The Braves are finally home after a lengthy 4-5 road trip and now start through sets against the entire NL East. But we don’t really care about that today.
ONE WEEK from today, the Atlanta Braves will be making their first selection in the 2017 Rule 4 draft. We’ve written a lot in these pages about the topic, and indeed the penultimate edition of Mock Draft Monday is coming this afternoon.
For your reference in the meantime, here’s last week’s edition.
But today, I’m not looking at the Braves (okay, mostly not the Braves)… I’m looking at those coming before them in the draft order.
Let’s start up top:
Minnesota Twins
It looks increasingly likely that the Twins will not be taking flame-throwing right-hander Hunter Greene with the 1-1 pick – their first in this position since taking Joe Mauer here in 2001. That’s the view from CBS Sports this morning.
They cite FanRag’s Jon Heyman for that info, which lead to the next question: so who are they taking? Heyman answers that… kind of:
"The choice seems to have come down to Vanderbilt pitcher Kyle Wright, Louisville pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay and San Juan Capistrano Junipero Serra shortstop Royce Lewis, with rivals suggesting they see Wright as the most likely of the three."
So ranking the likelihood of their choice: Wright, McKay (as a pitcher), and Lewis in that order.
No one has ever taken a high school RHP 1-1 in the draft. That’s a bit surprising, but don’t expect that the Twins will be the organization to break that mold… it’s not their style.
With their needs, Minnesota is much more likely to cut a deal with one of their favorites on the draft board and use the savings to go deep into talent through the first 10 rounds.
EXPECTED ODDS: 90% THEY DON’T TAKE GREENE; 50% WRIGHT; 30% McKAY; 10% LEWIS; 10% OTHERS.
Cincinnati Reds
WCPO/9 reporter John Fay thinks the answer for the Reds is pretty clear:
"Reds Scouting Director Chris Buckley says the team is still pondering its top draft pick."
…which is kind of the obligatory statement… but then Fay editorially adds…
"How in the name of Branch Rickey do you not pick that kid? The [Sports Illustrated] article spends a lot time explaining what a great person Greene is off the field."
If there is a single spot in these first five picks that is the Wikileaks pick (the secret everybody knows), it’s this one.
That said, BaseballAmerica suggested on Memorial Day weekend that the Reds were starting to lean toward McKay. Unless that’s a feint, of course.
EXPECTED ODDS: 67% GREENE; 23% MCKAY; 5% MACKENZIE GORE; 5% SOMEONE ELSE.