The MLB Draft is one of the most exciting times of the year. It presents amateur players with their first opportunity to realize their dream of playing professional baseball. While it may not get the attention that the NFL Draft garners, there is no doubt that the popularity of the MLB First-Year Player Draft has been growing every year since it was first televised on MLB Network back in 2009. High school and college seasons are in full swing, and with that comes draft boards virtually shifting by the minute as players perform better or worse than anticipated. There have also been many players who have been banged up with injuries already this season, and that has shifted the board countless times through the season’s first couple of months. Regardless, here is my first attempt to predict what will happen in one of my favorite days of the year, round one of the MLB Draft. This year’s draft takes place from June 8-10 and day one can be seen live on MLB Network. (Also for excellent insight on draft-eligible prospects, check out the draft’s top prospects on mlb.com).
- Arizona Diamondbacks – Brendan Rodgers, SS, Lake Mary HS, Florida
- Houston Astros – Kyle Funkhouser, RHP, Louisville
- Colorado Rockies – Dansby Swanson, SS, Vanderbilt
- Texas Rangers – Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt
- Houston Astros – Dillon Tate, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
- Minnesota Twins – Alex Bregman, SS, LSU
- Boston Red Sox – Mike Nikorak, RHP, Stroudsburg HS, Pennsylvania
- Chicago White Sox – Kyle Tucker, OF, Plant HS, Florida
- Chicago Cubs – Walker Buehler, RHP, Vanderbilt
- Philadelphia Phillies – Daz Cameron, OF, Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, Georgia
- Cincinnati Reds – Ian Happ, OF, Cincinnati
- Miami Marlins – Ashe Russell, RHP, Cathedral HS, Indiana
- Tampa Bay Rays – Jon Harris, RHP, Missouri State
- Atlanta Braves – Kolby Allard, LHP, San Clemente HS, California
- Milwaukee Brewers – Nick Plummer, OF, Brother Rice HS, Michigan
- New York Yankees – Garret Whitley, OF, Niskayuna HS, New York
- Cleveland Indians – Trenton Clark, OF, Richland HS, Texas
- San Francisco Giants – Phil Bickford, RHP, CC of Southern Nevada
- Pittsburgh Pirates – Nathan Kirby, LHP, Virginia
- Oakland Athletics – Michael Matuella, RHP, Duke
- Kansas City Royals – Brady Aiken, LHP, IMG Academy, Florida
- Detroit Tigers – Chris Betts, C, Wilson HS, California
- St. Louis Cardinals – Tyler Jay, LHP, Illinois
- Los Angeles Dodgers – Cornelius Randolph, SS, Griffin HS, Georgia
- Baltimore Orioles – James Kaprielian, RHP, UCLA
- Los Angeles Angels – Kevin Newman, SS, Arizona
Compensation Picks
- Colorado Rockies – Cody Ponce, RHP, Cal Poly Ponoma
- Atlanta Braves – Dakota Chalmers, RHP, North Forsyth HS, Georgia
- Toronto Blue Jays – Riley Ferrell, RHP, TCU
- New York Yankees – D.J. Stewart, OF, Florida State
- San Francisco Giants – Justin Hooper, LHP, De La Salle HS, California
- Pittsburgh Pirates – Richie Martin, SS, Florida
- Kansas City Royals – Scott Kingery, 2B, Arizona
- Detroit Tigers – Kyler Murray, 2B, Allen HS, Texas
- Los Angeles Dodgers – Beau Burrows, RHP, Weatherford HS, Texas
- Baltimore Orioles – Austin Smith, RHP, Park Vista HS, Florida
Competitive Balance Round A
- Houston Astros (from Marlins) – Mitch Hansen, OF, Plano HS, Texas
- Colorado Rockies – Eric Jenkins, OF, West Columbus HS, North Carolina
- St. Louis Cardinals – Jacob Nix, RHP, IMG Academy, Florida
- Milwaukee Brewers – Demi Orimoloye, OF, St. Matthew’s HS, Ontario, Canada
- Atlanta Braves (from Padres) – Triston McKenzie, RHP, Royal Palm Beach HS, Florida
- Cleveland Indians – Kyle Molnar, RHP, Aliso Niguel HS, California
SportSorce 