2015 Year in Review: College | PG Events | High School
10. Marquee PG events provide draft preview
The 2014 Perfect Game National Showcase and the nationally televised PG All-American Classic once again provided an early look ahead to the top high school players eligible for the corresponding draft year.
Nineteen of the players selected among the 75 selections on the first day (top two rounds) of the 2015 MLB Draft had attended the 2014 PG All-American Classic, including the three high school players taken within the top 10 overall picks; Brendan Rodgers (3rd overall, Rockies), Kyle Tucker (5th, Astros) and Cornelius Randolph (10th, Phillies).
Twenty-three total former Classic participants were selected during that same time when you factor in the college draftees, including the No. 2 overall pick, Alex Bregman, as well as Perfect Game’s 2015 College Baseball Pitcher of the Year, Carson Fulmer. Both Bregman and Fulmer attended the 2011 Classic.
Twenty-four of the players selected on Day 1 of the draft attended the 2014 National Showcase, including Rodgers, Tucker and Randolph, and 11 more players (35 total) that were drafted out of college that previously attended a National Showcase event.
Overall 64 of the 75 players (85 percent) on the first day (top two rounds) of the 2015 MLB Draft had previously attended a Perfect Game event, including the No. 1 overall pick, Dansby Swanson.
9. Winston goes No. 1, in the NFL
Jameis Winston, a 2011 Perfect Game All-American who was drafted in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, went first overall in the 2015 NFL Draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Winston, who was rated 48th nationally in the high school class of 2012 by Perfect Game, was long lauded for not only his five-tool talents, but also his two-sport profile.
Winston, a switch-hitting outfielder and righthanded pitcher from Hueytown, Ala., recorded a 6.59 60-yard dash time at the 2011 National Showcase in addition to throwing 93 mph from the outfield and 92 mph off the mound. Winston appeared in three prominent PG tournament events during the same summer with Team Alabama, including both the 17u and 18u WWBA National Championships.
After red-shirting during his freshman year at Florida State Winston led the Seminoles to an undefeated season and national championship during the 2013 season, which led to him claiming the Heisman Trophy. At 19-years of age Winston was the youngest player to ever win the Heisman Trophy and the third Florida State quarterback (Charlie Ward, 1993; Chris Weinke, 2000).
One thing Winston shared in common with both Ward and Weinke was their multi-sport talents. Ward enjoyed a 10-year career in the NBA as a point guard, mostly with the Knicks, and was also drafted twice by MLB teams even though he never played professional baseball. Weinke was a second round pick by the Blue Jays in 1990 and spent six years in the minor leagues before attending FSU to play football.
Winston did play baseball for the Seminoles in addition to his time spent on the gridiron, logging 158 at-bats between the 2013-14 seasons while also making 41 relief appearances. With a mid-90s fastball and wicked slider he recorded seven saves and posted a 1.08 ERA during the 2014 season.
8. Majority of first rounders sign
For the first time since 2008 every single first-round pick, prior to the compensatory selections at the end of the round, signed with the team that drafted them. Louisville righthander Kyle Funkhouser, who was selected 35th overall by the Dodgers – a compensatory selection awarded to Los Angeles after Hanley Ramirez signed with the Red Sox during the 2014-15 offseason – was the first player drafted who did not sign.
Two second round picks (Brady Singer, 56th overall, Blue Jays; Jonathan Hughes, 68th, Orioles) and one supplemental second rounder (Kyle Cody, 73rd, Twins) also did not sign, netting each of those teams a compensatory selection one slot after their 2015 slot in the 2016 MLB Draft.
The Houston Astros received a compensatory selection in the 2015 draft, the second overall pick, after they were unable to sign Brady Aiken, who went first overall, the previous year.
In 2014 the Blue Jays received a compensatory selection, the 11th overall pick, after they were unable to sign Phil Bickford as the 10th overall selection the year before.
The year before that the Astros selected Mark Appel first overall after the Pirates were unable to sign him as the eighth overall selection in the 2012 draft.
Tyler Beede (21st overall, Blue Jays), Karsten Whitson (9th, Padres) and Matt Purke (14th, Rangers) were the highest unsigned picks from the 2011, 2010 and 2009 drafts respectively. All three went on to enjoy successful collegiate careers at Vanderbilt, Florida and TCU as Beede was taken in the first round for a second time (14th overall) in the 2015 draft by the San Francisco Giants.
7. Injuries make an impact
Several key injuries to players expected to be in the mix for the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft had an impact on where they were eventually selected.
Duke righthander Michael Matuella, who entered the spring of 2015 as a candidate to go first overall, tore his UCL and opted to have Tommy John surgery in early April. The Rangers took Matuella with the third pick in the third round of the draft and signed him for first round money ($2 million).
Nathan Kirby, who entered the 2015 season as the ace of the eventual national champion Virginia Cavaliers, missed over a month to close out the regular season due to a lat strain and mononucleosis. Kirby returned to pitch in two games during the College World Series, including a two-inning relief stint in which he struck out five batters to secure Virginia’s national championship. He fell to the 40th pick of the draft (Brewers) and signed for $1.25 million. However he was shut down over the summer when it was determined he too would require Tommy John surgery.
Brady Aiken’s highly anticipated debut for IMG Academy was cut short in mid-March, and within a week he also underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a ligament in his pitching elbow. In 2014 Aiken was the first overall pick and reportedly agreed to sign with the Astros for $6.5 million. The Astros retracted that offer when an abnormality in an elbow ligament was discovered. The Indians took a chance on Aiken with the 17th overall pick in the 2015 draft and signed him for just over $2.5 million.
The MVP of the 2014 Perfect Game All-American Classic, lefthander Kolby Allard, missed significant time during the spring due to a stress reaction in his back, but made a strong enough impression early in the spring for him to still be taken 14th overall by the Braves. Prior to the injury Allard was putting his name in the conversation for the top five overall picks, and signed for just over $3 million. He returned during the summer to make three appearances spanning six scoreless innings in which he appeared to pick up where he left off, allowing only one hit while striking out 12 batters.
A pair of college hurlers who had first-round aspirations, Houston’s Jake Lemoine and Texas A&M’s A.J. Minter, both missed most of the 2015 season due to injury. Lemoine, a righthander, was shut down with a shoulder impingement yet was still drafted by the Texas Rangers and signed as the third pick in the fourth round. Minter, a lefthander, underwent Tommy John surgery after only four starts in 2015 yet still signed with the Braves as a Competitive Draft Lottery Round B (supplemental second round) pick.
PG All-American Kep Brown suffered a torn achilles in April that ended his season and clouded his draft status. The Cardinals took a flyer on Brown in the 10th round but were unable to sign him, as he will be playing for Spartanburg Methodist, a junior college in his home state of South Carolina, thus making him draft eligible again in 2016.
6. Vanderbilt trio goes in first round
As noted by Mike Rooney in Monday’s 2015 College Baseball Year in Review feature Dansby Swanson, Carson Fulmer and Walker Buehler became just the fifth trio of college teammates to be taken in the first round of the draft. Swanson and Fulmer were named Perfect Game’s Player and Pitcher of the Year for the 2015 season and were selected first and eighth overall respectively by the Diamondbacks and White Sox.
Everything came together for Swanson during the 2015 season, who was named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2014 College World Series for the champion Commodores. Although Vanderbilt fell just short of repeating as champs in 2015 Swanson certainly did his part hitting .335 with 45 extra-base hits (24 doubles, 6 triples, 15 home runs) with 64 driven in, 16 stolen bases and only eight errors committed at shortstop.
Swanson was recently traded to the Braves in return for righthanded starter Shelby Miller.
Fulmer, the ace of the staff, went 14-2 with a 1.83 ERA in 19 starts, which included three complete games and 167 strikeouts in 127 2/3 innings of work. Buehler, who was taken 24th overall by the Dodgers, went 5-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 16 starts.
Michigan (1979; Rick Leach, Steve Howe and Steve Perry), Fresno State (1989; Steve Hosey, Eddie Zosky, Tom Goodwin), Rice (2004; Phil Humber, Jeff Niemann, Wade Townsend), and Miami (2008; Yonder Alonso, Jemile Weeks, Carlos Gutierrez) are the other four schools to have a trio of teammates taken in the first round of the draft in the same year.
5. Aiken, Bickford repeat as first rounders
Brady Aiken, as detailed above, wasn’t the only player to repeat as a first-round pick despite the injury he sustained during the spring of 2015.
Phil Bickford, the 10th overall pick from the 2013 drafted out of high school, opted to forego his professional career at the time to honor his commitment to Cal State Fullerton. Bickford enjoyed a very successful freshman campaign for the Titans, going 6-3 with a 2.13 ERA in 76 innings while splitting his 20 appearances between a starting role and as a reliever. Bickford then went on to enjoy a dominant summer on the Cape and was named PG’s 2014 Summer Collegiate Player of the Year.
Shortly after that, however, Bickford opted to transfer to a junior college to make him eligible for the draft a year earlier than expected. He ended up at the College of Southern Nevada where he once again dominated, going 9-1 with a 1.45 ERA and an astounding 166-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 86 2/3 innings. That led to him being selected 18th overall by the Giants and signed for over $2.3 million.
Tyler Beede (2011 and 2014) and Gerrit Cole (2008, 2011) are other notable players – who were also PG All-Americans – who were drafted two times in the first round in recent years.
4. Big movers define early picks
The early part of the first round of the draft was defined by players who entered the year as well-known talents that took their respective games to another level, thus elevating their draft stock and eventual selection. The most notable of said players was Dillon Tate, previously a shutdown closer who who converted to the UC Santa Barbara ace shortly before the season began. Tate wasted no time in becoming the talk of Friday nights, routinely displayed his lightning fast arm that produced mid- to upper-90s fastballs and a wipeout slider, which prompted the Rangers to take him fourth overall.
Tyler Jay, a similarly live-armed college pitcher, lived mostly out of the bullpen for a surprise Illinois program that finished the 2015 season ranked seventh in Perfect Game’s final ranking of the top 25 teams. Jay’s talents, like those of Tate, were well known heading into the year, but his sustained success, and mid-90s heat from the left side, pushed him up draft board all spring on his way to becoming the sixth overall pick by the Twins.
Jay went 5-2 with 14 saves and a 1.08 ERA in 30 appearances, two of which were starts, allowing just 40 hits and seven walks in 66 2/3 innings while striking out 76 to cap his All-American season.
Arkansas’ Andrew Benintendi was taken one pick after Jay by the Red Sox, and was named the Golden Spikes Award recipient after carrying the Razorbacks to Omaha by producing a gaudy .376/.488/.717 triple slash line while recording a rare 20-20 season (20 home runs, 24 stolen bases). While Tate and Jay both entered the season as possible first-round picks Benintendi wasn’t even listed among the top 250 players eligible for the 2015 draft when Perfect Game released their preliminary list in November of 2014.
The same can be said of Tyler Stephenson who ended up being taken 11th overall by the Reds. With a power/power profile, thanks to his hulking size and cannon for a right arm, Stephenson posted huge numbers for Kennesaw Mountain High School all spring as his draft profile seemed to elevate significantly on a daily basis.
Big seasons at the plate, and in the field, also let to college shortstops Kevin Newman and Kyle Holder, as well as outfielder Donnie Dewees, being drafted much higher than initially anticipated.
Newman, who was drafted 19th overall by the Pirates, hit .370 with 22 stolen bases for Arizona while providing rock-solid defense up the middle. His double-play partner for the Wildcats, Scott Kingery, also enjoyed a big year (.392/.423/.561) on his way to be taken by the Phillies in the second round.
Holder was considered one of the best pure shortstops available in the draft thanks to his athleticism and quick-twitch actions, and proved enough at the plate (.348/.418/.482) to garner a first-round selection by the Yankees (30th overall). Dewees posted huge numbers that rivaled Benintendi’s (.422/.483/.749 with 23 stolen bases) on his way to being taken by the Cubs with their second-round pick (47th overall).
3. Astros go big, again
Similar to the strategy they employed in the 2012 draft the Houston Astros once again had what looks to be a big draft on paper. After they were unable to sign Brady Aiken from the year before the Astros had the largest assigned draft bonus pool, over $17 million, which was over $3 million more than the second highest pool (Colorado Rockies, just under $14 million).
With five picks among the top 80 overall selections the Astros once again loaded up, saving money with their first two picks to be able to make a huge splash with one of their later selections. They used their first pick, the second overall selection, to take LSU shortstop Alex Bregman, who they signed for just under $6 million. Their next two picks, prep outfielders and PG All-American teammates Kyle Tucker and Daz Cameron, each received a $4 million bonus. What makes that especially impressive is the fact that Tucker was taken fifth overall and Cameron 37th.
Two more of their picks – righthanded pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Riley Ferrell – also received seven-figure bonuses. The Astros also signed PG All-American lefthander Patrick Sandoval for $900,000 as an 11-round pick, and signed seven other players taken after the 10th round to six-figure bonuses.
The Astros 2015 draft haul, as noted, is very reminiscent to the players, and tactics, employed in 2012 when took the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa first overall. With the money they saved on Correa the Astros were able to lock up their supplemental first round pick, righthanded pitcher Lance McCullers, for $2.5 million, as well as their fourth-round selection, third baseman Rio Ruiz, for $1.85 million.
McCullers is coming off of a promising rookie season while Ruiz was included in a package to acquire Evan Gattis from the Braves during the 2014-15 offseason.
2. Shortstops go 1-2-3
The 2015 MLB Draft proved to be deep at arguably the most valuable defensive position on the field, shortstop. While the first three picks of the 2015 draft were indeed shortstops five other players at the position were also taken in the first round.
Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman and Brendan Rodgers were all in the mix to go first overall to the Diamondbacks, who eventually determined that Swanson was the best combination of current polish with future projection. Bregman and Rodgers went with the next two picks to the Astros and Rockies respectively, and the trio collectively earned $17.9 million in signing bonuses.
This marked the first time in the history of the draft that shortstops went with each of the first three picks. In 1982 shortstops were taken with the first two overall selections (Shawon Dunston and Augie Schmidt) while Swanson became the first college shortstop to go first overall since Bill Almon in 1974.
PG All-American Cornelius Randolph, who moved to left field after the Phillies selected him with the 10th overall pick, enjoyed a promising pro debut after signing for over $3.2 million. Kevin Newman and Kyle Holder, as detailed above, went 19th and 30th overall to the Pirates and Yankees respectively. Florida shortstop Richie Martin went 20th overall to the Athletics, while yet another PG All-American infielder, Ryan Mountcastle, was selected 36th overall by the Orioles.
1. Recent draftees make big MLB impact
The biggest draft-related story from 2015 surrounds the rapid ascent of several notable recent draftees and the instant impact they made for their respective ballclubs.
Carlos Correa as noted above was named the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year for the Houston Astros, less than three years since he was taken first overall in the 2012 draft. Correa hit .279 with 22 home runs and 68 RBI for the playoff bound Astros that knocked out the New York Yankees in the one-game wildcard round. Correa made his debut at 20 years of age.
Correa’s Astros teammate, fellow 2012 draftee and 2011 PG All-American Lance McCullers, also made a big impact during his rookie year. In 22 starts the young flamethrower went 6-7 with a 3.22 ERA, striking out 129 and walking just 43 in 125 2/3 innings.
Two other teammates also had big seasons for the Cubs, the National League Rookie of the Year, Kris Bryant, and Kyle Schwarber. Bryant hit .275 with 26 home runs and 99 RBI for the upstart Cubs, as Bryant and Schwarber created an intimidating middle of the lineup for the North Siders – along with first baseman Anthony Rizzo – that was nearly impossible to pitch around without one of them causing damage.
Schwarber added 16 more bombs, many in dramatic, game-ending fashion, in just 69 games, getting his call to the big leagues just over a year after being taken fourth overall in the 2014 draft. Bryant went second overall in 2013.
On the South Side of Chicago Carlos Rodon forced his way into the White Sox’ rotation by the third week in April, less than a year after he was taken third overall in the 2014 draft. Rodon also made an immediate impact, going 9-6 with a 3.75 ERA in 26 appearances, 23 of which were starts.
Outfielder Michael Conforto, the 10th overall pick from the 2014 draft, gave the Mets a big boost of power during their unexpected march to the World Series. Conforto hit nine home runs and slugged .506 in 56 regular season games before adding another three bombs in the playoffs, including two in one game versus the Royals in Game 4 of the World Series.
Aaron Nola, another early pick from the 2014 draft, also made a successful debut in 2015, going 6-2 in 13 starts to close out the season for the Phillies.
Household names Mike Trout, the MVP of the 2015 All-Star Game, and Bryce Harper, the 2015 National League MVP, are still under 25 years of age. The same is true for two rising stars that play third base, Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado. Gerrit Cole recently turned 25 years old while Rizzo, Jason Heyward, Eric Hosmer, Giancarlo Stanton and Madison Bumgarner all recently turned 26. Francisco Lindor, the runner-up for the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year award, is just 22.
In other words, the future in baseball remains bright as some of the game’s best players seem to be racing toward the big leagues after being drafted into the sport.