The Dodgers selected eight players on Day 2 of the annual amateur draft, beginning with high school pitcher Dustin May in the third round and ending with college shortstop Kevin Lachance. Here are the eight newest (unsigned) Dodgers:
3 (101): Dustin May, RHP, Northwest High School (Texas)
4 (131): D.J. Peters, OF, Western Nevada CC
5 (161): Devin Smeltzer, LHP, San Jacinto College
6 (191): Errol Robinson, SS, Ole Miss
7 (221): Luke Raley, CF, Lake Erie College
8 (251): Andre Scrubb, RHP, High Point University
9 (281): Anthony Gonsolin, RHP, St. Mary’s College
10 (311): Kevin Lachance, SS, U. of Maryland Baltimore County
The Dodgers selected four players on Day 1 of the draft, including high school shortstop Gavin Lux with the 20th overall pick. Only two of their first 12 picks have been taken from the high school ranks. Six of the 12 are pitchers, including Gonsolin, who was a two-way standout during his senior year in college. Three are infielders, two are outfielders and one is a catcher.
Rounds 11 through 40 of the draft are tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. PT.
Here’s a bit more on the eight players selected today:
May, an 18-year-old Texas native, pitched in seven games his senior year, going 3-1 with a 1.92 ERA (11 ER/40.0 IP) and limited the opposition to a .175 average. He struck out 58 batters against 13 walk and was rated by Baseball America as the 117th overall prospect in the 2016 draft class. Perfect Game, a prep baseball showcase organization, has May’s fastball touching 93 mph.
Robinson, a 5-foot-11 shortstop, hit .286 with 28 doubles, four triples, two home runs and 85 RBI in three seasons for Ole Miss and was named SEC All-Freshman selection in 2014. If another draft prospect had a highlight video with this caliber of production quality, the Dodgers would have drafted him, too:
Smeltzer, 20, went 9-3 with five complete games and posted a 1.18 ERA (12 ER/91.2 IP) in his sophomore year of eligibility. He struck out 128 batters against just 23 walks in 15 starts for San Jacinto after playing for Florida Gulf Coast University as a freshman. He has an interesting back story that includes overcoming cancer.
Peters, a 20-year-old outfielder who attended Glendora High School, set records for Western Nevada College in batting average (.419) and home runs (16) this season. The Region 18 Player of the Year posted a .419/.510/.734 slashline and became the first Wildcat to hit above .400 in a season.
Raley, a junior Third-Team All-American selection, hit .424 with 11 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 39 RBI in 47 games this season, while posting a .528 on-base percentage and a .747 slugging percentage.
Scrubb appeared in 47 career games (29 starts) in three seasons with High Point University, going 16-12 with a 4.29 ERA and 189 strikeouts in 186.2 innings. I couldn’t pull any video of him throwing a baseball — he was a star hitter in high school — but I think this 1-on-1 interview will make up for it:
Gonsolin went 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA and collected six saves in 18 games (five starts) while hitting .307 with nine doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 26 RBI during his senior year at Saint Mary’s College. Most of the existing videos of Gonsolin show him hitting, but here he is giving up a home run in a game against Gonzaga.
Lachance was named to the America East All-Conference First Team in May after posting a .373/.451/.539 slashline with 14 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 29 RBI this year, while also stealing a UMBC-record 28 bases.
