To find a complete pick-by-pick analysis of the first round in the 2013 MLB draft, click here. Below is a breakdown of the most interesting American League picks in the second round, as well as Competitive Balance Rounds A and B.
Biggest upside
Royals (No. 46) | Cody Reed, LHP, NW Mississippi CC: Reed offers the upside of a prep arm with projection in a 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame, and some of the polish offered by a college arm. He's into the mid-90s with his fastball, which is rare from a left-hander, and his slider made progress in 2013. If he can develop the changeup, he can start, and at that point would look like a steal in the second round.
Angels (No. 59) Hunter Green, LHP, Warren East High School (Bowling Green, Ky.): Green is a fastball-curveball left-hander with a projectable, 6-foot-4, 175-pound frame who could add to his low-90s velocity, setting up an average curveball that could end up plus. He's not as polished as the other three prep lefties that went ahead of him -- Matt Krook, Trey Ball, Ian Clarkin -- but in time could do some catching up as all four near the major leagues.
Biggest reaches
Tigers (No. 39) | Corey Knebel, RHP, Texas: Knebel is a relief pitcher, which limits the potential return on investment this high. And while it's a competitive balance round selection who the club will likely be able to sign for below the recommended bonus figure, the Tigers appear to have foregone upside on all of their Day 1 selections -- Jonathon Crawford at No. 20, Kevin Ziomek at No. 58 -- making the Knebel selection a bit of a puzzler.
Quickest to the majors
Twins (No. 43) | Ryan Eades, RHP, LSU: Eades received top-20 buzz this spring, but fell to a team with a history of drafting strike throwers. He uses all of his pitches and offers a little bit of projection thanks to a prototypical pitcher's build at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds.
Eades could be the Michael Wacha of the class of 2013. Wacha made his big league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals last month after being the No. 19 overall pick in last year's draft. That's not a comparison of talents, just in terms of moving quickly despite the lack of ace upside.
Signing issues
Royals (No. 34) | Sean Manaea, LHP, Indiana State:
Manaea is likely to receive a bonus well above the MLB recommendation for this pick, and it appears the Royals have planned for such, selecting Hunter Dozier at No. 8 overall, who will likely sign for well below slot. Expect Manaea to sign, but it could be a tough negotiation as he was considered a top-five talent entering the year who fell because of a nagging hip injury.
Possible sleepers
Rays (No. 60) | Riley Unroe, SS, Desert Ridge High School (Mesa, Ariz.): Unroe, a switch-hitter, projects to stay at shortstop and offers well above-average speed and some upside at the plate in terms of hitting for average. The lack of up-the-middle talent in this draft -- and in the pro game -- suggest the potential for first-round value with a mid-second round pick.
Orioles (No. 37) | Josh Hart, OF, Parkview High School (Lilburn, Ga.): Hart's ability to use his plus speed in the field and on the bases earned him a top-40 selection, but his feel for the game suggests he could develop an average or better hit tool that may land him as a leadoff hitter. There's not a lot of upside here, but Hart is a great athlete who knows how to play and use his strengths to his advantage.