With the first round, compensation picks and competitive balance round complete, here's a look at the best picks and biggest reaches from the first 41 picks of the 2016 MLB draft.
Best picks
5. Corey Ray, OF
Louisville
Big Board rank: 1
In my view, Ray was the best prospect in this muddled draft class, a power/speed guy who can hit, takes quality at-bats and should end up as an adequate left fielder. There were concerns about his defense this year, as he has played center and left, neither of them very well, but he's a superb athlete with outstanding makeup and aptitude, and the offensive profile is really sound. Several scouts compared him to Ray Lankford this spring, which would be a superb outcome for the fifth overall pick, and there's always the chance he becomes a better defensive outfielder with the help of professional coaching.
12. Jason Groome, LHP
Barnegat (New Jersey) HS
Big Board rank: 2
This was the pick of the night, and about as good a sign as Red Sox fans can get on the direction of the amateur scouting department under new president Dave Dombrowski. Groome was No. 2 on my board with a case for No. 1, an athletic lefty with a grade-70 curveball and very easy arm action who slipped due to concerns about his character off the field. On the field, he's as promising as it gets, and the Red Sox should be thrilled to get someone with this kind of upside even though they didn't have a pick in the top 10. Several teams ahead of them had the chance to take him and passed in favor of good prospects but guys I ranked lower because they lack Groome's upside.
18. Blake Rutherford, OF
Chaminade College Prep (West Hills, California)
Big Board rank: 6
Rutherford came out of last summer as a probable top-five pick, a corner outfielder who could really hit and projected to above-average or better power. He turned 19 in early May, which is a point against him -- the track record of 19-year-old high school seniors taken high in the draft is poor -- and he's limited defensively, so you're just betting on the bat. But we all loved the guy's hit tool last summer, and there isn't anything really new that should have soured anyone on the bat.
Others I liked: LHP Braxton Garrett (No. 3 on my Big Board) at pick No. 7 by the Marlins; LHP Joey Wentz (No. 22 on my Big Board) at pick No. 40 by the Braves; and RHP Cody Sedlock (No. 17 on my Big Board) at pick No. 27 by the Orioles.
Biggest reaches
13. Josh Lowe, 3B/RHP
Pope HS (Marietta, Georgia)
Big Board rank: 26
Lowe is certainly talented, with big power and a plus arm, but a lot of swing and miss concerns that kept him out of consideration in the top 10 and had several teams viewing him as a sandwich-round talent. There's upside here, but I think there's huge risk with this bat that probably makes this a bit too high for his selection.
21. T.J. Zeuch, RHP
Pittsburgh
Big Board rank: 38
Zeuch is a 6-foot-6 right-hander with a plus fastball but a high slot that is going to be hard to maintain as a starter, and he lacks the above-average or better secondary pitch (or pitches) that would make him a clear long-term starter. The fastball does come downhill at batters, and it'll mean a lot of uncomfortable at-bats for minor league hitters, but I thought there were better college arms on the board here, including Eric Lauer, Anthony Kay and Dakota Hudson.
24. Hudson Sanchez, 3B
Southlake (Texas) Carroll HS
Big Board rank: 84
The Padres' first three picks were an odd mixture, with all three appearing to be under-slot guys. Sanchez is a potential future plus defender at third base, with soft hands and a plus arm, but his hit tool is very crude, and the power is more projection at this point. That said, he is just 17½ right now and has a lot of physical growth ahead of him.
The Padres appeared to take two under-slot guys with Cal Quantrill (ranked 23rd and taken ninth … but he was potentially a first overall pick before he blew out his elbow last spring) and Sanchez, as well as Kent State lefty Eric Lauer (ranked 50th, taken 25th), who was expected to go in that range.
The Cardinals
The Cardinals get their own section here, with three picks all over the board in Delvin Perez (ranked 15th, taken 23rd), Dylan Carlson (ranked 100th, taken 33rd) and Dakota Hudson (ranked 20th, taken 34th).
Perez, of course, became a story when he tested positive for a PED in MLB's pre-draft testing, which carries no penalty but knocked him down from a potential top-five selection (probably ether second or fifth) all the way to the end of the first round. He's a plus runner with bat speed and great actions at shortstop, as well as a plus arm. What is uncertain is whether any of the power he showed this spring was merely the product of artificial enhancement, but at pick 23, this is an outstanding gamble to take.
Hudson, meanwhile, was projected to go in the teens, maybe as high as pick 9 or 10, but fell due to concerns about his delivery and the quality of his strikes … yet falling all the way to No. 34 is shocking for a college pitcher who struck out a batter per inning as a starter in the SEC and is 93-95 mph with a plus cutter.
Carlson, on the other hand, is a power-before-hit first baseman without much physical projection; he reminds me at the plate of Bryce Denton, whom the Cardinals took at pick No. 66 last year.
I'll continue the analysis all through the weekend, reviewing all 30 teams' draft classes.