Ian Rebhan Recaps the First Night of the Draft

The Diamondbacks selected college players with all three of their picks on the first night of the draft. Stanford infielder Tommy Troy was selected in the first round, followed up by NC State infielder Gino Groover and Clemson left-hander Caden Grice. D-backs scouting director Ian Rebhan said that's how their board ended up unfolding for the night.

Tommy Troy

"With the 12th pick, Tommy Troy, a player we're really excited about. He's a player we scouted back to high school. We scouted him a lot in high school. We think he's a shortstop, we're really excited about the bat, obviously being a three-year performer at Stanford. He's had a lot of success at the Cape and in wood bat leagues. We think he profiles well as a hit and power, defending, up the middle player. He's super athletic, he's a plus runner. There's a lot of conviction from both our scouting and analyst group on that bat, so really excited to get him with the first pick."

It's worth noting the organization sees Troy as a shortstop all the way. The D-backs have a top prospect at the position in Jordan Lawlar, but for the time being don't have anyone else to take reps away. As mentioned in his profile, Troy can handle high velocity and make adjustments to breaking balls. The conviction in Troy's bat comes from years of scouting, where he always hit when the organization had looks at him.

When the D-backs called Troy to congratulate him on being their first round pick, assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye said after a meeting they came away thinking the Stanford infielder was their guy.

"It was a meeting at a coffee shop. We always say we're trying to draft really good players but we're trying to draft really good people as well. Players that not only produce on the field, but be really good teammates and be leaders. He checked a lot of those boxes. You come out of those meetings, it's just a gut feel of how you feel about the person you have a chance to select. You start talking about those character traits that we like from the work ethic, the leadership ability, the character just shone through him. After then, he was one of our favorites."

Gino Groover

Groover is a 6'2", 210-pound infielder who they announced as a third baseman. His bat stands out, although he faces questions about a long term position.

"We scouted him a lot there and I think he's a player they had to move around early in his career. We scouted him a lot at third base and we think he's a great athlete. The hands, the feet, all those things we look for, it's going to be enough to play third base and be a power-hitting right-handed bat on the corner."

Groover as a junior hit .339 with 13 home runs, more walks (36) than strikeouts (26), and a .976 OPS at NC State. He uses a quick, compact stroke but the ball jumps off his bat. His setup in the box is very quiet with a quick load before the bats whips through the strike zone to make consistent loud contact.

"It's really simple, you hear the term a lot about being a low-maintenance stroke. When you get into pro ball and you're facing really good competition, I think those things matter. The simplicity, contact skills, the way the ball comes off the bat, I think there's a chance for power there too."

Tapping into more of that power will be the key phase in his development. Rebhan said that's something that could happen once Groover gets more comfortable against pro pitching. As a corner infielder with questions about his long term defensive home, developing into an impact bat will be his ticket to getting into the lineup on a regular basis.

Caden Grice

Rebhan said the organization will be developing Grice as a full-time pitcher.

"We drafted him because we think has a chance to become a really good left-handed pitcher". He added the organization has not had the discussions between scouting and player development about the plan for these guys are yet.

As a pitcher, he sits low-90s, with a reach-back velocity of 95, along with a slider and a changeup. While he split time between first base and pitching at Clemson, as a pitcher he pitched to a 3.35 ERA with a 101/33 strikeout to walk ratio in 78 innings.

Asked about a rumor that Grice didn't want to pitch, Rebhan said "we don't have any concerns there."