Draft Day 2: Round-by-round analysis
Mike Rosenbaum
@GoldenSombreroDay 2 of the 2019 Draft is in the books. Our Draft Tracker has every pick through Round 10, including player information, scouting video, sortable data and more. And check below for complete coverage of picks 3-10.
Round 3 (complete results)
Selecting first on Day 2, the Orioles once again tapped the college ranks to select Louisiana State outfielder Zach Watson (No. 111-ranked prospect on Draft Top 200) with the No. 79 overall pick at the outset of the third round. A plus-plus runner, he was drafted by the Red Sox in the 40th round last year as a redshirt sophomore, but opted to return to Tigers for his junior year.
Three of the next five picks after Watson came from the college ranks before shortstop Tyler Callihan, one of the highest-ranked players still available on Day 2 at No. 35, was grabbed by the Reds with the No. 85 overall pick. The South Carolina commit and former USA Baseball 18-and-Under National Team standout is revered by scouts for his left-handed bat, though questions remain about where¡¯ll ultimately profile defensively. Grant McCray, the Giants¡¯ third-round pick, is the son of Rodney McCray, who famously crashed through the outfield wall as a Minor Leaguer, while the Blue Jays nabbed a tooled-up outfielder of their own with the next pick, selecting outfielder Dasan Brown (ranked No. 103), the top-ranked Canadian player in the Draft.
The Mets drafted the best player still on the board with their first Day 2 pick, selecting Florida prep right-hander Matthew Allen (No. 13), one of the more high-ceiling and projectable hurlers in this year¡¯s class. Prep outfielder Shane Sasaki, a Cal Poly recruit and the top Hawaiian prospect in this year¡¯s class, went to the Rays with the No. 99 overall pick.
The Rockies used their third-round pick on Connecticut right-hander Jacob Wallace (ranked No. 116), one of the best college closers in the nation this year, and two more Top 200 college hurlers came off the board in the next three picks, with the Dodgers nabbing Butler right-hander Ryan Pepiot (ranked No. 72), and the Cubs going with Louisville righty Michael McAvene, a reliever who many scouts believe has a chance to start in the pros. To close out the third round, the Astros selected Michigan outfielder Jordan Brewer (ranked No. 108), the Big 10 player of the year, ahead of the Red Sox, who popped right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn (ranked No. 84), a three-year member of the Kansas Jayhawks¡¯ starting rotation, with the final pick.
Round 4 (complete results)
The Orioles took New Mexico State shortstop Joseph Ortiz (ranked No. 179 ), who led all of Division I during the regular season in hits (106) and ranked third in average (.422) and RBIs (84). The White Sox pick, Mississippi prep outfielder James Beard (ranked No. 127), is the fastest player in this year¡¯s class, having been clocked a 6.21-second 60-yard dash at a Prospect Development Pipeline event last June. A pair of promising college shortstops were selected in the round, with the Tigers taking UCLA¡¯s Ryan Kreidler (ranked No. 200) and the Giants going with Louisville¡¯s Tyler Fitzgerald (ranked No. 157), while the Blue Jays went with Creighton outfielder Will Robertson (ranked No. 81), a left-handed hitter who has some of the best power in the 2019 college class.
Stanford junior Erik Miller (ranked No. 61), owner of some of the best pure stuff among college southpaws, was drafted by the Phillies, while the Nats popped one of the top relief prospects in Arkansas right-hander Matt Cronin (ranked No. 73). Duke¡¯s Graeme Stinson (ranked No. 70) lasted until the fourth round after entering the season as the top-rated four-year college pitching prospect. The pick could be a steal for the Rays if the 6-foot-5 left-hander can regain his 2018 form in the professional ranks. The Red Sox took Navy's Noah Song (ranked No. 68), a 6-foot-4 right-hander, with the final pick in the round. He has an ideal profile for a starting pitcher, with his size, stuff and performance track record, but the 22-year-old will need to complete a two-year military service before he potentially can join a Major League organization.
As for players with MLB ties, Glenallen Hill Jr. (ranked No. 169), a prep shortstop out of California and the son of former big league slugger Glenallen Hill, was taken by the D-backs, while the Indians grabbed Christian Cairo (ranked No. 97), the son of former infielder Miguel Cairo, with pick No. 130.
Round 5 (complete results)
College players ranked in the Top 200 continued to come off the board early in the fifth round. The Royals popped Illinois State junior John Rave (ranked No. 113), a center fielder, and East Carolina outfielder Bryant Packard (ranked No. 106) came off the board three picks later, going to the Tigers. Rave is a plus runner who projects as a possible .270 hitter capable of producing 15 homers, and Packard was the American Athletic Conference player of the year last year but was limited by a back injury as a junior. Will Holland (ranked No. 62) was the third shortstop selected by the Twins in their first six picks. The Auburn junior struggled this spring after a promising sophomore campaign and a strong showing in the Cape Cod League. He needs more offensive and defensive refinement than a typical college prospect but has the upside of an up-the-middle guy with 20-20 potential if he can recapture his 2018 swing.
The Rays drafted 6-foot-7 lefty Ben Brecht (ranked No. 126) out of UC Santa Barbara as they continued their trend of targeting high-upside college players on Day 2. Each of the next four picks were college pitchers ranked in the Top 200, a group highlighted by Ole Miss righty Will Ethridge (ranked No. 136), and later in the round the Brewers took another Rebels player in switch-hitter Thomas Dillard (ranked No. 114), who they announced as a catcher. The Astros, with the second-to-last pick in the round, made right-hander Hunter Brown (ranked No. 89) the second-highest-drafted player in Wayne State¡¯s program history.
Round 6 (complete results)
Another Ole Miss player came off the board early in the round as Detroit picked Rebels backstop Cooper Johnson (ranked No. 137), who has a cannon arm that enabled him to cut down 45 percent of basestealers during the 2019 regular season. A trio of Top 200 hurlers led by Vanderbilt right-hander Drake Fellow (ranked No. 152), a Padres selection, came off the board with the next three picks, while the Giants grabbed their sixth straight position player when they selected Puerto Rican prep shortstop Dilan Rosario (ranked No. 166).
The Mariners took a pitcher for the fifth time in six rounds in New York prep Michael Limoncelli (ranked No. 190), a 6-foot-2 right-hander who underwent Tommy John surgery this spring. It¡¯s a nice upside pick for Seattle, provided they can sign him away from his Coastal Carolina commitment. The Cubs also targeted upside in the round by selecting the Ethan Hearn (No. 67), the top-ranked prep catcher. A USA Baseball 18U National Team product and Mississippi State commit, the Alabama prep has two impressive tools in his left-handed raw power and pure arm strength, both of which grade as plus.
Overall, 26 of the 30 selections in the sixth round came from the collegiate ranks.
Round 7 (complete results)
A slew of very tall college right-handers were selected early in the round, with Virginia¡¯s Noah Murdock (6-foot-8), Louisville¡¯s Bryan Hoeing (6-foot-6), LSU¡¯s Zack Hess (6-foot-6) and St. Louis University¡¯s Connor Lehmann (6-foot-7) going to the Royals, Marlins, Tigers and Padres, respectively, within a span of five picks. Hess, the highest-ranked hurler of the bunch (ranked No. 95), was inconsistent as a starter as sophomore and junior after dominating as a freshman closer on the Tigers¡¯ 2017 College World Series runner-up squad.
The Blue Jays and Mets both grabbed college senior second basemen with natural hitting ability, drafting Georgia¡¯s L.J. Talley and Wichita State¡¯s Luke Ritter, respectively. The D-backs took East Carolina junior first baseman Spencer Brickhouse (ranked No. 147), a 6-foot-4, 235-pounder with huge left-handed raw power who reached double figures in homers in each of his three college seasons, including a career-high 12 bombs this spring. UCLA senior right-hander Jack Ralston, the Cardinals¡¯ pick, is a finalist for the Dick Howser Award.
The A¡¯s grabbed their second college catcher of the day in Missouri State junior Drew Millas (ranked No. 120). An impressive athlete behind the plate, the 21-year-old is viewed by scouts as one of the better defensive catchers in college baseball. The Red Sox took Brock Bell, the son of former Major Leaguer and current Yankees Triple-A manager Jay Bell, with the final pick in the round. The 6-foot-4 right-hander is currently working his way back from Tommy John surgery.
Round 8 (complete results)
The Orioles opened the round by selecting College of Charleston¡¯s Griffin McLarty, a junior right-hander with a fringy fastball that plays up because he locates it extremely well. He finished his junior season with a 1.87 ERA and 116/20 K/BB in 101 innings. Angels pick Kyle Brnovich (ranked No. 185) has a long track record of missing bats and set an Elon record with 147 strikeouts in 105 innings as a sophomore in 2018. He generates his whiffs with a 70-grade knuckle-curve but pitches with only average fastball velocity.
Brnovich¡¯s teammate, Ty Adcock (ranked No. 186), came off the board later in the round, with the Mariners drafting him as a pitcher after he played both ways at Elon. The red-shirt junior has big-time arm strength that enables him to generate a 93- to 97-mph fastball that could eventually approach triple digits with development in the pro ranks. Ohio State outfielder Dominic Canzone (ranked No. 144) was selected by the D-backs after a junior campaign in which he slashed .345/.444/.620 with 16 homers and ranked among the top 20 in Division I play in hits.
Round 9 (complete results)
Draft-eligible sophomore Philip Clarke (ranked No. 139) was the only ranked prospect to be taken in the ninth round. The left-handed-hitting catcher passed on a potential seven-figure bonus in the 2017 Draft to honor his commitment to Vanderbilt, where he¡¯s produced a .300 average with 13 home runs in two seasons. Vandy senior Ethan Paul was also taken in the round, going to the Pirates after he made a successful transition from second base to shortstop this spring. Tennessee right-hander Zach Linginfelter, the Angels¡¯ selection in the round, was a 16th-round pick by the Yankees out of high school and 19th-rounder by the Nationals in 2018. The Brewers, after taking college players with their first eight picks, used their ninth-round selection on California high school catcher Darrien Miller, marking the third time on Day 2 that the club took a backstop.
Round 10 (complete results)
The Marlins landed one of the fastest players in the Draft in Wright State senior outfielder J.D. Orr, who ran a 6.3-second 60-yard dash this spring. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder leads all of Division I with 60 steals and is second in the nation with 83 runs. Scott Ota was selected by the Mets with the club¡¯s final pick on Day 2 after he batted .357 with 20 homers as a senior to power Illinois-Chicago to an NCAA tournament berth. The Padres went with Ethan Elliott, a senior left-hander who compiled 134 strikeouts against 14 walks in 92 2/3 innings for Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee.
Making the penultimate pick on Day 2, the Astros popped USC catcher C.J. Stubbs, the younger brother of Astros No. 12 prospect and former Trojan Garrett Stubbs, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in his big league debut on May 28. Primarily a pitcher during his first two college seasons, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder moved behind the plate this year and showed some right-handed power by hitting six home runs.