Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
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The 2015 MLB Draft kicks off on Monday night at 7 p.m., and you can watch it on either MLB.com or the MLB Network. It used to happen during the day, but MLB wants people to be more interested in these players from the start, and their efforts are worthwhile ones: they tend to provide analysis and video of a bunch of young dudes you’ve never heard of, so you can get a head start on picking your new favorites and players to root for.
The Diamondbacks finally figured out who they are picking first overall, but haven’t told the player in question: instead, they let five draft prospects know they were considering them, and they’ll choose one of them. Dansby Swanson has been the favorite, but his Vanderbilt teammate Carson Fulmer could also go first, so the D-Backs can sign him under slot. High school catcher Tyler Stephenson might be selected for the same reason. If you want to know who these three players are — along with 397 others — this detailed list of the top-400 draft prospects should help.
The major question besides who goes first involves last year’s 1:1 selection, Brady Aiken. There are a handful of teams who are looking into picking him, starting with the Red Sox at No. 7, but his medicals will make that decision for them: Aiken saw the bonus the Astros offered a year ago reduced when they didn’t like his physical, and he has since undergone Tommy John surgery. He has top-of-the-rotation potential, so he could be worth the risk, but no one seems to know just who will take it. Chances are good he’ll go in the first round, though, the order of which you can find here — along with the order for the draft as a whole. Happy drafting, y’all!
- The first overall pick from the 2012 draft, Carlos Correa, has been promoted by the Astros. Both Correa and Astros’ general manager Jeff Luhnow discussed the move, which could very well be the key to Houston staying on top of the AL West should he keep mashing and fielding like he has since he signed.
- If you didn’t click on the above link about Brady Aiken’s potential suitors, you should: it’s actually directing you to Baseball Prospectus’ final mock draft, which they were kind enough to publish early enough for us to enjoy in this space.
- Don’t worry, the retirement of Adam Dunn did not signal the end of the Three True Outcomes archetype, not while those like Joc Pederson and George Springer still exist.
- With David Wright suffering from a mysterious back injury and Wilmer Flores not very good, the Mets are looking to upgrade the entire left side of their infield by asking about the Brewers’ infielders, Aramis Ramirez and Jean Segura.
- Kenley Jansen has the back end of the bullpen locked down, but the Dodgers are having trouble getting from the starters to their closer.
- Brandon Morrow went on the disabled list in part to avoid a more severe injury, but that didn’t keep him from exiting his rehab start with shoulder soreness.
- There is an official MLB rule in place for when a switch-hitter comes up against a switch-pitcher, which is something we all need to be aware of now that Pat Venditte is here.
- Fans were allowed on the field before Sunday’s Yankees game, which gave Alex Rodriguez an opportunity to pose for photos with fans. Not gonna lie, the #FORG1V3 hashtag is much better than the #R2SP2CT one.
