It’s been a busy day for draft coverage today, but one thing is for certain, DJ Peterson has jumped up in the rankings for everyone. We read earlier today that he could go to the Pirates with the ninth overall pick. Now Jonathan Mayo has the Pirates picking him with the 14th overall pick. He has also been mentioned as a possibility at #6 with the Marlins, #8 with the Royals and #11 with Mets. 
Mayo thinks more along the lines of most people with his earlier pick, saying that the Pirates could take Georgia HS outfielder Austin Meadows with the ninth pick. Both Baseball America and Keith Law have said that the Pirates could pass up on him. Meadows has huge upside though, a big athletic body, good speed and defense in center field with room to grow.
By picking Meadows, they would be passing on Trey Ball, who has been linked numerous times to them. The 6’6″ HS lefty has been in this range often recently and it was said a couple weeks ago that he won’t fall past the Pirates second pick.
Also going between the two Pirates picks are Reese McGuire, Ryne Stanek and Aaron Judge. McGuire has been linked to the Pirates, who have heavily scouted him. An athletic HS catcher, who profiles to have above average defense at the spot and at least a decent bat.
Stanek would really have to slip to get that far. He was mentioned early as a possibility for the top spot, but has slowly dropped as his consistency on the mound hasn’t been good this season. He has had a few of his outings this year cut short by high pitch counts, especially early on in the season and all three years in college, he has had slow starts to the season.
Judge has never been mentioned this high. He has huge power potential, but it hasn’t shown in college. At 6’7″, 255 pounds, he has displayed tremendous batting practice power, which has disappeared in games. He also strikes out quite often.
Going right after the Peterson pick at #14 are two very intriguing High School names. Dominic Smith, a power hitting lefty first baseman, and JP Crawford, a shortstop predicted to stick at the position and hit at the top of the order. Both seem like higher upside players compared to Peterson. The upside to Peterson is how quick he could make the majors, but Smith has more power and as a lefty, he is more suited to PNC Park than Peterson. Crawford’s upside is the ability to stick at a premium position.
For more draft reading, we just posted the schedule for this weekend, focusing in on the players in the Pirates range, both HS and college. Also, we have an article talking about the odds of drafted players sticking at the position they were drafted at. Very interesting read when dealing with players at premium positions.
