2014 Draft: Day 2 Preview

I don't have a ton of time to write about day one tonight, but there isn't much to say either that hasn't already been said. If you read my top 27 preview yesterday you probably noticed that I called Alex Jackson the Mariners dream scenario. So, I like the M's top pick, to say the least. I also like Gareth Morgan at pick 74. Great fits, great value, great everything. Definitely some bust potential in both bats, but that power is something the Mariners really need to grab in the draft. Between D.J. Peterson Austin Wilson last year, plus Alex Jackson and Gareth Morgan this year, I like the odds that the Mariners have at least one future masher in their farm system now.

Without further ado, some more names to watch out for on day 2...

Still Available from my top 27 (ranking in parentheses):

• LHP Aaron Brown (23)

Some additional position prospects to watch for:

• Caleb Adams, OF, Louisiana-Lafayette - Flashed good power and good patience for an underrated Ragin' Cajuns team.
• Mike Alexander, C, Delaware State - Senior, but very productive bat at a premium position. Might be worth a pick, especially for a team with pricey draft picks from earlier in the draft.
• Jace Conrad, 2B, Louisiana-Lafayette - A little aggressive at the plate, but chance to hit for some average with speed at a position where it doesn't take much offense to be productive.
• Connor Goedert, 3B, Neosho County CC - Goedert is set to go to Wichita State and on some level replace first round pick Casey Gillaspie. However, I'd be curious to see if an MLB could convince him to go pro this year. I like Goedert's hitting potential.
• Chase Harris, OF, New Mexico - New Mexico is a launching pad, but Harris still looks like a good hitter to me.
• Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Sacramento State - Polished approach at the plate with power, though accomplished in a small school against lower college competition.
• Casey Jones, UT, Elon - Did a little bit of everything, both offensively and defensively, at Elon.  Makes me wonder if all that flexibility can play up and congeal into some sort of MLB player.
• Kevin Krause, C/OF, Stony Brook - Productive small school player at a premium position. Worth a look as the draft advances into the later stages.
• Trace Loehr, SS, Rex Putnam HS (OR) - Not sure about Loehr's power potential, but solid contact ability with a chance to stick at a premium defensive position.
• Jordan Luplow, OF, Fresno State - A bit of a one-year wonder, but an intriguing speed/power combo if he is the real deal.
• Gareth Morgan, OF, North Toronto Collegiate Institute (Canada) - The best Canadian prospect this year. Morgan has significant power potential but makes inconsistent contact. I don't think his swing needs as much reworking as Michael Gettys's though.
• Aaron Nardone, OF, Delaware State - Extremely productive senior.
• Julio Nunez, UT, Alabama A&M - Similar to Casey Jones; a little bit of everything everywhere. Maybe enough of his skills develop to make him a future big-league player.
• Connor Panas, 1B/3B, Canisius - Exhibited power and speed, though with more strikeouts than I'd like to see in a small school prospect.
• Milton Ramos, SS, American Heritage School (FL) - I wonder about the bat, but the fielding is really good, and worth drafting him for alone.
• Matthew Railey, OF, North Florida Christian HS (FL) - Railey's bat is his calling card. Could hit for average and power.
• Brandon Rawe, OF, Morgan State - Flashed some power and hitting ability, though against lower level college competition.
• James Vasquez, 1B, Central Florida - Hit well with an advanced approach at the plate, though his bat is his only tool.

Some additional pitching prospects to watch for:

• Dustin Beggs, RHP, Georgia Perimeter College - One of the most productive pitchers in the JUCO ranks
• Matt Campbell, RHP, Clemson - A senior, but very productive in the ACC. I like ACC players.
• Dylan Cease, RHP, Milton HS (GA) - Would be picked higher but he has injury concerns (and a body/windup that would suggest injury concerns). Really good stuff though.
• Michael Cederoth, RHP, San Diego State - The lazy comparison is former Aztec fire-baller Stephen Strasburg, but the better Aztec comparison is D'Backs closer Addison Reed. Cederoth doesn't have either pitcher's breaking stuff, but he's a productive closer with an electric fastball.
• Matt Cooper, RHP, Hawai'i - A senior but utterly dominant. Worth a pick, especially for a team worried about salary bonus totals.
• Zac Curtis, LHP, Middle Tennessee State - One of my favorite "sleepers" in the draft. Curtis looks like a LOOGY on the mound given how short and slight of build he is. However, he rushes the ball up in the low 90s and was one of the most productive pitchers in all of college baseball this year.
• Austin DeCarr, RHP, Salisbury School (CT) - Prep players from northern schools get less exposure to due shorter baseball seasons so I try to keep closer eyes on guys like DeCarr. Has good size, velocity, and some feel for a breaking ball.
• Brock Dykxhoorn, RHP, Central Arizona College - Deserves to be drafted based only on his name, but he's also been extremely productive.
• Mike Franco, RHP, Florida International - Productive college arm that's flown under the radar a bit despite stuff that grades as MLB legit, including velocity in the low 90s.
• Matt Fraudin, RHP, Gardner Webb - Small school pitcher that gave up some extra base hits but the rest of his peripheral stats look really good.
• Jace Fry, LHP, Oregon State - Not elite K numbers, but extremely productive for a great team in a very strong conference.
• Jonathan Holder, RHP, Mississippi State - One of the most productive college closers of all time, for what it's worth. Holder's best pitch is a hammer curve. Probably not much of a ceiling with him but it's easy to see him as a bullpen contributor in the near future for someone.
• Jake Kelzer, RHP, Indiana - Kelzer is another sleeper pick of mine. His main sport has been swimming despite his 6'7" frame. I kind of want to see him swim, honestly. He pitched very well out of Indiana's bullpen this year though with feel for a breaking ball.
• Conor Lourey, RHP, High Point - Have to feature Lourey just to link to this fantastically college-grade feature on him for a High Point sports broadcasting class. Also, Lourey is a 6'8" behemoth on the mound with big-time production, though out of bullpens at lower levels of competition.
• Keaton McKinney, RHP, Ankeny HS (IA) - Another more northern prospect. Features a good frame with a good fastball and solid mechanics.
• Cody Mincey, RHP, South Carolina - Super productive reliever in the SEC
• Eric Peterson, RHP, NC State - Bit of a home run problem but everything else in his numbers was great. Interestingly, sometimes college pitchers that make it in the pros have elevated home run rates. Not completely sure why, but perhaps because they've built velocity suddenly and not figured out how to command it quite yet?
• Jeremy Rhodes, RHP, Illinois State - Extremely productive college arm, albeit in a small conference.
• Reed Reilly, RHP, Cal Poly - Some control issues, but very difficult to hit and a nice, big frame for pitching.
• Bradley Roney, RHP, Southern Miss - Like Reilly, some control issues, but pro-caliber stuff and results in college that support the scouting reports on his stuff.
• Carson Sands, LHP, North Florida Christian HS (FL) - Prep left that might have got buried amidst all the great lefties in this draft. Nice pitching ability right now with classic body type that looks like it could fill out and add velocity.
• Jordan Schwartz, RHP, Niagara - Another small school arm with intriguing stats, outside a small home run issue.
• Joel Seddon, RHP, South Carolina - Burst on the scene this year as a highly productive member of the Gamecocks bullpen. His lack of playing time before this year is a blessing and a curse - is he a fluke or could he potentially be ready to take off? Certainly worth taking a chance on in day 2.

The MLB draft resumes at 10 a.m. Pacific time, and I'd recommend using the MLB.com draft tracker.