Best draft by a team, Top 10 rounds

Seifert: After an excellent haul on Day 1 led by its selection of Charlie Condon and Brody Brecht, Colorado continued to pile it on. In particular, 3rd rounder Cole Messina, 5th rounder Lebarron Johnson, Jr. and Jameson Fisher was a steal in the 10th. Baltimore also stood out for me with its selection of Austin Overn in the 4th round, Ryan Stafford in the 5th and Carson Dorsey in the 7th. Similar to their first pick Vance Honeycutt, Overn is another elite athlete who can defend in the big field. He’s also twitchy and quick, but took a step back in 2024 after a strong freshman season in 2023. Credit the Orioles for targeting high-level athletes with upside, along with ballplayers who simply have great feel for the game (O’Ferrall, Stafford, Dorsey). And finally, I thought the Angels first six picks were collectively as good as anyone’s. After picking Christian Moore, Chris Cortez and Ryan Johnson on Day 1, their Day 2 selections of Ryan Prager, Austin Gordon and Bridger Holmes don’t scream upside, but they do stay on cue with what they’ve done the last several drafts of finding quick movers. Competitive lefty Derek Clark from West Virginia in the 10th round also fits that description as one who should move quickly through the lower levels of the minor leagues.

Shooter: The Padres were on the cusp of being my favorite team on Day 1 where two elite high school southpaws, Kash Mayfield (OK, Oklahoma State) and Boston Bateman (CA, LSU) were taken at #25 and #52 respectively, but they only flexed even more prowess on Day 2. Initially taking another prepster in Prep Baseball North Carolina’s Player of the Year, SS Cobb Hightower (NC, UNC), the Friars created the biggest waves in the 5th round when they selected LSU recruit and Nebraska high schooler, 3B Kale Fountain. A presumptive 1st round talent, Fountain’s selection at that point in the draft nearly guarantees that he will be signed (likely well above slot), and the Padres added to what very well could have been three high school first rounders. Allowing those young prospects to simmer, 4th round pick, RHP Tyson Neighbors (Kansas State) could very well be the first player from this class in the Big Leagues, and were it not for an injury during the spring, there is reason to believe that he would have been a slam dunk top 50 selection. An older pick in the 4th round, RHP Clark Candiotti (Arizona) was always a strike-thrower, and saw his stuff play up in a senior season in Tucson. FInally, two imposing, never-get-cheated bats in supplemental 4th rounder OF Kavares Tears (Tennessee) and 6th rounder OF Darrien McDowell (West Florida) bring imposing frames and bat speed. Tears was a big part of the vaunted offense of the National Champion Vols, and McDowell, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed hitter, mashed to the tune of a .442 batting average with 27 home runs and 16 doubles. Money well spent in San Diego.

Aaron Fitt: Angels. With the caveat that I’m only evaluating the quality of the college players drafted because I lack familiarity with high school prospects, I thought the Angels did a tremendous job finding upside with their first five picks, all from the collegiate ranks. First-rounder Christian Moore has obvious All-Star potential, and few pitchers in this draft can rival the raw stuff of second-rounder Chris Cortez, with his 100 mph turbo sinker and filthy slider. Ryan Johnson combines high-end stuff with elite control, and he feels like a steal at pick No. 74, despite concerns about his delivery. Ryan Prager is a safe, polished lefty, and righty Austin Gordon has a big arm, a great body and promising metrics on his stuff — it feels like he could take off in pro ball with some refinements. I also like Oregon State’s Bridger Holmes in the seventh round — it’s uncommonly nasty stuff from a low slot, and I think he’ll pitch in the big leagues for a long time as a bullpen stalwart. Ferocious lefty Derek Clark is a personal favorite of mine who went in the ninth round; he’s undersized and lacks premium fastball velocity, but he’s a warrior with supreme pitchability, and I could see him finding his way to the show some day.

Kendall Rogers: Colorado. Color me a massive fan of what the Rockies did with their top six picks, along with some other solid picks, including 10th round selection and Florida righthanded pitcher Fisher Jameson, who showed solid stuff during the College World Series. But again, the story for the Rockies is what they did in the top six. On day one, they took Charlie Condon, Brody Brecht and Jared Thomas, while outstanding South Carolina catcher Cole Messina went in the third round. That's on top of big-time producer Blake Wright from Clemson and Texas righthanded pitcher Lebarron Johnson. LBJ most certainly needs to throw more strikes at the next level, but anyone who saw his pure stuff against Texas A&M in the College Station Regional is sold on his potential. He has a chance to have a very fruitful professional career ... provided he harnesses his command a bit better.

Biggest surprise pick of Day 2

Seifert: Hunter Cranton (Kansas) to Seattle in the third round wasn’t so much of a surprise based on his arm talent (up to 99 mph), but the well-traveled righthander was the first college senior a.k.a. bonus pool saver that I identified. The second college senior was chosen two picks later in the third round by the Brewers. Jaron DeBerry from Dallas Baptist is a spin darling with strong statistics (7-1, 3.50 ERA, 89 strikeouts, 90 innings) as the Patriots’ Saturday starter behind Ryan Johnson. Also, not much of a surprise, but I loved the A’s pick in the fourth round of Cal outfielder Rodney Green, Jr. Yes, there are big-time swing/miss issues (28% strikeout rate this season), but the fourth round is a great time to gamble on a prospect with first round tools in need of a swing change. Using similar thinking on the other side of the Bay, Dakota Jordan to the Giants 14 picks later was another big-time athlete with tools in need of swing adjustments. Kudos for both selections.

Shooter: Kale Fountain (5th round, Padres). After we did not hear the Nebraska native’s name on Day 1, and ESPECIALLY when we did not hear it in the 3rd or 4th rounds, it appeared Baton Rouge was calling the young Adonis who instantly would have been the top prospect to make it to campus. However, his 5th round selection likely has all the accounting departments churning as his figure is sure to be well over slot. Fountain was set to be a foundational piece of the next wave of big names at LSU.

Aaron Fitt: Dakota Jordan slipping all the way to pick No. 116 (fourth round). I thought he was the most exciting college player on the board as Day Two began, and the Giants found huge value by taking him in the middle of the fourth. Yes, his bat carries some risk, but he has four easy plus tools, so if the bat clicks in pro ball, he could be very special.

Kendall Rogers: For me, it was where Vanderbilt righthanded pitcher Greysen Carter and Iowa righthanded pitcher Marcus Morgan were drafted. The Yankees had a strong day two in terms of arms and selected the hard-throwing Vanderbilt righty. Carter has had his fair share of ups and downs throughout his collegiate career, but it's an arm you can easily dream about with a fastball well into the upper-90s, that touches 100+. Carter, just like Thatcher Hurd -- another Yankees pick -- is someone who could very much flourish in a professional system ... As for Morgan, the Phillies got an absolute steal with the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder in the ninth round. I spoke with a Big Ten coach earlier this week who said Morgan had the best overall stuff his team had faced this past spring. Morgan will get up to 95+ mph with his fastball, along with a hard cutter and other solid secondary offerings. Again, he needs to be more consistent, but as a ninth rounder? Sign me up.

Best remaining talent still available for Day 3

Seifert: Not likely to happen, but an overslot deal for any of the remaining college sophomore-eligibles that is now led by Florida’s Colby Shelton after Jalin Flores announced on Monday morning that he was returning to Austin, would be an instant eye-raiser on Day 3. Ranked No. 114 overall on the Prep Baseball Draft Board and No. 50 on the D1 Baseball Top 200 college prospects, Shelton proved he can handle everyday duties at shortstop while getting to his power at the plate with 20 more home runs. In just two seasons, the right handed hitter has slugged 45 home runs. Other top soph-eligibles who were not selected include Harrison Didawick (Virginia), Zack StewartB (Missouri State) and Anthony Silva (TCU).

The top talent available on the prep side includes RHPs – Miami recruit David Shields, Tennessee recruit Tegan Kuhns and Virginia recruit Trey Gregory-Alford. It’s not realistic that any of the three will sign, especially Kuhns, but stranger things have happened.

Aaron Fitt: Brady Tygart. It’s fair to harbor concerns about Tygart’s durability, but when healthy he has some of the most exciting stuff in the draft, with truly elite spin rates on his curveball and slider, along with good carry on his mid-90s fastball and some feel for his changeup. It’s a bona fide four-pitch starter’s arsenal, and the feel to spin is special. Tygart ranks No. 82 on our college Top 200, and I think his upside is well worth taking a flier on.

Kendall Rogers: With many of the top college prospects off the board in the Top 10 rounds, my eyes are on Florida infielder Colby Shelton and TCU shortstop Anthony Silva entering the final day of the draft. Both infielders are expected to return to campus unless someone drafts them on Day 3 and decides to get rather creative in trying to sign them. Shelton showed impressive power during the 2024 campaign for the Gators, but could've been much more consistent. As for Silva, he has an elite skill set but didn't exactly have a stellar spring for the Horned Frogs. He could and probably should return for another season to improve his draft stock and signing bonus.

Additional Day 2 Takeaways

DJ Svihlik:  Each year teams are dealt unique circumstances. Draft depth, pick location, organizational strengths & depth are all factors that can drive selections & strategy. For teams picking late in each round, talent decreases at an exponential rate and probable outcomes are less than ideal. To mitigate these risks, late drafting teams carry the burden of building multiple “if/then” strategies that allow them to account for the uncertainty of their options. Leaning into department strengths, is often a strategy that achieves the best results, albeit, sometimes at the expense of impact. Watching the Yankees select seven straight college arms offers a glimpse into what an experienced, self aware, prepared organization can do as they look to maximize draft value.

With many of the best hitters off the board by No. 26 overall, I suspect New York turned to Plan B and leaned right into what they do best: college pitching. Balancing both upside & high floor, New York may have taken advantage of a draft that offered very little college position player depth.

While the circumstances may be different, New York is not the first team to commit to a pitching centric strategy. In a Covid shortened five round draft of 2020, Miami led the way with a “draft what we know” approach selecting six straight arms. With four of six pitchers already reaching the Major Leagues, it appears Miami’s gamble may have paid off. Meanwhile, in 2021, both Los Angeles teams followed suit with the Dodgers committing their first 15 picks to pitching and Anaheim committing their first 20.

With their first two picks still bogged down in A-ball, Dodger’s pick RHP Emmett Sheehan is carrying the Dodgers’ draft load and appears to have been a coup in the sixth round – an example of why Day 2 is critical! Most other selections have been injured or relegated to bullpen duty.

Meanwhile, down the road in Anaheim, the results fell far short of expectations with injuries and bullpen designations weighing down the haul. Only Sam Bachman & Chase Silseth have touched the MLB and neither has provided the type of ceiling that can move the needle.

Navigating the choppy waters of the current pool system is extremely difficult for late drafting teams. Their preparedness & experience are their only defense against lower expected returns. We won’t know for years if New York’s gamble paid off. However, we do know that their history of drafting and developing collegiate arms has been a stalwart within the industry. 2024 may prove to be another example of why experience & adaptability rules for teams picking later down the board.

Shooter: Tennessee just keeps on winning. Sure, there were some expected losses, but the depth of Tony Vitello’s recruiting class and the monumental allure of the program, is likely to have a slew of big names making it to campus. Most notably, RHP Brayden Krenzel (OH) and RHP Tegan Kuhns (PA) look the part as future weekend starters who held considerable top 40 attention heading into the spring. Add to that a physical backstop in C Levi Clark (GA), and the potential to skirt by Day 3 for SS Manny Marin (FL), RHP Anson Siebert (KS), and SS Jay Abernathy (GA), and those are six Top 100 recruits who will still make it to Knoxville.

Recruiting Class Winners:

1. Tennessee
2. FSU
3. LSU (yes, still)
4. Auburn

Rough Days 1 & 2:

1. Wake Forest
2. Texas
3. Virginia
4. Miami

Kendall Rogers: Though Texas will lose righthanded pitcher Lebarron Johnson to the draft, it received huge news early on Monday when All-American shortstop Jalin Flores decided to return to the 40 Acres for another season. Flores has a big-time bat and showed immense defensive improvement up the middle this past season. Flores most definitely had an opportunity to get drafted in the top three rounds, so getting him back to campus is a coup for the Longhorns ... Down the road, there was some optimism in College Station that lefthanded pitcher Ryan Prager might return for another season with a handsome NIL deal. However, those wishes were dashed early on Monday when the Angels selected the Aggies lefty in the third round ... LSU had a rather interesting first two days of the draft. Though it likely lost some key pieces to the draft, including reliever Griffin Herring, who went in the sixth round to the Yankees, prep superstar Cade Arrambide announced late Sunday night he was going to school, shortstop Michael Braswell announced he was returning for another season, and hard-hitting first baseman Jared Jones appears primed to return for another season as well ... 78 percent of the players drafted the first two days hailed from the Division I ranks, with national champion Tennessee leading the way with eight players selected. Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt are next on the list with six players drafted, while Oregon State, Texas A&M and Wake Forest each had five players selected.