2011 MLB Draft: Premier Talent, Great Depth Make This the Year To Take Notice

If you’ve traditionally overlooked the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, this is year to buck that trend.  

While the NFL and NBA's annual selection specials get all the pub, the MLB version has been relegated to Little Brother status and gone largely dismissed by the vast majority of sports fans. Now it’s the boys on the diamond’s time to shine.

Featuring both its share of elite players and possibly the deepest crop of prospects in quite a while, the MLB draft is not only top-heavy, but littered with a slew of super-skilled amateurs with mass potential. 

Speaking of the top tier, the No. 1 overall pick is a two-horse race between UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole and Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon, with the flame-throwing Cole appearing to hold an advantage over the draft’s top bat. If the former indeed gets nabbed by Pittsburgh, Seattle will be more than happy to tab the latter.  

After that, the top 10 is primarily about the men on the mound. 

Virginia southpaw Danny Hultzen, who would likely be the top pick in most other years, has mowed down college competition during the 2011 campaign and now seems a lock to go No. 3 to Arizona. 

At the fourth spot, expect Baltimore to go with Oklahoma prep righty Dylan Bundy. Other pitchers who’ll probably be taken within the first 10 picks are UCLA’s Trevor Bauer, Texas’ Taylor Jungmann and Georgia Tech’s Jed Bradley. Archie Bradley, another Oklahoma high-school phenom, and Vanderbilt ace Sonny Gray also could be among the hurlers to hear their names called before pick No. 11 rolls around. 

Of all the contenders for the top 10, Kansas outfielder Bubba Starling might be the most intriguing—not to mention talented—guy available. A true five-tool position player who is also a quarterback commitment in Nebraska’s 2011 recruiting class, the tall and athletic outfielder likely will never step foot on the Cornhuskers’ campus. Money talks, which will likely lead to Starling’s walking away from the gridiron and into a minor-league dugout in the near future. 

Of the remaining first-round prospects, there are a few especially noteworthy names. 

Pitcher Taylor Guerrieri has enjoyed a supersonic rise in stock during the high school season, and now the South Carolina high-schooler is eyeing a possible high first-round selection. Brandon Nimmo’s native Wyoming doesn’t even play prep baseball, but thanks in part to exposure during American Legion competition, the hard-hitting lefty will likely go in Round 1.  

Then you have a quartet of prime prospects from somewhat obscure venues.  

Outfielder Brian Goodwin and infielder Cory Spangenberg call the junior-college ranks home, yet both could come off the board in the first round. Last, there is UConn’s Matt Barnes and George Springer. Barnes, a right-hander who can hit the mid-90s with his fastball, and Springer, a power-hitting outfielder, will each probably be scooped up within the first 15 overall picks. 

If the Major League draft has perennially been an afterthought for you, this is the year to check it out. Tune in to the MLB Network on Monday for first-round coverage and get a glimpse of “Generation Next.” For the first time, give the "other" draft's premier prospects some attention. 

You'd likely be well served.