By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

The first day of the 2016 MLB Draft is in the books, with the things getting through Lottery Round B. A total of 77 players were taken, 34 of which were high school prospects. The first 18 players in the PBR Draft 100 all got popped by the 70th pick. As had been forecasted in mock drafts for a while, the Phillies kicked things off by taking OF Mickey Moniak (La Costa Canyon HS, CA). A UCLA recruit, he checked in at No. 3 on the PBR Draft 100 and is an above-average hitter with above-average defense in center field. Here are some thoughts from the first day…

+ Moniak isn’t a prototypical No. 1 pick and I didn’t rank him as the top prospect, but I like the Phillies taking him. He was the top position player for me and I’ve had him slotted there since last summer. There was a lot of uncertainty at the top and Moniak has impact potential of his own. He also will save Philadelphia some money there, as the pick’s slot is more than $9 million. Some of the money they saved there can be used on their second pick, RHP Kevin Gowdy (Santa Barbara HS, CA). Gowdy is also a personal favorite. He’s athletic and projectable with clean, easy mechanics. His stuff doesn’t jump off the page, but he still has growing to do. He’s young in the face so he could be looking at some significant physical maturation down the road. He is also a UCLA recruit, one of three to get picked on the first day.