MLB draft 2019: Day 1 open thread

The 2019 MLB draft is here! The Oakland A’s have two picks on Day 1, in the 1st round (No. 29 overall) and the second round (No. 66). They traded away the No. 40 pick in the Jurickson Profar deal.

Essential links:

• Watch the live stream
• Official draft tracker
• MLB Pipeline pre-draft board Top 200
• Bonus pools, slot values, and draft order for first 10 rounds

Here are some resources to catch you up on all the details about the A’s specifically.

• Community Prospect List (current landscape of A’s farm)
• Exploring A’s past trends in recent drafts
• Looking back at A’s recent Day 1 picks (written last summer)

Next up, here are some possible names that the A’s might look at with the No. 29 overall pick today:

• 1B Michael Busch, UNC
• SS Greg Jones, UNC-Wilmington
• LHP Blake Walston, high school (NC)
• 3B Keoni Cavaco, high school (CA)
• OF Maurice Hampton, high school (TN)

The next section is about mock drafts, NOT real life.

Mock Drafts

Where did those above names line up in the mock drafts? Here are the most recent guesses, courtesy of grover:

Baseball America 9.0 (6/2)

• Michael Busch #22
• Greg Jones #23
• Keoni Cavaco #26
• Kameron Misner 1.29 (OF, college)
• Blake Waltson #34

Grover’s take: The most up-to-the-minute mock has Oakland taking uber-toolsy Kameron Misner. The A’s like guys who’ve had success in the SEC … Misner has had more success vs. non-conference foes this year. With Jones and Cavaco off the theoretical board I can see it and I would be against the call.

Baseball America Staff Draft (5/31)

• Greg Jones #19
• Michael Busch #24
• Maurice Hampton #25
• Keoni Cavaco #26
• Matt Wallner 1.29 (OF, college)
• Blake Walton #45
• Noah Song 2.66 (RHP, college)

Grover’s take: I note this mock because of what it implies: staff writer Teddy Cahill acknowledges that Wallner is a reach at 1.29 but that means he’ll come at an under-slot price. Coupled with probably the best Senior arm in the draft (Noah Song) means the A’s can pull together an attractive, over-slot offer to a fallen HS talent on Day 2.

MLB.com (5/31)

• Keoni Cavaco #13
• Greg Jones #23
• Michael Busch #24
• Braden Shewmake 1.29 (SS, college)
• Maurice Hampton #33
• Blake Walston #34

Grover’s take: With Jones and Busch off the theoretical board, Jim Callis has the A’s taking Braden Shewmake. He’s a guy whose whole is more than the sum of his parts and he’ll probably grind out an 8-10 year MLB career. But he’s a medium-ceiling, high floor type and I think the A’s should focus on higher ceiling.