MLB Draft 2012: Evaluating the Top OFs Taken in Round 1

Sometimes the players who get less attention in the days leading up to the MLB draft enjoy the most successful major league careers.

We won't know if that is the case for the 2012 draft for a few years, but we do know who got the most attention from the scouts and media prior to being drafted. That man is Byron Buxton, outfielder out of Appling County High School in Georgia, whose skills have been highly touted for months.

He's projected to be a five-tool player in the show, but there hasn't been nearly as much commotion over the next three outfielders who were picked in Round 1.

We're going to change that here and evaluate the top outfielders taken in the first round who aren't named Byron Buxton.

Here they are.

Chicago Cubs Select Albert Almora No. 6 Overall

Almora has been on the radar of many teams for quite some time now, and it's well-deserved. The only thing that's keeping him from being a five-tool draft prospect is his lack of superior speed.

He's been looked at as one of the safer draft picks in this class, specifically for his skills at the dish. He has great balance at the plate, you don't see his head bob around much and he has a long, sweeping swing that stays in the zone for a good amount of time. All the weight goes to his back foot right before he takes a pretty substantial step towards the pitcher, meaning that he's going to hit for a lot of power in the majors.

There's plenty of YouTube videos of Almora hitting at different showcases, and he hasn't ever had a bad performance in one, from what I can tell. He's wiry and almost too skinny right now at 6'2", 170 pounds, but he's going to fill out by the time he starts moving up in the ranks of professional baseball.

Given all the torque he gets when he uncoils himself during his swing, a little added muscle is going to do wonders for his power numbers when he starts to fill out.

He's not as fast as you would like your center fielder to be, but he covers enough ground to be a bit more than an average center fielder. That's right now though; only time will tell what he'll be able to do once he hones his craft. His arm is his strength in the field, though, so that makes up for his minimal lack of speed.

Watch at the 30 second mark when it goes to slow motion. Despite the big step, he keeps his head on a line.

He's going to be an All-Star one day, and the Cubbies could sure use a bright spot in their organization.

Colorado Rockies Select David Dahl No. 10 Overall

I like this kid. A lot. 

Dahl will absolutely mash anything he gets up in the zone, and he can spray it to every part of the field. Once he starts playing in rookie ball and A-ball, he's going to see a lot of pitches up in the zone because young pitchers sometimes have a hard time keeping it down. That's going to give him a tremendous amount of confidence from the beginning, and a little confidence can go a long way.

Out of the three outfielders that are being evaluated here, I'm going with Dahl to become the best major league player. He's a lefty with a beautiful swing that gets around on the ball in a hurry. Not only does he have pull power, he has opposite field power too, something you don't always get with a left-handed hitter.

With the power he has at 6'2", 185 pounds, there's no telling what he could be able to do once he puts on 10-20 pounds of muscle on his frame. Oh yeah, he'll be hitting at Coors Field one day too. That's always music to a hitter's ears.

You typically get worried about a guy coming out of high school because of the use of aluminum bats and how that can skew his abilities a bit, but Dahl has excelled in wood bat showcases.

Did I mention that he's got great speed too. According to the video below, he gets to first base in 3.8 seconds. That's probably a bit off, but he's definitely got the speed to steal some bases and cover plenty of ground in the outfield.

Look at the ball jump off the bat. He peppers it to all fields and can get down the line as fast as any other prospect in the draft.

Chicago White Sox Select Courtney Hawkins No. 13 Overall

Hawkins has the most MLB-ready body of these three outfielders at 6'2", 210 pounds, which provides him with some of the most power in the entire draft. He has great bat speed, but I can see him swinging and missing a lot at the next level, especially when he faces top-tier pitchers.

When he makes contact, though, the ball springs off his bat unlike many of the other draft picks. Hawkins gets out in front more than you would like a No. 13 overall pick to, which is why I'm not 100 percent on this guy. He could be a boom, or he could be a bust.

If he can start making more contact, he'll be a lot closer to boom than the other direction. He could be a guy that hits 30-plus homers in the big leagues once he becomes more polished at the dish. His plate discipline doesn't seem to be all there, as evident in the fact that he gets caught check swinging when he doesn't like a pitch.

Hawkins doesn't take much of a step toward the pitcher at all, but rather turns his foot and shifts his weight back. That's a sign that he'll overcome his propensity to occasionally get out in front of balls.

He has good range and a good arm in the field, with the latter being the better of the two. He's fast enough to be a big league right fielder and certainly has the arm to play the position.

The plate discipline is my biggest concern, but I think he'll figure it out in due time.

I'm skeptical, but I think he's going to wind up just fine.