The Diamondbacks announced that starting with this week’s draft, they will name their annual 34th round selection the “Cory Hahn 34th pick,” Jake Rill of MLB.com writes.  Hahn, who works in Arizona’s scouting department, suffered a fractured vertebrae after playing just three games as a freshman with Arizona State.  Before hiring him, the D’Backs selected Hahn with their 34th round pick (for his No. 34 jersey) in 2013. “This is an extremely humbling gesture and an honor for not only myself, but my family as well,” Hahn said in a press release. “I’m beyond grateful to be a part of the D-backs family.”
Here’s a look at the latest draft news as we get set for Monday night…
- High school catcher Tyler Stephenson has made a swift rise up many draft boards, including some speculation that the Diamondbacks may take him with the first overall pick. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic profiles Stephenson, who said that he has attended pre-draft workouts for the D’Backs, Braves and Phillies.
- The revised slotting system instituted in 2012 has added another layer of difficulty for drafted high schoolers trying to decide if they’ll start their pro careers or play college ball, Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Pirates starters Gerrit Cole and Vance Worley chose to attend college, while Max Moroff, a 16th-round pick in 2012, decided to go pro early and accepted a $300K bonus from the Bucs.
- In a retrospective piece, ESPN.com’s Christina Kahrl chooses the top player chosen in each of the 50 previous amateur drafts. While most of Kahrl’s choices came from the first couple of rounds, you can never tell where the next superstar might come from in any given draft, as evidenced by late choices like Albert Pujols, Ian Kinsler, Mark Buehrle or (most famously) Mike Piazza.
Earlier Updates
- Scouting director Deric Ladnier says the Diamondbacks have settled on who they’ll take No. 1 overall tomorrow, but he’s not tipping his hand as to who it’ll be, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic tweets.  Ladnier says the club has reached out to five players to let them know they’re in consideration,  but none of them have been notified as to whether they’ll be the pick (link).  That group almost certainly includes the likes of Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson and Florida high school shortstop Brendan Rodgers.
- Twins GM Terry Ryan told reporters, including Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter) that he doesn’t know who the team will take with the No. 6 overall pick yet. “Not yet. Somebody is going to fall,” Ryan said.
- The Rays know that they have to draft better this year than they have in recent years, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Tampa Bay owns the No. 13 pick in tomorrow night’s first round of the draft, their highest pick since taking Tim Beckham No. 1 overall in 2008.  Within the article, Topkin looks back at the Rays’ 2011 class, which was supposed to shape the future of the franchise.  To date, that hasn’t been the case.
- The Mariners don’t have a first round pick, but they expect plenty of talent to be there at No. 60, as Greg Johns of MLB.com writes.
Swanson will be the # 1 pick this year……
Quite possibly, but this is about as flat of a draft as has been for awhile. There’s certainly not a Harper or Strasburg or clear #1
Harper is a generational talent (perhaps Strasburg is too depending on your opinion of him pre-draft), those types don’t show up often.
Sure Harper was generational talent…my point wasn’t really that it’s a bad draft, or that a draft is bad because there’s no Harper. I was only saying that there isn’t a lock on any picks
I’d also say that maybe Harper isn’t even generational talent given Trout and.Bryant Harvey and a few others coming along
Harper is younger and better than Kris Bryant. He and Trout are doing historic things in this game. He is absolutely a generational talent.
Still can’t believe the Ray’s took Beckham over…Posey,Hosmer,Cole,Kimbrel…..
Beckham was the next Jimmy Rollins when he was drafted, can’t blame the Rays for him messing up.
ot; I think Stephenson could be 1:1 pick this year. Hes easily the top catching prospect, and the DBacks don’t exactly have a long term option. I get you don’t draft for MLB needs, but a good young catcher isn’t easy to come by, while a good young shortstop is a little bit easier to get.
If Stephenson is 1:1, that will murder my mock draft and make the first round much more fun to see
I was hoping Stephenson would fall to 10th so the Phillies could pick him up. They haven’t had much success developing any talent in recent years, so a HSer as advanced as him could do the Phillies some good.
That’s where I have him going. That may also alter the asking price on Hamels, who knows, maybe a deal could miraculously get done if the demand for a catcher in the deal goes away.
I know there’s some rumors of Stephenson going #1, but I can’t see it. There’s better talent available. I think it will be Swanson.
Swanson isn’t a bad pick either, but it all goes into the thought process. A guy like Swanson can play just about every infield position, while Stephenson would probably be confined to 1B/LF if he can’t stick at catcher.
You’re surprised the Rays took a toolsy SS over a reliever and a guy who didn’t sign? They didn’t have the benefit of hindsight at the time of the pick.
Cole would have signed if he was the 1st pick…
Impossible to say for certain since it did not happen. He was drafted by the Yankees, his favorite team growing up, in the first round, in a time there was no cap on picks and did not even negotiate with them. He was pretty set on attending UCLA. Again, much easier to say when you already know the results.
Plus Kimbrel was a 3rd round pick.. I can’t remember the last time a reliever was taken in the top 10, let alone #1. No matter how successful Kimbrel is, a reliever is a bust of a 1:1 pick
Drew Storen was drafted 10th overall in 2009.
Interesting. Didn’t realize that, I’d still call that a bust of a pick, but they never tried him as a starter, so I guess thats what they wanted..
No way is that a bust. Not a franchise changer but was a super safe pick for a guy thatll have 8 career war at the end of the year
I just guess I’d rather gamble on a guy like a AJ Pollock (12th overall) or a Mike Trout (25th overall) then a take a reliever. Obviously those 2 worked out, but at the time, they were viewed as toolsy outfielders with high ceilings.
Relievers aren’t very hard to come by. You have breakout relievers every year, so using/wasting a 10th overall pick on a reliever just doesn’t make sense to me. I guess if I was a GM, I’d have different views on the topic then Mr. Rizzo
It’s just a floor/ceiling preference. Depends on who’s available, what the player wants to sign for, medical information, etc etc. You don’t make judgments on players in a vacuum. If I have to pick between LeVon Washington’s, Matt LaPorta’s, Kellin Deglan’s and Matthew Purke’s, Drew Storen suddenly doesn’t seem so bad.
Storen also appeared in games for the Nationals in 2010.
He was obviously a rush to the team as a RP pick. Closer by 2011.
They had just drafted Strasburg, obviously knew they were on their way to a top 4 pick which they wound up with Harper.
Ace, Closer, #1 hitting prospect. Great strategy by them.
You’re surprised they didnt take a relief pitcher?
At the time, Posey was the consensus top pick but he was demanding too much, which is why he slipped to the Giants.
Where was this belief in 2008? Hindsight is always 20/20.
If TB took (Kimbrel), always a RP, with the 1st overall pick – many should have been fired. Even if he was a projected future-HOF closer, which he was not, I wouldn’t want my team to spend a 1st overall pick on him. Way too risky. Plus, it was his time spent with Billy Wagner that helped transform him into elite, though he had the raw ability.
I’m hoping the Red Sox draft Carson Fulmer as the 7th pick if he is available.
I don’t like Fulmer at 7 honestly, high floor but there are a lot of questions about him remaining a SP, I would hope Tyler Jay is available if they pass on Bregman and Benintendi
I think Bregman is a lock to the Red Sox if he falls back to them, but I don’t think he will. Jay seems like he is pretty good, as can be said about Benintendi, but I’m a big fan of Fulmer. Of course, everybody has their own opinion upon guys with physiques as him, but I don’t see it as a problem and IMO, he has the best stuff of any pitcher in the draft. Tate’s stock seems to have fallen a bit recently as well, so I wouldn’t mind him at 7 either. My top 4 realistic guys for the Red Sox would be Fulmer, Bregman, Tate, and Benintendi in that order.
Fair enough, We agree on position players. My top 4-5 choices would be Bregman, Cameron, Tate, Benintendi and maybe Fulmer/Jay. I’d much prefer the college route this time around.
Bregman is the worst of your group hope he’s gone.
Tate, Benintendi and Fulmer are much higher hopefuls/upside.
Fulmer won’t make it past the White Sox slot for sure
He can. If the white sox are sold on jay as a starter. Very slim but a chance. Cubs take him at 9 though if he does
Twins are high on Jay as well, from what I’ve heard
I have heard they are a lock for Kyle Tucker or Daz Cameron, whichever 1 falls to them.
Can mlb teams trade picks this year???
No
They can only trade the “competitive balance” picks.