RHP Brady Smith highlights Dodgers' 10 picks on Day 2 of Draft

Variety continued to be the name of the game for the Dodgers on their second day of the Draft, which included rounds 3-10, as well as two compensation picks following the fourth round. With those 10 selections, the Dodgers went with five pitchers, three infielders and two outfielders. Seven of their picks came out of college, while three were out of high school or prep school.

Here’s a look at L.A.’s selections from Day 2:

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Third round (95th overall): Brady Smith, RHP, Grainger HS (TN)

Notable skill: His curveball. Graded a 60 by MLB Pipeline, the No. 138 Draft prospect rounds out his arsenal with a fastball that touched as high as 95 mph, a slider and a changeup that he’ll continue to develop as he progresses.

Fun fact: A multi-sport athlete, Smith’s baseball season was delayed because of a conflict with the basketball schedule. On the court, Smith is a shooting guard.

Quotable: “His work ethic is great,” Grainger head coach Garrett Yates told the Citizen Tribune (Morristown, TN) in November. “Brady works extremely hard. People talk about [his] talent and yes, he is extremely talented, but he works harder than anybody, he won’t let anyone outwork him.”

Fourth round (127th overall): Wyatt Crowell, LHP, Florida State

Notable skill: Missing bats and inducing grounders. These are the skills that made Crowell his team’s top reliever last season. However, his 2023 campaign was cut short because he underwent Tommy John surgery in April, which means it will be a while until he can take the field again.

Fun fact: His grandfather, Ross Brooks, was an NHL goalie who played for the Boston Bruins from 1972-75.

Quotable: “I would like to be a starter,” Crowell said via Florida State Athletics in September. “I’ve been working on my changeup a lot because I know having a three-pitch mix is very important.”

Fourth round compensation (136th overall): Dylan Campbell, OF University of Texas

Notable skill: Pure hitting. Per MLB Pipeline, some scouts consider Campbell to be the best pure hitter among Texas collegiate athletes. This is evidenced by the 38-game hitting streak he posted this year, which set an all-time Big 12 record.

Fun fact: Campbell was named to the All-Big 12 First Team as well as the Baseball America and NCBWA All-America teams this season.

Quotable: “I'll put him up against any one of these top outfielders that are projected to be drafted before him,” Dylan’s father, Donovan, told the Houston Chronicle. “He's just a worker. He knows what he needs to do to get better and he knows what to work on, and he's going to try to get better and better each day.”

Fourth round compensation (137th overall): Eriq Swan, RHP, Middle Tennessee State

Notable skill: Velocity. Swan’s fastball topped out at 101 mph this season, and it sits in the 97-99 mph range even late into games. The overall results aren’t always there, as he recorded a 6.49 ERA in 16 games (12 starts) this season, but the stuff is undeniable.

Fun fact: Swan’s parents were both college athletes at LSU. His father, Roovelroe, played football, while his mother, Laura, swam competitively.

Fifth round (163rd overall): Joe Vetrano, 1B, Boston College

Notable skill: Power. Vetrano is known for his pop, with his 22 home runs this season leading his team and ranking second all time in Boston College history, while posting an OPS of 1.078.

Fun fact: Playing high school ball in Westchester County, Vetrano was named New York state’s Gatorade Player of the Year for 2019.

Sixth round (190th overall): Bryan Gonzalez, SS, Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy (Puerto Rico)

Notable skill: Defense. Per Perfect Game, Gonzalez has “quick feet” as well as “big arm strength,” having gained 10 mph of velocity on his arm from 2021 to ’22.

Fun fact: In the previous five Drafts, the Dodgers had selected three players who were born in Puerto Rico: Julio Carrion (33rd round, 1,001st overall, 2019); Francisco Martinez (34th round, 1,061st overall, ’19) and Nicolas Perez (15th round, 465th overall, ’22).

Seventh round (220th overall): Patrick Copen, RHP, Marshall University (WV)

Notable skill: Has touched 99 mph. Although Copen’s velocity generally sits in the 91-93 mph range, per the Herald Dispatch (Huntington, W.V.), he has the capability to throw harder, which no doubt made him intriguing to the Dodgers.

Fun fact: Copen played in the wooden bat Cape Cod League in summer 2022. Of the experience, he told the Herald Dispatch: “I learned some things from new coaches, from arm care to lifting weights and other things. The competition was top tier.”

Eighth round (250th overall): Jaron Elkins, OF, Goodpasture Christian School (TN)

Notable skill: Defensive versatility. Although he was drafted as an outfielder, Elkins also caught and pitched for Goodpasture.

Fun fact: In an April game, Elkins threw a five-inning shutout, homered and stole a base, according to Main Street Media of Tennessee.

Ninth round (280th overall): Ryan Brown, RHP, Ball State University

Notable skill: His splitter. MLB Pipeline grades the pitch at 65, as it generated a 70 percent whiff rate this spring before Brown sustained an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in June.

Fun fact: With Brown’s selection, Ball State has now had a pitcher selected within the first five rounds in each of the five most recent Drafts.

Tenth round pick (310th overall): Sam Mongelli, SS, Sacred Heart University (CT)

Notable skill: Power/speed combo. In just 55 games this season, Mongelli posted 20 homers and 22 stolen bases.

Fun fact: Mongelli was named to the Collegiate Baseball All-America Second Team in 2023, making him the first All-American player for Sacred Heart in 31 years.