Sifting through talent on eve of the draft
The 2017 MLB Draft kicks off Monday night with its nationally televised opening round. Below are four storylines to watch during the 40 rounds of picks over three days:
Differing strategies
The Mets and Yankees each have a pair of picks on the first night, when the first two rounds are held. The Yankees, picking 16th overall, can afford to gamble, with the secondranked minor league system in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. Outfielder Blake Rutherford, last year’s first-round choice, has impressed in his short professional career, so maybe the Yankees go the high-school route again with highly touted dual prospect Nick Pratto, a California first baseman/pitcher. They have also been linked to North Carolina high school power-hitting outfielder Austin Beck and speedy Alabama high school outfielder Bubba Thompson.
Picking No. 20 and with a far thinner system, the Mets need to be safer. They went with two college pitchers — Justin Dunn and Anthony Kay — in the first round last year and neither has thrived. Dunn has struggled and Kay has yet to pitch after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Mets could opt for UC Irvine outfielder Keston Hiura, considered by some as the best bat in college baseball with the nation’s best batting average, though an elbow injury limited him to DH duty this spring and lowered his stock. If they’re going simply for the best player available, that might be University of North Carolina shortstop Logan Wamoth despite having the shortstop of the future, Amed Rosario, nearing a big league call-up.
Bright lights of the City
Monsignor McClancy speed demon Quentin Holmes could become the first New York City high school player taken in the first round since Jason Marquis in 1996. If the center fielder, considered the fastest player in the draft, lasts until the second round, keep an eye on the Mets and Yankees. Both had a major presence at the Queens school in the spring.
Others to follow include Holmes’ teammate, hard-throwing righthander Charlie Neweiler, projected to go as early as the fifth round. St. John’s shortstop Jesse Berardi, an AllBig East first-team selection, is rated No. 105 in Baseball America’s top 500, and has drawn comparisons to Giants second baseman Joe Panik, a Red Storm alum. Poly Prep high school righty Nick Storz’s stock fell after an injury-shortened senior year, and is expected to attend LSU rather than going pro.
At the top
There doesn’t appear to be a Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg or Carlos Correa in this draft, a ready-made prospect that is the no-doubt No. 1 talent in the draft. What it does have, however, is a unique top-shelf group. There is an abnormally large number of dual talents projected to go in the first round. That’s led by University of
Louisville left-hander and first baseman Brendan McKay, and California high school pitcher/infielder Hunter Greene, both of whom are in play for the first overall selection.
Top 10 prospect Adam Haseley is an outfielder/pitcher from the University of Virginia, and a bit further down is Pratto, the first baseman/ pitcher. Greene, with a fastball that has reached triple-digits, will almost certainly be used as a pitcher first, while Haseley and Pratto will play the field. McKay’s position, however, is uncertain.
Off the radar
Oregon State ace Luke Heimlich bowed out of the NCAA Tournament after it was revealed by The Oregonian he was a registered sex offender, and now his draft status is in doubt, too. In 2012, he admitted to sexually molesting a 6-year-old family member. The left-hander with a fastball in the mid-90‘s was rated as the No. 43 prospect in the draft by Baseball America, but since the revelation, he has reportedly been removed from the draft boards of several teams.