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It's draft day! Starting today, the Rays will join the other 29 clubs in selecting thousands of amateur players in hopes of building a World Series champion. Here is a schedule for the week:
Day 1 (June 12)
Preview show: 6 PM (MLB Network)
Rounds 1-2: 7 PM (MLB Network and MLB.com)
Day 2 (June 13)
Preview show: 12:30 PM (MLB.com)
Rounds 3-10: 1 PM (MLB.com)
Day 3 (June 14)
Rounds 11-40: 12 PM (MLB.com)
Monday's broadcast will cover the first 75 picks, which encompass the first round, the compensation round, the first competitive-balance round, the second round, and the second competitive-balance round.
Representing the team at the MLB Network studio will be former outfielder Fernando Perez and area scout Lou Wieben. Among the current Rays' top-30 prospects, Wieben signed Joe McCarthy.
The Rays will be making the No. 4, 31, and 40 selections Monday. On Tuesday, they'll have pick Nos. 79 and 109 and then every 30th pick after that.
Players
The DRaysBay staff covered quite a few players the Rays could draft this week. Check out these previews:
Corner infielders
College pitchers
Middle infielders
College hitters
High-school hitters
High-school pitchers
There was also a draft-centered podcast and posts on individual players like USF shortstop Kevin Merrell and high-school outfielder Bubba Thompson.
No one on the DRB team is a professional, though, as far as I know. If you're looking for industry rankings and reports, here are some places you can check out. Some of these sources make require subscriptions:
Minor League Ball
Baseball America (Rankings are free, reports are $)
MLB.com
ESPN ($)
FanGraphs
2080 Baseball
HERO Sports
Who might the Rays take?
Here's a roundup of the latest mock draft buzz from a variety of sources regarding the fourth pick:
Baseball America's John Manuel: OF Bubba Thompson
MLB.com's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo: IF/OF Royce Lewis
ESPN's Keith Law ($): IF Royce Lewis
FanGraphs' Eric Longenhagen: 1B Brendan McKay IF/OF Royce Lewis
2020 Baseball's Burke Granger: 1B Brendan McKay
One more important thing to know
The Rays can spend up to $12,528,100 on their picks. The league arrives at this number by adding up the valuations of a team's picks in the first 10 rounds.
Players are not tied to those individual values at all, but teams cannot exceed that by a certain amount without facing financial and draft pick penalties in future drafts. Although that number only accounts for picks in the top ten rounds, players drafted beyond that that sign for more than $500,000 count against the cap.
Less-important trivia
No. 4 pick in 2016
Rockies right-handed pitcher Riley Pint (has reached Class A)
Top No. 4 picks
1. Barry Larkin (70.2 WAR)
2. Kevin Brown (68.3 WAR)
3. Dave Winfield (63.8 WAR)
Other No. 4 picks
2014: Kyle Schwarber
2005: Ryan Zimmerman
2004: Jeff Niemann
1995: Kerry Wood
1968: Thurman Munson
No. 31 pick in 2016
Mets right-handed pitcher Anthony Kay (has reached the operating room for Tommy John surgery)
Top No. 31 picks
1. Greg Maddux (106.9 WAR)
2. Jarrod Washburn (28.5 WAR)
3. J.P. Howell (7.9 WAR)
Other No. 31 picks
2011: Mikie Mahtook
2010: Justin O'Conner
2001: Seminole H.S. grad Bryan Bass
1997: Jason Standridge
1976: Sarasota H.S. grad Buddy Lowe
No. 40 pick in 2016
Braves left-handed pitcher Joey Wentz (has reached Class A)
Top No. 40 picks
1. Kevin Tapini (29.4 WAR)
2. Larry Gura (21.7 WAR)
3. Milton Bradley (16.7 WAR)
Other No. 41 picks
2011: Jackie Bradley
2009: Tyler Skaggs
2005: Luke Hochevar (did not sign)
2004: Huston Street
1968: Jesuit H.S. grad Curtis Suchan