Day 1 of the 2018 MLB first-year player draft is in the books, with 78 picks and two rounds completed. Here are the highlights of what happened Monday night and a brief look at the best names still on the board for Tuesday.
Best Day 1 picks
Detroit: Casey Mize, RHP, Auburn
Rank: No. 1 / Pick: No. 1 overall
The Tigers had the first pick in a draft with one player who was clearly the best, and they took him. Sometimes you deserve credit for not screwing up a good thing.
Tampa Bay: Matthew Liberatore, LHP, Mountain Ridge HS, Peoria, Arizona
Rank: No. 3 / Pick: No. 16 overall
Liberatore was the best lefty in the draft, college or high school, and had been in play as high as the first overall pick earlier this spring, certainly in the mix at No. 2 for a while, and reportedly was one of the pitchers the Reds, picking fifth, tried to cut a deal with Sunday night. The Rays aren't known for their good pitching fortune, so landing a player of this caliber at a pick that begins the second half of the first round is kind of unbelievable. He's projectable with a four-pitch mix already, primarily fastball-curve-change, has a great delivery from the windup and very good feel for pitching for a teenager.
