MLB teams
Keith Law, ESPN Senior Writer 8y

Law: Giants struck gold with lone Day 1 pick

Some highlights from Thursday night's Round 2 as the 2016 MLB draft continues this afternoon. I'll recap every team's draft over the weekend once we get a handful more rounds in the books.

• The steal of Day 1 might have been the San Francisco Giants' sole selection, Vanderbilt center fielder Bryan Reynolds, a clear first-round talent for me who slipped to No. 59 because of concerns about his swing-and-miss tendencies, as he struck out in 20 percent of his plate appearances this year and 19 percent over his three years at Vandy. Reynolds walks a lot, is an above-average runner and has plus power, and he has a real chance to stay in center thanks to his speed and his instincts.

I am as hard on hitters who swing and miss as anyone, but Reynolds does literally everything else you'd want a hitting prospect to do -- including considerable damage when he does make contact -- and I think his propensity to strike out is a function of working deep counts, not pure hacking. He was 15th on my board thanks to the combination of physical tools and strong performance in the best conference in Division I.


• The Milwaukee Brewers picked fifth, 46th and 75th, and they took the players ranked first, 47th and 74th on my board, so needless to say I think they had the best draft ever.

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