Things didn’t get quite as crazy expected, but it was certainly an interesting first day of the 2019 MLB Draft. To no one’s surprise, C Adley Rutschman (Oregon State) went first to the Orioles, SS Bobby Witt Jr. (Colleyville Heritage HS, TX) went second to the Royals, 1B Andrew Vaughn (California) went third to the White Sox and OF J.J. Bleday (Vanderbilt) went fourth to the Marlins—exactly how they were lined up on the PBR Draft Board. It took until the seventh pick for a pitcher to be taken when the Reds selected LHP Nick Lodolo (Texas Christian).

As we had in our mock draft, the Twins took 3B Keoni Cavaco (Eastlake HS, CA), one of the spring’s biggest risers. OF Corbin Carroll (Lakeside School, WA) slid to 16, where the Diamondbacks started their big day. It’s hard not to like a draft that starts with seven picks in the first 75, but Arizona got tremendous value in Carroll, LHP Blake Walston (New Hanover HS, NC) at 26 and RHP Brennan Malone (IMG Academy) at 33 before shifting to college guys. They took RHP Drey Jameson (Ball State) at 34, RHP Ryne Nelson (Oregon) at 56, LHP Tommy Henry (Michigan) at 74 and OF Dominic Fletcher (Arkansas) at 75.

Obviously, picking at No. 1 gave the Orioles the best prospect in the class, but they got another first-round talent in SS Gunnar Henderson (Morgan Academy, AL) with their second-round pick at 42nd overall before adding OF Kyle Stowers (Stanford) at 71.

I really like the value of Malone at 33 and Henderson at 42, but the Dodgers getting RHP Jimmy Lewis (Lake Travis HS, TX) was big too. Lewis could’ve easily gone at the end of the first round or soon after, but he had a heavy workload this spring and has missed a couple starts recently. Los Angeles made a statement closing the first day with him. On that note, it was a dagger for Louisiana State. The Tigers likely had written off getting RHP Daniel Espino (Georgia Premier Academy, GA), who the Indians took at 24, and 3B Rece Hinds (IMG Academy, FL), the Reds second-round pick at 49, but as things progressed they may have had some growing optimism about Lewis. They’ll probably have their eye on the early picks Tuesday to see if any other recruits pop up.

Texas A&M also got crushed, but that wasn’t unexpected. RHPs J.J. Goss (Cy Ranch HS, TX), Matthew Thompson (Cy Ranch HS, TX) and Josh Wolf (St. Thomas HS, TX) went 36th, 45th and 53rd respectively.

Florida has made out pretty well, losing only OF Riley Greene (Hagerty HS, FL) so far. It’s possible the Gators might lose another guy or two, but you can almost guarantee they’ll get RHP Matt Allan (Seminole HS, FL) and LHP Hunter Barco (Bolles School, FL) at this point. They’re ranked 15th and 36th respectively.

Nobody will shed a tear for Vanderbilt, but they likely had hopes of holding onto SS Anthony Volpe (Delbarton School, NJ), RHP Kendall Williams (IMG Academy, FL) or OF Tre Fletcher (Deering HS, ME). They’ll still get RHP Jack Leiter (Delbarton School, NJ), LHP/1B Spencer Jones (La Costa Canyon HS, CA), RHP Michael Doolin (Andrean HS, IN) and SS Carter Young (Selah HS, WA).

For more on the college players selected, check out David Seifert's notebook at D1Baseball.com.

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