You may not know it, but the 2019 MLB draft takes place this Monday night (June 3). Last season, Detroit took RHP Casey Maze, who is already blazing his path to the Majors amongst other blue chip prospects.
Why should you care about the 2019 MLB draft? Well, it has possibly the best prospect since Bryce Harper in it.
Let’s get into the projected top picks for this Monday night.
1. Baltimore Orioles: Adler Rutschman, C, Oregon State
As I touched on above, Adley Rutschman could be the best prospect taken No. 1 overall since Harper in 2010.
In true Orioles fashion though, they won’t give anything away on who they are taking. They are a bit turned off by the catcher position, knowing they took Matt Wieters 5th in 2007. He had a decent career, but Baltimore could have had Madison Bumgarner. He’s as close to can’t-miss as you get in this draft, and he has the bat to be better than Joe Mauer.
“After a rough 2017 season, Rutschman bursted onto the scene in 2018. The Beavers catcher batted .408 with a .505 on-base percentage, drove in 83 runs, hit nine long-balls and picked up 102 hits in 250 at-bats as he helped lead Oregon State to their third National Championship with a historic College World Series performance that saw him record 17 hits.”
MLB Comp: Joe Mauer
2. KC Royals: Bobby Witt, SS, Heritage High School
The Gatorade National Player Of The Year batted .500 with 15 home runs in 38 games this season. This seems to be the lock of the draft, as I haven’t seen any mock where he doesn’t go second, some even having him at number one.
Keith Law of ESPN’s latest mock keeps the same beat: Witt Jr is a “lock” to the Royals, even saying they’d take him over Rutschmanhttps://t.co/zfMj2PVHvb
— Shaun Newkirk (@Shauncore) May 28, 2019
MLB Comp: Manny Machado
3. Chicago White Sox: Andrew Vaughn, 1B California
Chicago has shown a ton of interest in Vaughn, as they should, as he made the biggest leap of any player from high school to college. He had only one home run in high school, wasn’t drafted, and yet went to Cal, hitting 12 home runs as a Freshman All-American.
“Flash forward to this season where Andrew Vaughn is once again continuing to have success. Through 47 games, Vaughn is slashing .377/.531/.725 with 13 doubles, 15 home runs, 48 RBI, 51 walks, and 30 strikeouts. Even though his batting average has taken a dip from last season, he’s still managing to get on base over 50% of the time. With all of the success leading into this season, pitchers have started to throw around Vaughn when he’s at the plate and he’s not getting nearly as many pitches to hit. Regardless, Andrew Vaughn has still put together another strong season and has made himself one of the best overall players available in this upcoming draft.”
He’s very up and down, some may even call him streaky. He may be the biggest wild card in this draft as he has the potential to flame out quickly, but he’s worth a gamble for sure.
He’s incredibly patient at the plate and walks a ton.
MLB Comp: Kevin Youkilis
4. Miami Marlins: JJ Bleday, OF, Vanderbilt
Derek Jeter has had his eyes on Bleday, the reigning college home run king of 2019 for some time.
Miami has a ton of pitching within the system, so it’s time to focus on the bats. Look, to be honest, Jeter has set this franchise back via trades. It’s quite eye opening to look at what could have been with Miami if they held it together for just a little longer.
Bleday is the best power hitting prospect in this draft … maybe he can save ’em at some point.
The #Marlins are clearly taking the upcoming amateur draft seriously. On hand to watch Vanderbilt (Bleday) at the SEC Baseball Tournament in Birmingham : Special Advisor Jorge Posada, VP Gary Denbo, President Mike Hill & Marlins CEO Derek Jeter.
📷 by @KyleParmley pic.twitter.com/StcYGcxSJX— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) May 22, 2019
MLB Comp: Giancarlo Stanton
5. Detroit Tigers: Riley Greene, OF, Hagerty HS, Florida Commit
This pick can go a variety of ways but Greene who hit .422 with eight home runs and 27 RBI looks to be the play. He’s possibly the best pure hitter and finished behind Bobby Witt as Gatorade player of the year.
Here’s Riley Greene’s swing slowed down.
He’s the best pure hitter in the prep class, and you can find his brand new scouting report at No. 5 in our draft rankings…https://t.co/mb7Nl0HvJc pic.twitter.com/ndvNoJuW8i
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 19, 2019
MLB Comp: JD Martinez
If you’re looking to bet on some MLB Draft Props check out a list of some of the best betting sites out there.