MLB teams
Keith Law, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

2015 MLB draft: NL team-by-team breakdown

Here are my summaries and opinions on the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft for all 15 National League teams; I wrote the AL team-by-team breakdown Wednesday.

As I stated previously, 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, 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.

• If we have scouting profiles of the player mentioned, his name will link to these in-depth profiles, written by Christopher Crawford, Eric Longenhagen and myself.

• We use the 20-80 grading scale for all MLB prospects.


Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks had the first pick and landed one of the best players in the draft, possibly the closest thing we had to a consensus No. 1 in Dansby Swanson (1), the superstar shortstop at Vanderbilt who hits for average and some power and has the agility and arm to profile as an above-average defender at short. After that, their draft was strangely conservative given how much money they had to spend.

TCU lefty Alex Young (2) worked as a starter this year but is more likely a reliever in the long run due to the lack of an above-average pitch and an up-tempo delivery that lacks rhythm. I'd send him out as a starter, though. … Tall right-hander Taylor Clarke (3) had Tommy John surgery two years ago but set a College of Charleston record this year for strikeouts, working with an above-average fastball that lacks life but has good plane due to his high arm slot. That said, he lacks even an average breaking ball, and his arm slot makes it hard to turn over a changeup.

Arizona's next three picks were all current relievers who don't project to move to the rotation, so I'd argue their draft primarily comes down to Dansby and five bullpen pieces. Right-handers Breckin Williams (4) and Ryan Burr (5) are both high-effort relievers right now, with Burr bringing better stuff and Williams better command. Williams is probably better known for his crazy sprint from the bullpen to the mound, which will be great in pro ball until he blows a save. Right-hander Tyler Mark (6) had comical numbers this year as an NAIA closer (70 strikeouts and 9 walks in 51 innings, with a 1.24 ERA), working with an above-average fastball and an average slider. … Meanwhile, UNLV outfielder Joe Armstrong (10) has a chance to be a fourth outfielder in the bigs. … The D-backs started Day 3 with Austin Byler (11), one of the best college seniors in the draft, with some feel to hit and average or slightly better power; and Wesley Rodriguez (12), a portly, hard-throwing right-hander from New York City.

It's hard to say a draft that nets you Dansby Swanson is a disappointing one, but I had higher expectations given the amount of total money Arizona had available to them.


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