All of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ picks in the 2019 MLB Draft
Jun 4, 2019, 2:10 PM | Updated: 3:37 pm
Brennan Malone, a right-handed pitcher from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., adjusts the bill of a cap after being selected in the first round compensation round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
The Arizona Diamondbacks had seven picks in first 75 selections of the 2019 MLB Draft. In Day 1 of the draft and beyond, Arizona has the most selections and bonus money of any team.
Below is an updating list of which players the D-backs have selected so far in this year’s draft.
No. 302: Oscar Santos, C, PJ Education School
At 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, this catcher from Carolina, Puerto Rico is a right-handed bat committed to Florida Southwestern State College.
No. 272: Bobby Ay, RHP, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
Ay won two games in 15 starts his first three seasons before he went 9-1 in 15 starts as a senior. The 6-foot-3 right-hander struck out 74 players and closed 2019 with a 3.27 ERA.
No. 242: Dominic Canzone, RF, Ohio State
Canzone hit well above .300 in all three of his collegiate go-arounds but this past season saw a boost in power production, going for 16 home runs after hitting a combined seven in 2017 and 2018. He reached bases in 51 straight games to end his career.
No. 212: Spencer Brickhouse, 1B, East Carolina
A 6-foot-4, 235-pound first baseman, Brickhouse has patience at the plate with 44 walks to 43 strikeouts last year. His 1.088 OPS stood out, and his power showed with at least 10 home runs in each of his three seasons at ECU.
No. 182: Andrew Saalfrank, LHP, Indiana
Saalfrank went 8-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) for the Hoosiers in 2019. The junior recorded 98 strikeouts to 26 walks.
No. 152: Conor Grammes, RHP/INF, Xavier
Expected to become a full-time pitcher at the next level, Grammes struggled with his command as a younger college player and is searching out a third pitch. That said, his ERA dipped to 3.95 this past year at Xavier after sitting around 6.00 in 2017 and 2018. Opponents batted .199 against him in 2019.
He throws at 95-99 mph as a reliever and 93-95 mph as a starter, according to MLB.com.
Grammes also produced at the plate in college, batting .330 with 35 walks to 37 strikeouts. He totaled 14 doubles, three triples and eight homers in 58 games this past season.
No. 122: Glenallen Hill Jr., SS, Santa Cruz High School (California)
The son of Glenallen Hill, who played from 1989-2001, Hill Jr. was committed to Arizona State. Like his father, who committed to the Sun Devils out of the same high school, he will instead become a pro after being selected in the fourth round of the draft.
Hill Jr. is a potential outfielder and has been exposed to the pro game, as his father has been coaching in the Colorado Rockies’ minor-league system.
No. 93: Tristin English, 1B, Georgia Tech
English is the first infielder selected in the first eight picks for Arizona this draft.
He earned All-ACC honors in 2016 but missed all of 2017 due to bone spurs and Tommy John surgery. He slashed .346/.427/.710 this past season for the Yellow Jackets, scoring 58 runs in as many games and tallying 74 hits, 71 RBI, 18 home runs and 30 strikeouts this year.
English also pitched for Georgia Tech, making 56 appearances in relief during the 2018 season and just 15 more this past year.
No. 75: Dominic Fletcher, OF, Arkansas
A run of pitchers for the D-backs ended with their last pick of Monday night.
Fletcher hit .309 in his junior year for the Razorbacks, with 10 home runs and 54 RBI.
MLB.com notes Fletcher is considered one of the best defensive outfielders in the class.
“We think (he’s) a plus-defender in center field,” D-backs director of scouting Deric Ladnier said. “Tremendous instincts. We love the bat.”
No. 74: Tommy Henry, LHP, Michigan
The 6-foot-3 lefty Henry made it a run of five straight pitchers selected by Arizona.
Henry threw nearly 100 innings on the season at 99.2, posting a record of 9-5 with a 3.61 ERA.
The junior is ranked as the No. 88 prospect by ESPN’s Keith Law.
Henry popped at the start of the year with some outings where he was 91-93 with a solid-average slider but settled in more around average to fringe-average velocity as the season progressed, becoming very homer-prone in conference play (seven allowed in 45.2 innings, and a 6.50 ERA in the Big Ten), although he still has plus control and touched 93 at the conference tournament.
The D-backs saw Henry a handful of times, per Ladnier.
“He’s that big-body lefty, college performer,” Ladnier said.
No. 56: Ryne Nelson, RHP, Oregon
The D-backs added another right-handed arm with the selection of Nelson.
Nelson, a junior, threw 65.0 innings for the Ducks and had an ERA of 4.29.
Law has Nelson as the 63rd-best prospect in the draft.
Nelson didn’t have the spring that scouts were hoping to see, but he was jerked around in his role while also trying to add multiple pitches at once, which isn’t a recipe for success. He’ll show plus-plus velocity and an above-average slider, with a rudimentary changeup he started using when Oregon asked him to start. He could be a value pick for a team that thinks he can start in the long term and is willing to be more patient in developing him.
Ladnier noted Nelson was a converted shortstop who throws up to 99 mph with a “wipeout slider.”
“Given the athlete, we feel like this is something we could put in the hands of our development and it should not take very long for him to be able to harness all of the talent we feel like that he has,” Ladnier said.
No. 34: Drey Jameson, RHP, Ball State
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Jameson was the third pitcher selected by Arizona.
The sophomore right-hander had a 3.24 ERA over 91.2 innings with 146 strikeouts last season.
MLB.com has Jameson as the No. 49 prospect in the class, touting his fastball as potentially the best in the draft.
“It’s electric, we’ve had him up to 100 (mph),” Ladnier said of Jameson’s stuff. “He’s just one of those guys that we think as he gets through the system, he’s going to be able to develop at a more rapid pace than obviously the high school pitchers.”
Arizona’s compensatory selection at 34th came to them after they lost outfielder A.J. Pollock in free agency to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
No. 33: Brennan Malone, RHP, IMG Academy (Florida)
Malone made it three straight prep selections for the D-backs.
Brennan Malone has one of the best fastballs in the class. A big league body now. Ideal arm action, the slider has gotten a lot better this spring. He'd flashed it before but it was consistently plus during the NHSI this spring.
— Carlos Collazo (@CarlosACollazo) June 4, 2019
Malone is committed to North Carolina.
“We’ve had him up to 97 (mph), it’s a power arm,” D-backs director of scouting Deric Ladnier said of Malone.
The D-backs received the 33rd pick, a compensatory selection, after Patrick Corbin left for free agency to the Washington Nationals.
No. 26: Blake Walston, LHP, New Hanover High School (North Carolina)
Walston was 11-0 at New Hanover High School in North Carolina with a 0.23 ERA. Over 61.2 innings, he had 120 strikeouts.
The 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher is committed to North Carolina State.
Law ranks Walston as the No. 44 prospect of the 2019 class.
Walston is one of the few pop-up arms this spring, enticing because he’s projectable, won’t turn 18 until September and has an above-average breaking ball, although he’s considered a tough sign.
No. 16: Corbin Carroll, OF, Lakeside High School (Seattle)
With their first pick in the draft and one of two in the first round, the D-backs drafted a talented, balanced outfielder out of high school.
A senior from Lakeside High School in Seattle, Wash., Carroll is committed to UCLA after hitting .450 with 22 home runs and 101 RBI in his high school career. Carroll batted .540 as a senior.
Law ranked Carroll as the fourth-best prospect in the 2019 class, praising his overall balance.
Carroll gets raves for his athleticism, speed, feel to hit, and range in center field, and he has the hand strength and swing to get to above-average power down the road, with his arm the only tool that doesn’t project to more than average. He’s 5-foot-10 and a bit small, which I keep hearing as a negative, but if he were 6-foot-3 he’d be in the mix to go first overall. Given how many hitters who are under 6 feet but have the hand and wrist strength to drive the ball are succeeding in the majors, this should be a non-issue.
MLB.com says Caroll has one of the best overall approaches at the plate in the draft. Carroll has “outstanding” speed and gets comparisons to other undersized outfielders like Jacoby Ellsbury and Andrew Benintendi.
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