The MLB Draft is set to start on Thursday night live from Secaucus in New Jersey for the first and second rounds starting on the MLB Network at 7:00 PM ET and while there aren't a number of superstar draft picks set to get picked, there are a ton of intriguing storylines, including who the Houston Astros will select with the first pick and whether Mark Appel will sign.
The draft has 40 rounds of picks for prospects and teams will be looking to stock up their farm systems with the talent of tomorrow and some of the top options include Appel, Jonathan Gray, Kris Bryant and Clint Frazier. The Astros have the first overall pick ahead of the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies, while the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians round out the top five. The Miami Marlins follow ahead of the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets at 11. The Seattle Mariners are at 12 after picking in the top three the past three seasons. The Padres, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers, Cardinals and Detroit Tigers follow. There are six compensatory picks in the first half and the Yankees have two of them with the 32 and 33 picks.
Appel is going to be a hot commodity in the draft because of his talent, but one reason why he might slip is due to what happened last year when he was selected eighth and turned down $4 million from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Appel was hurt by the new slotting system and he felt that he was better off going back to Stanford for his senior season. Appel should be one of the first players off the board after showing off his 95 mph fastball and 2.12 ERA with the Cardinal. Kris Bryant is looked at as one of the best hitters in the nation out of the University of San Diego and he put up monster numbers with 31 home runs last season.
One position that is worth looking at throughout the draft is at catcher, as a number of players could end up going in the first round and the position looks like it's one of the deepest of the draft. At least three catchers could go in the first round, including Jon Denney, Nick Ciuffo and Reese McGuire and a number of teams in the draft need catchers at the position and could go for each of those players. There are two high school players from Georgia that are expected to turn heads with Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows and the two may end up being top 10 picks when the first round is all said and done.
Frazier was the National Player of the Year and he is one that many scouts see as a five tool player and solid on defense. He is committed to play at Georgia after the season and depending on where he is drafted Frazier could decide to forego college and head straight to the pros. Jonathan Gray is expected to go in the top five of the draft despite testing positive for Adderall and reports say that it will not turn into a suspension. The draft serves as a way for teams to improve through their farm system and after some hard times the Astros are hoping the top pick is a good one.
CLICK here for the live coverage of the MLB Draft first and second rounds.
Schedule:
From Studio 42 in Secaucus, N.J. and lasts from Thursday, June 6 - Saturday, June 8.
MLB Network (Thursday) with Live Stream on MLB.com (All three days)
Date Time (ET) Rounds
June 6 7 p.m. 1-2
June 7 1 p.m. 3-10
June 8 1 p.m. 11-40