Bringing back an old series I have done iterations of at previous stops along the way, not really grading drafts, but highlighting a few picks for each team. I will let you know my favorite pick, least favorite, and a sleeper from the draft class to keep an eye on. Now, with this, some of these will be published before the signing deadline, for those, I will work on the assumption that every pick in rounds 1-11, yes 11 as most round 11 picks do sign, will sign and 12-20 won’t (unless announced otherwise).

Favorite: Drew Burress – Round 1 Pick 8 – Coming into the year Burress was on the fringes of the conversation to go 1-1, by draft day, he was just outside the consensus top 6, although he did make the top 6 for us. The knock is the size, he is generously listed at 5’9″, but he plays MUCH bigger. There is a ton of power here, he can play centerfield, he can run, some hit tool questions, but overall, a great pick at 8 for the Athletics.

Least Favorite: David Rossow – Round 7 Pick 201 – He and Dominic Mauro in the 10th are the only two players we didn’t rank that they took in the top 12 rounds. As of the writing of this article we do not have the signing bonus in yet, I assume it will be WELL under slot which will explain the pick in full, but for now, this was a reach.

Sleeper: Roman Martin – Round 4 Pick 111 – Hard to call Martin a sleeper, but I had to get him into this writeup. Had it not been for a guy named Roch Cholowsky Martin would have been a shortstop in college and will be as a pro. Martin got to UCLA as a very highly touted draft name in 2023, and was a key piece of great UCLA team this year. He has a high floor with the upside of a power hitting SS in the middle of a big league lineup.

Overall Thoughts: Excellent draft here for the Athletics. They selected just two prep players, in the 14th and 19th rounds, so there is some natural cap to the upside in the draft, they did get excellent collegiate production with some upside none the less. Gabe Gaeckle has massive upside but plenty of risk as he has not been able to hold down a college starting job, while nobody struck out more players than Mason Edwards. There is a ton of talent in this draft class.

Favorite: Wes Mendes – Round 2 Pick 57 – Mendes sits low-to-mid 90s with plenty of life to go with a really good changeup and two breaking balls. His command has been spotty and that needs to be cleaned up but there is mid-rotation upside here and represents the best “value” for the Astros on day one of the draft.

Least Favorite: Logan Hughes – Round 1 Pick 17 – There are plenty of evaluators who are really high on Hughes, including those in the Astros organization obviously, but I just am not his biggest fan. The offense is solid, the defense is a real question, I don’t think he has a true standout tool. We ranked him accordingly at 39, so him going 17 is just far too early.

Sleeper: – Peyton Fiene – Round 11 Pick 331 – The JuCo arm who was committed to Dallas Baptist has a fastball up to 96 with plenty of life to go with multiple breakers and a solid change. He is athletic on the bump and has a track record of command and the ability to work deeper into games. This is a starting pitching prospect selected outside the top 10 rounds.

Overall Thoughts: Seems year after year I don’t see eye to eye with the Astros, and this year is no different. Just didn’t love the value at almost any spot. Even if it winds up being guys who sign under slot, their “upside” selections are Keon Johnson and Beau Peterson, who I am not sure justify the reaches at the top.

Favorite: Gavin Grahovac – Round 3 Pick 81 – Honestly, there are a lot of picks I coulda chosen from here, I like what the Angels did. Ultimately this is my favorite pick because he is a mix of college production, high upside, and excellent value. I think he can be a servicable 3B long term and there is plenty of power in the bat. If he can stay healthy, something he has struggled to do, this is a potential first round performer in the third.

Least Favorite: Jared Grindlinger – Round 1 Pick 12 – Hold on, hear me out. This isn’t me disliking the Grindlinger pick necessarily, but how he was announced. On draft day he was announced as an OF, not a LHP and not a two way player. I actually like him on the bump a little more than at the plate, and I definitely expected him to be announced as a two way guy, that is my criticism.

Sleeper: Greyson Chappel – Round 18 Pick 529 – Yeah, I know, this is an 18th rounder that has not announced he has signed thus far, but I am breaking my rule here. This is a 6’8″ pitcher that has touched triple digits, and they got him at pick 529. His secondary stuff needs work and the he only pitched more than four innings once, so the future is in the bullpen, but you are talking a potential middle reliever at the big league level this late. Massive win.

Overall Thoughts: The Angels didn’t go MLB ready at the top, instead selecting the second youngest player in the draft, totally bucking their trend in recent years. After that they got Jarren Advincula who is an advanced bat and some really good college players throughout. Overall a really good and balanced draft for the Angels.

Favorite: Ace Reese – Round 1 Pick 24 – Getting Reese at 24 and signing him slightly below slot is an incredible value for the Mariners. Heading into the draft I was hearing his name as early as the low double digits, but he ended up sliding and is the presumptive 3B of the future for the Mariners. He has plus power and solid bat-to-ball skills that drive the profile. The defense will be fringy at third or in a corner OF spot, but this pick is all about the lumber.

Least Favorite: Trevor Lucas – Round 5 Pick 129 – Ranked 583 for us, it was assumptive this pick would be at a heavy discount, but he signed for just $164K under slot, which is a decent chunk, but not the kind of discount you would expect given our ranks. He has been more of a gap-to-gap player in terms of power, and still does carry some projection, but the contact skills are solid and a pretty easy 3B defensive profile.

Sleeper: Connor Mashburn – Round 12 Pick 370 – Marshburn has a big frame at 6’6″ and 235 lbs. with a fastball into the mid 90s and plenty of run and sink. He has a unique delivery where he stays upright much of the way before slinging his arm to a low 3/4 creating some real deception. He has a solid sleeper and a developing change and cutter gives him a path to a back of rotation ground ball pitcher in time.

Overall Thoughts: Started great, then kinda meh. The first and only HS player they took was Dominic Santarelli, who is unexpected to sign, putting a real cap on upside in this class. That said, what they lack in upside they do make up for in floor with a number of players who could carve out roles long term like Jake Brown and Henry Ford.

Favorite: Gio Rojas – Round 1 Pick 16 – Our number one prep arm by a decent margin falls to the Rangers at 16. Rojas has a fastball that flirts with triple digits and plenty of life that is complimented by a plus sweeping slider and a changeup that is inconsistent but has flashes of being another plus offering. He still has plenty of projection left to go with a smooth operation on the mound and solid command for his age.

Least Favorite: Brody Bumila – Round 3 Pick 89 – “But Shaun, You guys had him ranked 26 and he went 89, how can he be a least favorite?!?!” Fair, I have just really struggled with Bumila all year, something about his stuff just didn’t feel as elite as the numbers showed, and undergoing his second elbow procedure already is a real concern. Add to that the fact he is signing for a bonus that slots in to the pick 36 range, I am just left feeling uneasy about this one. Don’t get me wrong, the upside is massive here, there is just an absolute ton of risk.

Sleeper: Caden Aoki – Round 7 Pick 207 – Aoki has signed for a mere $2,500 as a graduate senior sign, but don’t let that mislead you into believing he doesn’t have a prospect pedigree. He works in the low 90s but does so with excellent command and regularly generates soft contact. He has a good pitch mix and is obviously an advanced pitcher as he enters pro ball. This is the kind of profile that sees Double-A quickly and just finds enough success until he gets a callup, which is as big a win as you can get for $2,500.

Overall Thoughts: The Rangers went for it with a trio of high schoolers to start the draft in Rojas, Bumila, and Connor Comeau, then went college heavy with solid floor guya like Aoki, Kolby Branch, Hudson Calhoun, and Michael Anderson. Overall this is how you build a draft, a good mix of floor and ceiling, bats and arms. I like it.

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