– Everyone who watched the first round on the MLB network –
It was their first try, but MLB really botched this by giving us a
panel of Harold Reynolds, Josh Hart and MLB scouting bureau director
Frank Marcos, all of whom liked all 32 picks. Hart is still picking up
a paycheck from the Rangers, so he had nothing interesting to say.
Marcos was especially bad as the one supposed expert. Meanwhile,
Baseball America’s Jim Callis, who knew more about the prospects than
all three panelists put together, was shoved off into a corner
somewhere to be given 15 seconds of air-time every half hour.
Disgusting.
– N.Y. Yankees – Might the Bombers have some actual
budgetary concerns after all? The first pick, Slade Heathcott, was a
first-round talent, but the Yankees shouldn’t have to go above slot to
sign him, and they chose to shy away from expensive players later on.
Second-rounder J.R. Murphy was their only other player in Baseball
America’s top 100 and he came in at No. 95. Fifth-rounder Caleb Cotham
could be the toughest sign in the bunch. The Red Sox, in comparison,
took five top-100 players and another in Branden Kline who could have
been there. It wasn’t about opportunity: the Red Sox had just one more
pick, that being a third-rounder. Of course, it’s possible that the
Yankees are merely saving up for the international signing period.
– Atlanta – With the highest pick they’ve had since 1991,
the Braves suddenly chose to play it safe and draft a potential third
or fourth starter in Vanderbilt lefty Mike Minor. Granted, the draft
didn’t have a ton of high upside players, but there were plenty of
intriguing high school arms on the table and it was stunning that the
Braves didn’t grab one of them. Minor was just the second collegiate
they drafted in the first round since Mike Kelly in 1991, the other
being Joey Devine in 2005. Incredibly, you have to go back to 1978 and
first overall pick Bob Horner to come up with the last collegiate
first-rounder to turn in a nice career for the Braves.
– Max Stassi – Stassi was viewed by many as the top catcher
in the draft, yet his bonus demands knocked him into the fourth round,
where he was taken by the A’s. He’s hardly Oakland’s only potential
tough sign, so he’s probably UCLA bound.
