Now that the minor league season is officially over, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at this years draft class to see how their first professional season went. It can be a difficult transition for some going into professional baseball from high school or college, but the journey is long and a partial season can’t be indicative of what is to come for these young ball players.
1. Mickey Moniak, OF (Phillies) – After signing with the Philadelphia, Moniak was placed on the Gulf Coast Philles. He played in 46 games with that team playing mostly in center field. He did make a couple of appearances in left field as well. He ended the season with a batting line of .284/.340/.409 hitting one home run and driving in 28. Moniak did swipe 10 bases in 14 attempts and had a 7-game and a 9-game hitting streak during the season as well. I am never one at predicting things well, but Moniak could start the season in Class-A Lakewood before transitioning to Class-A Advanced Clearwater at some point during the season.
2. Nick Senzel, 3B (Reds) – Senzel was assigned to the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League to start his career. The Reds then promoted him to Class-A Dayton Dragons after 10 games. He was hitting an underwhelming .152 at that level, but turned things on in Dayton. In 58 games, Senzel hit .329 with seven home runs and 36 RBI. 26 of his 69 hits for the Dragons were for extra bases. He stole 15 bases and also drew 32 walks. Single-A Advanced Daytona could be his next stop as the progression continues.
3. Ian Anderson, P (Braves) – Anderson was the first pitcher selected in the draft out of high school in upstate New York. After signing on with the Braves, Anderson was sent to the Gulf Coast Braves. He made five starts at that level going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He surrendered just two unearned runs and tallied 18 strikeouts in 18.0 innings before being promoted to Class-A Danville of the Appalachian League. He struggled a little bit at that level to the tune of a 0-2 record and an ERA of 3.74.
4. Riley Pint, P (Rockies) – Pint was the second high school arm to be taken in this years draft by the Colorado Rockies. He was assigned to the Grand Junction Rockies of the Pioneer League. It wasn’t the best of starts to his career, but again he was drafted out of high school so not much stock should go into his lack of success to start. Pint went 1-5 with an ERA of 5.35 in 11 starts. He did have 36 strikeouts in 37.0 innings, but the 43 hits and 23 walks didn’t help his cause any. Pint should spend some time back at Grand Junction but could head to short season Boise at some point.
5. Corey Ray, OF (Brewers) – Ray was the second outfielder taken in the draft. He was originally drafted out of high school in 2013 by the Mariners in the 33rd round, but opted to go to Louisville instead. It paid off because he went from being the 987th pick in 2013, to the 5th pick in 2016. In 60 games with both Brevard County and Wisconsin, Ray’s hitting line was .239/.307/.370.
6. A.J. Puk, P (A’s) – Just like Ray before him, Puk was drafted in the 1056th spot in 2013 but went to the University of Florida instead. Once again the move paid off as Puk, who originally was projected to be first overall, was taken 6th by the Oakland Athletics. Puk was assigned to the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League. He started 10 games in his first professional season going 0-4 with an ERA of 3.03. Puk struck out 40 in 32.2 innings and walked 12. More time in the NYPL could be in his future, but starting in Class-A Beloit is also a logical move.
7. Braxton Garrett, P (Marlins) – Garrett was signed by the Marlins in mid-July and assigned to the Gulf Coast Marlins but never made an appearance. After a lengthy high school season and signing late, the Marlins decided to take it slow with their first round pick.
8. Cal Quantrill, P (Padres) – Son of former major league pitcher Paul Quantrill, Cal was rapidly moving through the system in his first professional season. He started out with the Arizona League Padres and made five starts. His next move was to Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League where he made five more starts. His final stop in 2016 was full season Class-A Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Midwest League. After all was said and done this season, Quantrill had a combined record of 0-5 with an ERA of 5.11 at all three levels. He demonstrated great control walking just eight in 37.0 innings and added 46 strikeouts to boot.
9. Matt Manning, P (Tigers) – Manning was another first round high school arm selected in this draft by the Detroit Tigers. After signing his first contract, Manning headed to the Gulf Coast League Tigers West team. He made 10 starts this season going 0-2 with an ERA of 3.99. Manning recorded an impressive 46 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.
10. Zack Collins, C (White Sox) – Rounding out the top 10 was catcher Zack Collins. Collins signed on with the White Sox shortly after the draft and headed to the Arizona League White Sox. He appeared in three games there before being sent to Class-A Advanced Winston-Salem Dash. He appeared in a few games before being put on the disabled list for a concussion. He did return and ended up playing in 36 games for the Dash. Collins finished the season with a hitting line of .258/.418/.467. His defense was good finishing with a 1.000 fielding percentage, but threw out just 3-of-21 base runners.
**Feature photo from Getty Images/Matthew Ziegler**
John Ginder
John has recently graduated from the University at Albany with a B.A. in History and is currently finishing his Master's Degree there as well in secondary education. After being away from school for over two decades he decided to go back and work towards his dream of becoming a social studies teacher.
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