2015 Minor League Ball Community Mock Draft: National League West summary

Several people have asked for a team-by-team summary of yesterday's 2015 Minor League Ball Community Mock Draft. We will start with the National League West.

For the complete list, click here.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
1-1) Brendan Rogers, SS, Florida HS
2-43) Jacob Nix, RHP, IMG Academy
3-76) Kyle Molnar, RHP, California HS
4-106) Brandt Stallings, 1B, Georgia HS
COMMENT: Lots of youth here, three high schoolers plus Jacob Nix who should be seen as something like a junior college player. We’ll have to see what the real Diamondbacks do, if they pull the trigger on Rogers (widely regarded as the best player in the class) or if they go for a college guy. Talent-wise it is balanced positionally.

COLORADO ROCKIES
1-3) Dansby Swanson, SS, Vanderbilt
CRA-27) Kule Funkhouser, RHP, Louisville
CBA-38) Dakota Chalmers, RHP, Georgia HS
2-44) Cody Ponce, RHP, Cal Poly Pomona
3-77) Joe McCarthy, OF, Virginia
4-107) Nick Neidert, RHP, Georgia HS
COMMENT: This looks good to me. Swanson won’t need long in the minors and the Rockies could very well need a shortstop soon. Injuries hurt McCarthy’s season but he has the tools to go at least a round earlier than that. With the pitchers you have two college guys, including one (Funkhouser) who was getting top ten consideration as recently as a month ago, and two projection prep arms. Overall this looks like a strong use of multiple picks.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS
1-24) James Kaprelian, RHP, UCLA
CB-35) Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Texas HS
2-67) Chandler Day, RHP, Ohio HS
CBB-74) Bryan Hudson, LHP, Illinois HS
3-101) Gio Brusa, OF, Pacific
4-132) Austin Byler, 1B, Nevada
COMMENT: Also a solid use of multiple picks. Kaprelian could be ready for a major league rotation spot in less than two years. Two cold-weather high school arms with upside and one advanced high school bat offer some diversity; the Dodgers also have a liking for bloodline players so Hayes makes sense. Brusa has the tools though his performance can be spotty. Byler has a big bat and is a cheap senior. In real life it could be necessary to go over slot to sign the three preps, but judicious use of more seniors past Byler could make that feasible.

SAN DIEGO PADRES
2-51) Peter Lambert, RHP,California HS
3-86) Blake Hickman, RHP, University of Iowa
4-117) Logan Ratledge, SS, North Carolina State
COMMENT: The Padres scouting director was a no-show so I did this one on the fly. Lambert is quite advanced for a high school arm and could need less development time than most. In contrast, Hickman is raw for a college arm and will need more development than typical, though he has some dominant upside. In the fourth round I went with a cheap-but-talented senior, Logan Ratledge, who can hit and play shortstop. My thinking is that Lambert might present a signability risk so I went senior in the fourth round to make the money work.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
1-18) Justin Hooper, LHP, California HS
CRA-31) Nolan Watson, RHP, Indiana HS
2-61) Mickey White, SS, Alabama
3-95) Tanner Rainey, RHP, West Alabama
4-126) Paul DeJong, C, Illinois State
COMMENTS: In real life Hooper has been floating huge bonus demands and even at 18 you might have to go over slot to sign him. Watson has an intriguing mix of stuff, pitchability, and projectability; he would also not come cheap, but both prep arms seem like a plausible choice if the finances work. Rainey is a power bullpen arm with athleticism, while White and DeJong are both polished college bats. If the money pans out this does look rather Gianty.