http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2011/2612245.html
1. Nationals. With three of the first 34 selections, Washington got the best
player in the draft at No. 6 (third baseman Anthony Rendon), as well as one
of the most electric arms (righthander Alex Meyer) and one of the best
athletes (outfielder Brian Goodwin). The Nationals also figured out a way to
sign lefthander Matt Purke, who entered 2011 as BA's third-rated draft
prospect behind Rendon and Gerrit Cole, then fell to the third round after
shoulder problems. Washington's draft was top-heavy, but lefthander Kylin
Turnbull (fourth round) and righthander Taylor Hill (sixth) give them two
more solid college arms.
2. Diamondbacks. No team landed as much pitching as Arizona, which used two
of the top seven selections on righthanders Trevor Bauer and Archie Bradley.
Bauer should be the first player from the 2011 draft to reach the majors,
perhaps in September. The Diamondbacks also grabbed lefthander Andrew Chafin
(supplemental first) and righties Anthony Meo (second), Evan Marshall
(fourth) and Kyle Winkler (10th).
3. Red Sox. Boston signed six of our Top 100 Draft Prospects, and I believe
that's more than any team except for the Rays and Padres. If the Red Sox had
picked high enough to grab one of the seven elite players in this draft, I
would have put them No. 1on this list. They have nothing to complain about
after snapping up righthander Matt Barnes and catcher Blake Swihart in the
first round, then lefthander Henry Owens and outfielder Jackie Bradley in the
supplemental first. Boston didn't stop there, also getting toolsy outfielder
Williams Jerez (second), changeup artist Noe Ramirez (fourth), speedy Mookie
Betts (fifth) and projectable lefty Cody Kukuk (seventh).
4. Pirates. No team ever spent as much on one draft as Pittsburgh did on its
top two choices. Cole (No. 1 overall) had the best pure arm available, and
supposedly unsignable outfielder Josh Bell (second) may have had the highest
offensive ceiling. The Pirates didn't make as much noise after those two,
though they did get one of the better college bats in first baseman Alex
Dickerson (third) and a pair of projectable righthanders in Tyler Glasnow
(fifth) and Jake Burnette (seventh), then spent a ninth-round-record $1.2
million on physical righty Clay Holmes.
5. Rays. Tampa Bay had a record 12 picks in the first two rounds, and it
started off with two nice talent values in righthander Taylor Guerrieri at
No. 24 and outfielder Mikie Mahtook at No. 31. After that, I thought the Rays
sacrificed some ability in order to make sure they could sign all of their
top choices. I would have preferred to see them take the best guys available
and sign as many of them as possible, yet it's also impossible to deny that
they wound up with nine players from our Top 100: Guerrieri, Mahtook,
shortstop Brandon Martin (supplemental first), third baseman Tyler Goeddel
(supplemental first), outfielder Kes Carter (supplemental first), lefthander
Grayson Garvin (supplemental first), outfielder Granden Goetzman (second),
righty Lenny Linsky (second) and outfielder Johnny Eierman (third).