Mercado has great control. He’s going to make RHB cry for their mamas. He throws decently hard and gets a lot of groundballs. If there is a weakness it’s that he won’t get many complete games with his stamina, but should see a lot of starts and innings with his durability. His pitches range from great to terrible.
mexd781 says: Tampa Bay is pleased to add Dayan Mercado out of North Dakota with the first overall pick. Dayan projects to be a #1 SP for the Rays in a few years and could possibly see some Cy Young Awards. We feel that confident with him. Mercado's sinker against right hand hitters is the most unhittable pitch the Tampa Bay scouts have ever seen.
2. 3B Les Hammel (STL)
Currently playing 3B in LoA ball, I don’t believe that Hammel will develop good enough range or glove to play there in the ML. His arm will make him a definite asset in RF and his offensive weapons will fit him there as well. Great power and contact. Solid splits and a great eye. He should be a very good hitter for years to come.
dwboyce says: Sitting with the number two pick in the draft and maxed out high school and college scouting budgets, we were disappointed with the talent available. I coveted Dayan Mercado. Our scouts were awestruck by him.
After him, it was a big step down to number two, as each player was flawed in some way. An argument could be made for Heine Singleton, Darrell Skinner or Les Hammel, and I debated all three. I’ve been disappointed in the past with guys with average eye ratings, like Singleton, and although he’s a hot corner prospect, I didn’t like his projected durability and pictured him as a part time player. We’re still loaded with pitching here in St. Louis, and even league average pitchers can have productive careers in this ballpark. As much as I liked Skinner, he was not Mercado.
In the end, I pulled the trigger on Les Hammel. He’s a bit of a health risk, but I don’t mind that in 22-year-old college players, as he doesn’t need as much development time. I like his raw power and eye combination and he’ll drive the ball well against lefties and righties. Although he doesn’t project to make more than average contact, I’d rather have his batting eye and he’s an everyday player. He’s 22, so he’ll find a home in a corner outfield spot in a season or two, which pays immediate dividends to a club trying to make a MWR.
3. SS Esteban Moya (MIN) **UNSIGNED**
meece says: With so many top notch fielders on the board GM Meece over looks the fact that Esteban Moya wont sign. Would never blame it on being on vacation and doing final rankings while in Disney but I dropped the proverbial ball. Chosen for being a potential top of the order SS with good makeup to hit lofty projections.
4. LHP B.J. Howard (COL)
Howard has great control and will induce a lot of ground balls. His pitches are a very good group. He’s going to dominate LHB and be average against RHB. Doesn’t throw too hard, but that should not stop him from being a good ML SP.
anml34 says: With B.J. Howard we found a solid member of the rotation for years to come.
5. LHP Darrell Skinner (MIN)
Tremendous control combines with a very good repertoire of pitches to make him a dangerous SP. He dominates LHB and is good against RHB. Gets a lot of groundballs. Doesn’t throw hard. His stamina and durability should lead to a good amount of innings pitched.
meece says: With the 5th Pick chose Darrell Skinner which by plan was going to give a top notch positon and pitching prospect. Skinner has top notch control and pitches very well vs lefties. At 19 years of Age is 3-4 years away from the show.
6. SS Heinie Singleton (CH1)
Makes good contact with some power. Doesn’t have a great eye. Good speed. He makes good contact against both LHP & RHP. He does not have the range or arm accuracy to be a defensive minded SS. His value will come from being a very good offensive SS. Alternately he’d fit as a GG 3B with an above average or better bat.
tk21775 says: Cubs are happy drafting their 3rd basemen of the future in Singleton. He's got the defense to handle the corner, great speed, and we really like his bat. His eye and power leave a little to be desired but with his high splits and contact we feel he should be a nice player to build around.
7. 2B Brian Bailey (NY2)
Tremendous range with a solid glove. Great speed. Makes solid contact. Sees the ball really well against LHP. Not as solid against RHP. Good eye. Could be a solid top of the order speedster.
jgnjr says: mets.looking to upgrade hitting .Brian Bailey has a chance for the show at 2nd or CF.
8. RHP Wilin Guerrero (BAL)
Great splits. Dominant groundball pitcher. Great first pitch, solid secondary pitches. Lacks ideal control. Solid stamina durability combination. Not an ace by any measure but should definitely be a useful major leaguer.
hopkinsheel says: I really thought one of my top 5 would fall to me at #8 especially considering I was one of only two teams in the top8 with 20/20 invested in scouting. However, the rolls of the die were bad for me and I ended up with my #6 choice. Guerrero is a decent SP, but not someone I would hope to get with a top 10 pick. He projected to be a middle of the rotation type pitcher. If his control was projected to be higher I'd be more comfortable with the selection.
9. 2B Cozy Spencer (LA)
Spencer is a unique case, not good enough offensively to justify a COF, but lacking ideal range for 3B or 2B. Should be interesting to see how the Dodgers fit him in. He’s got good splits, good eye, and good power. Struggles to make contact. Good speed. Good glove and arm.
10. RHP Orlando Sanchez (TEX)
Should be a dominant 1-inning RP. Keeps the ball out of the hitting zone against RHB and struggles a bit against LHB. Throws hard and keeps the ball down in the zone. Dominant pitches will make any batter tremble. Solid stamina/durability means he should get enough work to make a ML roster spot worthwhile.
11. CF Juan Pascual (WAS) **UNSIGNED**
12. SS Otis Flores (PIT)
Good power with solid contact. Better against LHP than RHP, but not a liability against RHP. Average eye. Good speed. Definitely not going to play SS at the ML level but should definitely be a very good 3B overall.
13. SS Chris Plouffe (CH2)
Great splits. Good speed. Great durability. Makes decent contact. Decent eye. Average power. His defensive stats are anywhere from below average to well above average. Hopefully his accurate arm and good range make up for his subpar arm strength and glove.
14. 1B Aaron Winker (LAA)
Might be the worst baserunner I’ve seen, but man can he get there fast! Average defensively for a 1B. Makes a lot of contact and drives the ball decently against RHP. Average against LHP. Solid power. Great durability.
mskakunan says: The Angels selected 1B Aaron Winker as their first pick in the draft. He was fourth overall on our board. We project him as a dependable .275/.350/.475 guy. We don't see him making big league all star teams. We do see a solid professional hitter though.
15. CF Kenny Bland (FLA)
Makes solid contact with good power. Doesn’t drive the ball with great authority. Solid eye. Has decent range and a below average glove for CF. Decent speed. His bat might allow him to become a GG COF, but probably shouldn’t be playing CF in the bigs.
16. SS Guy Perez (SEA)
Tremendous eye. Average offensively which shouldn’t be a big deal considering he’s going to be a very good defensive player. He might boot a few more than the average SS, but he’s going to get to a lot more and throw guys out that the average SS won’t. Durable and fast as well.
17. RHP Kenny Hague (ATL)
Kind of a ‘tweener type of pitcher, Hague could start or be a super RP. Great control. Does not keep the ball out of the hitting zone well. Throws hard and keeps the ball down. A very solid combination of pitches, he should be a good part of the ATL bullpen and possibly be a very good #5 in the rotation.
18. LHP Matthew Allen (MIL)
Dominates LHB but not RHB. Average control. Throws hard and does a really good job keeping the ball down in the zone. Great combination of pitches. His durability and stamina means he should be able to go deep into games.
s_gammon says: Matt Allen projects to be a very solid mid rotation starter. He's durable lefty starter who projects to have solid splits, good velocity and induce a fair amount ground balls. Two solid pitches and 2 more passable pitches, the only knock on him is an inabilty to repeat his delivery which will likely result in less than ideal control.
19. RF Sam Moustakas (CLE)
It’s rare that you find such a good player dropping so far. Moustakas should be able to lead-off for the Indians for a while. As long as you don’t get caught up in his lack of power and instead focus on what he does well. He hits the ball a lot, with authority. He is average at working the count. Great speed. Solid baserunner. Never going to be confused with a GG anywhere he plays.
abesmem says: Cleveland was pretty lucky that Sam Moustakas slipped all the way down to 19 overall. Sam projects to be possibly the best leadoff hitter Cleveland has ever had in its organization, with top grades in both speed and contact. He should be able to handle both righties and lefties well. He doesn’t have the bunting skills we would like but his great range and above average arm should make his a fixture in RF for the Tribe before too long.
20. RHP Jim Berg (SF)
Tremendous stamina/durability combination. Great control. Throws with some pop. Good pitches. Doesn’t always keep the ball out of the hitting zone that well. Not great at getting grounders. Should be a solid bullpenner.
21. C Mendy Delahanty (NY2)
Quite a grab here. Great power. Good splits. Very good eye. Won’t strike out all that much. Lacks a great arm, and doesn’t always call a great game. Should be aright with a good staff and his offense will more than make up for any defensive deficiencies.
mcgupp says: With the 21st pick the Yankees were pleased to select Mendy Delahanty . He will Catch and DH in the future. We expect a huge impact in the middle of the lineup.
22. LHP Eric Rizzo (BOS)
Great stamina. Lacks ideal durability. Average control. Dominant against LHB, solid against RHB. Throws hard. Gets a lot of groundballs. Very good pitch combination. Should be a solid starter in the league.
crabman26 says: With the 22nd pick the Sox are pleased to get their 3rd ranked player on their board. Rizzo projects to be a middle of the rotation starter that will be very good against LHers but struggle a bit against RHers. His velocity and GB ratio will help as well as his dominant first pitch.
23. RF Mo Owen (TOR)
Won’t strike out much and will hit with some power. Solid eye. Doesn’t drive the ball consistently. Solid defensive OF who can play either COF or be a GG 1B. Great speed. Average baserunner.
24. LHP Chris Coolbaugh (NO)
Solid RP candidate. Can throw an inning almost every day or several innings at a time. Doesn’t have great control. Great against LHB but just OK against RHB. Throws hard and keeps the ball down in the zone. Solid pitches.
mongoose_22 says: Once again, the Jazz used our first round pick on a relief pitcher, Chris Coolbaugh. Not intentionally, once again, it just happened to be the best player available. We actually wanted to target a starting pitcher. Still, Coolbaugh should be a durable, reliable arm out of the pen. Our expectations are for him to be solid and pitch 80-90 innings per season. Though he'll never be a superstar, its a steady pick and we're content with the caliber of player we were able to land toward the end of the round.
25. 3B Ned Wright (CIN)
Wright is a really solid selection at #25. We actually had him rated #7...there was a drop off in talent, but he is a solid low teens pick who dropped to 25. Good fielders with a solid bat, tough to find at 3B.
hurricane384 says: We were ecstatic to draft Wright. Didn’t figure we had much of a chance to draft him. Anytime you can get a power hitting 3B, especially this late in the draft, you have to consider it a success.
26. 3B Charlie Witt (PHI) **UNSIGNED**
mitt0108 says: Philly was excited to get Charley Witt in the 1st round, but he decided not to sign. Would have been a good player at 3b with great power
27. RHP Kevin Edwards (KC)
Great control. Bit of a ‘tweener. Stamina/durability is enough to start but might be better in the ‘pen. Flyball pitcher. Dominant against RHB. Alright against LHB. Throws hard. Has a solid stable of pitches.
28. LF Stevie Appier (ARI)
Should be a solid leadoff hitter who hardly ever strikes out. Great speed to beat out IF hits as well as great baserunner who’ll steal some bases. Does a good job of driving the ball. Lacks a good eye. No power. Solid defensive player. If you are willing to sacrifice power at the COF spot, he could be a fixture.
llcc says: Stevie Appier should hit for a high average and steal bases. His overall projected rating is a 73.
29. 3B Dutch Cloud (TB) **UNSIGNED**
30. LHP Daryle K’aaihue (BOS) **UNSIGNED**
crabman26 says: with the 30th pick the Sox landed a potential shut down RP who should dominate against LHers and fair well against RHers. For a late 1st round pick the Sox did great by landing a RP of his caliber. The main problem is, will he sign?
31. LF Matt Hartman (SD)
Decent defender who’s probably more at home in RF. Solid speed. Average at making contact and driving the ball. Decent power. Average eye. Average player all the way around
opie5 says: considering the lack $’s distributed to scouting, the Padres are happy with the selection of Hartmen @ 31. His glove does not seem to project to 3b which is disappointing, but he definitely has major league power.
32. LHP Rubby Benitez (SD)
Great control. Solid stamina/durability. Dominant against LHB and average against RHB. Lacks velocity. Keeps the ball down. 2 great pitches, 2 terrible pitches.
opie5 says: the Padres are very happy with the selection of Benitez @ 32. His control and GB/FB ratio in combination with a quality first pitch and an excellent VsL will allow him to fit in perfectly in Petco Park.
33. SS Chris Whiteside (OAK)
Not going to strike out much. Solid at driving the ball. Decent power. Average eye. Not very fast. Solid defensively, but isn’t going to develop into a true SS. Could be a very solid 3B though. Possible GG at 3B.
34. 2B Andruw Buckley (CLE)
Decent range. Average glove. Weak arm. Great speed, great baserunner, great bunter. Average at making contact. No power. Terrible against LHP. Solid against RHP. Good eye.
