MLB Draft Live Blog

Tampa selects a guy I know little about at 32, Jake Hager, a high school SS who will likely need a new position in pro ball.  Hager has experience with wooden bats and apparently did well with them in front of scouts.  The Rays might just be taking Hager as a decoy pick that won't sign.  They'd get compensation for the pick in the first round next year if he doesn't.

MLB Draft Live Blog

I dig the Rays selection of Mikie Mahtook.  Mahtook will definitely stick in centerfield with a good arm, good instincts and great speed making him above average at a premium defensive position.  He'll likely just be average offensively, though his swing has some indications that he'll hit for power.  I don't like to do player comparisons but he reminds me of Drew Stubbs.  Mahtook will end up as a fan favorite in Tampa due to his incessant hustle and wreckless playing style.  He is Sam Fuld's successor in the PR department.

MLB Draft Live Blog

Tampa Bay has a ton of picks thanks to the compensation system and they use their first one on high school righty Taylor Guerrieri.  Guerrieri has a fastball that tops out at 97mph with sink and a filthy slurve.  He has a solid frame and delivery that scouts project to hold up well under a 200+ inning workload in pro baseball.  He still needs to learn how to control those pitches as well as develop a third pitch.  Concerns about his makeup exist, but teenagers do stupid shit sometimes.