The 2018 MLB Draft is underway, and we’ll track the first-round picks as they come in — starting with the first 30 picks (worst-to-first, and excepting teams that sacrificed picks to sign qualifying offer-declining free agents). We’ll fire up another post for the “sandwich” choices: selections awarded to clubs that lost QO-declining free agents and competitive balance Round A picks.
Here are the picks:
- Detroit Tigers: Casey Mize, RHP, Auburn University
- San Francisco Giants: Joey Bart, C, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Philadelphia Phillies: Alec Bohm, 3B, Wichita State
- Chicago White Sox: Nick Madrigal, 2B, Oregon State University
- Cincinnati Reds: Jonathan India, 3B, University of Florida
- New York Mets: Jarred Kelenic, OF, Waukesha West HS (WI)
- San Diego Padres: Ryan Weathers, LHP, Loretto HS (TN)
- Atlanta Braves: Carter Stewart, RHP, Eau Gallie HS (FL)
- Oakland Athletics: Kyler Murray, OF, Oklahoma University
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Travis Swaggerty, OF, University of South Alabama
- Baltimore Orioles: Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Central Heights HS (TX)
- Toronto Blue Jays: Jordan Groshans, INF, Magnolia HS (TX)
- Miami Marlins: Connor Scott, OF, Plant HS (FL)
- Seattle Mariners: Logan Gilbert, RHP, Stetson University
- Texas Rangers: Cole Winn, RHP, Orange Lutheran HS (CA)
- Tampa Bay Rays: Matt Liberatore, LHP, Mountain Ridge HS (AZ)
- Los Angeles Angels: Jordyn Adams, OF, Green Hope HS (NC)
- Kansas City Royals: Brady Singer, RHP, University of Florida
- St. Louis Cardinals: Nolan Gorman, 3B, O’Connor HS (AZ)
- Minnesota Twins: Trevor Larnach, OF, Oregon State University
- Milwaukee Brewers: Brice Turang, SS, Santiago HS (CA)
- Colorado Rockies: Ryan Rolison, LHP, University of Mississippi
- New York Yankees: Anthony Seigler, C, Cartersville HS (GA)
- Chicago Cubs: Nico Hoerner, SS, Stanford University
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Matt McLain, SS, Beckman HS (CA)
- Boston Red Sox: Triston Casas, 3B, American Heritage HS (FL)
- Washington Nationals: Mason Denaburg, RHP, Merritt Island HS (FL)
- Houston Astros: Seth Beer, 1B, Clemson University
- Cleveland Indians: Noah Naylor, C, St. Joan of Arc HS (Ontario)
- Los Angeles Dodgers: J.T. Ginn, RHP, Brandon HS (MS)
Yesssss. Well done Rick.
Gotta like this pick. Most mocks were spot on.
So happy they took Madrigal. Sox need a pure hitter in their lineup
Not a fan of this Madrigal pick. I believe India or Kelenic have higher upsides & will be better players. Or I think Liberatore would’ve been a good pick too but White Sox don’t like to take high school pitchers high in the draft.
Comp to Madrigal IMO is Darwin Barney but maybe just maybe Pedroia for his ceiling. Still not happy with the pick. Hope I’m proven wrong.
Where are you getting the Darwin comp from?
Both played shortstop for Oregon State.. Would you prefer he compared him to Psycho Steve Lyons?
They both SS at Oregon State…. That’s your comp? So I guess Devin Mesaraco’s comp is Johnny Bench. I mean, after all, they both played catcher for the Reds.
Madrigal perfect pick. He and Eloy bring the swagger and pure hitting they need. Moncada move to 3B asap to get used to it. Who now in R2?? Would like natural SS, but better ceiling guys like DeSedas seem min 3-4yrs away if they even fall to them. Ditto most higher projected catchers if Collins defense iffy at position l-term. Who’s the draft expert WSox fan for ideal couple players to land R2?
Tigers should have taken Bart, but they will never ever not take a hard throwing RHP who’s probably going to need TJ.
“hard throwing RHP ”
Casey Mize is _not_ a hard thrower. 93 mph with reliever max effort.
Horrible pick.
The guy has 5 quality pitches and controls all of them yet still k’s dudes with ease. The pick is fine. Most experts were all over him as the number 1 and it’s for a reason.
Lol
Super scout here.
How is Moniak doing, Casey?
How many of the tigers hard throwing RHP the tigers have drafted high have needed TJ??? I’d love to know because I doubt hardly any so your point is invalid
That’s the Nat’s schtick … take a TJ pitcher rehab him, and turn him into a JZimm or Strasburg … its why it has a new name: National’s Elbow.
2018 Draft order, went down to the wire. Feel for the Phills. They had #1 wrapped, most of 2017, but gave it away as 2017 winded down. (Thought margin too far to catch up)
Feel for the Giants. Tigers got the #1 overall pick, by 1 win, both seasons. Sandoval hit that walkoff, made Tigers and Giants finish with identical records and the tie breaker was also decided by 1 win, comparing the Tigers 86-75 and Giants 87-75, 2016 season records’. The worst part is, the Giants (87-75) finished a half-game better than the Tigers (86-75) 2016 because Detroit played one fewer game than the Giants because they had a game rained out, which was never made up because it wouldn’t have factored into playoffs standings.
Anyone know what would happen if they had identical 2016 records? Seems uncommon but they had tied records in 2017, and were half a game from tying back-to-back seasons. I asked this in Tigers #1 select overall thread, but think it’s more relevant to ask here. Thank you.
Why did you feel the need to copy/paste this in a separate article?
Reported my post, tried to have it removed, tried to make shorter, (1 post, not 2) and think it would be more relevant to post here. Do you kno the answer?
The giants would’ve taken Bart either way, first or second round. Think Mize has slightly more potential but Bart seems like a sure bet to be an above average big leaguer with a chance at stardom.
Thanks for your insightful response. Now, I don’t feel as bad, about SFG’s manner of getting #2 pick. Nothing personal, but if it was Tigers, or any other team, got #2 that way, I would still say same thing
Still trying to figure out what the double tie-breaker scenario would be
2016 record would have had no impact on 2017 tie. Previous draft was ordered based on 2016 record so 2016 record is meaning less for today’s draft…no matter if they’d had same records last two years
Perhaps I misread ur question tho
2016 records had an impact. Since Giants and Tigers finished 2017, tied for worst record in MLB, a tie-breaker was needed to decide who gets #1. Thus they compared 2016 records, as tie-breaker. Tigers’ 2016 86-75 record was half a game worse than Giants’ 87-75 record, which gave them ownership of 2018 #1 overall pick
My question is what would happen if they both had identical 87-75 records in 2016? Assume they had identical records, for tie-breaker.
they most likely wouldve checked 2015
I agree 1600, Bart was their pick either way. Mize deserves his draft selection spot but much safer to take Bart just bc of injuries to pitchers.
Tigers would have still drafted first if they played that rainout and won because the Giants had a better record in 2015.
Can’t believe the commish pronounced Waukesha correctly, nicely done.
Lol….Bud Selig would have muffed it, although Milwaukee was his area. He can’t pronounce a lot of place names, including Los Angeles. It does not rhyme with “please.” Get a clue.
As a Waukesha West alum it’s pretty cool hearing the name properly announced by the Commissioner.
Super excited for Carter Stewart. Looks like he has huge upside.
I totally agree. Stewart has one of the highest upsides of any pitcher in the draft. Loved the pick
Of course the Braves take another pitcher.
When did they last take a bat, the Heyward/Freeman draft?
Unbelievable.
Genuflect!!!
braxton davidson lol
Austin Riley was a 1st round Competitive Balance pick. With the high price on quality pitchers, it never hurts to have a surplus, especially with the risk of injury. Plus, they’ll be able to trade from their large pool of quality pitching to acquire a proven quality bat.
“Plus, they’ll be able to trade from their large pool of quality pitching to acquire a proven quality bat.”
A DH/1B…..Kyle Schwarber LF.
Then there’s the fact that all those Braves 1st round pitchers are not making minor league headlines and flying up the Top 100 lists.
allard, anderson, wright, soroka and wentz are all top 100…
Not sure why you’ve linked Schwarber to ATL, as we’ve never shown interest in him. AA loves defense and we don’t need anymore LH bats that can’t play average defense (read: Preston Tucker).
We didn’t trade from our pitching depth to obtain Yelich, so not sure why you’d think we’d all of a sudden be after inferior corner OF, especially going into a free agent year where the market will be full of them (Bryce Harper, AJ Pollock, Michael Brantley, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, etc.)
casmith gets it. Austin Riley is pretty good, and the more pitching prospect a team acquires, the more likely is that at least a few will make it.
You can never have too much pitching !
The Braves were actually targeting Bohm or India, and assumed Stewart would be taken before they had a chance. This was a best case scenario after those 2 were taken.
Casey – Alex Anthopoulos loves drafting pitchers. He drafted a ton of them early and often in Toronto.
Casey Mize could be the worst 1/1 ever, at least the worst college pitcher.
2007
Daniel Moskos 4th overall
Ross Detwiler 6th overall
That’s Casey Mize.
Mark Appel
I didn’t like Appel at all. Two years for him and all the talk was about bonus demands, never a tweet about a pitching performance.
David Price and especially Mark Prior lots of heat from their performance, Prior every time he took the mound.
Appel? Crickets.
Seems to me most people are somewhat high on Mize, at least the scout folks at Fangraphs. Longenhagen and McDaniel think he could be in the majors by next year. So we’ll see what happens, too early to call him the worst 1/1 ever
Mickey Moniak on the other hand is competing for that award.
Not even worst Tigers 1/1…
Matt Anderson…
That Kyler Murray pick is interesting by Oakland.
Yea, did not see that coming. Classic ‘athlete’ pick, but I like it.
Murrayball!
Love it!
Yeah idk, they must feel like he doesn’t want to play QB at Oklahoma anymore because investing the #9 overall pick on him when there was plenty on the board still will be head scratcher if he decides to go with football. Not to mention, if he gets injured which happens to a lot of the athletic running QB’s.
But hey, love the pick as well. I hope it works out for the A’s, mini Ricky Henderson in the making if he chooses baseball.
This is probably a stupid question on my end, but if he chooses to play pro baseball, would that rule him ineligible for the football season? Or if he chooses to play both, does that essentially mean he can’t sign a contract? I know Russell Wilson played minor league ball in college, but I’m not sure of the rules behind it.
He just wouldn’t be eligible for a scholarship. I went to UW, and I remember Jake Locker and Shaq Thompson both got drafted by major league teams and still played ball. Most of the time the teams just want to control their rights.
They said he was gonna play fall ball at OU
and then go play baseball !
The Reds….ugh. Once again using their pick on another infielder, thus avoiding what they need most. Frustrating as usual.
I don’t know too much about this India guy they drafted, but most teams take the best talent rather than draft based on need, at least in the first round
Disagree. Don’t draft for need. Draft position players over pitchers. They don’t have a gleaming history of developing pitchers. Let another team develop pitchers. Trade position players for pitchers.
Pitching? They havent done a very good job with the considerable amount of young talent they have had. Finnegan, Reed, Castillo, Mahle, Stephenson, Garrett have all been inside top 100 lists at one point or another.
Philly media should play the pre-draft interview with Alec Bohm done by the blonde in the blue dress. Bohm just went on and on about how he is a big Yankees fan and his mom loves the Yankees.
This with Trump canceling the Eagles visit.
Yo!
Speaking of idiot butt hurt Yankees fans….
twitter.com/caseymize04/status/388487790935408640
You remind me of the guy who dug up Cody Allen’s tweets. Your tweet was from 2013.— Alm. 5 yrs ago.
Let the guy (Casey Mize) enjoy this day going #1.
Josh* Allen’s tweets.
Ugh, another first round HS pick by the Mets.
Good pick.
Lot of good HS position players in this draft. Braves should have took one.
Yeah, those prep hitters are sure things (Braxton Davidson, I’m looking at you). We’ll just stick with the best prep arm in the draft who already has 2 70-grade pitches and more spin on his curveball than any major leaguer.
They got the best HS hitter in the draft don’t know what your complaining about
I don’t know about the best hitter, the Cards got a decent power hitting 3B out of HS at pick#19 Gorman
Giants have done well with their last catcher from Georgia.
(Before you quibble, I know Posey played at FSU.)
Not a fan of this Madrigal pick. I believe India or Kelenic have higher upsides & will be better players. Or I think Liberatore would’ve been a good pick too but White Sox don’t like to take high school pitchers high in the draft.
Swaggerty seems like an OK pick (a safe pick) but I suspect that passing on Matthew Liberatore is going to like like a mistake 10 years from now.
Now the question is whether the Rays took him in order to cry and say he wants too much money, and NOT sign him…….save them some bucks……
What is going on with Brady Singer…
Did I miss something, saw a lot of lists have him as high as top 5. Now that he’s this far down will teams
continue to pass over him due to perceived bonus demands?
Just went #18 to the KC City Royals Lol! But thanks for the heads up on his slide. didn’t know he was top-5 in some mocks, was sort of hoping he’d fall to #23 then 🙂
I saw a couple that had him going #4 to the W Sox, and another with him going to the Reds. Can’t believe he fell that far. Wonder if there is some medical reason for it.
See Puk, AJ.
Singer is a TJ waiting to happen.
See..you have no GODLY IDEA
Jays took him 2nd rd last yr he didn’t sign… Maybe he wants too much$$$
actually in 2015 (out of HS); but I think you are correct, it’s the $$$. The Royals having the largest draft pool is likely why they felt comforatable drafting him. There was talk that it was “leaked” at what the Royals would offer and that made teams shy away, whether or not that’s true, who really knows
It does make me wonder how the rest of the Royals top picks will round out if they are actully blowing the load on one player
Angels draft another high ceiling athletic OF. Well done. Lots of pitching available in the next few rounds.
If Brad Ausmus did one good thing in his tenure with the Tigers it was being so bad that they could get the #1 pick and getting them the future Justin Verlander
Love the Brewers pick. Arcia is not lookin so hot at the moment, but if he wakes up maybe the middle infield will be decent in 3 years.
Guy Yanks took at 23, already profiled here by NYPost yesterday. Impressed Post did such a detailed analysis, on a player not guaranteed to be drafted by NYY or NYM.
nypost.com/2018/06/03/amazing-mlb-prospect-literal…
Red Sox drafting a 3B is interesting. I get that a lot of times you just go best player available but it seems like the one place, along with the outfield, that you are set at for the foreseeable future.
He’s 1B only.
Actually he’s being called a 1B/3B. From the little I’ve read they’re saying he has the arm to play third but his body type suggests his future is just at first.
guy is 6’4 240lbs….id bet my left foot he doesnt last his first full season at 3rd lol
Kris Bryant 6’5 230lb…
Red Sox take a high school 1B with their 1st round pick.
The Red Sox have produced the most MLB talent in the past fifteen years. Look at all the teams that took lame college guys much higher.
You don’t produce a great farm picking scared.
Rays picked libratore, too bad.
Astros just got Beer. Was hoping he would slide down to the White Sox because they already have a Burger and a Fry. Would’ve made for some good promotions.
Lol Giants got Bart. In case you’re wondering BART is also the name of the Bay Area’s train system.
Joey might hit one over the BART.
At AT&T Park, that would be an incredibly long foul ball.
Well you guys could always try to nickname someone Hot Dog.
Love the Cardinal’s pick. Lucky Gorman dropped to them.
If I were a Royals fan I’d be deciding between Going Postal and swallowing barbiturates.
The Indians crushed it.
he looks too much like jd drew
Way to go Theo. Welcome to the Cubs Nico.
I like the Naylor pick. Tribe needs more developmental depth at catcher.
Their #1 prospect is a catcher and if he pans out they won’t need a catcher for quite a few years, so I think they could’ve looked elsewhere.
I’m skeptical Naylor stays behind the plate long term, but the bat should be able to play just about anywhere. Besides, you shouldn’t draft for need; Mejia could always be a bust, and even if they both pan out, having two good catchers is a problem that will work itself out later.
Cubs….what happened?
They were good at this not long ago.
very simple when you pick at 24 late in the first round. you can take a roll of the dice. if he works out you look great and if he does not then no one really is going to remember or care what the 24 pick was.
Cole Winn to Texas at #15 looks like an absolute steal. Finally someone with true ace potential.
The Yankees pick is also a switch pitcher. Could be an interesting pick
I wonder how long until Cashman trades Seigler. He loves to trade his #1 draft pics more than any other GM.