The Major League Baseball draft is quickly approaching. It will take place over three days, beginning on Monday evening. Over the last month I’ve posted several articles that included scouting reports on the top 24 players according to pre-draft rankings from several sources as well as a few players outside of those rankings who have been linked to the Cincinnati Reds.
Today I am going to share my rankings for all of the 24 players that were covered in the previous articles.
I’ve listed the player, their position, their school and some concerns that come with each player.
| Rank | Player | Pos | School | Concerns |
| 1 | Brendan Rodgers | SS | HS – FL | May eventually slide to 2B/3B |
| 2 | Dansby Swanson | SS | Vanderbilt | 36 BB – 37 K this season |
| 3 | Carson Fulmer | RHP | Vanderbilt | Undersized – can he hold up? |
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| Rank | Player | Pos | School | Concerns |
| 4 | Dillon Tate | RHP | UC Santa Barbara | Questionable mechanics |
| 5 | Andrew Benintendi | OF | Arkansas | Is the power breakout in ’15 real? |
| 6 | Kyle Tucker | OF | HS – FL | Big bat, but a corner outfielder |
| 7 | Tyler Stephenson | C | HS – GA | May outgrow C – big bat plays |
| 8 | Trenton Clark | OF | HS – TX | CF – but weakish arm |
| 9 | Phil Bickford | RHP | CC Southern Nevada | low 90s (93-96 past), iffy CH |
| 10 | Kyle Funkhouser | RHP | Louisville | Control issues – 3.7BB/9 is best rate in his college career |
| 11 | Mike Nikorak | RHP | HS – PA | Stamina issues – Control concerns |
| 12 | Garrett Whitley | OF | HS – NY | Late riser – but big tools |
| 13 | Kolby Allard | LHP | HS – CA | Back injury, only 2 starts in 2015 |
| 14 | Tyler Jay | LHP | Illinois | Reliever in college – but 4 pitches could possibly start |
| 15 | Alex Bergman | SS | LSU | 2B in future – unique swing mechanics |
| 16 | Nate Kirby | LHP | Virginia | Less velo in ’15, control wavered at times |
| 17 | Nick Plummer | OF | HS – MI | Scouts are split on if he’s a LF or CF |
| 18 | Ashe Russell | RHP | HS – IN | Control, mechanics, iffy CH |
| 19 | Daz Cameron | OF | HS – GA | Questionable plate discipline, some believe his tools are better than others do. |
| 20 | Cornelius Randolph | 3B | HS – GA | Some questions about whether he winds up at 3B or a corner OF spot |
| 21 | Jon Harris | RHP | Missouri State | Control issues – 3.2 BB/9 this season |
| 22 | Walker Buehler | RHP | Vanderbilt | Low 90s FB that’s straight, 160 lbs – can he hold up? |
| 23 | Ian Happ | OF | Cincinnati | Likely corner outfielder, K concerns |
| 24 | Brady Aiken | LHP | IMG Academy | TJ surgery – longterm concerns from some about whether he can even pitch again |
There’s one big thing that could change these rankings, and it’s all about the guy who is ranked last. Kiley McDaniel at Fangraphs made note that some rumors floating around on Aiken could be career threatening and for me, that leaves him ranked last on the list.
I won’t repeat the specific rumors, but the worst versions of it say there are career-threatening issues at play, while others say it’s merely an increased risk of further injury going forward.
That’s quite concerning in my mind. But, given his history, every team is going to do their due diligence and get a long look at his medical records. He has a huge upside, perhaps as high as anyone in this draft – it just comes with more risk than anyone else as well. If a team feels confident in selecting him despite all of that, he moves up my draft board quite a bit, inside the Top 15 at the very least. But, until that happens, I am too concerned about his elbow and his future.
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