2017 MLB Draft: Six things you should know from the first round
Here are six things to know about the first day of MLB's amateur draft
The first day of the three-day 2017 MLB amateur draft is in the books. A total of 75 picks were made Monday night. Here is our recap and analysis of the first round. Now here are six takeaways from Monday's draft action.
Twins do not buck history
Thanks to California high schooler Hunter Greene, it looked very possible that we would see a prep right-hander selected with the No. 1 pick for the first time in draft history this season. Greene, who also plays shortstop, was the consensus top prospect in the draft class according to the various scouting publications.
The Twins, however, did not buck history. They passed on Green and instead selected California high school shortstop/center fielder Royce Lewis with the No. 1 pick. Greene instead went to the Reds with the second overall pick. So still, no high school right-handed pitcher has ever been taken with the first overall pick in the MLB draft. We'll try again next year.
L.A. was well represented
Both Lewis (JSerra Catholic HS) and Greene (Notre Dame HS) are from Los Angeles area high schools, which means the first two picks of the 2017 draft hailed from SoCal.
Royce Lewis and Hunter Greene are first L.A.-area players to go 1-2 in #MLBDraft dating back to 1965.
— mike hiserman (@MikeHiserman) June 12, 2017
The draft, of course, was first implemented in 1965. So Lewis and Greene are the first L.A. area players to be selected with the first and second picks in the same draft ever.
Virginia was well-represented too
A pair of Virginia hitters, Pavin Smith and Adam Haseley, were selected within the first 10 picks of the draft. Smith went seventh overall to the Diamondbacks and Haseley went eighth overall to the Phillies. It's been a while since two position players from the same college went in the top 10.
If Adam Haseley and Pavin Smith go top 10 they'd be 1st position players from same college since Monty Fariss and Robin Ventura (Ok St-'88).
— Damon Dillman (@DamonDillman) June 12, 2017
Ventura went on to long a very long and productive big league career. Monty Fariss ... did not.
The Rays took a true two-way player
Two-way players are all the rage in baseball nowadays. The Padres tried it with Christian Bethancourt, and now the Dodgers are trying it with outfielder Brett Eibner. A two-way player who can both hit and pitch seems pretty great! It's very hard to do though.
The Rays, however, will give it a shot with their first round pick, Louisville lefty/first baseman Brendan McKay. McKay was announced as a first baseman only during the draft broadcast, though that was wrong.
MLB Network's draft show is incorrect. Brendan McKay expects to play first base and pitch in the Tampa Bay Rays' minor league system.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 12, 2017
McKay was considered a top 10 talent both on the mound and at first base, so many folks were eager to see whether he'd be drafted as a pitcher or hitter. The Rays will let him try both. Here are his college stats:
- As Pitcher: 31-10, 2.15 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 11.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 in 310 IP
- As Hitter: .328/.432/.533 with 46 doubles and 27 home runs in 186 games
Tampa Bay is always willing to think outside the box, plus they have to continually look for value in unusual places given their shoestring payroll, so they'll try to develop McKay as both a pitcher and a hitter. Fun!
Two Little League champions were drafted
First baseman Nick Pratto (Royals, 14th overall) and catcher Hagen Danner (Blue Jays, 61st overall) are longtime teammates who won a Little League World Series championship together back in 2011. Pratto, in fact, had the walk-off hit to beat Japan. Here's the video:
Pratto and Danner were also teammates at Huntington Beach High School in California. Now they're both day one draft picks. Perhaps one day Pratto will step up to the plate with the Royals while Danner is squatting behind the plate with the Blue Jays. That would be pretty cool.
The Astros had a great day
Not only do the Astros own the best record in baseball, but they also had an excellent day one at the draft. First, they nabbed a consensus top 10 talent with their first round pick, No. 15 overall. The player, UNC righty J.B. Bukauskas, slipped for no apparent reason. He didn't float huge bonus demands or anything. Bukauskas was expected to go top 10, and instead Houston got him at No. 15. Lucky them.
On top of that, the Astros also had two extra picks Monday courtesy of the Cardinals and the hacking scandal. St. Louis had to send the 56th and 75th overall picks to Houston as compensation for the scandal. The 'Stros used those picks on Texas A&M righty Corbin Martin and Arizona second baseman J.J. Matijevic, two players who had a chance to be selected within the first 50 picks of the draft. So, on Monday, the Astros landed a top 10 talent in Bukauskas and two extra top 50 talents in Martin and Matijevic, both courtesy of the Cardinals. Not a bad day at the office.
The 2017 draft will continue with rounds 3-10 on Tuesday. Things will then conclude Wednesday with rounds 11-40.
















