Draft MLB 2019: Nine takeaways of the first day, including the safe selection of Orioles and the surprises of Cubs and Astros



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On Monday, the Major League Baseball led the first two rounds of its 2019 freshman draft (full results here). The project will resume Tuesday and will pass through the 10th round before ending Wednesday with the completion of the 40th round. But before taking too much of ourselves, let 's take a step back and look at nine things to remember since the first day of the project.

NCAA Baseball: College-North Carolina-Oregon State World Series

The Orioles have made Adley Rutschman the first choice.

Steven Branscombe / USA TODAY Sports

1. The Orioles make the right choice

At the finish in the repechage, one wondered if the Orioles would choose the receiver Oregon State Adley Rutschman with the first overall pick. Rutschman, a catcher who hits hard, had been the favorite to go n ° 1 for a moment. Yet, rumors had surfaced Sunday connecting Baltimore for first baseman Cal, Andrew Vaughn, and Vanderbilt, J.J. Bleday.

In the end, Rutschman won. For a good reason too. Scouts think Rutschman has the potential for four tools above average. It can reach average and power, adopts an advanced approach and combines a good arm with quality reception capabilities. The only thing Rutschman can not do is run like the wind and … well, he's a receiver, so who cares?

Despite all the talk of Mike Elias and the Orioles implementing the portfolio approach – thus taking a player with a lower price in order to get a better player later – they instead recruited Rutschman, who was widely regarded as the best talent available. It was not a cute gesture, but it should prove effective for a franchise in full rebuilding.

2. Vaughn does the story

Speaking of Vaughn, he did not have to wait long to hear his name. Bobby Witt Jr. finished second behind the Royals, then Vaughn was selected by the White Sox.

we observed elsewhere that we think that Vaughn is the most interesting player in the class. He plans to be an average hitter able to quickly reach the majors. At the same time, he is a 6 foot right-handed first-base player – that's an atypical profile at the top of the project.

In fact, Vaughn became the first right-handed player (collegiate or prep.) To be in the top five. Previously, the "record" had been sixth. The White Sox are trying the bet, but they seem to believe that the reward of an above average lander is worth it.

3. The draft makes the story

It turns out that Vaughn was also part of another repechage story.

The project started with six consecutive position players selected. The Reds broke the series by engaging left-handed Nick Lodolo (TCU) with the seventh pick. It was the first time in the repechage history that no pitcher was ranked in the top six. Previously, Ricky Romero (sixth, 2005) had "the honor" to be the last selected pitcher – this class, by the way, was loaded.

4. Cubs and Astros Make Surprising Choices

The Orioles and most of the other teams followed the script at the very beginning – or, at least, stayed close enough not to be shocked. There were some exceptions later, including Cubs and Astros.

The Cubs, who took 27th place, took Ryan Jensen, a right-hander from Fresno State to the headlines. Jensen was ranked 99th on the MLB.com Preliminary Ranking. No player drafted before him was ranked above the 52nd.

Not to be outdone, the Astros have chosen the receiver Cal Korey Lee with the 32nd choice. Lee was ranked 119th draft despite high marks for his strength and potential.

Obviously, pre-project rankings do not matter, and Cubs and Astros have a good reputation. We simply note that the picks raised a few eyebrows when they were done.

5. Slide of the preparation arms

Curiously, the Cubs would have received the preparatory pitcher Matthew Allan (ranked 13th on MLB.com) before announcing their choice. Later, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that the Cubs had envisioned Allan, a Florida engagement, but had later joined Jensen due to signing problems:

Allan is not the only highly prized preparation arm to surrender to the SEC. Jack Leiter should honor his commitment to Vanderbilt after being left behind because of his own requirements.

6. Bauer analyzes Cleveland's first player

An arm of preparation that did not slip was the right-hander of Georgia Premier Academy, Daniel Espino. Espino was qualified 24th by Cleveland, and the team probably enjoyed his fast high-speed ball and high-speed circuit breaker – he would have already reached the three-digit figure and would have the potential for a brittle ball over.

Coincidentally, the MLB network asked Cleveland's right-hander, Trevor Bauer, to break Espino before the repechage:

For those who can not watch right now, just know that Bauer has compared Espino to Tyler Glasnow and himself – noting that Espino has the chance to improve again if he brings some adjustments to its mechanisms to clean up its posture and improve its position. line to the plate.

7. Abrams slips to Padres

According to the judge, the Padres could have the best agricultural baseball system. The rich got rich on Monday after recovering from the C.J. Abrams preparation stoppage with the sixth pick.

Abrams took part in the repĂȘchage, ranked fourth by MLB.com, partly because of its speed near the elite. MLB.com also gave Abrams a chance to finish with four middle or higher tools, noting that he makes comparisons with Dee Gordon – although a more powerful version of Gordon.

8. The night of the Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks had seven of the top 75 picks on Monday, making them the busiest ants in the colony.

Arizona began its night by taking the pretender Corbin Carroll 16th. The Diamondbacks then went into the game for most of the evening by choosing Blake Walston, Brennan Malone, Drey Jameson, Ryne Nelson and Tommy Henry before choosing Dominic Fletcher, a member of the college.

For those who wonder, the Diamondbacks have landed in the 15th, 20th, 49th, 52nd, 59th, 85th and 91st best prospects of the project, by MLB.com. To put it another way – a way to get rid of statistics – the sum of Diamondbacks selection slots is 314, while the sum of the preliminary ranking of their medals is 371.

Chances are the Diamondbacks have a franchise modification project are not nicebut Arizona seemed to be doing well.

9. Strumpf at home after being drafted

Chase Strumpf, UCLA's infielder, was voted 64th by the Cubs. About a minute later, he celebrated this:

That the draft is in progress while the eligible players are in action is still weird. But sometimes, it can result in careful synchronicity. Consider this as the last example of this.

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