ESPN mock draft: D-backs take outfielder with seventh pick

With young outfielders like Yasmany Tomas, A.J. Pollock and David Peralta, could the Diamondbacks pick a center fielder with the No. 7 pick in this year’s draft?

ESPN’s Keith Law released “Mock Draft 2.0” on Tuesday, and Virginia’s Adam Haseley was the name that was linked to Arizona for the June 12 draft.

Arizona’s evaluation team was in heavy for the ACC tournament to see Haseley, Pavin Smith and J.B. Bukauskas. All the talk before Friday was that Bukauskas was their guy, but I have to think that his rough outing, in which at one point he lost his delivery for a few batters, gave everyone some pause.

Haseley is actually both an outfielder and a pitcher, though Law listed him as an outfielder in his mock. On the mound this year, the left-hander owns a 3.58 ERA in 65.1 innings pitched. At the plate, he’s hit an impressive .399 with 14 home runs and 54 RBI.

He was also a finalist last year for the John Olerud Two-Way Player Award, given to the best two-way player as its name suggests.

The Smith who Law refers to is now mocked to the A’s at No. 6. He’s Haseley’s teammate at Virginia and is a left-handed bat standing at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. As a first baseman/outfielder, the junior is hitting .346 with 12 round-trippers.

Law also mentions J.B. Bukauskas, a junior righty from the University of North Carolina who carries a 2.02 ERA in 89 innings this season.

First Round Luck

Over the years, the Diamondbacks’ fortune in the first round has varied.

Last year’s first pick for the D-backs was outfielder Anfernee Grier, who was selected in the Competitive Balance round after Arizona forfeited its first-round selection for signing Zack Greinke. Grier hit .236 last season between Single-A and Rookie ball, but appeared in just 24 games. Grier is currently ranked by MLB.com as the D-backs’ No. 9 prospect.

In 2015, the first-round pick was the No. 1 overall pick and was used to pick shortstop Dansby Swanson. He was later dealt to Atlanta in the infamous Shelby Miller trade and is hitting .239 with seven home runs in 86 career MLB games.

Other first-rounders include:

2014: Touki Toussaint — Traded to Atlanta
2013: Braden Shipley — Currently in Triple-A; has made 14 career MLB appearances
2012: Stryker Trahan — Never promoted beyond Single-A, eventually released
2011: Archie Bradley — 1.64 ERA as a reliever this year with the D-backs
2011: Trevor Bauer — Traded to Cleveland
2010: Barret Loux — Did not sign (medical concerns)

Before 2010, some highlights from the D-backs’ first round include Chris Owings and A.J. Pollock, both of whom have gone on to become valuable and productive major leaguers. Max Scherzer, Justin Upton, Stephen Drew and Carlos Quentin are also on the list of first-rounders in D-backs history.

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