Will be out at Nationals Park tonight for the Major League Baseball draft. Big night for Mike Rizzo and company as they add another high pick to the farm system and also have No. 23 and No. 34, the first pick in the sandwich round. Check out our preview here with a list of the likely candidates. For a while now the top six appeared set. But rumbling today among the national writers from Baseball America (Jim Callis with a free mock draft here) and ESPN (Keith Law) is that Baltimore could take Oklahoma prep pitcher Archie Bradley.
Emphasis on could here. Not doubting the sources because both Law and Callis have excellent sources. But there are all kinds of behind-the-scenes games being played here, too. With Arizona picking third and seventh it is imperative that teams at 4 (Baltimore), 5 (Kansas City) and 6 (Washington) don’t tip their hand to the Diamondbacks.
It’s a deep draft so the Nats believe they’ll get a good player out of this no matter what happens. Any of those six will come with serious bonus demands and Kansas prep oufielder Bubba Starling has Scott Boras as his advisor, but Rizzo has endured those kinds of negotiations two years running now. Will be interesting to see who the Nats grab at No. 23 and No. 34 – both picks compensation for losing free-agent Adam Dunn to the Chicago White Sox. Considering the big man has a .635 on-base percentage, just five home runs and already 78 strikeouts that’s looking like a smart move. Here’s a more in-depth look at the likely candidates.
Gerrit Cole: Right-handed pitcher from UCLA has electric stuff, according to most scouts. He was chosen in the first round in 2008 by the Yankees, but chose to go to college instead. That risk is about to pay off. Didn’t have overwhelming numbers at UCLA in 2011, but scouts are looking at what a kid could be in a few years, not his stats from one college season. Most mock drafts – and a recent report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – have Cole going No. 1 to Pittsburgh.
Anthony Rendon: Rice third baseman is an elite hitting prospect. But injuries and questions on his position have dropped him out of the top spot. Dealing with a troubling sore shoulder and twice has endured serious ankle injuries – torn ligaments in 2009 and a broken ankle in 2010. Most likely headed to Seattle, which could use a corner infielder. But if the Mariners pass you can throw these mock drafts out the window. No one knows how the teams below would react. Has drawn comparisons to Mets third baseman David Wright, though teams could always move him to another position. With Ryan Zimmerman already entrenched at third, the Nats would obviously have to do that if Rendon somehow dropped to No. 6.
Trevor Bauer: UCLA right-hander dominated college baseball this year. A strikeout machine who set the school record in that category. Had a brilliant weekend in the NCAA tournament. Comparisons to two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum because of his odd mechanics. Pitched a six-hitter with 14 strikeouts and two walks Saturday vs. Fresno and that was his ninth straight complete game. So, um, yeah – he’s a good bet to Arizona at No. 3 though if they have concerns over his high workload and mechanics there are other options.
Dylan Bundy: Prep right-handed pitcher from Oklahoma. Baltimore already employs his brother, Bobby, a fine prospect in the Carolina League. Most scouts see Dylan Bundy moving through a farm system quicker than most high-school pitchers. At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds he is built like Washington’s Jordan Zimmermann.
Danny Hultzen: The local kid. A Bethesda native. A St. Alban’s graduate. A University of Virginia left-handed pitcher. Hard for the Nats to go wrong there. May not have the ceiling of Cole, Bundy or even Bauer. But he also could be in the majors by next summer. As a likely mid-rotation pitcher he has enormous value to Washington, which obviously has two pretty good young pieces in Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg.
Bubba Starling: This is Rizzo’s kind of player. The best athlete in the draft, by all accounts. Starling is a natural center fielder – something the Nats need anyway. His bat is a risk only because he hasn’t faced anywhere near the level of competition someone like Bryce Harper had seen before the draft. Also has a football scholarship offer to Nebraska so he and Boras have leverage.
Other names: If you’re looking for a surprise maybe Francisco Lindor, a high-school shortstop from Florida. He’s been rising up draft boards, according to the national writers, and could slip into the top six. Worked out for both Seattle and Arizona. Also, right-handed pitcher Archie Bradley – another Oklahoma high-school kid – could go as high as No. 4 to Baltimore. Have a hard time seeing the Nats taking Bradley, but maybe if Starling is gone and they aren’t in love with the remaining pitcher they take a shot.
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