The top pick in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft will likely come from the Louisiana State World Series winning team. The only question seems to be which player will go to the Pittsburgh Pirates in first place and which player will go to the Washington Nationals in second place.
Outfielder Dylan Cruz, who won the Golden Spike Award for his incredible combination of perseverance and power, was the number one contender. FanGraphs Mock DraftMeanwhile, right-handed starter Paul Skenes, who averaged 15.3 strikeouts and a 1.69 ERA per nine innings last season, was the first to drop out in 2019. Keith Law’s Mock Draft For The Athletic.
MLB drafts are much less predictable than drafts in other sports, so things can certainly change, but Cruz and Skenes, both 21, are the first teams to get top-two picks. You have a chance to become a mate. Being able to do so would be particularly impressive, as this year’s draft is filled with college talent.
Right-hander Ty Floyd is also a potential first-round pick, so LSU may not stop there.
The 20-round draft is scheduled to begin Sunday at 7 p.m. ET as part of MLB’s All-Star Weekend. Besides Crewe and Skenes, there are a few other important names to know about attending this event.
Featured college player outside of LSU.
Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida — Langford, 21, has the talent and track record to be the No. 1 overall pick every year and is LSU’s best bet to smash dreams of a top two spot. 364 and 47 home runs in the past two college seasons, accounts for his speed vary, but it may be much faster than his 16 stolen bases in college suggest.
Featured high school player.
Walker Jenkins, OF, Southport, NC — The 18-year-old Jenkins, who was an elite runner early in her high school career, has already begun the process of bulking up to strengthen her strong 6-foot-3 frame. This leaves him potentially playing as a right fielder instead of center, a slugger rather than an all-around star who could potentially be more of a player. Who cares if he grows to a 40-home hitter in the process?
Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon — Every draft has a familial connection. Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Jackson Holliday, is the son of former major leaguer Matt Holliday. And this year’s Player of the Year goes to Wilson, the son of Jack Wilson. He was named the Pirates’ All-Star shortstop in 2004. The young Wilson is a potential top-10 pick, and he could easily surpass his father, who was a ninth-round pick in 1998. Other notable players in this category include senior high school student Myles Naylor. A third baseman whose brothers Josh and Bo play for the Guardians. Homer Bush Jr. was a college outfielder and his father Homer Sr. played for the Yankees and Blue Jays. Braden Halladay was a high school pitcher whose father Roy was a Hall of Fame starting pitcher.
it’s not famous. This is famous.
Jaden Agassi, pitcher, USC — He won’t be drafted on day one, and it’s quite possible he won’t be drafted at all in the 20th round, but there are no draft-eligible players — and very few. It could be argued that this general has more famous parents than Agassi. His mother is 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf and his father is 8-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi. But maybe the Athletics, which hopes to move to Las Vegas within a few years, will have children from some of the city’s most successful families.
