22. CF Danny Wood (Atlanta Braves) Pros: ++ Power, Defense, Speed, + Contact, easy signability, Intelligent Cons: Below average arm Notes: Really like this kid. Another 5 star CF. This one drops all the way to 22. He does everything well, and would be considered a 5 tool player except his arm is a little on the low side. Still, very nice player at 22. Grade: A+ 23. SP Kevin Gausman (Boston Red Sox) Pros: ++ Stuff, Fastball, Changeup, Velocity Cons: Underdeveloped, no standout peripherals, signability Notes: This kid is a nice pick at 23. I do worry about how much more development he will need as he is already 21. Boston will have to make sure they watch him carefully in the minor leagues. If he pans out? Hes got ace material. Grade: B+ 24. SP Kyle "Thunder" Newman (St. Louis Cardinals) Pros: ++ Control, + Pitches, stuff movement Cons: Stamina, Bonus demand Notes: There is not much I dislike about "Thunder" He has Greg Maddux like control, and a very nice cut fastball. His stamina is a bit of a concern, but with his control I don't see it being an issue. He is already nicely developed and has no injury troubles. He's a big kid at 6'5" so an interesting talent set from someone with that size. Good pick. Grade: A+ 25. 1B Junior Guerra (Tampa Bay Rays) Pros: ++ Contact, Power, Avoid K, Durable Cons: Defense, dumb as a box of rocks, Signability Notes: The second 1B selected in the draft is another solid hitter. Interesting that of both 1B taken, they are more suited to a DH role than in the field. Guerra's defense is not good. He's also not projected to get much better as he is not very intelligent. At 21 he is slightly under develpped, and it's possible he may not peak until later in his career. He's still a slugger, and will add needed pop to the Rays when he is ready. Grade: B 26. 3B Ed "Little Rat" Ellis (Los Angeles Dodgers) Pros: ++ Contact, Power, Arm. Hard working and intelligent. Cons: No eye at all. High School playerm signability Notes: Ed Ellis is perfectly suited to 3B. He has solid range and arm and will make most routine plays. For a high schooler, he seems to have a lot of the peripherals you want and although very underdeveloped, he has the drive to succeed. It will take some time and when he does mature, he should be a solid hitter. Obviously the eye is a concern, so expect his OBP to be driven by his BA. Projected to have more K than BB over the course of his career. Grade: B 27. SS Deven Marrero (Detroit Tigers) Pros: Amazing Defense, + Contact Cons: Signability, extremely underdeveloped Notes: This is the first pick I absolutely hate. If Marrero was drafted for defense only, you can grab a guy like this in the later rounds. He has above average contact and gap hitting ability but nothing else stands out offensively. The biggest concern is how underdeveloped he is at 22 years old. I think this kid is going to be the bust of round 1. Grade: F 28. CF Byron Buxton (Milwaukee Brewers) Pros: ++ Speed, Contact, + Defense Cons: Greedy, High School player Notes: This kid has a long way to go before he is ready. He is very underdeveloped, but he is fresh out of high school. Tons of potential. I wish he had more power, but it's sufficient. Above average eye will help him out. Good looking hitter who I hope can turn into something. Grade: B+ 29. SP Miguel Rodriguez (Texas Rangers) Pros: ++ Movement, GB%, Stuff. 2 awesome pitches, easy signability Cons: Low control, stamina. Barely has a 3rd pitch, high school player Notes: This is a kid who is just learning how to pitch. He is very wild. His changeup was probably just learned a month ago and it is cause for concern. He has the most movement in the entire draft, but if you can't harness the control, hes no good at the ML level. He is expected to spend the next 4-6 years in the minors, so hopefully he figures it out by then. Grade: C- 30. SS Donald Walker (Philadelphia Phillies) Pros: ++ Speed, + Plate discipline, durable Cons: Hard signability, lazy Notes: This one is a tough one to grade. He is only 20 years old, and although a bit lazy, his development is not bad. His speed is game breaking, and he has great plate discipline. Unfortunately he will probably hit in the .260 range, with a .340 OBP or similar. Looks like a solid leadoff hitter. He will play every day. Defensively? He's above average and I believe he will have a pretty nice career. Grade: B-
27. SS Deven Marrero (Detroit Tigers) Pros: Amazing Defense, + Contact Cons: Signability, extremely underdeveloped Notes: This is the first pick I absolutely hate. If Marrero was drafted for defense only, you can grab a guy like this in the later rounds. He has above average contact and gap hitting ability but nothing else stands out offensively. The biggest concern is how underdeveloped he is at 22 years old. I think this kid is going to be the bust of round 1. Grade: F "ouch.. hehe hope he proves everyone wrong."
