Arizona Diamondbacks 2023 Draft Thread, Day 2

This will be an open thread as we chew over the selections made in rounds three through ten in the 2023 MLB draft. There will also be a short compensation round between the fourth and fifth for teams who lost qualifying free agents last winter. Things kick off at 11 am Arizona time, and you can follow along through a live stream on MLB.com. There will be one minute between picks, so expect each round to take about half an hour. Arizona will be picking 10th in the third round, then 11th in the fourth and subsequent rounds

Per Jonathan Mayo, the players remaining available include 38 of the Top 100 prospects and seven of the top 50. “It’s a group that is topped by a solid college bat and several projectable high school pitchers,” says Mayo. We’ll see what direction the D-backs decide to go with their selections. I’ll pop in over the course of the day to update this with information on the team’s picks. But I’ve got the day off, so won’t actually be at my desk, and therefore you should expect a non-instantaneous reaction. :)

3rd round, #80. Jack Hurley, Virginia Tech, OF

Virginia Tech’s Jack Hurley evolves into draft prospect - He is rated the No. 29 draft prospect in the nation by MLB.com and #48 in the country by Baseball America. “It shows a lot of the hard work that’s gone into it [is paying off],” Hurley said. The left-handed-hitting Hurley is batting .327 with 17 homers and 48 RBIs for the 10th-seeded Hokies (30-21, 12-17), who will play Boston College in the ACC tournament Tuesday in Durham, N.C. “He’s got enough tools to play the game for awhile,” Tech coach John Szefc said. “His tools at this stage are probably more advanced than some guys that I’ve had in the past that are in the major leagues now. “Jack’s got the rare combination of power and speed.”

4th round, #112. Grayson Hitt, Alabama, LHP

Grayson Hitt makes MLB Pipeline’s 2023 Draft Top 100 list - Hitt has a diverse repertoire that will entice scouts, featuring a mid-to-upper 90s fastball to go along with solid cutter, slider and curveball. He has the build of a major league pitcher at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds. “He’s the total package. He’s got a great body, he’s really athletic, he’s got arm strength, he’s got really good secondary pitches and on top of that his intangibles are really strong,” Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon said. “He really checks pretty much every box that I think a pro team would be looking for... I think the biggest improvement that he’s made from year to year is the command of his pitches,”

5th round, #142. Kevin Sim, University of San Diego, 3B

2023 Draft Prospect - 3B - Kevin Sim - Sim has been a draft name going back to his days at Torrey Pines HS. He’s continued to draw scouts’ attention at the University of San Diego. Sim’s carrying tool is big raw power with significant pull-side juice. He showcases a more mature approach in batting practice going line to line with a gap-oriented approach. He features an above average arm at third base, though he’s only an average defender and that’s actually regressed a tick as he’s continued to add muscle and strength. Sim has at least a 50/50 chance of sticking at third base as long as his conditioning stays lean. He’s got some similarities to Connor Joe, a Top 40 pick by the Pirates in 2014.

6th round, #175. Philip Abner, Florida - LHP

7th round, #205. Ryan Bruno, Stanford -LHP

8th round, #235. Jackson Feltner, Morehead State, 1B

9th round, #265. Kyle Amendt, Dallas Baptist, RHP

10th round, #295. Zane Russell, Dallas Baptist, RHP