MLB Draft Day 1 Recap

Overview:

Yesterday marked Day 1 of the Rule 4 MLB amateur entry draft.  The draft started at 7 P.M. and by the end of the night, the first round and first supplemental round saw their conclusion.  The Pirates had two picks out of the first 60 selections that were made yesterday, number #8 overall and #45 overall.  The first pick was the Pirates natural selection in the first round due to last year's record while the second pick was compensation for losing Ryan Doumit to the Twins.  With that #8 selection, the Pirates picked Stanford pitcher Mark Appel.  The #45 selection was used to nab Texas Tech outfielder Barrett Barnes.

Early MLB Mock Draft

For more on the 2012 MLB Draft click here.

Update: Click here for my "Big Board" featuring my personal top 10 draft prospects.

The first edition of my MLB mock draft for 2012.  I will produce a few more editions over the next several months leading up to June so check back for more.  Also, check out this link for more on the MLB draft 2012. I tried to make this mock draft as realistic as possible.  To do so, I strove to avoid a mistake that I often see in mock draft and that frustrates me.  Most mock drafts focus on specific holes on the major league squad (which is better) and base the list off of that that.  I believe teams rarely, if ever, do that in actual drafts, and so instead I'll be trying to formulate my mock draft based upon organizational philosophy and the general shape of a farm system, with a major focus on best player available. I also did not put an emphasis on the effect the new CBA will have on college vs. high school players being drafted.  I think that effect will be minimal in the first round.