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Winners, losers, takeaways from Day 1 of MLB Draft

Alex Trautwig / Major League Baseball / Getty

The first day of the 2019 MLB Draft is complete, and 78 brand-new players have major-league affiliations.

Of course, teams still have to come to terms on an entry-level contract with their newest prospects but, for all intents and purposes, the hardest work is done.

Let's break down which players plummeted, who went higher than expected, and which teams walked away as winners or losers over those first two rounds.

Historically weak pitching class

This year's draft was roundly considered to have a weak pitching class. That was quickly validated when, for the first time in MLB history, a pitcher wasn't selected within the first six picks. Nick Lodolo, a lefty out of TCU, was the first arm off the board, going No. 7 to the Cincinnati Reds.

It's the first time in 14 years that a pitcher wasn't taken within the first four picks. The only other time the top pitcher had to wait beyond the first five selections during this millennium was when Ricky Romero was selected sixth overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2005.

Reaches

The first surprise of the night was when the Chicago Cubs shocked everyone by taking Ryan Jensen with the 27th overall pick. Even Jeff Passan of ESPN was flummoxed, thinking the Cubs were selecting righty Matthew Allan.

Jensen was ranked as the 99th-best prospect heading into the draft, according to MLB Pipeline. Baseball America was even lower on the right-hander, ranking him 109th. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, as the Cubs could've identified him as a target and known he wasn't going to be there when they made their next pick at No. 64.

Meanwhile, Allan wound up falling out of the first two rounds altogether due to signability issues. The 18-year-old right-hander was the No. 13 prospect available heading into the draft but has a strong commitment to attend Florida.

The Cubs weren't alone, though, as the Houston Astros went off the board with the final pick of the first round, selecting catcher Korey Lee 32nd overall. Lee was ranked 119th by MLB Pipeline and 173rd at Baseball America entering the draft. However, his raw power and defense didn't go unnoticed by scouts who were scouting at Cal to see his teammate Andrew Vaughn.

Strong shortstop class

Shortstops are always plentiful in the draft, as many players are forced to switch to second base as they progress through the minors.

However, a whopping eight shortstops were taken within the first 30 picks this year, led by prep superstar and No. 2 overall pick Bobby Witt Jr. That number increases to nine if we include No. 13 overall selection Keoni Cavaco, who some count as a third baseman but MLB Network marked as a shortstop.

To put that into perspective, more than five shortstops have been taken within the first 30 picks one other time since 2003. Seven shortstops heard their names called early in 2015, including Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman, and Brendan Rodgers.

Winners

Diamondbacks: Arizona was almost guaranteed to have a good draft by virtue of having a boatload of picks. On the first day alone, the Diamondbacks were able to stand at the podium seven different times.

That doesn't guarantee the picks are good, but Arizona didn't disappoint. With general manager Mike Hazen at the helm taking a very hands-on approach to the draft, the club walked away with a huge contingent of upside picks, including six pitchers. High school outfielder Corbin Carroll is the headliner after falling a handful of spots due to unfair comparisons to Mickey Moniak, but Blake Walston could end up being one of the steals of the draft. One of the only reasons the lefty was available at No. 26 was because he missed the showcase circuit due to his position as his high school team's quarterback. Brennan Malone, meanwhile, has one of the highest ceilings in the class and was ranked as a top-20 prospect before falling to the D-Backs at No. 33.

Marlins: A team in Miami's position may have been tempted to go all upside and take high school players with tantalizing ceilings but perilous floors. Instead, though, they played it safe and took the best player available, selecting polished Vanderbilt outfielder JJ Bleday at No. 3 instead of jumping on toolsy shortstop CJ Abrams. Even further, instead of taking any of the numerous high schoolers who had slipped, they snapped up Mizzou outfielder Kameron Misner - roundly regarded as a top-30 farmhand - at No. 35.

Losers

Padres: San Diego, unfortunately, gets pegged as a loser simply for having the unfortunate circumstance of holding the No. 6 selection. Heading into the draft, it was expected that one of Andrew Vaughn, JJ Bleday, or Riley Greene would fall to the Padres. Instead of getting one of those top-five guys, the Padres got saddled with Abrams, whose stock had fallen a bit due to worries over his swing-and-miss.

What's worse, the Padres didn't get into the first competitive balance round and were stuck drafting No. 48 and 73. With Rece Hinds - known for elite power if he's able to tap into it - still on the board in the second round, San Diego went for high school outfielder Joshua Mears, the 118th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline.

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