• The Phillies announced a deal with 27th overall pick Aidan Miller. The club didn’t specify the signing figure, but Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline reports it at $3.1MM (Twitter link). That’s a little north of the $2.97MM slot value. A high school infielder out of Florida, Miller appeared on the top 25 players on each of the referenced pre-draft rankings. The 6’2″ third baseman is credited with some of the highest offensive upside in the high school class, though he had a relatively down draft year after injuring the hamate bone in his hand. He’s already 19 — older than the typical high schooler — but has significant power potential and a chance to stick at the hot corner. Miller bypasses a commitment to Arkansas to enter the pro ranks.
• The Padres agreed to terms with 25th selection Dillon Head, Callis reports (on Twitter). The Illinois high schooler gets a $2.8MM bonus, a little below the pick’s $3.17MM slot value. Head ranked 27th on MLB Pipeline’s pre-draft list but as low as 50th on Keith Law’s ranking at The Athletic. The lefty-hitting outfielder is an elite runner and a potential quality defensive center fielder. Evaluators are split on how much offensive upside he possesses in a 5’11” or 6’0″ frame. Head was a Clemson commit.
• The Royals went well overslot to sign second-round draftee Blake Wolters, according to Callis (Twitter link). A high school right-hander from Illinois, he lands a $2.8MM bonus that beats the $1.95MM value of the 44th pick. The 6’4″ hurler had a velocity bump into the mid-90s during his draft year. He’s credited with a quality slider and intriguing athleticism but faces questions about his third pitch. It’s a fairly common refrain for an upside flier on a high school pitcher. Kansas City liked Wolters enough to sign him away from the University of Arizona.

The first-round selections….

1. Pittsburgh Pirates: Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU
2. Washington Nationals: Dylan Crews, OF, LSU
3. Detroit Tigers: Max Clark, OF, Franklin Community High School (IN)
4. Texas Rangers: Wyatt Langford, OF, University Of Florida
5. Minnesota Twins: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick High School (NC)
6. Oakland Athletics: Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon University
7. Cincinnati Reds: Rhett Lowder, RHP, Wake Forest
8. Kansas City Royals: Blake Mitchell, C, Sinton High School (TX)
9. Colorado Rockies: Chase Dollander, RHP, University of Tennessee
10. Miami Marlins: Noble Meyer, RHP, Jesuit High School (OR)
11. Los Angeles Angels: Nolan Schanuel, 1B/OF, Florida Atlantic
12. Arizona Diamondbacks: Tommy Troy, SS, Stanford
13. Chicago Cubs: Matthew Shaw, SS, University of Maryland
14. Boston Red Sox: Kyle Teel, C, University of Virginia
15. Chicago White Sox: Jacob Gonzalez, SS, University Of Mississippi
16. San Francisco Giants: Bryce Eldridge, 1B/RHP, Madison High School (VA)
17. Baltimore Orioles: Enrique Bradfield Jr., OF, Vanderbilt
18. Milwaukee Brewers: Brock Wilken, 3B, Wake Forest
19. Tampa Bay Rays: Brayden Taylor, 3B/SS, TCU
20. Toronto Blue Jays: Arjun Nimmala, SS, Strawberry Crest High School (FL)
21. St. Louis Cardinals: Chase Davis, OF, University of Arizona
22. Seattle Mariners: Colt Emerson, SS, Glenn High School (OH)
23. Cleveland Guardians: Ralphy Velazquez, C, Huntington Beach High School (CA)
24. Atlanta Braves: Hurston Waldrep, RHP, University of Florida
25. San Diego Padres: Dillon Head, OF, Homewood-Flossmoor High School (IL)
26. New York Yankees: George Lombard Jr., 3B/SS, Gulliver Prep High School (FL)
27. Philadelphia Phillies: Aidan Miller, 3B/SS, Mitchell High School (FL)
28. Houston Astros: Brice Matthews, SS, University of Nebraska

This year’s draft will again be 20 rounds long, and split over three days.  Rounds 11-20 will take place on Tuesday, rounds 3-10 on Monday, and the draft’s first 70 picks will be made tonight.  Those 70 picks cover the first two official rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, the two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents), and the first-ever Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick.  The Mariners received the PPI selection at 29th overall, since Julio Rodriguez filled the criteria of winning the Rookie Of The Year Award, being part of his team’s active roster from Opening Day onwards, and he ranked as a preseason top-100 prospect by at least two of Baseball America, ESPN, and MLB Pipeline.

The PPI is one of several new wrinkles to the 2023 draft, as this is the first draft held under the new guidelines established by the 2022-2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement.  The process for determining the 14 teams in the Competitive Balance Rounds was also tweaked, though the teams (all in the bottom 10 in market size or revenue size) will still have their picks split up over two mini-rounds sandwiched around the second round.  The most obvious change came at the very top of the board, as this was the first year of the lottery process to determine the draft’s top six picks.  This is how the Pirates ended up with the first overall selection, even though the Nationals and A’s each had worse records in 2022.

This year’s draft class is considered to be one of the deepest and most talent-laden in years, so several potential franchise-changing players could be starting their pro careers tonight.  More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.