While this can be seen as an exercise in futility, it isn’t unfair to say certain teams can ‘win’ and ‘lose’ the draft from an evaluator's perspective. While true winners and losers won’t be declared until years in the future, here’s a quick snapshot of the major themes of day one.
WINNER: The St. Louis Cardinals
I didn’t expect to be writing about how the Cardinals dominated the draft, but here we are. After being slotted for a college bat at 13 for most of the cycle, the Cards selected Trevor Condon, a fantastic upside swing given the bats available. They followed that up with Tegan Kuhns at 32, right around where I had him valued, and then a surprise in Rocco Maniscalco at 50. He won’t be cheap, but to get two high upside prep bats in the first 50 picks is a win in and of itself. They …