The 2019 MLB Draft begins a week from Memorial Day, Monday, June 3rd, at 4pm Pacific. Reprising a grand old Halos Heaven tradition begun in 2014, we bring you the Halos Heaven Big Board, our pseudo-scientific attempt to bring you a stack-ranked list of the top talent available from the high school and collegiate ranks in this year’s draft. See a sample of previous years here: 2015, 2016, 2017.
Version 1.0 of the Board is a weighted average drawn from 12 sources, including the talent rankings of Baseball America, ESPN, MLB and Fangraphs, plus eight mock drafts from the likes of Law, Mayo, Callis, Ellis, CBS, FG, BA, et al. These are the gents that sweat the radar guns, squint at video, and boogie with crosscheckers across the Americas. As we are averaging a combination of pure talent rankings and predictive mocks, you can get a sense of the zones of possibility around the Angels’ first three picks (#15, 55, 92), and let reasonable conversations begin about whether the team has seized an opportunity or let one slip by once the names are called in. We’ll update the list the weekend prior to the Draft in order to reflect final public mocks.
As we say every year, these aren’t our predictions! It’s an attempt to synthesize the “best player available” (more thoughts on that here) from a chorus of experts, and a way to follow along as 30 organizational strategies play out in real time. There are always names that slide down the board at the last moment (hello Sean Newcomb! hello Griffin Canning!), as some teams work out deals with young players ahead of time, and front offices are aware of bonus demands and medical reports that the average fan is not.
A few thoughts follow below the board, but give it a look over and let’s chat in the comment thread about where Matt Swanson, Billy Eppler and team might take the organization this June.
2019 MLB Draft: Consensus Rankings
Slot | Team | Player | Position | Level / School | Raw Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Slot | Team | Player | Position | Level / School | Raw Rank |
1 | Baltimore Orioles | Adley Rutschman | C | Oregon State | 1.00 |
2 | Kansas City Royals | Bobby Witt Jr. | SS | Colleyville (Texas) Heritage HS | 2.09 |
3 | Chicago White Sox | Andrew Vaughn | 1B | California | 3.55 |
4 | Miami Marlins | CJ Abrams | SS | Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.) HS | 3.91 |
5 | Detroit Tigers | JJ Bleday | OF | Vanderbilt | 5.18 |
6 | San Diego Padres | Riley Greene | OF | Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.) HS | 5.55 |
7 | Cincinnati Reds | Nick Lodolo | LHP | Texas Christian | 7.45 |
8 | Texas Rangers | Hunter Bishop | OF | Arizona State | 8.18 |
9 | Atlanta Braves | Bryson Stott | SS | Nevada-Las Vegas | 11.09 |
10 | San Francisco Giants | Alek Manoah | RHP | West Virginia | 11.18 |
11 | Toronto Blue Jays | Jackson Rutledge | RHP | San Jacinto (Texas) JC | 12.27 |
12 | New York Mets | Shea Langeliers | C | Baylor | 13.45 |
13 | Minnesota Twins | Zack Thompson | LHP | Kentucky | 13.45 |
14 | Philadelphia Phillies | Corbin Carroll | OF | Lakeside HS, Seattle | 13.91 |
15 | Los Angeles Angels | Matthew Allan | RHP | Seminole HS, Sanford, Fla. | 14.55 |
16 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Brett Baty | 3B | Lake Travis HS, Austin | 16.09 |
17 | Washington Nationals | Josh Jung | 3B | Texas Tech | 17.55 |
18 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Quinn Priester | RHP | Cary-Grove HS, Cary, Ill. | 19.45 |
19 | St. Louis Cardinals | George Kirby | RHP | Elon | 19.55 |
20 | Seattle Mariners | Brennan Malone | RHP | IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. | 20.55 |
21 | Atlanta Braves | Logan Davidson | SS | Clemson | 21.55 |
22 | Tampa Bay Rays | Will Wilson | SS | North Carolina State | 22.40 |
23 | Colorado Rockies | Michael Busch | OF/1B | North Carolina | 23.91 |
24 | Cleveland Indians | Gunnar Henderson | SS | Morgan Academy, Selma, Ala. | 24.36 |
25 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Kameron Misner | OF | Missouri | 26.45 |
26 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Keoni Cavaco | 3B | Eastlake HS, Chula Vista, Calif. | 26.50 |
27 | Chicago Cubs | Daniel Espino | RHP | Georgia Premier Academy, Statesboro, Ga. | 26.73 |
28 | Milwaukee Brewers | Kody Hoese | 3B | Tulane | 27.91 |
29 | Oakland Athletics | JJ Goss | RHP | Cypress Ranch HS, Houston | 28.00 |
30 | New York Yankees | Jack Leiter | RHP | Delbarton HS, Morristown, N.J. | 29.67 |
31 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Maurice Hampton | OF | Memphis University HS | 29.75 |
32 | Houston Astros | Braden Shewmake | SS | Texas A&M | 30.17 |
33 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Seth Johnson | RHP | Campbell | 32.50 |
34 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Tyler Callihan | 3B | Providence HS, Jacksonville | 33.33 |
35 | Miami Marlins | Hunter Barco | LHP | Bolles HS, Jacksonville | 34.67 |
36 | Tampa Bay Rays | Brooks Lee | SS | San Luis Obispo (Calif.) HS | 35.80 |
37 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Anthony Volpe | SS | Delbarton HS, Morristown, N.J. | 37.60 |
38 | New York Yankees | Matthew Lugo | SS | Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy, Florida, P.R. | 38.00 |
39 | Minnesota Twins | Nasim Nunez | SS | Collins Hill HS, Suwanee, Ga. | 38.80 |
40 | Tampa Bay Rays | Greg Jones | SS | UNC-Wilmington | 40.00 |
41 | Texas Rangers | Matt Canterino | RHP | Rice | 40.50 |
42 | Baltimore Orioles | Blake Walston | LHP | New Hanover HS, Wilmington, N.C. | 40.80 |
43 | Boston Red Sox | Rece Hinds | 3B | IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. | 41.00 |
44 | Kansas City Royals | Josh Wolf | RHP | St. Thomas HS, Houston | 42.00 |
45 | Chicago White Sox | Chase Strumpf | 2B | UCLA | 42.25 |
46 | Miami Marlins | Logan Wyatt | 1B | Louisville | 43.33 |
47 | Detroit Tigers | Sammy Siani | OF | Penn Charter HS, Philadelphia | 44.00 |
48 | San Diego Padres | Isaiah Campbell | RHP | Arkansas | 46.50 |
49 | Cincinnati Reds | Kyren Paris | SS | Freedom HS, Oakley, Calif. | 47.20 |
50 | Texas Rangers | Drey Jameson | RHP | Ball State | 47.67 |
51 | San Francisco Giants | Jimmy Lewis | RHP | Lake Travis HS, Austin | 47.75 |
52 | Toronto Blue Jays | Bryce Osmond | RHP | Jenks (Okla.) HS | 48.00 |
53 | New York Mets | Kendall Williams | RHP | IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. | 48.00 |
54 | Minnesota Twins | John Doxakis | LHP | Texas A&M | 48.67 |
55 | Los Angeles Angels | Michael Toglia | 1B/OF | UCLA | 50.00 |
56 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Tommy Henry | RHP | Michigan | 53.00 |
57 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Ethan Small | LHP | Mississippi State | 54.50 |
58 | St. Louis Cardinals | Matt Wallner | OF/RHP | Southern Mississippi | 55.00 |
59 | Seattle Mariners | Andrew Dalquist | RHP | Redondo Union HS, Redondo Beach, Calif. | 57.67 |
60 | Atlanta Braves | Davis Wendzel | 3B | Baylor | 58.00 |
61 | Tampa Bay Rays | Matthew Thompson | RHP | Cypress Ranch HS, Houston | 59.00 |
62 | Colorado Rockies | Jerrion Ealy | OF | Jackson (Miss.) Prep HS | 62.50 |
63 | Cleveland Indians | Noah Song | RHP | Navy | 63.00 |
64 | Chicago Cubs | Ethan Hearn | C | Mobile (Ala.) Christian HS | 64.00 |
65 | Milwaukee Brewers | Josh Smith | SS | Louisiana State | 64.00 |
66 | Oakland Athletics | Brady McConnell | SS | Florida | 65.00 |
67 | New York Yankees | Drew Mendoza | 3B | Florida State | 65.50 |
68 | Houston Astros | Evan Fitterer | RHP | Aliso Niguel HS, Aliso Viejo, Calif. | 65.50 |
69 | Boston Red Sox | Spencer Jones | LHP | La Costa Canyon HS, Carlsbad, Calif. | 65.67 |
70 | Kansas City Royals | Jack Kochanowicz | RHP | Harriton HS, Rosemont, Pa. | 66.50 |
71 | Baltimore Orioles | Will Holland | SS | Auburn | 67.00 |
72 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Yordys Valdes | SS | McArthur HS, Hollywood, Fla. | 67.33 |
73 | San Diego Padres | Ryan Pepiot | RHP | Butler | 68.33 |
74 | Arizona Diamondbacks | TJ Sikkema | LHP | Missouri | 69.00 |
75 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Ryan Zeferjahn | RHP | Kansas | 70.00 |
76 | Seattle Mariners | Matt Cronin | LHP | Arkansas | 72.00 |
77 | Colorado Rockies | Trejyn Fletcher | OF | Deering HS, Portland, Maine | 74.50 |
78 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Riley Cornelio | RHP | Pine Creek HS, Colorado Springs | 77.00 |
79 | Baltimore Orioles | Graeme Stinson | LHP | Duke | 77.50 |
80 | Kansas City Royals | Nick Quintana | 3B | Arizona | 79.50 |
81 | Chicago White Sox | Erik Miller | LHP | Stanford | 83.50 |
82 | Miami Marlins | Ryne Nelson | RHP | Oregon | 84.50 |
83 | Detroit Tigers | Brandon Williamson | LHP | Texas Christian | 85.00 |
84 | San Diego Padres | Will Rigney | RHP | Midway HS, Waco, Texas | 86.00 |
85 | Cincinnati Reds | Zack Hess | RHP | Louisiana State | 86.00 |
86 | Texas Rangers | Cameron Cannon | 3B/2B | Arizona | 87.00 |
87 | San Francisco Giants | Will Robertson | OF | Creighton | 88.50 |
88 | Toronto Blue Jays | Tyler Baum | RHP | North Carolina | 89.00 |
89 | New York Mets | Christian Cairo | SS | Calvary Christian HS, Clearwater, Fla. | 90.00 |
90 | Minnesota Twins | Kyle Stowers | OF | Stanford | 90.50 |
91 | Philadelphia Phillies | Chris Newell | OF | Malvern (Pa.) Prep HS | 91.00 |
92 | Los Angeles Angels | Ryan Garcia | RHP | UCLA | 93.50 |
93 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Cade Doughty | 3B | Denham Springs (La.) HS | 94.50 |
94 | Washington Nationals | Brett Thomas | RHP | Riverwood HS, Atlanta | 96.00 |
95 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Dominic Fletcher | OF | Arkansas | 99.00 |
96 | St. Louis Cardinals | Dasan Brown | OF | Abbey Park HS, Oakville, Ont. | 100.00 |
97 | Seattle Mariners | Alec Marsh | RHP | Arizona State | 100.00 |
98 | Atlanta Braves | Zach Watson | OF | Louisiana State | 101.00 |
99 | Tampa Bay Rays | Ryan Jensen | RHP | Fresno State | 104.50 |
100 | Colorado Rockies | Aaron Schunk | 3B | Georgia | 105.00 |
The fun part of this version of the Big Board is that it resulted in a rather uncanny outcome. If the Angels were to follow this board to a tee, and each of the names at their selection slots are available when the Adam Kennedy comes to the podium, the Angels would take the top prep pitcher in the draft class (Matthew Allen), alongside two polished college players from Los Angeles – UCLA’s best starting pitcher and their best position player.
Matthew Allen is the name most frequently associated with the Angels in the first round among the sources that went into this consensus estimate. He’s a big arm with big fastball, a frontline ceiling and three plus pitches. Choosing a prep arm with the first selection generally makes me nervous AF, but this draft features one of the weakest college pitching crops in the past couple decades, so pickings may be thin by the time the Angels select mid-round. Following up a boom-or-bust pick with more high-probability (ie, “advanced”) talent in rounds two and three would be a good hedge against catastrophe, in that case.
UCLA has a lot to hang its hat on when it comes to pitching, between alumni like Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Griffin Canning. Ryan Garcia does not have the ceilings of those names, but he has four league-average pitches and command over them to suggest a fast-moving starter with #3/4 upside. Michael Toglia, meanwhile, is a big switch-hitting power bat with a record of performance and the ability to play both corner OF and 1b, but whose streakiness and swing-and-miss tendencies have pushed him into the 2nd/3rd round territory, despite good upside.
Of course, there’s no reason to believe that the draft will play out like take one of the Board suggests, and we’ll have additional postings to discuss how different scenarios might unfold. But on first approach, this outcome would cover the three bases this team really needs to touch in this draft: high-ceiling pitching with frontline potential, high-probability pitching that can move fast and fill out the middle/back of a rotation, and bats with significant power potential, ideally on the infield corners. The Angels farm is thin in each of these areas, and there are names above that can fill some gaps.
Here we go!