MLB Draft recap: Oregon State's Rutschman goes No. 1; two UM pitchers drafted in 2nd round
The Detroit Tigers take another important step in their rebuild Monday night as the MLB Draft gets underway at 7 p.m. Follow the picks, news and developments on the draft with live updates by Matt Schoch of The Detroit News.
Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman goes first to Orioles
Baltimore went with the consensus top prospect in the MLB Draft, taking Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman.
Rutschman hit .418 for the Beavers with 17 home runs.
He’s of the Bryce Harper (Washington, 2010) and Dansby Swanson (Arizona, 2015) type of prospect and not of the more uncertain types of drafts that yielded top picks like Royce Lewis (Minnesota, 2017) and Mickey Moniak (Philadelphia, 2016).
FIRST ROUND
1. Baltimore Orioles: Adley Rutschman, Oregon State, C
2. Kansas City Royals: Bobby Witt Jr., Coleyville (Texas) Heritage, SS
Witt's father, Bobby Witt, pitched 16 years in the big leagues for Texas, Oakland and five other MLB teams.
His son is an Oklahoma commit and ribbed his father on the MLB Network telecast by bettering him in the draft. Witt Sr. was picked third in 1985.
3. Chicago White Sox: Andrew Vaughn, California, 1B
Lots of Tigers fans are frustrated about this one, as there was a thought that Vaughn could slip to the Tigers at No. 5.
Vaughn, first baseman from California, won the Golden Spikes Award as the top college baseball player in the country last season. He could win it again this year.
4. Miami Marlins: J.J. Bleday, Vanderbilt, OF
5. Detroit Tigers: Riley Greene, Hagerty (Fla.), OF
Greene is thought of as the best high school offensive prospect in the draft.
Tony Paul already has everything you need to know tonight about Greene. Greene is committed to the Florida Gators, but one would hope Al Avila and the Tigers believe they can get him signed to come to Detroit.
6. San Diego Padres: C.J. Abrams, Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity, SS
7. Cincinnati Reds: Nick Lodolo, Texas Christian, LHP
The Reds finally take the first pitcher off the board. The first pitcher coming off the board at No. 7 is an all-time record for the lowest.
8. Texas Rangers: Josh Jung, Texas Tech, 3B
9. Atlanta Braves: Shea Langeliers, Baylor, C
10. San Francisco Giants: Hunter Bishop, Arizona State, OF
Bishop is a very toolsy outfielder who was believed to be an outside candidate for the Tigers at No. 5.
11. Toronto Blue Jays: Alek Manoah, West Virginia, RHP
12. New York Mets: Brett Baty, Lake Travis (Texas), 3B
13. Minnesota Twins: Keoni Cavaco, Eastlake (Calif.), SS
14. Philadelpiha Phillies: Bryson Stott, UNLV, SS
Oops...
15. Los Angeles Angels: Will Wilson, North Carolina State, 2B
16. Arizona Diamondbacks: Corbin Carroll, Lakeside (Wash.), OF
Another note from Tony Paul on Tigers pick Riley Greene. He passes along that James Orr was the main scout on Greene's trail.
17. Washington Nationals: Jackson Rutledge, San Jacinto (Texas) JC, RHP
You might have a sinking feeling that Andrew Vaughn could terrorize Tigers fans for along time in the AL Central.
18. Pittsburgh Pirates: Quinn Priester, Cary-Grove (Ill.), RHP
19. St. Louis Cardinals: Zack Thompson, Kentucky, LHP
20. Seattle Mariners: George Kirby, Elon, RHP
21. Atlanta Braves: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M, SS
22. Tampa Bay Rays: Greg Jones, UNC-Wilmington, SS
23. Colorado Rockies: Michael Toglia, UCLA, 1B
24. Cleveland Indians: Daniel Espino, Premier Academy (Ga.), RHP
25. Los Angeles Dodgers: Kody Hoese, Tulane, 3B
26. Arizona Diamondbacks: Blake Walston, New Hanover (N.C.), LHP
27. Chicago Cubs: Ryan Jensen, Fresno State, RHP
28. Milwaukee Brewers: Ethan Small, Mississippi State, LHP
29. Oakland Athletics: Logan Davidson, Clemson, SS
Analysts on the MLB Network are questioning his strength after two straight summers of struggling in the Cape Cod League, which uses a wooden bat.
30. New York Yankees: Anthony Volpe, Delbarton (N.J.), SS
Volpe has a high school teammate Jack Leiter, a left-handed pitcher, who also is a top draft prospect.
31. Los Angeles Dodgers: Michael Busch, North Carolina, 1B
32. Houston Astros: Korey Lee, California, C
The player who hits behind Andrew Vaughn for the Golden Bears was pretty good too.
COMPENSATION PICKS
33. Arizona Diamondbacks: Brennan Malone, IMG Academy (Fla.), RHP
34. Arizona Diamondbacks: Drey Jamison, Ball State, RHP
COMPETITIVE BALANCE
35. Miami Marlins: Kameron Misner, Missouri, OF
36. Tampa Bay Rays: J.J. Goss, Cypress Ranch (Texas), RHP
37. Pittsburgh Pirates: Sammy Siani, William Penn (Pa.) Charter, OF
38. New York Yankees: T.J. Sikkema, Missouri, LHP
Second Mizzou player taken in last four picks, as Kameron Misner went 35 to Miami.
39. Minnesota Twins: Matt Wallner, Southern Miss, OF
40. Tampa Bay Rays: Seth Johnson, Campbell, RHP
A converted JUCO shortstop a few years back, Johnson has an intriguing arm.
41. Texas Rangers: Davis Wendzel, Baylor, 3B
SECOND ROUND
42. Baltimore Orioles: Gunnar Henderson, Morgan Academy (Ala.), 3B
The second round is under way at 11:15 p.m., over four hours after we got started.
43. Boston Red Sox: Cameron Cannon, Arizona, SS
Cannon apparently projects as a 2B, SS or 3B, depending on who you ask.
44. Kansas City Royals: Brady McConnell, Florida, SS
That's two shortstops for the Royals tonight.
45. Chicago White Sox: Matthew Thompson, Cypress Ranch (Texas), RHP
Teammate in high school with J.J. Goss, who went earlier to the Rays.
46. Miami Marlins: Nasim Nunez, Collins Hill (Ga.), SS
47. Detroit Tigers: Nick Quintana, Arizona, 3B
The pick was announced by former Tigers pitcher Nate Robertson. Quintana led the Pac-12 in RBIs.
48. San Diego Padres: Joshua Mears, Federal Way (Wash.), OF
49. Cincinnati Reds: Rece Hinds, IMG Academy (Fla.), SS
Hinds could ultimately be an outfielder.
50. Texas Rangers: Ryan Garcia, UCLA, RHP
51. San Francisco Giants: Logan Wyatt, Louisville, 1B
52. Toronto Blue Jays: Kendall Williams, IMG Academy (Fla.), RHP
High-priced high school pitchers are coming off the board now.
53. New York Mets: Josh Wolf, St. Thomas (Texas), RHP
54. Minnesota Twins: Matt Canterino, Rice, RHP
55. Los Angeles Angels: Kyren Paris, Freedom (N.C.), SS
56. Arizona Diamondbacks: Ryan Nelson, Oregon, RHP
Had a big strikeout of Rutschman and is among Pac-12's best.
57. Pittsburgh Pirates: Matt Gorski, Indiana, OF
58. St. Louis Cardinals: Trejyn Fletcher, Deering (Maine), OF
Toolsy outfielder is very raw with big upside.
59. Seattle Mariners: Brandon Williamson, TCU, LHP
60. Atlanta Braves: Beau Philip, Oregon State, SS
Off the board, but he's a shortstop, like all the draft picks.
61. Tampa Bay Rays: John Doxakis, Texas A&M, LHP
Outdueled Casey Mize in a game last year.
62. Colorado Rockies: Aaron Schunk, Georgia, 3B
63. Cleveland Indians: Yordys Valdez, McArthur (Fla.), SS
The MLB Network analysts said Valdez might be the best defensive shortstop in the draft but the bat must come along.
64. Chicago Cubs: Chase Strumpf, UCLA, 2B
65. Milwaukee Brewers: Antoine Kelly, Wabash Valley (Ill.) College, LHP
Dynamic high-risk, high-reward arm.
66. Oakland Athletics: Tyler Baum, North Carolina, RHP
67. New York Yankees: Josh Smith, LSU, 2B
Not the former Piston.
68. Houston Astros: Grae Kessinger, Ole Miss, SS
Grandfather, father and uncle all played in the bigs.
69. Boston Red Sox: Matthew Lugo, Beltran (P.R.), SS
COMPETITIVE BALANCE
70. Kansas City Royals: Alex Marsh, Arizona State, RHP
71. Baltimore Orioles: Kyle Stowers, Stanford, OF
Stock rose at the Cape Cod League.
72. Pittsburgh Pirates: Jared Triolo, Houston, SS
73. San Diego Padres: Logan Driscoll, George Mason, C
74. Arizona Diamondbacks: Tommy Henry, Michigan, LHP
On the same night the Wolverines advanced in the NCAA Tournament, Henry was picked by the Diamondbacks, a selection announced by Randy Johnson.
75. Arizona Diamondbacks: Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas, OF
76. Seattle Mariners: Isaiah Campbell, Arkansas, RHP
77. Colorado Rockies: Karl Kauffmann, Michigan, RHP
The second Michigan player picked in four picks late on Tuesday morning.
COMPENSATION PICKS
78. Los Angeles Dodgers: Jimmy Lewis, Lake Travis (Texas), RHP
MLB DRAFT
When: 7 p.m. Monday (Rounds 1 and 2); 1 p.m. Tuesday (Rounds 3-10); noon Wednesday (Rounds 11-40)
TV: MLB Network on Monday
Stream: MLB.com
Tigers: They have the No. 5 pick in the first round and the No. 47 pick in the second round.
MORE COVERAGE
'Franchise-type' outfielder Riley Greene gets the call from Tigers at No. 5
Tigers draft choices in recent years have included big hits and big busts