The first day of the MLB draft is over! And the members of one of the most loaded classes in recent draft history now have new homes. The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Paul Skenes, a consensus top pick in the class, first overall, and his LSU teammate Dylan Crews trailed the Washington Nationals at No. 2. But a Starting at No. 3, we got a lot of amazing picks in the first two rounds.
ESPN baseball experts Alden Gonzalez, Jesse Rogers and Dave Schoenfield share their favorite and most surprising moves from the first night of the draft, as well as their picks for the players who will bring the most to their teams in the long run. And Kiley McDaniel shares his best available names for the next 18 rounds, which continue Monday and Tuesday.
There were three clear favorites at the top of this draft: did the Pirates make the right decision in choosing Paul Skenes?
Gonzalez: I’m a little surprised, both because some of the latest rumors link them to Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford and the dropout rate for pitchers in general, but I think they made the right call. The draft is the best and perhaps the only opportunity for an organization like the Pirates to get an arm of this caliber, and looking back, it would have been foolish to pass up the combination of winning the first overall pick in the lottery. and have at their disposal one of the best pitching prospects of this century. Skenes’ stuff is nasty, as we all know by now, but he also has the athleticism and work ethic to translate it to the highest level. His workload has also been relatively light. Shooters can often be a craps game, but this is about as safe as it gets in that position.
rogers: Yes they did it. Some organizations don’t like to push pitchers that high considering the injury potential, but Skenes isn’t exactly an unproven prospect who needs years of experience while the Pirates hold their breath to keep him healthy. More importantly, where else is Pittsburgh going to find an ace if he’s not in the draft? In the end, this could have been a no-brainer.
Schönfield: Okay, here’s the short list of the best college pitching prospects of all time: Stephen Strasburg, Mark Prior and Ben McDonald, and now Skenes, with Strasburg and Skenes being the top two by consensus. It’s worth noting that Strasburg, Prior and McDonald all had major league success, all suffering injuries that ultimately shortened their careers. But if Strasburg’s race is simply the worst case scenario; imagine what best case could be for Skenes. Maybe he’s the next Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer. And, as an added bonus, he’s so far along that he has a legitimate shot at winning Rookie of the Year next season, which would give the Pirates an additional first-round pick. I think it was the right choice.
Outside of Skenes, what was your favorite pick of the night, and what made you scratch your head?
Gonzalez: I’ll go with two favorites: a high-floor perspective and a high-ceiling perspective. The first is Jacob Gonzalez, who was ranked sixth in Kiley McDaniel’s most recent rankings and fell to the Chicago White Sox at 15. He’s a 6-foot-2 left-handed shortstop who will be good enough defensively to stay in the position. and he makes a lot of contact. The pick that really intrigues me, though, came right after, when the Giants took 6-foot-7 aspiring two-way player Bryce Eldridge at 16 years old. It is a perfect combination.
My surprise came a bit later: The Los Angeles Dodgers selected high school outfielder Kendall George 36th overall, catching him two or three rounds sooner than most projections expected.
rogers: The Oakland A’s taking Jacob Wilson was good. He comes ready, with his father, Jack (a former major leaguer), coaching him throughout his young career thus far: Any rebuilding of the A’s business starts with Wilson at shortstop. He was also the hardest player to strike out in college baseball this season.
The Detroit Tigers, passing Langford up for high schooler Max Clark, were curious. Of course, it will be years before we know if he was the right or wrong pick, but it’s surprising that Langford dropped out of the top three, especially since college bats are usually the most reliable picks.
Schönfield: I actually love that the Tigers went with Clark. By all accounts, Clark is a 1-1 type of talent in another draft, one that wasn’t as loaded as this one, and I think the advantage over Langford is clear: Clark has a more complete game. thanks to his great speed and defense in center field. That’s going to create a lot of added value that Langford, who is likely confined to a corner of the outfield, probably won’t possess. Langford has more raw power, but give me the full player.
As for my least favorite, it’s hard to believe, but it’s the Kansas City Royals. Get a prep receiver into the top 10? No, thanks. Blake Mitchell is the first to go that high since Kyle Skipworth in 2008. Have you never heard of Skipworth? That’s because he never made it to the majors. There’s a reason teams rarely draft high school receivers this high: History says most of them don’t work. Regardless of the scouts’ qualifications, it is an extremely risky selection.
Which player selected tonight has the best chance to win an MVP or Cy Young award one day?
Gonzalez: I’ll stick with Crews, the guy who slashed .380/.498/.689 in three seasons in the nation’s top baseball conference. He’s the best, most complete hitter in this draft and brings more defense, the kind that could get him his major league debut as a center fielder. He won’t be running much, though his speed has improved since high school, but he could win several Silver Sluggers when his career is done and done…and maybe an MVP or two.
rogers: I’ll take the easy route and say Skenes. I don’t care what level you’re pitching at, when you have 209 strikeouts in 122.2 innings, you have my vote to win a Cy Young. Cy Young candidates lead their teams and dominate to the point where they can’t be denied: Skenes has that written all over him. Talent evaluators don’t deny elite talent, so now it’s all about staying healthy and having that big year in the majors to get an award one day.
Schönfield: Skenes is the easy call there, though of the previous 18 pitchers to go to No. 1 overall, only David Price has won a Cy Young Award (Gerrit Cole finished second twice and Strasburg earned a third-place finish). My sleeper: Hurston Waldrep, Braves pick. The big stuff and the Braves have certainly had some success developing pitchers. For MVP, Crews makes sense, but I’ll rule Clark out here as well: I’ve got Corbin Carroll vibes with his punch/power/speed skill set, and Carroll already looks like a potential MVP candidate as a rookie.
What is your biggest overall takeaway from Day 1 of this draft?
Gonzalez: How clearly defined the first level was, consistent with basically every projection that came through. Skenes, Crews, Langford, Clark and Walker Jenkins were obviously the top five players available, in whatever order you wanted to rank them, but we knew everything. beyond them was pretty hit or miss. It played out just that way, with Kyle Teel in particular trailing a bit lower than he would have expected (14th to the Boston Red Sox) given the relative lack of receiving talent in this draft. González was also shorter, as I noted, but the shortstop was a huge strength this year; 14 of the 39 picks in Round 1 and Round A of Competitive Balance were shortstops.
rogers: When in doubt, take an OF or an SS. Teams love athleticism and flexibility. Shortstops, in particular, automatically qualify in those departments. For example, the Chicago Cubs overlooked a positional need at third base to take shortstop Matt Shaw from Maryland. If he stays with your organization, it won’t be at shortstop, where Dansby Swanson just signed a seven-year deal. But bottom line, middle infielders and outfielders can play anywhere. Shaw said the same thing after being recruited.
Schönfield: Only one high school pitcher participated in the first round (the first 28 picks). This pretty much follows recent trends, as high school pitchers, like high school catchers, are viewed as risky picks. It also speaks to not only the reliance on draft models, but also the importance of all the hitting and pitch tracking data now available at the college level. Scouting departments are better able to analyze college players than ever before, and therefore have a higher level of confidence when picking them. But it could also mean teams are underestimating high school players, so there could be some hidden gem picks in the competition or in the second/third round when we look back on this draft four or five years from now.
Kiley McDaniel’s best available players for Day 2
(Listed by ranking of the top 300 prospects)
32. Roch Cholowsky, SS, Hamilton (Ariz.) HS, UCLA Commitment
36. Jack Hurley, CF, Virginia Tech
39. Trent Caraway, 3B, JSerra Catholic (Calif.) HS, Oregon State Commitment
40. Drew Burress, CF, Houston County (Ga.) HS, Georgia Tech commitment
46. ​​Steven Echavarria, RHP, Millburn (NJ) HS, Florida commitment
55. Paul Wilson, LHP, Lake Ridge (Ore.) HS, Oregon State Commitment
59. Jace Bohrofen, RF, Arkansas
60. Juaron Watts-Brown, right-hander, Oklahoma State
61. Cameron Johnson, LHP, IMG Academy (Fla.) HS, LSU Commitment
62.Michael Carico, C, Davidson
