Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The 2019 MLB Draft begins in just a few minutes, and the Dodgers have two first-round picks and one late-second rounder. That will all happen tonight. Rounds 3-10 will be tomorrow and rounds 11-40 will take place on Wednesday.
Before we get to the final big board, here’s roundup of all the mock drafts and Dodgers’ selections in those drafts.
Mock Draft Roundup
| Mock Draft | Player |
| Baseball America 2.0 | Keoni Cavaco and Brendan Shewmake |
| Baseball America 3.0 | Gunnar Henderson and Blake Walston |
| Baseball America 4.0 | Quinn Priester and Brennan Malone |
| Baseball America 5.0 | Gunnar Henderson and Brennan Malone |
| Baseball America 6.0 | Gunnar Henderson and Brennan Malone |
| ESPN 1.0 | Brett Baty and Carter Stewart |
| ESPN 2.0 | Gunnar Henderson and Kameron Misner |
| ESPN 3.0 | Gunnar Henderson and Brennan Malone |
| ESPN 3.1 | Gunnar Henderson and Kody Hoese |
| FanGraphs 2.0 | Brennan Malone and Kody Hoese |
| FanGraphs 3.0 | Daniel Espino and Kyle Stowers |
| FanGraphs 4.0 | Kody Hoese and Kyle Stowers |
| FanGraphs 4.1 | Daniel Espino and Kyle Stowers |
| MLB.com 1.0 | Kody Hoese and Tyler Callihan |
| MLB.com 2.0 | Logan Davidson and Tyler Callihan |
| MLB.com 3.0 | Brennan Malone and Brooks Lee |
| MLB.com 4.0 | Daniel Espino and Brady McConnell |
| MLB.com 5.0 | Will Wilson and Brennan Malone |
| MLB.com 6.0 (Mayo) | Michael Busch and Daniel Espino |
| MLB.com 6.0 (Callis) | Gunnar Henderson and Brennan Malone |
| Perfect Game 1.0 | Quinn Priester and Carter Stewart |
| Perfect Game 2.0 | Michael Busch and Jack Leiter |
| Perfect Game 3.0 | Logan Davidson and Josh Wolf |
| Perfect Game 4.0 | Kody Hoese and Brennan Malone |
Some repeat names, some names not really seen after early versions. FanGraphs also has the Dodgers taking local 1B/LHP Spencer Jones at No. 78. He’d be an over-slot guy, hence the Stowers “overdraft” at 31.
Bonus Pool
Thanks to the Dodgers not signing J.T. Ginn, the No. 30 overall pick last year, the Dodgers have a larger bonus pool than one would expect from a division winner. Also because of that, they were more willing to sign a qualifying offer free agent like A.J. Pollock.
| Round | Slot |
| 1 | $2,740,300 |
| 1c | $2,312,000 |
| 2c | $793,000 |
| 3 | $571,400 |
| 4 | $430,800 |
| 5 | $321,100 |
| 6 | $249,000 |
| 7 | $195,700 |
| 8 | $163,400 |
| 9 | $150,100 |
| 10 | $142,300 |
| Total | $8,069,100 |
They can spend up to 5 percent over the nearly $5.3 million amount without being penalized (other than paying an overage tax). That means they can spend an extra $403,454 (5 percent, less $1) on their draft picks this year without losing any next year.
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Previous versions of the Big Board:
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OK, I’ve made you wait long enough. Here’s my final Big Board.
MLB Draft Big Board, v 4.0
1. RHP Brennan Malone, IMG Academy HS (Fla.) No. 33 to Arizona
2. RHP Daniel Espino, Georgia Premier Academy (Ga.) No. 24 to Cleveland
3. RHP Quinn Priester, Cary-Grove HS (Ill.) No. 18 to Pittsburgh
4. OF Maurice Hampton, Memphis University HS (Tenn.)
5. 3B/SS Keoni Cavaco, Eastlake HS (Calif.) No. 13 to Minnesota
6. SS Gunnar Henderson, Morgan Academy HS (Ala.) No. 42 to Baltimore
7. 3B Kody Hoese, Tulane No. 25 to the Dodgers!
8. RHP JJ Goss, Cypress Ranch HS (Texas) No. 36 to Tampa Bay
9. SS Brooks Lee, San Luis Obispo HS (Calif.)
10. RHP Seth Johnson, Campbell No. 40 to Tampa Bay
11. RHP George Kirby, Elon No. 20 to Seattle
12. OF Kameron Misner, Missouri No. 35 to Miami
13. RHP Noah Song, Navy
14. LHP Blake Walston, New Hanover HS (N.C.) No. 26 to Arizona
15. 2B/IF Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M No. 21 to Atlanta
16. SS Matthew Lugo, Carlos Beltran Academy No. 69 to Boston
17. SS Logan Davidson, Clemson No. 29 to Oakland
18. OF Kyle Stowers, Stanford
19. SS Brady McConnell, FloridaNo. 44 to Kansas City
20. 1B/LHP Spencer Jones, La Costa Canyon HS (Calif.)
Editor’s Note: Click on the hyperlinked players to read our profile on them.
We have a new No. 1! Malone jumps ahead of Espino because of the safer profile. He may not have the higher ceiling, but he’s everything you want in a prep pitching prospect.
Espino is still a fine prospect and I’d be thrilled if the Dodgers ended up with him.
Priester being available at 25 is slim, but if he is, he’d be quite the get.
Hampton hasn’t really been linked to the Dodgers all that much, but he’s still one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft for me.
Cavaco has even less of a chance of making it to pick 25 than Priester, but stranger things have happened.
Henderson is a big bodied shortstop who fits the Dodgers’ mold when looking for infielders.
Hoese is the first college player on this board. The college class is a bit weaker (especially the pitching), and Hoese could be a good get at 25.
Goss is a name who hasn’t been mentioned much or super connected to the Dodgers, but he fits the mold of what the Dodgers might be looking for in a prep pitcher. Of anyone listed so far, he might end up being the toughest sign.
Lee being a local product could get him to forego his commitment to Cal Poly. He’d be more of a developmental prospect, but he could end up being a good one.
Johnson is slowly moving up my board. If there were another board coming, he might place even higher. If he had a viable third pitch, not only would he be higher, but he’d likely go in the top half of the first round.
Kirby slipped a bit because he’s not likely to make it to No. 25. If he somehow does, though, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Dodgers pop him.
Misner is a toolshed who hasn’t performed as well this year as in years past. He’d be a nice slot-value pick at 31, if he’s there.
Song is a personal favorite of mine, but his 2-year military commitment hurts his draft stock. Maybe he could be a guy to look at with the 78th pick?
Walston has signability concerns, but he might be the best prep left-handed pitcher in this class.
Shewmake might be the safest prospect on this list. He played shortstop in college, but profiles more as a utility player at the next level. Maybe a Ben Zobrist-type, since he has good bat-to-ball skills.
Lugo is a high-upside guy who is a bit raw but could ultimately be talked about as one of the best players from this class.
Davidson is a switch-hitting shortstop who should stick at the position. Concerns about him hitting with wood bats hurts his stock.
Stowers is a lot like Misner in frame and overall profile, but the Dodgers really like him and if they do, they probably think they can get to some of that untapped power in his sweet left-handed swing.
McConnell is a bit like Davidson, minus the switch-hitting. If he were taken at No. 31, perhaps the Dodgers save a few bucks to either go over-slot at 25 or 78.
Speaking of going over-slot at 78, Jones ($2 million asking price) is a legitimate 2-way prospect. The big-bodied teenage has massive raw power and solid stuff on the mound.
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I’d be surprised if the Dodgers don’t end up with at least one of these 20 draft prospects. We’ll see in just a bit.
