2015 Major League Draft Predictions

And the bottom said keeper...so we were both right.

. So, it is relevant to both MLB and the prospects I believe your keepers leagues keep track of. So, again, I'm surprised you don't keep track.

And at least we can agree your keeper leagues involve a bit more work than the average league. Now, can you actually contribute to the thread topic?

And the bottom said keeper...so we were both right.

. So, it is relevant to both MLB and the prospects I believe your keepers leagues keep track of. So, again, I'm surprised you don't keep track.

And at least we can agree your keeper leagues involve a bit more work than the average league. Now, can you actually contribute to the thread topic?

I hope the Mets draft a great player,

that's really all I got.


I know that's not what you want, but given all you posted and my general lack of knowledge on the subject I can't do any better.

As I said earlier, thanks for the distraction, sorry for the derail, hopefully someone will post that can have a conversation with you, but I'm tapped on this subject.

If you think I deserve to be called a troll, guess I can't argue. All I'd say in my defense is lighten up.

"Lighten up" isn't a defense, Niners; it's a criticism. And since you're the one being critical, I will say "lighten up" to you..

And I never said, nor do I think, you are a troll. I just said you were trolling, and you were. No harm, no foul. Let's move on.

OK, I'll take a stab at this. I realize this makes me a sicko.

1. AZ - Tyler Stephenson - a deal's a deal.
2. HOU - Dansby Swanson - Making Correa their 3B of the future.
3. COL - Tyler Jay - everybody seems to have this one. So of course it will be wrong.
4. TEX - Brendan Rogers - Andrus is wearing down, and power is king in Arlington Stadium.
5. HOU - Kyle Tucker - I still think they will be intrigued by a future brother act.
6. MIN - Alex Bregman - Twins need a SS prospect more than a CF one.
7. BOS - Carson Fulmer - They have been linked to this guy since day 1.
8. CHW - Dillon Tate - best available college arm.
9. CHC - Daz Cameron - Cubs can't resist young position players.
10. PHI - Ian Happ - Phillies' OF is atrocious, and this guy could be in the majors in early 2018.
11. CIN - Andrew Benintendi - he's a local kid who went away to college.
12. MIA - Trenton Clark - Like the Cubs, they love them some bats.
13. TAM - Jon Harris - they do a great job of developing pitchers.
14. ATL - Cornelius Randolph - when the best HS bat in the draft is from GA, pencil him in for the Braves.
15. MIL - Brady Aiken - somebody's got to roll the dice, and this tam badly needs an impact arm.
16. NYY - Garrett Whitley - this makes too much sense not to happen.
17. CLE - Mike Nikorak - Tribe has a bunch of early picks, and likely will spend several of them on prep arms.
18. SFG - Kolby Allard - another team that loves to develop prep arms.
19. PIT - Ashe Russell - Pirates love those sinking fastballs.
20. OAK - Walker Buehler joins fellow Vandy alum Sonny Gray.
21. KC - Kevin Newman - could arrive in the KC infield in 2017, while their window to contend is still open.
22. DET - Kyle Funkhouser - great name for a future closer.
23. STL - James Kapriellan - prototypical Cards' pick.
24. LAD - Mike Matuella - they can afford to gamble on an injury risk guy with their farm system.
25. BAL - Thomas Eshelman - when you have a solid defense behind you, and a top tier offense, you just throw strikes.
26. LAA - D.J. Stewart - heavily rumored to be looking at college bats.
27. COL - Nick Plummer - draft college pitchers (Jay) and HS hitters.
28. ATL - Donnie Everett - Prep arm from nearby Clarksville, Tennessee.
29. TOR - Demi Orimloye - best available Canadian.
30. NYY - Nathan Kirby - Yankees have been very good at drafting pitchers lately.
31. SFG - Cody Ponce - and they love college arms, too.
32. PIT - Joe McCarthy - they have been tied to this guy in this slot forever.
33. KC - Alex Young - productive college arm, another guy with a short path to the majors.
34. DET - Riley Ferrell - Tigers love them those college closers. He could be in their pen for the stretch run.
35. LAD - Justin Hooper - 6'-7" LHP's who can hit 97 in HS don't last much longer than this.
36. BAL - Josh Staumont - college arm, 100 MPH, inconsistent command be damned.

Thanks for your cool prediction list, Rburgh. After now having read some mock drafts, I think your predictions will probably be more on target than mine. I definitely think I had Plummer and Funkhauser (yes, a cool name) slated too high. Anyway, your picks look solid, and it's cool we each predict Nikorak going to Cleveland. My only skepticism would be Tucker going that high to Houston and Minnesota taking Bregman after having taken Gordon last year. Of course, at that pick, he's probably the best player available and they could take him anyway. Otherwise, they all look solid, and I look forward to seeing how we did.

I can't claim to know what any other teams are thinking , but LAD will take at #24 either Kolby Allard or Mike Nikorak

Through 22 picks, I have exactly 1 (Tucker) right. Oddly, I have Kevin Newman to the Royals and Ashe Russell to the Pirates - reality was just the opposite.

Well, the first rounds of the draft are over, and I'm happy with both my predictions and my Giants' picks RHP Phil Bickford and 1b Brian Shaw. I nailed 7 out of the first 8 picks, which was cool, but after that the draft got away from me.

The Marlins taking powerful infielder James Naylor, ranked 67th by BA, at 12 and the Angels taking Fresno St. C. Taylor Ward and his questionable bat were the draft's biggest ascent surprises. And Of Daz Cameron was the major dropper. Expected to go as high as 3rd by some, he dropped all the way out of the first round.

Other interesting picks were Cleveland taking Aiken at 17th, and Chicago going for Ian Happ at 9, as they again went above consensus to nab one of the top college bats in the draft after nabbing Kyle Schwarber at 4th last year. The Cubs cache of talented young hitters just got bigger.

One final note: the Astros look like they may fulfill SI's prediction last year of being a World Series winner in the near future. Not only did they score Bregman and Of Tucker in the first round, they also nabbed predicted first rounders Of Daz Cameron and Cal State Fullerton RHP Thomas Eshelman in the CB and 2nd rounds, respectively.

So, with Correa up, they could look forward to Bregman and Moran coming up to help in the infield, Tucker and Cameron helping an already talented outfield of Marisnick, Springer, and Preston Tucker...with one of them, Gattis, or Singleton taking over first. And with Appel looking near ready, they could have a strong pitching staff led by Keuchel, McHugh, McCullers, Appel, and Eshelman.

Wharton MBA grad Jeff Luhnow has definitely done an excellent job since coming over from the Cardinals.

What a difference between the MLB and NHL drafts, that have minor leagues and rarely expect the drafted players be contributors within a few years, and the NBA and NFL drafts, which generate a tremendous amount of publicity and interest for their sports throughout the year, while passing on the costs (and control) of player development onto colleges and universities.