MLB Draft Live Blog

The Royals add the draft's most talented position player to the league's best farm system.  Centerfielder Bubba Starling has demonstrated aptitude with all five tools: Speed, power,hitting, fielding and a howitzer for an arm.  His arm has earned him a two sport scholarship to play football and baseball at Nebraska, a commitment he's steadfastly adhered to and which will take a hefty chunk of change to pry him away from.  Bubba won't be in the majors for quite a while.  He's very raw, mostly because he's spread his focus out among the baseball diamond, the basketball court and the gridiron.  Once he gets his feet under him as a year round baseball guy, look out, he's a potential star.

MLB Draft Live Blog

The Orioles take Dylan Bundy, making the first four picks pitchers.  Rice 3B Anthony Rendon is falling.  Bundy is a little right hander with a fastball in the mid-90s, getting up as high as 98mph.  He has a mid-70s curveball that has room for improvement but is still an above average offering.  He has a changeup that he rarely uses now that he employs a bat-breaking cutter that he throws in the upper 80s and as high as 90mph.  That'll be his primary weapon in getting left handed pitchers out.  He's also drawn rave reviews for his work ethic, spending countless hours in the gym.

MLB Draft Live Blog

The Diamondbacks select UCLA pitcher Trevor Bauer with the third pick.  Bauer is small and launches himself off of the mound with a giant stride, so naturally he's been compared to Tim Lincecum.  Those predictions are inaccurate at best.  Bauer has better numbers than his teammate Gerrit Cole, but not better stuff.  His Fastball sits 93-95 and touches as high as 98.  He also has a nasty curveball.  Concerns about Bauer abound.  His delivery is a tad but violent.  It might indicate risk for future injury, but he's been remarkably durable in college.  Part of that could be because he's only been asked to pitch once a week in college, as opposed to once every 5th day in pro ball.  Part of it could also be his unique long tossing program which some MLB teams do not allow their pitchers to participate in.  I like the pick for the Dbacks and hop Bauer stays healthy because he is fun to watch.

MLB Draft Live Blog

The Mariners decide to surprise us by selecting a pitcher.  Everyone had them taking a hitter, either Anthony Rendon or Francisco Lindor.  Hulzten is a pretty safe pick, with the upside of a #2 starter.  He has a low 90s fastball to go along with an above average changeup.  His slider is a work in progress and is the linchpin for success at the MLB level.  He delivers the ball from a very low arm slot which makes it tough for lefty hitters to see.  If i had to pick one player to reach the majors first from this draft class, I'd pick Hultzen.

MLB Draft Live Blog

We're only one pick in and already I've laughed twice at how awkward Bud Selig is.  He must have been stuffed into countless lockers in high school.  We've also had dome controversy already.  Cuban lefty Onelky Garcia Speck (mid 90s fastball, good curveball at age 23) was declared draft eligible by MLB this morning.  This was something that MLB teams were unaware of.  International players are not subject to the draft and when Cuban players defect they try to establish residency in other countries.  MLB though Speck had established residency in the US.  So all day teams have been scrambling to slot this kid on their draft boards.  Turns out MLB was wrong and he has submitted papers that say he is a resident of Nicaragua, so he'll be a free agent.

MLB Draft Live Blog

The Pirates have been one of baseball’s laughingstock franchises for most of the past 20 years. DO I feel bad for Pirates fans? No. They have the Steelers and Penguins so I feel no pity whatsoever for them. That said, Pittsburgh started to do things the right, spending big bucks on the likes of Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie last year. This year they grab Gerrit Cole, a 6’4” righty from UCLA.


Cole was a 1st rounder in 2008 but chose to go to school instead. His delivery has improved since then, making scouts more optimistic about his ability to stay healthy and his ability to consistently throw strikes. He has the best raw stuff in the draft with a fastball that sits 95-97mph and has touched 101mph. The funny thing is, it’s not even his best pitch. His mid 80s changeup would miss bats in the majors today. His arm speed on the change is identical to that of his fastball and the pitch has impressive late fade. Cole also employs a slider which flashes plus, but is inconsistent.

Obviously Cole couldn’t generate that kind of velocity without using his entire body efficiently, and he does just that, especially with his lower half.

One concern for Cole is how often his fastball hangs up in the zone. I’d like to see him get in better shape, likely giving him more control over his body and better command of his pitches.

Cole’s numbers are not as impressive as his Bruin teammate, Trevor Bauer, but his tools are unmatched and looking at statistics in amateur baseball is a fool’s errand. Cole would have been my pick here as well.

MLB Draft Live Blog

The draft is just about ready to start.  If you want to read my piece on why the draft is so important, you can see it at phillybroadcaster.com.  I'll be sure to post a version of that post on this site as well.  Stay with me here for the rest of the night, just hit refresh while on the main page and the new posts will be flying in as fast as I can churn them out.