Ever since the A's called Rick Monday's name 45 years ago, teams have relied on the MLB draft to stock their systems with talented young players. Today, teams have the chance to draft the next Joe Mauer (1st overall, 2001), the next Carl Crawford (52nd overall, 1999) or the next Albert Pujols (13th round, 1999). Or, they could end up with the next Matt Bush (1st overall, 2004).
Here's this year's draft order, from River Ave. Blues, to be updated after each selection (links go to MLB.com):
- Nationals – Bryce Harper
- Pirates – Jameson Taillon
- Orioles – Manny Machado
- Royals – Christian Colon
- Indians – Drew Pomeranz
- Diamondbacks – Barret Loux
- Mets – Matt Harvey
- Astros – Delino DeShields Jr.
- Padres – Karsten Whitson
- Athletics – Michael Choice
- Blue Jays – Deck McGuire
- Reds – Yasmani Grandal
- White Sox – Chris Sale
- Brewers – Dylan Covey
- Rangers – Jake Skole
- Cubs – Hayden Simpson
- Rays – Josh Sale
- Angels – Kaleb Cowart
- Astros – Michael Foltynewicz
- Red Sox – Kolbrin Vitek
- Twins – Alex Wimmers
- Rangers – Kellin Deglan
- Marlins – Christian Yelich
- Giants – Gary Brown
- Cardinals – Zack Cox
- Rockies – Kyle Parker
- Phillies – Jesse Biddle
- Dodgers – Zach Lee
- Angels – Cam Bedrosian
- Angels – Chevez Clarke
- Rays – Justin O'Conner
- Yankees – Cito Culver
Click here for the results of Compensation Round A, picks #33-50.
I can’t believe the Dbacks took Loux. FAIL.
they got a cheap college arm, nothing wrong with that. Byrnes usually trades away these picks fairly quickly anyway
Did you scout him?
Guessing not, but when basically EVERYONE who did scout him took a dump on the pick then it’s safe to say “FAIL”.
No, but there were many pitchers with better talent on the board. I wanted Whitson. But no, can’t take the high schooler, right?
He was projected to be a second rounder. He has a ceiling of a number three starter IF he develops his offspeed stuff. While Whitson could be an ace.
We deserve to be laughed at.
the dbacks are notoriously conservative drafters. i guess they decided they wanted a pitcher that will rise quickly through the system and he’ll move even faster if they stick him in the pen. Also there is the sign ability factor, that he probably wont ask for too much, maybe a little bit over the slot.
and Since this was a relatively weak draft the dbacks can always not sign him, and move on so they can get the 7th overall and the way they are playing this year maybe a another top 10 pick
You don’t take a low upside guy with the sixth pick. You don’t take a second rounder with the sixth overall pick. Its horrible.
Last year’s draft was great. A lot of high upside guys. I thought we would continue that. But no, we take a freakin’ mid roration CEILING guy. And the only way he reaches his ceiling is if he develops offspeed stuff. And we… well, suck when it comes to developing players in the system, especially pitchers.
And they will definitely sign Loux. If they don’t and get the comp pick next year instead, then all our leverage goes out the door because if we failed to sign the guy in next year’s draft, then we wouldn’t get anything in 2012.
There was unquestionably better talent on the board.
this is true there was a lot more upside on the board a lot more but they got high school pitcher in jarrod parker in 2007 but they got burned with him getting tommy john. in 2006 the scherzer was a great college pitcher but bc of his max effort and funky delivery he ended up with some health problems and probably will end up in the bullpen.this was relatively weak draft and loux was probably the 4th best college pitcher available behind harvey, sale, pomeranz. pomernaz was already taken and i believe if he was still on the board they would have taken him, sale has funky delivery and had a recent injury so that scared the dbacks and i think he is represented by scott boras.harvey is a great talent but he had only really good year in college with two struggling previously before that and is in the same boat as loux with a great faseball, good change, but bad breaking stuff. With loux they get a polished college pitcher with success, great mound presence, with an easy smooth delivery, but he does have history of health problembut honestly i think they should have got sale or maybe whitson but i guess they really wanted another college pitcher. only time will tell how this pans out
Jarrod Parker didn’t “burn” them. He was way ahead on his development (rumored to even be in the rotation in 2010, if not for his injury), then came down with the injury. So now he’s right on track with what he originally was. He’ll most likely be in the rotation in 2011. I’m not the least bit worried about him, as we at least tried to get high upside there.
And as you said, it’s not like Loux is perfect health-wise. So they took an injury risk, a second round talent (that they could’ve probably gotten with the 56 pick, but we don’t know that), with a longshot #3 ceiling, with the SIXTH OVERALL PICK. You can’t see why I hate the pick?
Harvey has bad breaking stuff? Interesting.
let me rephrase, he had inconsistent breaking stuff coming out of college, he obviously has straightened it out.
I love the draft. A lot.
I agree. The draft is fun
i know theres a lot of risk, but i love the buccos grabbing tallion.
Harvey sounds like the next Perez.. based solely on the video provided in the link.
exactly what I thought when i saw the video and read the bio…here we go again
Scouts don’t go by video for a reason.
From Matt Purke to Jake Skole? Wonder how rangers fans feel with that one.
wtf? Simpson? They could have gotten this guy 3 or 4 rounds later.
effin honestly, why not paxton? I`m already angry at this draft. 2 days ago I was excited
I have since found out more about Simpson and he seems like a sleeper prospect who wouldn’t have been available in the 2nd round. I’m not too sure about Paxton, he looks to have some mental makeup issues and high bonus demands — not a good combination. Wilken is a guy who factors in a guy’s mental makeup — which I like. There’s a reason that this guy lasted well into the 4th round. Obviously more than a few teams weren’t willing to touch him. Seattle finally took him.
Based on his great draft history, I’m gonna give Wilken the benefit of the doubt on this pick for now.
FYI: Link to Bryce Harper is actually to his brother, Bryan.
who the hell is hayden simpson?
He’s an interesting sleeper prospect – a division II college righty who can hit 96 mph and a good breaking ball. But picking him in the first round was a huge stretch. Baseball America had him ranked 191. Still, Wilken drafts major leaguers in the first round consistently, including Roy Halladay and Chris Carpenter so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. My problem is that no one else was expected to take him. Why didn’t they pick someone else and get this guy in the second round? The only two things I can think of is that 1) They heard someone else was in on him or 2) This is a Tyler Colvin type pick where they take an easy sign and plan on picking a high profile, hard-to-sign player later in the draft (Ranaudo, maybe?)
he sounds like a future closer.
Good call. It sounds like a poor man’s righty version of Billy Wagner to me…small school, small size for a pitcher, good velocity, hard breaking ball. Congrats on the Cards pick, by the way, Cox is a steal at this point in the draft.
honestly, i’m very happy with this pick but i was hoping for brentz. cox has a ton of leverage right now because he can still enter the draft again next year and wants a TON of money.
I had the Cubs picking Simpson all the way. lol.
Cox is a good pick for the Cards, but might be tough to sign.
Yeah, Colvin was another player picked WAY AHEAD of projections. He was slated at 170th in ’06 before Wilken took him first round. Wilken is noted for suprise picks and claims he does not do that just to be different, but for a reason. I’m with you as I did not see Simpson going to the Cubs or anyone in round one. I agree to give Wilken the benefit of doubt for now. Interesting pick for sure.
Just read that Wilken heard that a couple of other teams that had multiple picks were looking at him before the second round. So if the Cubs really liked him that much then I guess they had to take him. BA says he throws 90-92 but Cubs clocked him at 97. Hopefully their radar gun was working right. The Cubs guys compared him to Oswalt and Lincecum.
I was guessing Wilken thought Simpson would be gone by their second pick and you just confirmed it. I did hear he was compared to smaller guys like Lincecum and Oswalt. Simpson’s fastball from BA at 90-92 to the Cubs 97 seem odd. Someone’s gun is in need of calibration. 🙂 He throws four good pitches. I am not worried about where a guy is suppose to be taken, but hope you can trust those making the decision. What I have read is no one is laughing at the pick itself. It seems like he would have been gone by one of a couple clubs in round two. Like I said before, interesting pick and I will trust Wilken’s judgement.
I know you are more of a Sox fan than I am. The Sox are in the same town. Kind of hard not to follow them if you follow baseball like I do. I like the Sox pick of Sale. I guess Wilken was hoping he would fall to his pick, but figured he would not. Seems like a great pick for the Sox in he slid a bit to their slot.
I actually thought Sale was overrated as someone who might go in the top 5. He seems like a typical Sox draftee. College guy, decent stuff but nothing special. I don’t know. I don’t blame them for taking him but some people had him a lot lower. I think Law had him at 47 or something.
As for Simpson, I’m willing to wait it out before I pass judgement. Most people are burying this one but I don’t take much stock in the draft experts. I still remember the Bobbie Brownlie/Luke Hagerty/Brian Dopirak/Chad Blasko draft of 2002 that the experts loved so much. Almost 10 years later, there are no current major leaguers and the best two players from that draft are Rich Hill and Micah Hoffpauir. It turned out to be one of the worst Cub drafts ever — and they’ve had a lot of bad ones! I’ve seen too many of these things to get excited one way or the other on draft day.
I take any draft expert from any sport with a grain of salt. I usually see what they say and do not get heavy in the predictions.
The 2002 draft…if you remember, the experts at the time said the Cubs and Indians were two teams that drafted very well in 2002. You’re right, we now know the 2002 draft was bad for the Cubs. Never mind Brownlie (I think a Boras client) already had a well known, major injury BEFORE the Cubs selected him. As we know, that went not so well, as did the rest of that draft for the Cubs. Thankfully, Wilken has a better track record.
Homer’s long-lost cousin.
cant believe on 24th pick and Zach Cox is still there. He really priced himself out after saying he wanted a major league contract at 6 million over 4 years
i was about to say the same thing, Cox is still there… maybe he falls to the yanks?
there goes that idea
Happens every year. if he slips by the NYY in round 1, or maybe even 1 of Anaheim’s other picks, him, Paxton and maybe even Ranaudo could go as low as round 3 from high salary demands.
So much for Cox. st. louis may have gotten the steal of the draft so far at #25.
Saw Dylan Covey pitch a couple months back, he’s on the same team as my cousin.
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
Cox is a steal there. His demands pushed him down,but he can flat out hit.
I’m hoping Anthony Ranaudo falls to the Pirates in the 2nd.
wouldn’t that be something. they take the 2 best pitching prospects coming into the 09 season. really would be a mark of trying to turn over a new leaf. i don’t think he will make it past the sandwich round.
I don’t think he will get past the sandwich round but I’m hoping he does. Tailon, Ranaudo, and Von Rosenberg would be a nice young core of pitching prospects. If only they could have signed Tanner Scheppers. You can’t blame them on that one though.
From the video I don’t really like the red sox first pick, a 2b with weak defense who might be a corner outfielder…pedrioa is still young and we have plenty of outfielders in the system. I would have liked them to have gone after a pitcher, you can never have enough pitching. But the red sox usually draft well so we will see how this pick turns out. What does everyone else think about him?
1. i like it.
2. it wasn’t a reach by any means, he has legit talent.
3. their were better players.
Well padres were considering him at 9th overall. And he is going to play 3rd has a good swing. Worst picks could have been made
One of the best hitting college players in this draft
ohh didnt know he was moving to 3rd but if hes weak defensively at 2b, hes gonna need a lot of work to be at least average at third.
Well 3B need less range so if he has a strong arm it is a lot easier than second in some regards
Apparently, they’ve already asked him to move to 3rd and he’s going to do it. I’m sure the take a pitcher with at least one of their 2 supplemental round picks (if there’s one there that they like). Peter Abraham is saying that Theo went to watch him play, so he must have liked what he saw.
A lot of people think he’s a CF in the making.
Good/Great pick if we were any team but the cheapass Dodgers. Thanks McCourt.
Yeah there is no way the Dodgers offer the money that it will take to get this guy to sign, I read that Lee would probably be available in the 2nd round due to his commitment and signability issues.
Any Fullerton people know about Gary Brown?
Shocker to see the NYY going with a slot guy at best huh?
Baseball America doesn’t like him. They project him as a utility player. Yankees must have REALLY liked his tryout seeing as they picked him like 4 rounds early than he probably was going to go
I would definitely agree that it’s a reach by the Yankees, I would’ve preferred that they pick someone with very high upside but with signability issues, the draft is where the Yankees need to use their financial advantage.
The fact of the matter is they don’t really need to spend for the farm, especially if they sign Crawford and Lee. We’re talking about a team with an infield that combined makes more money than the whole roster of 22 other teams.
I can’t see the Yankees signing both. And a 2million signing bonus wouldn’t have stopped them if they were. Thing is, if they sign Lee and Crawford long term how do they look 4 years from then?
Sabathia Burnett and Lee at 34, 37, and 36 respectively
Infield: Arod, Teix, Cano at 38, 34, and 32 respectively
OF: Crawford, Granderson (or swisher) at 33, 33, and 34 respectively.
That looks like an old team to me with 5 (maybe 6 with burnett though unlikely he is there) untradeable contracts. Any Yankee fan would cringe at that.
Also this is assuming they resign Cano longterm and Either granderson or swisher stays (with gardner being the other OFer even if I think he’s overrated)
But that’s my point, that the Yankees could instead draft nothing but high upside players and overpay for all of them and it would probably cost less than half a season’s worth of A-Rod’s salary, and then maybe they don’t have to have such an expensive infield. But whatever I’m not really in a position to tell the reigning champions how they should go about their business.
Also I don’t think Crawford and Lee will both be in pinstripes, and personally I’d really only want Lee on a 4 year deal, the guy is already 32 right?
I’ve never heard of the yankees pick
I’m kinda surprised at the Ray’s pick. He seems like a project player with high upside but he’s raw and some scouts don’t like him.
Rays actually did really well on their picks. A ton of upside and both guys that could have gone much higher. If one of them shakes out, it’s a great turnout.
I’m a fan of the Sox’s second pick. They lack power in the minors.
I’m feeling ranaudo for the Sox at 39
Nice! Could be a real steal for the Sox
Edit: Assuming they sign him, hough I expect them to open the wallet for him.
Extremely satisfied with Boston’s 3 picks. Ranaudo, Vitek and Brentz. Not bad for a lean draft crop at all..
Someone help me with the Royals pick at #4 – Colon sounds intriguing but he’s got no speed and limited range. I know he’s supposed to have a stick…but is no range and speed what you want in the middle infield? Sounds like Berroa or Callaspo.
He is projected to move to second base I believe. But still a legit talent
Law and several others are convinced he’s a shortstop. You don’t need to have footspeed to have range in the middle infield (Orlando Hudson, for instance).
Vitek, Brentz, Renaudo. I like what the Sox have done tonight.
agreed 100%. One of the better drafts of the night imo.
Do you get a complimentary pick in next year’s draft if your first rounder doesn’t sign no matter what?
Because that’s about the only reason I can see for why the Yanks took that guy.
that was what I thought but yes you do get the pick the next year BUT if you fail to sign your pick the year after you lose the pick.
You get that slot the next year, but you only get the protection once.
Now i could just be throwing out a really stupid idea but here it goes anyways. I have never heard of the Yankees pick and he was not even ranked in the top 100. It also said that he had a strong dedication in going to college in Maryland i believe but did say there is a slight chance he will skip college for a major league career. Now my idea is that maybe the Yankees drafted a player that they believe would not accept a contract in order to sign multiple type A free agents this coming off season. (AKA Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford) This would just be like 2 years ago where they could just go shopping for whatever they want and still have a 1st round draft pick.
yeah but they always could have just signed a solid college pitcher with low demands and could get fairly cheap. If they do sign him it is a real perplexing move to me.
In 2008 the NYY drafted Garret Cole who had no intention of ever signing with them in the 1st place in the 1st round and went to college rather than sign with them. Would think they have good scouting on this guy and see something in him, rather than just waiting another year (again) to get a 1st round pick back..
Gerrit Cole was actually expected to sign and changed his mind about UCLA after being drafted.
one thing is for certain, bryce harper is incredible hitter. his swing looks so natural like Ken Griffeys
besides that weird jerk with his right leg/knee but that will be eventually corrected
i played ball with the Yankees’ pick in high school. I’m not really surprised they drafted him as a pitcher, he’s always had a special arm, even if he didn’t pitch a whole lot in high school. He might be a long-term project, but he’s got a shot to really make it. Also, has great work ethic and is coachable.
ESPN said he was drafted as a field player and not a pitcher
hmmm i saw him drafted as a pitcher by ESPN when i looked, maybe that was an error
My Astros picks are interesting I guess. I wanted Josh Sale or Choice. Delino deshields Jr is one of the fastest in the draft and he hit real good I hear. Never heard of Michael Foltynewicz but he was ranked the highest rated high school pitcher in north midwest(whatever that is) and had a plus fastball. I kinda like our 33 pick Mike Kvasnicka though, he was projected pretty high on some boards, and can switch hit, plays catcher, 3rd and outfield. Pretty good for a switch hitter ( if he hits well)
I wish the Mets took Grandal…dammit.
Nice comment.