MLB Draft: Grier Set to Be Highest Pick from Auburn since Donaldson

It’s been almost 10 year since Auburn baseball had a player taken in the first 100 picks of the MLB Draft when the Cubs selected Josh Donaldson with the 49^th pick in the 2007 draft. Anfernee Grier has the chance to be the highest selection from Auburn since Donaldson in the upcoming MLB Draft that starts on June 9.

Grier was drafted out of high school in the 39^th round by the Detroit Tigers, but kept his commitment to come to Auburn. As a freshman he played in 47 games and hit .255. Last season he really broke out as a hitter by batting a solid .323 and scoring 41 runs. In 2016 he put it all together hitting .366 with 56 runs, 12 home runs, 41 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.

The home run numbers this year were a bit surprising considering he hit just one in each of his first two seasons on The Plains, but that’s really what has elevated his draft status. Coming into the season he was an athletic outfielder that could get on base, now he’s a fringe five tool player as he’s added some pop to his bat and improved his stolen base percentage.

The range in center field has always been there as many thought his glove was ahead of his bat entering his junior season – I’m not sure those people would say that anymore. While Grier’s defense is good, you really have to respect what he’s become as a hitter.

For the first half of the season he was leading all SEC hitters in average batting around .420 for much of the year, but after going through the grind of facing elite pitchers in the SEC every weekend his average took a hit. Still, he managed to hit a solid .326 against SEC pitching showing that he’s capable of getting the job done against the best in the country.

2016 MLB Draft: Anfernee Grier, OF, Auburn University

The one thing holding Grier back right now is his strikeout rate, which really spiked when facing SEC competition. However, you’ll take that if he continues to improve upon the power potential that he showed during the 2016 season.

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In most rankings of prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft, you’ll find Grier ranked in the top 50 overall, and usually he’s among the 10 best college bats. That would place him in the middle of the second round, and I would be surprised to see him fall any lower than that as the last pick of the second round is pick 70 because of all the compensation picks between round one and two.

There is a chance Grier could sneak into the first round or into Lottery Round A between the first and second round, but I’ve yet to see his name mentioned in a mock of those picks. However, the MLB Draft is by far the hardest draft to predict with the slot money and everything that’s involved – sometimes the best players are not always taken early.

Auburn could actually have two players taken in the top 100 of this year’s MLB Draft as right-handed pitcher Keegan Thompson is a fringe top 100 prospect. He missed all of this season due to an injury, but he was really good in his first two seasons at Auburn. In 2014 Thompson led the Tigers staff with a 2.01 ERA in 14 games with 73 strikeouts in 89.2 innings pitched. He had a 3.10 ERA in 2015 with 62 strikeouts in 69.2 innings.

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So it’s possible after not seeing someone taken in the first three rounds of the MLB Draft in almost 10 years, the Tigers could have two taken in the first 100 picks of this year’s MLB Draft.

War Eagle!

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