The MLB Draft began last night with two rounds plus some compensatory picks being made on day one. The Orioles took Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman with the first overall pick. As a junior this season, Rutschman hit .411/.575/.751 with 17 home runs, 76 walks and just 38 strikeouts. The kid is so good at the plate, that a team has literally chosen to give up a run rather than pitch to him.

 

 

Pitching Performance of the Day

Walker Buehler was unquestionably the best pitcher of the day yesterday as he struck out 11 and walked none while allowing one run over eight innings against Arizona. Through 12 starts, Buehler now has a 3.69 ERA with a 3.54 xFIP. He has cut his walk rate down to an impressive 4.4-percent, which is a big reason why he’s allowing only one baserunner per inning on average. His strikeout rate has dipped a tad from last season but is still safely better than league average, and his swinging strike rate has not dropped at all. He’s on track for 15-plus wins, which makes him a solid contributor in all fantasy categories. He’s owned in virtually all leagues, but if he’s a piece you could be getting in a potential trade, you wouldn’t be taking on much risk in adding him.

Hitting Performance of the Day

With there only being four games yesterday, the options are a bit thin for the hitting performance of the day. Normally we wouldn’t pick a guy who went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout, but that’s what we’ll do today with Franmil Reyes . While Reyes only got the one hit, he absolutely drilled his home run. Reyes’ home run left his bat at 112.8 miles per hour, the second hardest hit ball of the day. As you can see below, he got under it just a bit, but when you hit it that hard, your launch angle can afford to be off a little (image courtesy of Baseball Savant). Reyes is owned in less than half of ESPN.com leagues and is worth an add if you’re hurting for power.

Game of the Day

Again, with only four games yesterday, the options here are a bit thin. In three of four games, there wasn’t a change in the team with the higher win expectancy after the fourth inning. The only late lead change was in the Phillies at Padres game. The Reyes home run made that game 1-1 in the fifth, and the Padres took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the sixth on an Ian Kinsler double. San Diego tacked on six more runs that inning, capped off by a Manny Machado grand slam that essentially ended the game. Here’s the game graph courtesy of Fangraphs.

What to Watch for Today

The Draft will continue today with plenty of quality talent available. Day One was heavy on bats as highlighted by a record six hitters going to start the draft, so there are some interesting arms still available. The top-ranked high school pitcher of the draft, Matthew Allen, was not selected, which likely bumps his chances of going on to Florida. Florida is a talented program that was eliminated in the Regionals round last weekend and would be happy to have Allen on board next season. Jack Leiter is another high school arm that was not selected, though he is also expected to play college ball at an SEC school (Vanderbilt). The high school players selected in this range will likely have to be offered more than slot to end up signing.