Diamondbacks Select High School Backstop on First Day of Draft

As the Diamondbacks approached the first day of the MLB player draft, they found themselves in unfamiliar territory. The team didn’t have a top ten pick, they didn’t have numerous picks in the first round, and having loaded up on pitching over the last couple of years, management was looking to bolster other areas of the team’s farm system.

In the battle to re-sign Miguel Montero, the organization did a thorough job of scouting the nation in looking for alternative options in the event that they weren’t able to come to terms with the backstop. What they found was more than dissatisfying. The depth of quality catchers in the league was so thin that it prompted management not only to re-sign Montero to a hefty 5 year contract, but also look for future depth through the Draft.

As such, the Diamondbacks spent their first and only pick in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft on a catcher. With the 26th overall pick the team selected Stryker Trahan out of Acadiana (La.) High School. He was the second catcher taken in the draft after Seattle took Mike Zunino third overall. At 6-foot-1, 220 lbs, the two sport athlete (football) brings raw athleticism and power to the plate. A left-handed bat with a nice swing and above average speed for the position, the D-backs project Trahan to be the backstop of the future.

I like this pick. With only one selection on the first day of the draft, we had to get value for our pick and set the stage for the rest of the draft. By drafting a player of his caliber at a position with such little depth, we maximized our pick. With a wealth of good pitching in our farm system, the team needed to focus on more pressing needs and they hit a home run in doing so.