MLB Draft, Day 2: Round-by-round highlights

June 5th, 2018

The Tigers began the 2018 MLB Draft on Monday night by selecting Auburn right-hander Casey Mize with the No. 1 overall pick, starting a trend that would see teams select seven college players in the first 10 picks. In total, 78 picks were made on Day 1 of the Draft.
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Selecting first on Day 2, the Tigers once again tapped the college ranks to select University of Texas second baseman Kody Clemens, the youngest son of Roger Clemens, at the outset of the third round.
Round 3 (complete results)
Clemens was one of six players with Major League ties to be taken in the third round, joining Tristan Pompey (Marlins, No. 89), the brother of Blue Jays' outfielder ; Mateo Gil (Cardinals, No. 95), the son of former big leaguer Benji Gil; Terrin Vavra (Rockies, No. 96), the son of the Tigers' quality control coach, Joe; Jeremy Pena (Astros, No. 102), the son of former Major Leaguer Geronimo Pena; and Richard Palacios (Indians, No. 103), whose father, uncle and brother either played or currently play in the professional ranks.
Two of the top remaining players, per MLB Pipeline's Top 200 Draft list, were also selected in the round, as the Orioles nabbed Arkansas righty Blaine Knight (No. 48 on Top 200), a top prospect in 2017 as a Draft-eligible sophomore, and the Blue Jays prep righty Adam Kloffenstein (No. 43). Sluggers Bren Spillane, who led NCAA Division I in slugging (.944) and OPS (1.456) and all D-I Draft-eligible players in homers (22) in the regular season, and prep outfielder Ryder Green, whose raw power is among the best in the class, went to the Reds and Yankees, respectively. The Red Sox, meanwhile, selected Texas Christian right-hander Durbin Feltman, a power-armed reliever who could be among the first from the class to reach the Major Leagues.

Round 4 (complete results)
More big names came off the board in the fourth round, as the Reds popped Pennsylvania prep outfielder Mike Siani, No. 40 on the Top 200, with pick No. 109. The Virginia commit is widely regarded as one of the Draft's premier defensive players and a near lock to remain in center field long term. Stanford junior right-hander Tristan Beck was selected shortly thereafter, going to the Braves with the No. 112 pick after ranking No. 35 on the Top 200, while left-hander Aaron Ashby, the nephew of 14-year big league pitcher Andy Ashby, was taken by Milwaukee with pick No. 125 after he led all Division I JUCO pitchers in strikeouts (156) and strikeout rate (18.8 per nine innings) this spring.

Round 5 (complete results)
The fifth round of the Draft saw 12 players ranked in the Top 200 come off the board. Arizona State outfielder Gage Canning, No. 106 on the Top 200, was one of the two highest-ranked players selected in the round, going to the Nationals with pick No. 161. A three-year starter for the Sun Devils, he showed improvement in each season and was one of the better performers in Division I this spring.
The Rangers added prep shortstop Jayce Easley, a teammate of Cardinals first-rounder Nolan Gorman as well as the son of former big league second baseman Damion Easley, while the Rays made 17-year-old right-hander Taj Bradley the first draftee in Major League history born in 2001 when they selected him with pick No. 150. William English, of Western International HS (Mich.), was taken with the subsequent pick and announced as a two-way player by the Angels -- who, of course, are enjoying the early success of two-way phenom .

Round 6 (complete results)
Teams continued to target potential up-the-middle players, many of whom ranked among the Draft's Top 200 prospects. The Mets added a glove-first catcher from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in Nick Meyer (No. 167 on Top 200), while the Braves followed two picks later with center fielder Andrew Moritz (No. 142), who's poised to win his third straight Southern Conference batting title after hitting .428 as a UNC-Greensboro junior. The Blue Jays and Twins both landed left-handed-hitting shortstops with power potential in Addison Barger (No. 176) and Charles Mack (No. 184), respectively, and the Marlins selected California prep star Cameron Barstad, marking the club's third selection of a catcher in the first six rounds.
The Brewers went with Oregon State right-hander Drew Rasmussen (No. 185), one year after he failed to come to terms with Tampa Bay as the No. 31 overall pick following discrepancies between his pre- and post-Draft MRIs. He ultimately missed all of 2018 after requiring his second Tommy John surgery in September. Cleveland grabbed Florida prep shortstop Raynel Delgado, the highest-ranked player (No. 124) taken in the round, with the second-to-last pick and it was announced that they were drafting the switch-hitter as a third baseman.

Round 7 (complete results)
The White Sox found a prep outfielder with intriguing tools in South Gwinnett (Ga.) High's Cabera Weaver, while the Padres selected a raw but toolsy college player in Rutgers outfielder Jawuan Harris, No. 192 on the Top 200. No. 148 Brett Kinneman, a left-handed-hitting outfielder from N.C. State, was taken by the Pirates with pick No. 204 after a junior season in which he posted a 1.001 OPS with 17 homers and 60 RBIs. No. 136 D.J. Artis, also a left-handed-hitting outfielder, was the highest-ranked player selected in the round, going to the Cubs with pick No. 218. The Royals, meanwhile, took their 10th college player -- and eighth pitcher -- in as many picks when they selected Central Arkansas right-hander Tyler Gray with pick No. 212.
After the first batch of Puerto Rican prospects came off the board in the sixth round, when Yomil Maysonet (Reds), Alexuan Vega (Padres) and Yeancarlos Lleras (Orioles) were selected within a seven-pick span, two more PR products -- Edison Mora (Giants) and Gabriel Cotto (Phillies) -- were selected with the second and third picks of the seventh round.

Round 8 (complete results)
The eighth round brought a run on college players, with all but two of 30 selections coming from either a four-year or junior college program, including 10 seniors. One of the two preps was No. 182-ranked prospect Levi Kelly, a right-hander from IMG Academy (Fla.) whom the D-backs nabbed with pick No. 249.
JJ Schwarz, No. 196 on the Top 200, was the highest-profile player to be selected in the round, with the A's taking him with the 233rd overall pick. The son of former big league pitcher Jeff Schwarz, he looked like a first-round lock after an outstanding freshman season at Florida before inconsistent sophomore and junior campaigns. He does have some tools to catch, though it's Schwarz's robust right-handed power that will be his calling card to the big leagues. Right-hander Joey Gerber, a junior reliever from Illinois, was the only other Top 200 prospect (No. 126) taken in the round, going to Seattle with pick No. 238.
AJ Graffanino, another player with big league ties as the son of former infielder Tony Graffanino, was taken by the Braves after a breakout junior campaign in which he set career highs in all three triple-slash categories. The Red Sox took St. Thomas University switch-hitting catcher Elih Marrero, whose father Eli played parts of 10 seasons in the Majors.

Round 9 (complete results)
Two teams used their ninth-round picks to target high-upside pitchers who had fallen in the Draft. The Phillies made right-hander Dominic Pipkin, No. 92 on the Top 200, one of four preps to be selected in the round. He could be a potential Day 2 Draft steal if the club can sign the highly projectable hurler away from his California commitment.
The Mets grabbed flame-thrower Bryce Montes de Oca three picks later, targeting the Missouri senior for his near-elite fastball and power slider -- a pairing that could help the 6-foot-7 righty on the fast track to the Major Leagues if deployed in a bullpen role. The 138th-ranked prospect in the class, Montes de Oca had Tommy John surgery as a high school junior and then ulnar nerve transposition three years later. He was previously drafted in 2014 (14th round, White Sox) and '17 (15th, Nationals).

Round 10 (complete results)
Picking for the final time on Day 2, the Tigers opened the 10th round by selecting N.C. State's Brock Deatherage, a senior outfielder who set career highs with 14 homers and 16 steals this spring. Altogether, there were 28 college players, including 20 seniors, taken in the final round on Day 2.
Arizona used its last pick of the day on Purdue junior Nick Dalesandro, an intriguing catching prospect with a cannon arm that receives 70 grades from some scouts. He's the son of former big league catcher Mark Dalesandro.