Going into the draft it was thought that the Dodgers were going to pick the best player on their board regardless of position. The Dodgers had enough Bonus Pool money that they could have taken a big HS arm and paid to get them out of their commitment. I thought that Daniel Espino would have been the Dodger selection at #25 if he was available, but the Indians took him right before the Dodgers pick.
The college arms were not considered special, and after Nick Lodolo, Alek Manoah, Jackson Rutledge, Zach Thompson, and George Kirby all figured to go before LAD picked, there was not a college pitcher that was ever it was really considered a reach.