2012 MLB Draft

[Slats]

Seattle has the third overall pick! I would love for Byron Buxton to fall to us but cannot see him picking picked outside the top two. I'm really hoping the M's take the next best available in my opinion and that would be Carlos Correa - a SS who may move to 3B down the line. Correa can already hit, is only 17 so his power will come!

I trust Jack Z to make the best move.

[Bulltalk]

Mike Zunino. A very good catcher and a very good hitter and he's the closest to being major league ready at the top of the draft board. Goodnight.

Olivo is old and sucks and not the answer. Montero is never going to be a very good catcher, and we need a good catcher to work with our young pitchers coming up (Zunino is supposedly great in this way beyond his years).

To me, this is all but a no-brainer if he's available.

[Sweezo]

Correa and Buxton were the sexier picks...and neither of them was an option for us. Zunino seems like a good fit. He has a good reputation for calling a game, which could be good for a soon to be young pitching staff. Montero at DH, with Zunino and Jaso at C? That works for me.

[TTown]

when we say close-to-major-league-ready, how soon are we talking?

[Bulltalk]

when we say close-to-major-league-ready, how soon are we talking?

2014 season. We'd hope.

[TTown]

man, i hate the mlb draft.

[bennith13]

The two guys I wanted went 1 and 2 so I guess I am fine with Zunino. This second and third round tomorrow could be interesting... there are still some high reward high school players available. I really want us to take an athletic OF type. Maybe a Nick Williams or someone like that.

[FeedSheed30]

So is montero the everyday DH now?

[bennith13]

Texas is so smart. They draft so well. I am trying to trust our guys but I am not so sure about our second round pick based on who was still available. We could have gotten Joe Decarlo in the third round, maybe even in the fourth.

[bennith13]

Absolutely Montero should be full time DH. For a variety of reasons.

[Bulltalk]

I think the M's might have drafted Zunino if they had had the #1 pick. I have a hunch this is the guy they wanted all along, felt that way for some time. This guy may be the best all around hitter in college baseball. And he's a great catcher. Just what we need.

Very happy with the pick. I wanted him more than some guy we'd be waiting years for.

[bennith13]

Yeah, have to like Jack Z talking about Zunino being on a similar timeline as Hultzen.

Interesting that we are going pitching in rounds three and the comp round.

[Bulltalk]

Yeah, have to like Jack Z talking about Zunino being on a similar timeline as Hultzen.

Interesting that we are going pitching in rounds three and the comp round.

Let's face it. The M's got to start winning soon. This was one of those rare times where drafting need and being close to ML ready might have *slightly* trumped someone having an eventual higher ceiling. The draft is always a crapshoot on some level. The way I see, at about the time Zunino is ready for the ML's, players like Ackley, Smoak, Montero, Hultzen, Saunders, Seager, etc... will have had a good degree of ML experience. He will be the *pup* among our players, just behind Walker and Franklin. By then, the team will hopefully be ready to carry his youth.

We want to start competing for the playoffs by 2014. We would like to have the majority of our roster begin solidifying by then. Jack Z is running out of time to get this right. And, of course, a lot of young pitchers on our staff in need of a very good catcher.

Why I like the pick. Hope it works out.

[bennith13]

I didnt really see anyone that jumped out as having a huge upside or being a better player after the first two players were taken off the board. I am fine with the pick. If the guys that are supposed to work out end up working out then we should be in a good position very soon.

As for Jack Z running out of time. He has done a few things that in hindsight look bad, but overall he has done a good job and we are building up the team the right way to have success for a longer period of time then any of the quick fixes that have been tried before. It wasn't like Jack had even one or two prospects that were in the system getting ready to come up and help out the team. We basically were an expansion team when he took over.

[bennith13]

We just drafted Brendon Ryan Jr in the 5th round.

[mirandjl]

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