Diamondbacks select OF Corbin Carroll No. 16 overall in 2019 MLB Draft

Jun 3, 2019, 5:52 PM | Updated: Jun 4, 2019, 7:34 am

The rostrum is viewed at the MLB Network prior to the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

BY KELLAN OLSON

Suns reporter, ArizonaSports.com editor

The Arizona Diamondbacks have selected high school outfielder Corbin Carroll with the 16th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft.

A senior out of 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.

ESPN’s Keith 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.

Corbin Carroll, the team's 16th overall pick, hit .540 with a 1.859 OPS, 9 homers, 26 RBI, 19 extra-base hits, 11 steals and 38 runs scored in 23 games this season. #RattleOn pic.twitter.com/RyJOZFeFOQ

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 4, 2019

The D-backs have more selections and money of any team in the draft, with a bonus pool allotment of $16,093,700 for the first 10 rounds, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis. That’s the second-biggest spending pool since the limits were put in place in 2012.

Arizona has that amount because it has eight of the first 100 picks in the draft. Seven of those will be selected through the first 75 picks on Monday night.

“We thought (it) was an exceptional pick at that spot,” D-backs director of scouting Deric Ladnier said of getting Carroll at 16th overall. “It was someone that we had targeted, honestly, since the day after the draft last year.”

Along with the No. 16 pick decided by the team’s 2018 record (82-80), the D-backs will select again in the first round at 26th overall after last year’s first-round pick, infielder Matt McClain, opted against signing with the team and headed to college at UCLA instead.

Several of Arizona’s picks are thanks to offseason moves.

Following the first round, the Diamondbacks have two consecutive compensatory round picks at 33rd and 34th overall because they lost pitcher Patrick Corbin and outfielder A.J. Pollock in free agency. Arizona has two competitive balance round B picks at 74th and 77th as well, the latter of which was from losing Paul Goldschmidt in a trade to the St. Louis Cardinals.

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Former professional baseball players, from left to right, Ron Cey, Ryne Sandberg and Ralph Garr talk prior to the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announces Adley Rutschman, a catcher from Oregon State University, as the No. 1 selection by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The rostrum is viewed at the MLB Network prior to the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Frank Coppenbarger, of the Philadelphia Phillies, looks at a cell phone prior to the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Gordon Ash, vice president of baseball projects for the Milwaukee Brewers, looks at a cell phone prior to the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, center, meets with prospects, from left to right, Brett Baty, Daniel Espino, Brennan Malone and Jackson Rutledge prior to the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Former Oakland Athletics outfielder Eric Byrnes reacts during the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cincinnati Reds' Tom Browning talks on a phone prior to the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, left, talks to Brett Baty, second from left, a third baseman from Lake Travis High School in Austin, Tx., as Baty's family looks on after he was selected No. 12 by the New York Mets in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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