For someone who admitted he was “sweating out” most of the 38 picks that preceded the Diamondbacks’ first selection, scouting director Deric Ladnier sounded more than satisfied with the club’s top two selections on the first night of baseball’s amateur draft on Thursday.
In Auburn center fielder Anfernee Grier and Toronto prep catcher Andy Yerzy, Ladnier believes the club came away with “two bats with tremendous upside.”
After forfeiting the No. 13 overall pick by signing free-agent right-hander Zack Greinke in December, the Diamondbacks didn’t make their first selection until No. 39. By that point, eight clubs already had made multiple selections, including three apiece by the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.