Here are my summaries and opinions on the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft for all 15 National League teams; I'll write the AL team-by-team breakdown for tomorrow.
As I've stated in previous years, I don't do "winners and losers," a fool's exercise in the baseball draft. Instead, I tell you what I liked and didn't like for each team, and highlight players of note. To see the full Draft Tracker for Rounds 1-10, click here. I've also added a few players taken after the 10th round if they're notable and I think there's a reasonable chance they'll sign.
A few relevant notes:
• The number in parentheses indicates the round in which that player was selected.
• When I refer to "my rankings," I'm referring to my Big Board, my top 100 draft prospects, which can be found here.
• I also wrote about the highlights of Round 1 and Round 2, and Eric Longenhagen had pick-by-pick analysis of Round 1 through the competitive balance Round A, then round-by-round analysis of Rounds 2-10.
• If we have scouting profiles of the player mentioned, his name will link to his profile, written by Eric Longenhagen.
• We use the 20-80 grading scale for all MLB prospects.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona DiamondbacksThe Diamondbacks gave up their first-round pick to sign Zack Greinke, so their first selection was in the comp round, where they took athletic 20-year-old outfielder Anfernee Grier (1A), who started out the spring on fire for Auburn but began to struggle when they started playing conference opponents. He can play center and can run well, but he really has a hard time with quality breaking stuff. … Canadian catcher Andrew Yerzy (2) seemed like a big reach, as his swing doesn't work well -- he comes down at the ball and his bat is often flat through contact -- and his only real defensive asset behind the plate is his arm.
Rice pitcher Jon Duplantier (3) had Day 1 ability, from stuff to athleticism to body, but he missed all of 2015 with a sore shoulder and then was overworked by Rice this year (shocker!), especially in the Conference USA tournament, which scared some teams off. If he stays healthy, though, this could be their best pick of the year. … Right-hander Curtis Taylor (4) from the University of British Columbia, which has produced a lot of draft picks but only one big leaguer in Jeff Francis, is up to 96 mph with some spin but is crude as a pitcher right now; he won't turn 21 for a few more weeks. … Joey Rose (5) is a bad-bodied third baseman with power from Toms River, New Jersey, whom scouts expected to end up at Oklahoma State. … Palm Beach State College lefty Mack Lemieux (6) is an interesting project, a southpaw with the arm strength to get to 92-93 and feel for a curveball, but also a very crude delivery; he lands hard and cuts himself off and could have a lot more upside once pro coaches teach him a more fluid, repeatable delivery. … Texas Tech outfielder Stephen Smith (10) is a good performance pick but is probably a 'tweener in the end, lacking the speed for center or the power to play every day in a corner spot.