It is finally time for the 2015 draft. Like everything in the process up to now I am going to focus on the 1st round only since it is impossible enough to figure out what is happening in the 9 picks before the Phillies pick at 10. Here is my final ranking if I were drafting tonight with my incredibly limited knowledge. This is not accounting for any bonus demands or underslot considerations, this is purely a ranking of the talent level I see.
- Dansby Swanson, SS, Vanderbilt
- Alex Bregman, SS, LSU
- Brenden Rodgers, SS, Lake Mary HS (FL)
- Tyler Jay, LHP, Illinois
- Dillon Tate, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
- Kyle Tucker, CF, Plant HS (FL)
- Daz Cameron, CF, Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (GA)
- Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt
- Kolby Allard, LHP, San Clemente HS (CA)
- Andrew Benintendi, CF, Arkansas
- Ian Happ, 2B/OF, Cincinnati
- Tyler Stephenson, C, Kennesaw Mountain HS (GA)
- Trenton Clark, CF, Richland HS (TX)
- Kevin Newman, SS, Arizona
- Cornelius Randolph, 3B, Griffin HS (GA)
- Garrett Whitley, CF, Niskayuna HS (NY)
- Jon Harris, RHP, Missouri
- Walker Buehler, RHP, Vanderbilt
- Nick Plummer, OF, Brother Rice HS (MI)
- James Kaprielian, RHP, UCLA
- Brady Aiken, LHP, IMG Academy (FL)
- Kyle Funkhouser, RHP, Louisville
- Mike Nikorak, RHP, Stroudsburg HS (PA)
- Ashe Russell, RHP, Cathedral HS (IN)
- Mike Matuella, RHP, Duke
Most Recent Mock Drafts:
- Fangraphs – Tyler Stephenson
- Baseball America – Kyle Tucker
- MLB.com – Kyle Tucker (Mayo), Kyle Tucker (Callis)
- ESPN – Kyle Tucker
- Through the Fence Baseball – Garrett Whitley
- Scout.com – Ian Happ (10), Kyle Cody (48), Casey Hughston (84)
- Baseball Prospectus – Ian Happ
Some Notes and Thoughts:
- I don’t have much separation between the 3 shortstops at the top of the board, but they are above everyone else
- The players ranked 4 to about Trenton Clark at 13 are fairly equal for me. There is obviously personal preference in this list, but I don’t think Stephenson is a dramatically worse talent than Jay. Everyone has some amount of upside and some pretty serious questions.
- Mock drafts keep having Plant HS Kyle Tucker falling to the Phillies at #10 which would be a really nice get for the Phillies, they have been on him all year.
- The Phillies have not been linked to any pitchers at #10 in a while, so it looks like the pick will be a hitter.
- Picks 4 to 10 seem to hinge on Daz Cameron, the Astros want to have him fall to their comp pick, other teams seem willing to take him and play chicken with his bonus demands.