Tuesday’s Hot Clicks: The Best Names From the MLB Draft’s First Night
You know it’s a deep draft when Kumar Rocker slips to the third round
Because no one follows high school and college baseball too closely and because the players won’t reach the majors for several years, the MLB draft does not have the same sort of hype surrounding the NFL or NBA drafts. But what it does have is some outstanding names. Last year we had Obie Ricumstrict, Maverik Buffo and Ledgend Smith. We’ll have to wait until Round 40 is over on Wednesday before we can assess the true wonder of this year’s class but the first two rounds last night gave us some great appetizers.
• Seth Beer — Astros
• Braxton Ashcraft — Pirates
• Travis Swaggery — Pirates
• Gunnar Hoglund — Pirates
• Sean Hjelle (pronounced Jelly) — Giants
• Jonathan India — Reds
• Josh Breaux — Yankees
The pick was announced by everyone’s favorite baseball bro:
• Steele Walker — White Sox
• Osiris Johnson — Marlins
That’s just out of the first 78 picks. There are still 38 rounds left to go between now and Wednesday evening. Names left on the top of MLB’s board for Round 3 include Kumar Rocker, Nander De Sedas and Konnor Pilkington.
Vegas’s luck has almost run out
The Capitals cruised to a 6–2 win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final last night to take a 3–1 lead in the series and send the Golden Knights back to Las Vegas facing elimination. It feels as though the Caps are in control of this season and Vegas’s chances of extending it don’t look great, but if there’s any team that can win a big game at home it’s the Knights.
R.I.P. Dwight Clark
Dwight Clark, the 49ers fan favorite most famous for “The Catch” against the Cowboys in the 1982 NFC Championship Game, died Monday at the age of 61 following a long battle with ALS. Chris Ballard wrote a really beautiful piece last month about the last time many of Clark’s teammates got to see him.
Longtime SI photographer Walter Iooss captured one of the most iconic images of Clark’s famous catch.
Decisions, decisions...
Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who is in line to replace Baker Mayfield as the Sooners’ starter under center and considered a preseason Heisman candidate, went ninth overall in the MLB draft to the A’s. Murray will play football in the fall, he told reporters after the pick was announced, but he’ll have a big decision to make after that.
As talented a football player as Murray is, it’s less likely that he’d be a first-round pick as a quarterback given that he’s under six feet tall. The good news is his baseball career will definitely be better than Shaq Thompson’s.
Bits & Pieces
The Eagles got uninvited from the White House because the president got mad at them. ... The songs on Kanye’s new album have been streamed a combined 100 million times in just three days. It’s fine. ... Boban Marjanovic, everyone’s favorite goofy Serbian center, has a role in the new John Wick sequel. ... This video of an insect swarm in Louisiana is making me itchy. ... Did you hear about the FBI agent who accidentally shot a guy when he dropped his gun while dancing? The bar where the incident occurred will give the victim free drinks for life.
Tom Brady remembers Dwight Clark
This is a trip of a Twitter thread
Give Giannis a food show called “God Bless America”
Well, that’s better than a name tag
All in favor say aye
Fake it til you make it
Catch the World Cup this summer and feel like you're living in The Matrix
Worth your time
I would say it’s worth your money, but you get a free seven-day trial.
God bless local news
A good song
The post I wrote yesterday about a cat named Achilles who’s picking World Cup games reminded me of this song.
Hot Clicks is everything you need to know in the world of sports and pop culture, ready for you to read right when you get to your desk in the morning. Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Click here for previous editions of Hot Clicks. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
