Terminator

Keith Law ESPN Senior Writer & SJW Twitter Hero The NCAA Division I schedule kicks off this Friday, Feb. 16, which marks the unofficial start of MLB draft season as well, although some high schools and junior colleges in the south and west are already underway. This year's Rule 4 draft will take place June 4-6, with the Detroit Tigers holding the first pick, followed by the Giants, Phillies, White Sox and Reds. The class looks strong right now, the deepest overall since 2011, although the upper tier is less certain right now and heavier on the high school talent some teams have shied away from in recent drafts. 1. Ethan Hankins, RHP, Forsyth Central High School, Cumming, Georgia: By all accounts, the best high school player in the draft class is this 6-foot-6 right-hander, who brings plus velocity already with an advanced feel for pitching. Of course, the annual disclaimer that no high school right-hander has ever gone first overall is required. 2. Casey Mize, RHP, Auburn: The best college arm has big velocity, a hard slider and a wipeout splitter, but some questions about his durability and his elbow remain. A strong, uninterrupted junior year would likely quell those concerns. 3. Travis Swaggerty, OF, South Alabama: Swaggerty -- his nickname has to be Swaggy T, right? -- has hit for two solid years for the Jaguars and was one of the leading hitters on the USA Collegiate National Team last summer, while also bringing above-average speed that gives him a good chance to profile in center field. He's sub-6-feet … but so was 2015's No. 2 overall pick, Alex Bregman. 4. Nolan Gorman, INF, Sandra Day O'Connor High School, Glendale, Arizona: Gorman stands out as the one elite high school bat in the class, which is deep with likely big leaguers but not with potential stars. He's not a shortstop in the long run, but with his swing and huge raw power, it won't matter where he plays. 5. Matthew Liberatore, LHP, Mountain Ridge High School, Peoria, Arizona: Liberatore could give Hankins a run for his money as the top high school arm taken, with a projectable body and three average or better pitches right now. He'll work mostly 89-92 mph, along with a slow but tight curveball and above-average changeup, throwing strikes with all three offerings. If he gains velocity, he could end up with three 60-grade pitches in his arsenal. 6. Griffin Conine, OF, Duke: Conine's dad used to be Mr. Marlin, although I feel like that might not apply anymore. Griffin is seen as the safest college hitter in the class, returning from an injury-wrecked freshman year to hit .298/.425/.546 for Duke last year and finish in the top 10 in the Cape in OBP and slugging. He'll end up at a corner in pro ball. 7. Logan Gilbert, RHP, Stetson: Gilbert shows plus velocity from a slightly low three-quarters slot that's very deceptive, with present control more than command and still some projection left in his body. 8. Kumar Rocker, RHP, North Oconee High School, Bogart, Georgia.: Rocker is bigger than most big leaguers already, listed at 6-foot-5 and a perhaps generous 250 pounds by MLB, with a tremendous arm -- his velocity sits in the mid-90s and he also shows a power breaking ball -- but he lacks the command or feel of Hankins and Liberatore. 9. Jake McCarthy, OF, Virginia: The younger brother of Rays prospect (and Cavaliers alum) Joe, Jake is a similarly polished hitter but is faster and more athletic, much more likely to stay in center and with a projection to hit and show average power. 10. Ryan Rolison, LHP, Ole Miss: A strongly built lefty with a solid-average or better fastball and tight-breaking curveball, Rolison is a draft-eligible sophomore who will turn 21 about a month after the draft and is Ole Miss' best starter even though he started 2016 in its bullpen before entering the weekend rotation. 11. Jackson Kowar, RHP, Florida: Kowar will be the Gators' No. 2 starter to begin the spring, but he's their best pro prospect, with a plus fastball, starter's delivery and plus changeup. 12. Carter Stewart, RHP, Eau Gallie High School, Melbourne, Florida: Stewart will pitch with solid-average velocity already, but it's his knockout curveball -- the best in the draft class -- that could push him into the top half of the first round, even with the industry bias against prep right-handers. 13. Shane McClanahan, LHP, South Florida: McClanahan has thrown up to 99 mph, complemented with at least a solid-average changeup, although he's so slight of build that there's concern he won't hold up throwing that hard as a starter. 14. Nander de Sedas, SS, Montverde Academy: Montverde Academy gave the world Francisco Lindor, and we shall be forever grateful. The school's next great shortstop prospect is de Sedas, yet another switch-hitter, with loose hands and physical projection for future power, at least from the right side. He has the glove and plus arm for short but is a below-average runner. 15. Jarred Kelenic, OF, Waukesha (Wis.) West High School: Kelenic is a toolsy prep outfielder from the baseball hotbed of … um, Wisconsin, which has produced one first-round pick in the past 30 years. He has power, a plus arm and average running speed, with a good idea at the plate but questionable bat speed. 16. Steele Walker, OF, Oklahoma: Walker outhit Swaggerty for Team USA last summer, mostly because he showed more power, but he'll end up in left field in pro ball because he lacks Swaggerty's speed. Also, Steele Walker is a great name if he decides to switch careers and become an actor, a professional wrestler or a superhero. 17. Seth Beer, OF, Clemson: Beer is famous for his walk totals, with 126 so far in 583 plate appearances over two years with Clemson, and he has power, but he has to show he can play a position to end up a top 5-10 pick like his offensive stat line might imply. 18. Nick Madrigal, 2B/SS, Oregon State: Madrigal can really hit and never strikes out, and he might fly off the board given his offensive performance, but he's just 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, doesn't have much power and has been bumped to second base by junior Cadyn Grenier. 19. Will Banfield, C, Brookwood High School, Lawrenceville, Georgia.: High school catchers are considered the riskiest class of players to take in the draft, especially up top; since the Twins took Joe Mauer first overall in 2001, the top-producing high school catcher taken in the first round who reached the majors as a catcher is Devin Mesoraco (15th pick, 2007), with 3.7 WAR. The past two drafts haven't seen a catcher taken before the second round, but Banfield might break that streak, as he’s a very good defensive catcher with a plus arm. His bat is the bigger question; he has a solid swing that should produce average power, and he should end up in the first round with a strong spring at the plate. 20. Brice Turang, SS, Santiago High School, Corona, California: Turang is the best shortstop among top prospects in this year's class, but as more scouts saw him last year, questions emerged about how much offensive upside he'd offer, or whether he was more of an Adam Everett type, who would have big value on defense but not at the plate. 21. Cole Wilcox, RHP, Heritage High School, Ringgold, Georgia.: Wilcox has a super-quick arm and throws up to 95 mph, also boasting an above-average slider and changeup, but there's effort to his delivery, and he could use his lower half more to show he can hold up as a starter. 22. Brady Singer, RHP, Florida: Singer is the Gators' Friday night starter, and the more famous of their two prospects, but his stuff has been inconsistent -- he can throw 94-96 mph as a starter but then be more 90-91 mph -- and his very low arm slot and short-arm delivery are less than optimal for the rotation. 23. Tristan Pompey, OF, Kentucky: Yep, that's Dalton's younger brother, a bigger but less speedy model, coming off a strong .361/.464/.541 sophomore year for the Wildcats, albeit with some of the same swing-and-miss concerns that bedeviled other recent college outfield prospects like Jeren Kendall and Corey Ray. 24. Tim Cate, LHP, UConn: Cate has one of the best lefty curveballs in the class, giving teams the comfort of a high floor, but he’s on the smaller side for a starter, and the last time the Huskies had a premium starter prospect (Anthony Kay), they overpitched him so badly he blew out his elbow before he could ever throw a pro pitch. 25. Jeremy Eierman, SS, Missouri State: The younger brother of the Rays' third-rounder in the 2011 draft, Eierman is a strong-bodied shortstop with a powerful, balanced swing that produced 23 homers last spring, albeit with some swing-and-miss. He's an average runner and probably moves to third base in the long run. 26. Mason Denaburg, RHP, Merritt Island (Florida) High School: A traditional prep right-hander with a fastball clocked up to 95 mph as well as a hard slider, with good athleticism and some growth ahead of him as a pitcher. He's at the same school that produced Brady McConnell, now a freshman at Florida and a potential high pick for 2020. 27. Tristan Casas, 1B, American Heritage High School, Plantation, Florida.: It's bat-only tools, but Casas looks like he'll hit and hit for power, and he comes from a school with a great track record of producing players, including 2008’s No. 3 overall pick, Eric Hosmer. 28. Cole Winn, RHP, Orange (California) Lutheran High School: Winn moved to California from Colorado for this academic year and impressed West Coast scouts in the fall with the uptick in his stuff now that he's not pitching at altitude and is facing better competition. 29. Konnor Pilkington, LHP, Mississippi State: A big, strong college lefty with three average pitches who works in the best baseball conference, although he's going to have to work on his command and control and may not have a single plus pitch right now. 30. Joey Bart, C, Georgia Tech: The top college catcher generally comes off the board fairly early, and that's Bart this year in a weak group of collegiate backstops. He's a solid defender with a plus arm and has average or slightly better power, but he strikes out too often and projects to a below-average hit tool. Others of note: Greyson Jenista, OF, Wichita State; Alec Bohm, 3B/1B, Wichita State; Noah "Bo" Naylor, C/3B, St. Joan of Arc High School, Mississauga, Ontario; Joe Gray Jr., OF, Hattiesburg High School (Mississippi); Anthony Seigler, C/BHP -- that's not a typo, he throws both righty and lefty -- Cartersville High School, Georgia.; Cadyn Grenier, SS, Oregon State.

I would not be surprised if Tulo's days as a viable major league player were basically over.

Yeah the Buffalo OF as is the rest of that team is looking pretty solid. To go along with all those OFers it looks like Biagini might be down there to go with Borucki. Taylor Guerrieri and Pannone are interesting and they should be there as well. Then there's Gurriel, Gift and Urena. Nothing special but having guys like that with options isn't going to hurt. Jansen could be called upon at C. This is the first time in a long time that we actually have depth!

I think he's gone. Alford, Teoscar, Pompey, DSJ in Buffalo to go along with Granderson and Pearce at the big league level there's no need to pay the $1.6 mil it'd cost to keep him around.

I think we can dump him though and only pay 1/6 of his salary or whatever that rule is.

I thought it might be Dermody but this makes a lot of sense. Could spur on a trade and if not we save the majority of Zeke's salary. Zeke doesn't have options and we have a lot of OFers who are going to be playing in Buffalo with options.

I think we were at 40 before the signing so yes. I was thinking maybe Dermody?

Wilner is ok IMO. Richmond is a little subpar. Together it's a pretty underwhelming duo.

What's everyone think of the Wilner/Richmond team? Are they auditioning for the regular season gig?

So after the Oh signing is there anything else the Jays will do? I assume more starting pitching and relief pitching fodder. Could see another major league reliever perhaps. Would love to see Carlos Ruiz brought in on a major league minimum deal but I don't think it will happen.

Yeah his health is huge this season. I'd say our playoff hopes rely mostly on Donaldson's health and in general the starting rotation's health of which Sanchez is probably the biggest question mark. We have pretty decent depth everywhere else and could afford normal levels of injuries to the OF, the rest of the IF, and perhaps even C depending on how good Jansen is. But if Donaldson or the rotation get struck with big injuries we are in trouble.

Heading to Vegas in a bit to visit family and was thinking of checking out a Golden Knights game. I looked at the standings and they are in 1st place? Can someone explain to me how an expansion team could be in first place in its inaugural season? The NHL must have some pretty friendly expansion draft rules.

I would love to see that.

A few people seem to be confused here, a one year deal for 2 million bucks is by definition low risk. If he sucks the team loses a paltry amount of money. That isn't very risky. It's a low risk, medium reward signing.

What's high risk about a 1 year deal for 2 million?

Who is getting removed from the 40 man? My guess would be Dermody?

Yeah I forgot to put him in after tooting his horn earlier this month. Has he pitched yet?

I wonder what the vesting option actually is?

So to me it's looking like this: CL- Osuna SU- Tepera SU- Oh MR- Barnes MR- Loup (L) MR- Mayza (L) LR- Biagini (Him starting in Buffalo is a real possibility though) John Axford, Craig Breslow, Al Alburquerque, Matt Dermody and Carlos Ramirez are all in the mix as well. Especially if Biagini starts in Buffalo.

Good move. So what is the pen looking like now?

Vladito ain't looking so little.

So the Rays basically got Cron, Hudson and Gray and save a little money while losing Dickerson. What does everyone think of this and their other moves? I can't really tell.

Jansen needs to play a lot though. He needs the ABs and he needs the reps behind the dish too. I think starting him at AAA for a while is fine. Maile playing a dozen games isn't going to kill us. Then when the first injury hits or midseason maybe he could come up and play a fair amount. Then move McGuire up to AAA. Perhaps this is what the FO is thinking.