MLB Draft 2016: Groome, Puk, Lewis, and Rutherford stay atop class

Last month, we began to take a look at the top prospects in this year's MLB draft on June 9th. This month allowed us to get a look at some of the top high school prospects take the field, but some HS prospects stats remain unavailable due to the school not publishing players' stats just yet.

For any readers unfamiliar with how I value prospects, here is the background. The position players are valued based on their wOBA, K%, BB%, and respective Z-Scores. The pitchers are valued based on their ERA, K%, BB%, and respective Z-Scores. In the table below, next to each player is their respective scouting grade (based on a 20-80 scale). The grades are pulled from the MLB top 50 draft prospects on mlb.com. Any player not in their top 50 was given a 50 grade, just for the sake of ranking purposes. All stats are as of April 23rd.

First, let's take a look at the position players:

Players	Scout Grade	wOBA	Z-Score	BABIP	Z-Score	K%	Z-Score	BB%	Z-Score
Corey Ray, OF - Louisville	55	0.423	-0.53	0.321	-1.01	11.0	-0.49	11.0	-0.95
Buddy Reed, OF - Florida	55	0.382	-1.03	0.385	-0.11	20.2	0.92	16.2	-0.11
Blake Rutherford, OF - Chaminade College Prep	55	0.609	1.72	0.519	1.78	4.4	-1.51	16.1	-0.12
Kyle Lewis, OF - Mercer	55	0.574	1.30	0.449	0.80	13.7	-0.08	25.0	1.33
Bryan Reynolds, OF - Vanderbilt	55	0.459	-0.10	0.398	0.08	22.0	1.20	20.8	0.64
Delvin Perez, SS - Puerto Rico	55
Drew Mendoza, 3B - Lake Mineola HS	55
Mickey Moniak, OF - La Costa Canyon HS	50	0.617	1.82	0.497	1.47	6.2	-1.23	9.2	-1.25
Nick Senzel, 3B - Tennessee	50	0.457	-0.12	0.357	-0.50	8.4	-0.89	19.8	0.48
Bobby Dalbec, 3B - Arizona	50	0.346	-1.47	0.304	-1.25	29.6	2.37	21.1	0.69
Nick Banks, OF - Texas A&M	50	0.408	-0.72	0.366	-0.37	17.4	0.49	10.9	-0.97
Josh Lowe, 3B - Pope HS	50
William Benson, OF - The Westminster Schools	50
Nolan Jones, 3B - Holy Ghost Prep	50
Jake Fraley, OF - LSU	50	0.389	-0.95	0.374	-0.26	9.2	-0.77	13.8	-0.50
Ryan Boldt, OF - Nebraska	50	0.366	-1.23	0.345	-0.67	12.4	-0.28	7.5	-1.52
Chris Okey, C - Clemson	50	0.446	-0.26	0.420	0.39	20.0	0.89	17.1	0.04
Avery Tuck, OF - Steele Canyon HS	50
Carter Kieboom, 3B - Walton HS	50
Gio Brusa, OF - Pacific	50	0.434	-0.40	0.385	-0.11	19.1	0.75	12.5	-0.71
Joe Rizzo, 3B - Oakton High	50
Will Craig, 3B - Wake Forest	50	0.571	1.26	0.439	0.66	12.5	-0.26	22.9	0.99
Zack Collins, C - Miami	50	0.535	0.82	0.461	0.97	15.6	0.21	29.9	2.13
Sean Murphy, C - Wright State	50	0.420	-0.57	0.235	-2.22	15.5	0.20	19.0	0.35
Alex Kirilloff, OF - Plum HS	50
Anfernee Grier, OF - Auburn	50	0.487	0.24	0.504	1.57	19.6	0.83	14.3	-0.42
Matt Thaiss, C - Virginia	50	0.462	-0.06	0.369	-0.33	3.2	-1.69	17.3	0.07
Nick Kahle, C - Chaminade College Prep	50	0.553	1.04	0.375	-0.25	13.2	-0.16	19.1	0.37
Colby Woodmansee, SS - Arizona	50	0.403	-0.78	0.348	-0.63	11.0	-0.49	13.6	-0.53

The top performers (in bold above) through the month of April are: Blake Rutherford, Mickey Moniak, Nick Banks, Chris Okey, Gio Brusa, Will Craig, and Zack Collins. Rutherford, a potential first overall pick, is off to a sizzling start to his season, finishing first or second in Z-Scores out of the above players in wOBA, BABIP, and K%.

Moniak, another high school bat, has begun his senior season in tremendous form, moving up many team's draft boards with his plus bat. Banks improved his stock in April, raising his wOBA 17 points, his BABIP 18 points, and his walk percentage by 3.6 percentage points. He is a potential mid-to-late 1st round draft pick in June. Similar to Banks, Chris Okey had a strong April as well - he raised his wOBA 53 points, BABIP 74 points, and his walk rate from 14.3 to 17.1 percent.

After a brutal March, perhaps no one had a better April than Gio Brusa. His wOBA went from .271 to .434, BABIP from .264 to .385, K% down from 23.2 to 19.1, and BB% from 4.6 to 12.5. As bad as Brusa was in March, that is how good he was in April. Just this past Friday night, Brusa hit two home runs in one game against Loyola Marymount. He was a 23rd round draft pick in 2015 by the Cardinals, but he will certainly be picked before the 23rd round this season. Will Craig and Zack Collins continue to stand out among collegiate bats as potential first round draft picks. Neither player was a top-50 preseason prospect, but they have certainly moved up many rankings thus far.

Two notable players with a rough April are Bobby Dalbec, whose season started strong, and Sean Murphy. Unfortunately for Sean Murphy, this is his second consecutive month on my struggling player list. Corey Ray and Buddy Reed, two potential top 10 picks in this year's draft, have not had the type of season to date that many expected of them, but their talent is clearly there for them to stay in my top 10 this month. Both players possess plus speed - Ray is 31 for 36 in SB attempts, and Reed is 19 for 21.

Top 10 Position Players Right Now

1.     Kyle Lewis, OF - Mercer

2.     Blake Rutherford, OF - Chaminade College Prep

3.     Bryan Reynolds, OF - Vanderbilt

4.     Corey Ray, OF- Louisville

5.     Buddy Reed, OF - Florida

6.     Mickey Moniak, OF - La Costa Canyon HS

7.     Delvin Perez, SS - Puerto Rico

8.     Zack Collins, C - Miami

9.     Will Craig, 3B - Wake Forest

10.  Nick Senzel, 3B - Tennessee

Now for the pitching prospects:

Players	Scout Grade	IP	ERA	Z-Score	K%	Z-Score	BB%	Z-Score
Jason Groome, LHP - Barnegat HS	60
A.J. Puk, LHP - Florida	60	41	3.07	-0.08	38.2	0.82	13.9	0.35
Alec Hansen, RHP - Oklahoma	60	26	6.58	2.04	35.5	0.52	25.2	2.29
Riley Pint, RHP - ST.TA HS	60
Connor Jones, RHP - Virginia	55	69.1	2.08	-0.68	21.3	-1.04	11.5	-0.06
Jordan Sheffield, RHP - Vanderbilt	55	63.2	2.54	-0.40	36.9	0.68	13.2	0.23
Josh Lowe, RHP - Pope HS	50
Cal Quantrill, RHP - Stanford	50
Matt Krook, LHP - Oregon	50	42	4.29	0.66	28.7	-0.22	25.0	2.25
Kevin Gowdy, RHP - Santa Barbara HS	50	37.1	1.12	-1.27	44.1	1.47	1.4	-1.80
Kyle Funkhouser, RHP - Louisville	50	50.1	5.19	1.20	22.9	-0.86	16.6	0.81
Daulton Jefferies, RHP - California	50	42	1.29	-1.16	28.4	-0.26	3.6	-1.42
Zack Brown, RHP - Kentucky	50	60	5.25	1.24	17.4	-1.46	10.2	-0.29
Robert Tyler, RHP - Georgia	50	57	2.53	-0.41	30.3	-0.05	12.8	0.16
Logan Shore, RHP - Florida	50	54	2.50	-0.43	30.7	0.00	7.8	-0.70
Ian Anderson, RHP - Shenendehowa HS	50
Ian Hamilton, RHP - Washington State	50	58	4.34	0.69	22.1	-0.95	8.2	-0.63
Austin Bergner, RHP - Windermere Prep	50	5	5.60	1.45	14.8	-1.75	3.7	-1.40
Dakota Hudson, RHP - Mississippi State	50	67	2.82	-0.24	29.8	-0.10	13.2	0.23
Mike Shawaryn, RHP - Maryland	50	52	4.15	0.57	22.8	-0.87	12.3	0.07
Alex Speas, RHP - McEachern HS	50
Zach Jackson, RHP - Arkansas	50	39.1	4.12	0.55	31.4	0.07	19.6	1.33
Reggie Lawson, RHP - Victor Valley HS	50	35	1.20	-1.22	36.4	0.62	11.0	-0.15
Eric Lauer, LHP - Kent State	50	60.1	0.90	-1.40	31.3	0.06	10.6	-0.22
Jesus Luzardo, LHP - Stoneman Douglas HS	50
Braxton Garrett, LHP - Florence HS	50	62.1	0.56	-1.60	51.7	2.30	9.1	-0.47
Cody Sedlock, RHP - Illinois	50	67.1	2.94	-0.16	29.9	-0.09	8.2	-0.63
Ben Bowden, LHP - Vanderbilt	50	38.1	3.05	-0.10	41.5	1.18	6.5	-0.92
Zack Burdi, RHP - Louisville	50	15.1	2.93	-0.17	42.6	1.30	14.8	0.50
Zach Liningfelter, RHP - Sevier County	50
Bailey Clark, RHP - Duke	50	44	6.34	1.90	27.5	-0.35	15.6	0.64
Jon Duplantier, RHP - Rice	50	69.2	2.58	-0.38	30.2	-0.06	11.8	-0.01
Matt Manning, RHP - Sheldon High	50	16.1	2.57	-0.39	45.8	1.66	16.7	0.83
Cole Irvin, LHP- Oregon	50	66.1	4.07	0.52	21.4	-1.02	6.1	-0.99

The top performers (in bold above) through the beginning of the season are: Jason Groome, A.J. Puk, Kevin Gowdy, Robert Tyler, Logan Shore, and Braxton Garrett. Groome began his senior year with a bang. In one start he struck out 10 of 16 batters and threw a no-hitter in the other start with 19 strikeouts. Unfortunately for Groome, he was suspended for nothing more than logistical reasons, which Baseball America covered here (A part of this suspension was vacating his stats). Recently, word broke that Groome will be cleared to pitch this week.

Overall, Puk's ERA and BB% did go up, but his K% went up 10 percentage points. Gowdy finished with a top 3 Z-Score in ERA, K%, and BB%. Robert Tyler had quite the month; he was an out away from a no-hitter on April 1^st. He truly had an electric fastball that night. In the few times I've been able to see Tyler, he has impressed.

Logan Shore has stated his case as the ace of a Florida staff that includes A.J. Puk. He threw a CG two-hit shutout on Friday night against Georgia. In April, Shore posted an ERA and BB% below the mean, as well as a K% equal to the mean. He could be a mid first round pick in June.

Braxton Garrett had the top Z-Score ERA and K% of the above players and was top 10 in BB%. In 62.1 innings, a K% of 51.7 is impressive no matter what level you pitch. The 6'3" left-hander is moving up the draft boards and has the potential to be a top 10 pick in June. An impressive outing worth mentioning was the 10.2 shutout innings from Cody Sedlock this past Friday night.

Unfortunately Alec Hansen, Kyle Funkhouser, and Zack Brown continue to stay on the list of struggling pitchers. Hansen has an impressive K% of 35.5, but his BB% is 25.2. Hansen needs to harness his control in order to stay a first round pick. Bailey Clark joins the list of struggling pitchers; only one pitcher was worse by ERA. In some injury news, Daulton Jefferies did not make a start since my last article, as he has been battling a calf issue (there has been some talk about how well he will hold up with a 6'0" 180-lb frame).

As I said last month, this draft is loaded with talented and electric arms, which makes my top 10 hard to create.

Top 10 Pitching Prospects Right Now

1.     Jason Groome, LHP - Barnegat HS

2.     A.J. Puk, LHP - Florida

3.     Riley Pint, RHP - ST.TA HS

4.     Jordan Sheffield, RHP - Vanderbilt

5.     Connor Jones, RHP - Virginia

6.     Logan Shore, RHP - Florida

7.     Braxton Garrett, LHP - Florence HS

8.     Robert Tyler, RHP- Georgia

9.     Kevin Gowdy, RHP - Santa Barbara HS

10.  Daulton Jefferies, RHP - California

. . .

Carl Triano is a contributor at Beyond the Box Score.