2012 Draft: Day 2 Recap

It's always good to complete a story. I put out a day 2 preview, and I'll start my recap with a round-by-round breakdown of where my previewed players went. Ones from the top 31 list are bold. There also were a few players I had tabbed for my day 3 preview that popped up today, so I've included them with their write-ups I had prepared:

Round 2 (overall pick in parentheses)

• SS Nolan Fontana, Astros (61)
• OF Jeremy Baltz, Padres (68)
• C Dane Phillips, Padres (70)
• 3B Matt Reynolds, Mets (71)
• 2B Tony Renda, Nationals (80)
• LHP Steven Rodriguez, Dodgers (82)
• OF Nick Williams, Rangers (93)
• C Peter O'Brien, Yankees (94)

Round 3

• 3B Fernando Perez, Padres (102)
• C Tom Murphy, Rockies (105)
• RHP R.J. Alvarez, Angels (114)

Round 4

• 3B Patrick Kivlehan, Mariners (131)
• OF Brandon Miller, Nationals (144) - Slugged 20 home runs during his senior campaign. That's an impressive number, but this seems really high for him. The Nationals were probably thinking about signability after taking Lucas Giolito.

Round 5

• SS Matt Wessinger, Rockies (168)
• OF/2B Robert Refsnyder, Yankees (187)

Round 6

• RHP Kyle Hansen, White Sox (201)

Round 7

• 1B Preston Tucker, Astros (219)
• 3B/1B Taylor Ard, Mariners (221)
• RHP Matt Price, Orioles (222)
• OF Marty Gantt, Rays (242) - A holdover from last year's day three preview, Gantt walked a ton, stole over 20 bases for the second year in a row, and added some more power to his game. He has a good combo of skills at this stage in the draft, although I am surprised he went this early.

Round 8

• OF Derek Jones, Rockies (258)
• C Luke Maile, Rays (272)
• OF Taylor Dugas, Yankees (277) - Was part of my day three preview last year, and I planned to preview him again after another quietly productive season in the SEC. Apparently it wasn't as quiet as I thought.

Round 9

• 2B LJ Mazzilli, Twins (280)
• 2B Jamodrick McGruder, Mariners (281)
• SS Richie Rodriguez, Mets (290)

Round 10

• 1B Ben Waldrip, Rockies (318)

Round 11

• 3B/SS Trey Williams, Cardinals (360)

Round 12

• OF Michael Faulkner, Mariners (371)
• C Jeremy Lucas, Indians (383)
• 3B Carlos Lopez, Nationals (384) - Lopez is a senior with some power, decent plate discipline, and production in the always-tough ACC. I thought about including him in day 2, and it turns out I should have.

Round 13

• LHP Brian Holmes, Astros (399)

Round 14

• 2B Brock Hebert, Mariners (431)
• C Tyler Tewell, Braves (449)

Round 15 - none

I hoped that my day 2 preview would have at least one player picked in each round, and I fell short of that goal by one measly round. At least it took until the last one of the day. Still, my apologies.

One thing that I find interesting is which teams grab multiple players that I highlight. To my amazement, the Mariners drafted more players that I highlighted than anyone else. They've drafted more players that I look at since Jack Zduriencik took over, but still, I'm surprised. Apparently the Jack Z approach has worn off on me.

Not surprisingly, I like what the Mariners did today. I love the Patrick Kivlehan pick! The Mariners favored speed as the rounds wore on. McGruder, Faulkner, and Hebert are all burners with limited power potential. The Mariners were very hitter heavy though, and I would have liked to see a bit more of a mix. However, they've been a bit pitching heavy in previous drafts, and Z has shown he knows how to put a bullpen together on the cheap. I'd rather they be hitter heavy, if they are going to be unbalanced.

I'd be raving about the Padres if not for their first pick. I'm not a Max Fried fan. However, San Diego continued a string of good picks today. I think both Fernando Perez and Jeremy Baltz have the right kind of offensive profiles to do fine in Petco. Home run power gets killed, but there are gaps to drive the ball into. Gap hitters are what San Diego should target, and that seems to be what they've done in this year's draft.

The Dodgers put together a smart second day. Steven Rodriguez is a good reliever, but should also give LA the cap flexibility they need to ensure Corey Seager gets signed. I think the Nationals took a similar approach when they picked guys like Tony Renda and Brandon Miller, given that they have to try to sign Lucas Giolito.

Overall, I wonder how much the new signing bonus rules impacted draft strategies. There were plenty of high schoolers drafted today. A few slipped through that were clearly talented enough to draft, but that's the case every year. It's not like teams started worrying about signing bonuses just this year.

Day 2 is where draft classes really take shape. There are still 25 rounds to go though! My day 3 preview will be up before the night is over.