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.

Favorite: EJ Booth – Round 1, Pick 7 – Booth goes right where we had him ranked, but he was considered by many a consensus top 6 player. The hit tool is elite, there is a ton of athleticism, some pop but that may be the lone question that will need to be answered in his development. Was a bit of a no brainer for the O’s.

Least Favorite: Dominic Voegele – Round 3, Pick 82 – yes, he signed for under slot, but not massively, and I feel this was a bit of a reach here. He has a big fastball and quality slider, but still not sold on the change and that is going to be needed as a reliable offering for him to be able to stick as a starter. Without that, he likely moves into a middle relief role.

Sleeper: Gunnar Garrison – Round 18, Pick 530 – I was a bit surprised when seeing Garrison signed, I anticipated him getting the campus at Arizona State, but the Orioles managed to put together a bonus big enough to get him to sign. Through much of the season Garrison was touted as the clear number two arm in a decent pitching class in Colorado, his fastball ticked up all throughout the Spring. He has a slurvy breaking ball and a solid changeup, and clearly the Orioles are high on his potential.

Overall Thoughts: In a draft year that was historically college heavy, Baltimore went big on the prep side with Booth, Garrison, Will Plunkett, and Kevin Roberts. Roberts is as toolsy a prospect as there is in the draft and was in first round consideration coming into the year, but didn’t have the greatest showcase or spring seasons. Zane Adams adds some more solid college depth and they took an early swing in the JuCo ranks with Jimmy Anderson.

Favorite: Jake Matacynski – Round 3, Pick 96 – The first of two big overslot selections by the Red sox, Matacynski was the closest to a value as the Red Sox got in this class, although not a single player they took signed for lower than their ranking on our site’s slot value equivalent. This is a super athletic tooled up infielder with plenty of power projection left.

Least Favorite:Jake Schaffner – Round 1, Pick 20 – The Red Sox may have been guilty of trying to be too smart in the draft. They signed Schaffner for less than half slot value and used that money later on, but there was significantly better talent at 20 than the collective of players they ended up with in the draft. Schaffner fits the trend of this year’s class perfectly, he is a hit first college bat, but there is just very little impact in his game.

Sleeper: Colton Coates – Round 16, Pick 484 – Switch hitting middle infielder with solid bat to ball skills and solid athleticism. This is a player who likely turns into a utility infielder with the overall value greater than the sum of it’s parts, there is a real path to quality big league depth here.

Overall Thoughts: Coleman Borthwick, Cameron Flukey, Cade Townsend, Ace Reese, Taylor Rabe, Tegan Kuhns, Carson Bolemon…..these are just a handful of names that went in the dozen picks after the Red Sox first selection. All of whom signed for under the slot value at pick 20. There was still savings to be had with significantly better talent. Owen Hull was solid at 67, but still a reach especially given a player with a similar profile in Aiden Robbins went 25 picks later, was ranked more than 75 spots higher for us, and signed for less. This is the most head scratching draft of any team this year.

Favorite: Luke Pettitte – Round 8, Pick 248 – I would be fine with a team picking Pettitte here even had he not played all year. He didn’t pitch, something he does well and has the bloodlines to go with it being Andy Pettitte’s son, but he absolutely mashed for DBU this year. Sure, Hunter Dietz and Sean Duncan were the big signings, and I like both, but this was my favorite pick by the Yankees.

Least Favorite: Paul Contreras – Round 4, Pick 127 – A young college selection works in his favor, and this is a pick on upside more than production, and just feels like a high cost. He is a right fielder, plenty of raw power, and showed a much better approach at the plate, but there is just a ton of risk in the profile.

Sleeper: Anthony Potestio – Round 11, Pick 338 – A player who could play either spot up the middle and has the athleticism to play center with an advanced approach at the plate and a really good hit tool. There is some pop in the game and could develop into a mid-teens home run type hitter, but this is a guy who has a path to becoming an everyday guy thanks to his versatility and bat-to-ball skills.

Overall Thoughts: A weird draft of late picks I really like, mid-round picks I didn’t, and top picks that were solid. Dietz and Duncan both have mid-rotation upside as their first and second round picks, and Brendan Brock looked good for the national champs, just a mixed bag of a draft.

Favorite: Grady Emerson – Round 1, Pick 4 – The Rays were on Emerson for quite some time and for good reason. Yes, we were the lowest in the industry in terms of his ranking, but that certainly does not mean we aren’t fans of his game. There are some questions if he sticks at short for the long term as he may need to move to third, but the bat is what what carrier the profile here. There is some good power in the bat and an excellent hit tool to ensure he gets to that power.

Least Favorite: Colin Bland – Round 4, Pick 113 – The fourth HS pick in the Rays first five picks, and the only one I wasn’t really a fan of. Bland is truly a first baseman, and his story is great as he completely transformed his body, losing 70 pounds during high school, he has real power. There is a ton of raw power here and he gets big exit velos, but the hit tool is inconsistent and, despite he is a good defender there, the 1B only defensive profile just makes this a bit rich for me.

Sleeper: Tate McKee – Round 10, Pick 293 – McKee doesn’t have the loudest of stuff, and he struggled to stay healthy, but he showed really well for on of the best teams in the country when he was on the bump. A fastball gets into the mid 90s to go with a sinker, cutter, curve, and changeup gives him an arsenal that has a real shot to be a big league starter.

Overall Thoughts: Overall this was a great draft for the Rays. Taj Marchand would be a highlight but instead is almost an afterthought given what they did at the top. Ben Blair might have been one of the most overlooked pitchers in the draft class, Owen Kramkowski and Kyle Johnson both have real upside in pro ball, as does AJ Rice. Just a ton of talent added to the system.

Favorite: Cole Carlon – Round 1, Pick 39 – Yes, 39 was a first round pick for the Blue Jays, and they got a real first round talent there. We had Carlon in the teens thanks in large part to the fact he possesses arguably the best slider in the class. The lefty has some reliever risk to his delivery, but that would be a future closer type reliever, but there is also number two or three starter potential here too.

Least Favorite: Will Brick – Round 4, Pick 131 – Just based on the pick number this was a great selection, but the signing bonus changes that conversation. There may not be a higher risk player pool in the draft than a high school catcher, much less one that reclassified. There is a ton of talent and potential here, we had him as a second round pick, but he signed for first round money.

Sleeper: Dean West – Round 7, Pick 222 – West is an undersized outfielder who has plenty of speed and makes a ton of contact. he can absolutely fly down the line to first and can play center even though he spent much of his college career in left. He strikes out less than he walks, plays hard, and has high IQ that allows him to outperform the raw tools.

Overall Thoughts: Overall a solid class. They ultimately only signed seven players in our top 650, so they certainly took some swings in the class, but they are betting on Brick being special and Carlon being a sure fire starter. There was a massive discrepency in signing bonuses here, with those two players each signing for at least 2.4M, then Ryan Cooney at just under $600K and not a single other player over $200k.

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