With last week's MLB draft in the books, many teams acquired players who will rank as the top prospect in their organizations as soon as they sign, or at least close enough that it will be a good debate whether they rank first, second or third. Here's a quick look at teams that, in my opinion, just drafted their new No. 1 (or, in some cases, No. 2) prospect, with brief explanations why.
Bear in mind that any of these rankings can change between now and the end of the year -- or even between now and when I update the top 50 prospects in the minors after the Futures Game, given news about performances, injuries, mechanical changes or promotions. This also assumes that all players discussed here will sign, which is extremely likely based on recent history, but as we've seen with players such as Brady Aiken, it's not guaranteed, as players must pass physicals before signing.
Detroit Tigers: Casey Mize (No. 1 overall pick)
Look, it's possible that a team could pick first overall and not end up with its new No. 1 prospect -- if the Blue Jays had picked first this year, they couldn't possibly have landed someone better than Vlad Guerrero Jr., to pick one obvious example -- but most of the time, if you 1) have the first pick and 2) don't royally screw it up, you're going to end up with your new top dog. The Tigers have had some trouble in their system this year, with their top prospect from January, Franklin Perez, out since March with a lat strain; No. 5 prospect Matt Manning walking six men per nine innings in low-A; and several other top-10 prospects having disappointing starts to their year. (Two exceptions: Beau Burrows doing his workmanlike thing in Double-A and Christin Stewart off to a great start in Triple-A.) So Mize, the No. 1 prospect in this draft class by a wide margin, is easily the Tigers' new No. 1.
