to smooth out the edges, but his upside is absolutely immense. Seise is a guy who was a legit defender coming into the year and saw his bat take steps forward to an above-average offensive profile to go with his plus defensive profile. My personal favorite here is Crouse, who has a delivery that scared away some teams, but he has legit velocity, and his mentality on the mound is something that simply cannot be taught, as he’s been tagged a “bull dog” by any scout I’ve talked with.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 104 – Matt Whatley, C, Oral Roberts
Round 4, Overall 134 – Ryan Dease, RHP, Florida HS
Round 5, Overall 164 – Jake Latz, LHP, Kent State
Round 6, Overall 194 – Noah Bremer, RHP, Washington
Round 7, Overall 224 – Joel Urena, LHP, Monroe JuCo
Round 8, Overall 254 – Tyreque Reed, 1B, Itawamba JuCo
Round 9, Overall 284 – Tanner Gardner, OF, Texas Tech
Round 10, Overall 314 – John King, LHP, Houston
Whatley was a big time get in the third round as he was considered by many as the top catcher in the college class, with above-average defensive skills and a history of hitting well, though his draft year wasn’t his best showing. Outside of he and Dease, the rest should be fairly cheap signings.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 344 – Obie Ricumstrict, SS, Michigan HS
Round 12, Overall 374 – Joey Jarneski, RHP, Hawaii HS
Round 13, Overall 404 – Seth Nordlin, RHP, Gateway JuCo
Round 14, Overall 434 – Alex Eubanks, RHP, Clemson
Round 15, Overall 464 – Ricky Vanasco, RHP, Florida HS
Round 16, Overall 494 – Xavier Moore, RHP, Ohio HS
Round 17, Overall 524 – Tyler Ratliff, 3B, Marshall
Round 18, Overall 554 – Chris Morris, RHP, Seton Hall
Round 19, Overall 584 – Nick Snyder, RHP, Indian River State JuCo
Round 20, Overall 614 – Josh Advocate, RHP, Long Beach State
Round 21, Overall 644 – Daniel Robert, RHP, Auburn
Round 22, Overall 674 – Kyle Keith, RHP, Lane JuCo
Round 23, Overall 704 – Myles McKrisic, SS, Florida HS
Round 24, Overall 734 – Brooks Wilson, RHP, Stetson
Round 25, Overall 764 – Aaron Ashby, LHP, Crowder JuCo
Round 26, Overall 794 – Jordan Fowler, LHP, Tennessee HS
Round 27, Overall 824 – Corey Stone, LHP, South Carolina HS
Round 28, Overall 854 – Jacob Hilton, RHP, Colorado HS
Round 29, Overall 884 – Blaine Knight, RHP, Arkansas
Round 30, Overall 914 – Ryan Dorow, SS, Adrian
Round 31, Overall 944 – Griff McGarry, RHP, California HS
Round 32, Overall 974 – Will Moriarty, RHP, Kentucky HS
Round 33, Overall 1004 – Troy Newell, LHP, Jefferson JuCo
Round 34, Overall 1034 – Edmond Americaan, OF, Chipola JuCo
Round 35, Overall 1064 – Connor Higgins, LHP, Arizona State
Round 36, Overall 1094 – William Jeffry, OF, Puerto Rico HS
Round 37, Overall 1124 – Spencer Smith, C, North Carolina HS
Round 38, Overall 1154 – Mark DiLuia, RHP, Illinois HS
Round 39, Overall 1184 – Chad Bryant, RHP, Alabama HS
Round 40, Overall 1214 – Jordan Anderson, OF, Alabama HS
The Rangers focus on upside on the third day, willing to lose a guy who isn’t able to be signed if that’s the case, meaning there’s plenty of talent scattered in the day’s picks. However, the guy I want to focus on is actually a college pick, righty Blaine Knight from Arkansas. He has legit stuff, with a fastball that works in the 90-94 range while touching 97 along with a slider that he can shape with multiple grips to get a cutter look, a sharp look, and a more sweeping look. Knight was absolutely ridden hard by his college coach this year, and as a draft-eligible sophomore, he went from a guy rumored in the second round pretty heavily until that major usage worried off teams enough that the Rangers got him in the 29th round. He very well may return to school, but that’d mean another year of subjecting himself to the abuse he received this season.
Overall Outlook
The four picks in the first three rounds would stand up in pure talent to any haul of talent in the first three rounds, and it should be very intriguing to see how the Rangers handle the development of the uber-athlete in Thompson and the great competitor with needs in polishing his delivery in Crouse.
Chicago Cubs
Day One
Round 1, Overall 27 – Brendon Little, LHP, State JC of Florida
Round 1, Overall 30 – Alex Lange, RHP, LSU
Round 2, Overall 67 – Cory Abbott, RHP, Loyola Marymount
The Cubs had been tied to the two prominent Florida JuCo pitchers all spring as they pursued high-ceiling, experienced arms in their draft slots in the first round between their regular slot and their compensation pick for the loss of Dexter Fowler.
Little is a lefty that could be sent to the bullpen and make it to the big leagues in very short order, even helping in the bullpen this season, but he has good feel on three pitches and could end up doing well as a starter going forward. Lange is a very surprising player available at 30 overall and a great get for the Cubs with an electric curve to pair with a plus fastball.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 105 – Keegan Thompson, RHP, Auburn
Round 4, Overall 135 – Erich Uelman, RHP, Cal Poly
Round 5, Overall 165 – Nelson Velazquez, OF, Puerto Rico HS
Round 6, Overall 195 – Jeremy Estrada, RHP, California HS
Round 7, Overall 225 – Ricky Tyler Thomas, LHP, Fresno State
Round 8, Overall 255 – Austin Filiere, 3B, MIT
Round 9, Overall 285 – Chris Carrier, OF, Memphis
Round 10, Overall 315 – Brian Glowicki, RHP, Minnesota
Due to getting Lange later than expected, the Cubs were expecting to have to pay over slot to sign both he and Little in the first round, leading to attacking the college signability picks early, including their 2nd round pick. They mixed in two high school picks in the 5th and 6th rounds along with more college signees to help balance budget.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 345 – Rollie Lacy, RHP, Creighton
Round 12, Overall 375 – Ben Hecht, RHP, Wichita State
Round 13, Overall 405 – Austin Upshaw, 1B, Kennesaw State
Round 14, Overall 435 – Luis Vazquez, SS, Puerto Rico HS
Round 15, Overall 465 – Jared Young, 2B, Old Dominion
Round 16, Overall 495 – Brandon Hughes, OF, Michigan State
Round 17, Overall 525 – Peyton Remy, RHP, Central Arizona JuCo
Round 18, Overall 555 – Casey Ryan, RHP, Hawaii
Round 19, Overall 585 – Chris Singleton, OF, Charleston Southern
Round 20, Overall 615 – Brendan King, RHP, Holy Cross
Round 21, Overall 645 – Sean Barry, RHP, San Diego
Round 22, Overall 675 – Skyler Messinger, SS, Colorado HS
Round 23, Overall 705 – Brady Miller, RHP, Western Oregon
Round 24, Overall 735 – Braxton Light, RHP, Wallace State JuCo
Round 25, Overall 765 – Mitch Stophel, RHP, King
Round 26, Overall 795 – Bryce Bonnin, RHP, Texas HS
Round 27, Overall 825 – Darius Vines, RHP, Oxnard JuCo
Round 28, Overall 855 – Kier Meredith, OF, North Carolina HS
Round 29, Overall 885 – Jacob Steffens, RHP, Santa Clara
Round 30, Overall 915 – Cam Balego, SS, Mercyhurst
Round 31, Overall 945 – Ramsey Romano, 3B, Long Beach State
Round 32, Overall 975 – Hunter Ruth, RHP, Florida HS
Round 33, Overall 1005 – Joe Donovan, C, Illinois HS
Round 34, Overall 1035 – Andrew Karp, RHP, Florida State
Round 35, Overall 1065 – Ben Ramirez, SS, California HS
Round 36, Overall 1095 – Tanner Allen, OF, Alabama HS
Round 37, Overall 1125 – Alex Cornwell, LHP, California HS
Round 38, Overall 1155 – Russell Smith, LHP, Texas HS
Round 39, Overall 1185 – Cooper Coldiron, SS, Houston
Round 40, Overall 1215 – Jeffrey Passantino, RHP, Lipscomb
Before roughly round 25, the Cubs made serious picks that they hope to sign on each, but it appears that they then went quickly to a mix of signability picks and picks of guys that they knew they had very little chance to sign.
Of the later picks in day 3 that could be interesting, Hunter Ruth certainly stands out as he was a guy who was considered a guy who could move into the back of the first round before his elbow popped, and he required Tommy John surgery. Bonnin is a guy that could be an intriguing signing if the Cubs could get him away from Arkansas. He had been focused more on his hitting before his final year of school, when his fastball ticked up to mid-90s more consistently with heavy sink and movement low in the zone along with a mid-80s slider that has excellent break and bite.
Overall Outlook
The Cubs have been seen as a team that goes after bats, bats, bats, but that’s just simply not been the case for a couple seasons now. This year was definitely an extreme of that methodology, as the Cubs picked five pitchers before their first hitter, and they made 11 selections in the first two days, with just three being hitters.
The Cubs were certainly looking to add to their pitching depth in their system, and in guys like Lange and Little, they should be able to see those guys move quickly while also having some quality upside in high school guys like Velazquez, Estrada, and Vazquez.
Colorado Rockies
Day One
Round 2, overall 48 – Ryan Vilade, 3B, Oklahoma HS
Round CBB, overall 70 – Tommy Doyle, RHP, Virginia
Vilade has tremendous power, winning the Under Armour home run derby last summer against some of the best hitters in this class. He’s a guy who has very good baseball feel after growing up with a father who was a minor league and college coach. Doyle really picked up when he moved from the rotation to the bullpen this season. He has a tremendously heavy mid-90s fastball and a slider with hard, deep break. Whether the Rockies develop him as a closer or work him back to the rotation remains to be seen.
Day Two
Round 3, overall 86 – Will Gaddis, RHP, Furman
Round 4, overall 116 – Pearson McMahan, RHP, St. Johns River State JuCo
Round 5, overall 146 – Nick Kennedy, LHP, Texas
Round 6, overall 176 – Chad Spanberger, 1B, Arkansas
Round 7, overall 206 – Lucas Gilbreath, LHP, Minnesota
Round 8, overall 236 – Bret Boswell, 2B, Texas
Round 9, overall 266 – Sean Bouchard, 1B, UCLA
Round 10, overall 296 – Austin Bernard, C, Pepperdine
The Rockies went after a number of college guys, but a lot of the college guys they pursued aren’t exactly “cheap” signs. A good example is 7th rounder Gilbreath. The best lefty to come out of the Gophers program since Glen Perkins, Gilbreath will very possibly follow Perkins’ career path, taking his fastball/curve combo to the bullpen, where he could be a dominant pitcher. He was signed for over slot in the 7th round, even though he’s a college draftee.
Day Three
Round 11, overall 326 – Hunter Williams, LHP, Independent League
Round 12, overall 356 – Matt McLaughlin, SS, Kansas
Round 13, overall 386 – Shameko Smith, RHP, Polk State JuCo
Round 14, overall 416 – Nic Motley, C, McLennan JuCo
Round 15, overall 446 – Colton Hathcock, RHP, Memphis
Round 16, overall 476 – Alen Trejo, SS, San Diego State
Round 17, overall 506 – Jeff Bohling, 3B, Gonzaga
Round 18, overall 536 – Garrett Schilling, RHP, Xavier
Round 19, overall 566 – Joey Bartosic, OF, George Washington
Round 20, overall 596 – Casey Golden, OF, UNC-Wilmington
Round 21, overall 626 – Nate Harris, RHP, Louisiana Tech
Round 22, overall 656 – Daniel Jipping, OF, Central Michigan
Round 23, overall 686 – Danny Edgeworth, 3B, Mercer
Round 24, overall 716 – Jesse Lepore, RHP, Miami
Round 25, overall 746 – Derrik Watson, RHP, Murray State
Round 26, overall 776 – Aubrey McCarty, OF, Florida A&M
Round 27, overall 806 – Brandon Lambright, RHP, Abilene Christian
Round 28, overall 836 – Brett Stephens, OF, UCLA
Round 29, overall 866 – Todd Czinege, 2B, Villanova
Round 30, overall 896 – Jeff Moberg, 2B, Tennessee
Round 31, overall 926 – Reagan Biechler, LHP, Wichita State
Round 32, overall 956 – Moises Ceja, RHP, UCLA
Round 33, overall 986 – Alec Byrd, LHP, Florida State
Round 34, overall 1016 – Hayden Roberts, RHP, Southern Mississippi
Round 35, overall 1046 – James Notary, RHP, Colorado HS
Round 36, overall 1076 – Michael Agis, RHP, Florida International
Round 37, overall 1106 – Tyler Hardman, 3B, California HS
Round 38, overall 1136 – Drake Davis, RHP, Colorado HS
Round 39, overall 1166 – Colin Hall, OF, Georgia HS
Round 40, overall 1196 – George Stanley, C, Arizona HS
The Rockies didn’t select a single high school player until the 35th round, likely looking to ensure they can sign the college guys they targeted in the first two days along with Vilade. Their first pick of the third day is very intriguing, as Williams would have been part of the rotation for North Carolina before he was ruled academically ineligible. He pitched for an independent league team. Williams works at his best when his fastball is in the low-90s with excellent movement along with his slider and his change. He’ll take some time to get stretched out, but he should be very good in a reliever role if he doesn’t work as a starter.
Overall Outlook
The Rockies pursued more upside in the college class than going for high school upside, with their options a big limited after losing their first round selection due to signing Ian Desmond. Vilade will be fun to watch in the Rockies system, and his baseball smarts should allow his power to be only part of the equation, the way that the current starter at the hot corner in Colorado, Nolan Arenado, is known as much for his defense as his productive bat.
Cleveland Indians
Day One
Round 2, Overall 64 – Quentin Holmes, OF, New York HS
Round CBB, Overall 71 – Tyler Freeman, SS, California HS
After signing Edwin Encarnacion, the Indians did not have a first round selection, but they went hard after two guys who got first round buzz on the season when they did come on the clock in the second round on day one. Holmes is one of the fastest players in the high school class with raw tools that could translate to above-average power as well. Freeman has baseball IQ off the charts both in the field and at the plate. He doesn’t project as an elite shortstop, but seems to make all the right plays, and at the plate, he doesn’t project for big power or have elite speed, but he has good barrel control and is able to make hard contact to all fields.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 102 – Jonathan Rodriguez, OF, Puerto Rico HS
Round 4, Overall 132 – Ernie Clement, 2B, Virginia
Round 5, Overall 162 – Austen Wade, OF, TCU
Round 6, Overall 192 – Michael Rivera, C, Florida
Round 7, Overall 222 – Kirk McCarty, LHP, Southern Mississippi
Round 8, Overall 252 – Eli Morgan, RHP, Gonzaga
Round 9, Overall 282 – James Karinchak, RHP, Bryant
Round 10, Overall 312 – Jesse Berardi, SS, St. John’s
The Indians continued pursuing big time upside when they got Rodriguez, one of the more exciting players to watch in the class, and one of the youngest as well – not turning 18 until November. He’ll be a project player, but the raw tools are impressive. Clement is a guy with incredible bat control, though a likely low-level MLB projection. Rivera’s the guy who I am curious on as he has very good defensive skills behind the plate that should project to a backup catcher, and if he could hit even a little, he could be a valuable “cheap” pick.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 342 – Matt Turner, LHP, Florida HS
Round 12, Overall 372 – Dante Mendoza, RHP, California HS
Round 13, Overall 402 – Angel Lopez, C, Northampton JuCo
Round 14, Overall 432 – Oscar Serratos, SS, Georgia HS
Round 15, Overall 462 – Kyle Nelson, LHP, UC-Santa Barbara
Round 16, Overall 492 – Nick Gallagher, RHP, Iowa
Round 17, Overall 522 – Pedro Alfonseca, OF, Black Hawk JuCo
Round 18, Overall 552 – Dillon Persinger, 2B, Cal State Fullerton
Round 19, Overall 582 – Josh Nashed, RHP, San Jose State
Round 20, Overall 612 – Jonathan Teaney, RHP, San Diego
Round 21, Overall 642 – Tyler Friis, 2B, Indiana State
Round 22, Overall 672 – Clark Scolamiero, OF, North Greenville
Round 23, Overall 702 – Jordan Scheftz, RHP, Central Florida
Round 24, Overall 732 – Riley Echols, RHP, Freed-Hardeman
Round 25, Overall 762 – Chandler Ferguson, RHP, Indiana HS
Round 26, Overall 792 – Tommy DeJuneas, RHP, North Carolina State
Round 27, Overall 822 – Casey Opitz, C, Colorado HS
Round 28, Overall 852 – Michael Hendrickson, LHP, Michigan
Round 29, Overall 882 – Tre Grant, OF, Ohio State
Round 30, Overall 912 – Zack Draper, LHP, College of Idaho
Round 31, Overall 942 – Asa Lacy, LHP, Texas HS
Round 32, Overall 972 – Mitch Reeves, OF, Florida Southern
Round 33, Overall 1002 – Michael Cooper, 1B, Texas HS
Round 34, Overall 1032 – Cole Turney, OF, Texas HS
Round 35, Overall 1062 – Spencer Strider, RHP, Tennessee HS
Round 36, Overall 1092 – Jorge Arellano, LHP, California HS
Round 37, Overall 1122 – Austin Martin, SS, Florida HS
Round 38, Overall 1152 – Scott Kobos, LHP, St. Johns River State JuCo
Round 39, Overall 1182 – Josh Rolette, C, Kansas State
Round 40, Overall 1212 – Cole Kleszcz, OF, JC of the Canyons
The Indians continued their pursuit of high-impact players, specifically high school players, in the third day of the draft. However, the guy who intrigues me most in their day 3 group is actually a JuCo pick, their 13th round selection, Angel Lopez, a raw catcher from JuCo in Pennsylvania. Lopez has a raw bat, but a very good eye at the plate, and he has a polished glove, albeit still some raw game-calling skills behind the plate.
Overall Outlook
While they’ll likely sign all the picks in the first two days, it would not be surprising if the Indians were out on a number of the players they picked in the third day simply because they don’t have the money left to go over slot after spending fairly heavy in the first two days.
St. Louis Cardinals
Day One
The Cardinals were shut out of day one of the draft due to the hacking punishment from MLB for the actions against the Astros.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 94 – Scott Hurst, OF, Cal State-Fullerton
Round 4, Overall 124 – Kramer Robertson, SS, LSU
Round 5, Overall 154 – Zack Kirtley, 2B, St. Mary’s
Round 6, Overall 184 – Zach Jackson, C, Florida HS
Round 7, Overall 214 – Chase Pinder, OF, Clemson
Round 8, Overall 244 – Wilberto Rivera, RHP, Puerto Rico HS
Round 9, Overall 274 – Evan Kruczynski, LHP, East Carolina
Round 10, Overall 304 – Brett Seeburger, LHP, San Diego State
With minimal bonus pool due to the loss of their day one selections, the Cardinals stuck to college picks, but there are some guys there to really like as a Cardinals fan. Specifically, Pinder is the type of guy who comes into the Cards org and turns into a big time performer at the big league level. I could also see Rivera coming along like they’ve seen guys like Sandy Alcantara and Junior Fernandez develop. As one of the two high school guys they picked in the second day, I’d imagine they can sign him away from Florida International.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 334 – Evan Mendoza, RHP, North Carolina State
Round 12, Overall 364 – Andrew Summerville, LHP, Stanford
Round 13, Overall 394 – Jacob Patterson, LHP, Texas Tech
Round 14, Overall 424 – Donivan Williams, 3B, Illinois HS
Round 15, Overall 454 – Terry Fuller, OF, Georgia HS
Round 16, Overall 484 – Jake Walsh, RHP, Florida Southern
Round 17, Overall 514 – Will Latcham, RHP, Coastal Carolina
Round 18, Overall 544 – Shane McCarthy, RHP, Seton Hall
Round 19, Overall 574 – Irving Lopez, 2B, Florida International
Round 20, Overall 604 – Brandon Benson, OF, Georgia College & State
Round 21, Overall 634 – Jake Dahlberg, LHP, Illinois-Chicago
Round 22, Overall 664 – Kevin Hamman, RHP, Lewis-Clark State
Round 23, Overall 694 – Evan Guillory, RHP, Louisiana-Lafayette
Round 24, Overall 724 – Thomas St. Clair, RHP, Lenoir-Rhyne
Round 25, Overall 754 – Patrick Dayton, LHP, Kent State
Round 26, Overall 784 – Paul Balestrieri, RHP, Cornell
Round 27, Overall 814 – Kodi Whitley, RHP, Mount Olive
Round 28, Overall 844 – C.J. Saylor, RHP, San Diego State
Round 29, Overall 874 – Wood Myers, 2B, Coastal Carolina
Round 30, Overall 904 – Alex Fagalde, RHP, UC-Riverside
Round 31, Overall 934 – Saul Garza, C, Texas HS
Round 32, Overall 964 – Cameron Knight, C, Arkansas-Little Rock
Round 33, Overall 994 – Taylor Bryant, 2B, Cal State Fullerton
Round 34, Overall 1024 – Cory Malcom, RHP, Arkansas-Little Rock
Round 35, Overall 1054 – Alex Gallegos, RHP, California HS
Round 36, Overall 1084 – Michael Brdar, SS, Michigan
Round 37, Overall 1114 – Adam Kerner, C, California HS
Round 38, Overall 1144 – Jim Voyles, RHP, Florida State
Round 39, Overall 1174 – Christopher Hunt, RHP, Henderson State
Round 40, Overall 1204 – Austin Pollock, LHP, Florida HS
While many teams would sprinkle in a number of high school upside options or JuCo options into their third day to attempt to use money from the first two days to sign over slot, the Cardinals do not have the luxury of that due to the loss of their first two rounds of picks and the loss of the bonus pool from those picks.
That led to a total of 5 high school picks on the third day, with the rest of all selections being college picks.
Overall Outlook
The Cardinals have one of the best college scouting programs in all of MLB. This was a draft that certainly hamstrung them as far as going after the high upside guys in high school or junior college, but in the past, the Cardinals have done better than nearly anyone else.
That’s it, 30 teams, and a look at each draft class. Do you agree with your favorite team’s assessment? Disagree?