We are two months into the 2016 baseball season and right around the corner is the MLB Amateur Draft. Over the next couple of columns, I am going to go through the first round of last year’s draft and take a look at every player drafted and how they are progressing to date. This will culminate with a 2016 MLB Draft preview by midweek. The 2016 Draft will take place on Thursday, June 9, 2016 and will run through Saturday, June 11.

*All stats current as of Wednesday, June 1, 2016.

Round 1, Pick 1: Dansby Swanson, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (Traded to Atlanta over the winter)

Age: 22

2015 Stats (Short-Season A): .289/.394/.482, 1 HR, 19 Runs, 14/14 BB/K

2016 Stats (High-A & Double-A): .299/.393/.479, 5 HR, 10 SB, 28/29 BB/K*

The Diamondbacks took Swanson first overall a year ago and proceeded to flip him to Atlanta over the winter to get Shelby Miller. Currently, this trade looks idiotic on Arizona’s part due to Miller’s lackluster performance to date. With the team sitting at 23-31, the chances of making the playoffs look worse and worse each day.

As for Swanson, he has performed exactly as advertised. He is vaulting through the minor leagues, which comes as no surprise given the fact that he chose to play in college. Swanson is going to be an on-base machine and bat at, or near the top of, Atlanta’s lineup for the next decade, while manning shortstop. The ability and poise that Swanson has shown to date is going to take him far in the big leagues. Expect him to reach Triple-A around the All-Star break with a possible September call-up. He just needs a bit more seasoning before he takes his rightful spot in Atlanta’s middle infield.

Round 1, Pick 2: Alex Bregman, SS, Houston Astros

Age: 22

2015 Stats (Single-A & High-A): .294/.366/.415, 4 HR, 34 RBIs, 13 SB, 29/30 BB/K

2016 Stats (Double-A): .319/.420/.639, 12 HR, 3 SB, 21/14 BB/K

If you look at purely at numbers, you’d think that Arizona and Houston drafted the same player. Both are middle infielders and have advanced plate discipline. For Bregman, a position change is coming which will ultimately end up being to the hot corner. I recently made the case for Bregman to get the call directly to the major leagues with an in-depth look at his season so far last week. It’s anyone’s guess whether Bregman will make it to the majors this season, but given the way he’s tearing it up at Double-A, a promotion to Triple-A Round Rock is coming down the pike quickly.

Round 1, Pick 3: Brendan Rodgers, SS, Colorado Rockies

Age: 19

2015 Stats (Rookie League): .273/.340/.420, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 4 SB

2016 Stats (Single-A): .309/.375/.546, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 2 SB

It’s crazy that three shortstops were taken to lead off the 2015 MLB Draft, but that’s exactly what happened. While Swanson and Bregman were both college players and quite advanced, the Rockies decided to take a kid with a very high ceiling in Rodgers. He is moving slowly through the minor leagues, just as it was planned out from the beginning. At this point in the season, Rodgers has nine more plate appearances than he did in all of 2015. He has seen a strong jump in home runs while his strikeout rate has fallen from 23.3 percent last year to 17.3 percent this season. With continued positive progression, Rodgers should reach High-A Modesto by late summer. If he stays on his current path, Rodgers would be in line to reach the majors sometime in 2018.

Round 1, Pick 4: Dillon Tate, RHP, Texas Rangers

Age: 22

2015 Stats (Short Season-A & Low-A): 9.0 IP, 1.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 8.0 K/9

2016 Stats (Low-A): 23.2 IP, 7.61 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 10.6 K/9

For much of his college career, Tate was a reliever, so the Rangers chose to heavily limit his workload after he signed with the team last season. This season, Tate dealt with a hamstring injury in mid-April that landed him on the disabled list for a couple of weeks. Prior to his injury, Tate looked very good in his first two starts, totaling 10.2 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts and zero earned runs. It’s been down hill since his return, though. In his last two starts, Tate has given up a combined 12 earned runs over 6.2 innings pitched.

It’s logical to believe that some of Tate’s struggles can be attributed to his hamstring injury, so Texas could choose to give him some periodic rest. We’ve seen that Swanson and Bregman—both college players—have quickly risen through the minor leagues ranks, but Tate is struggling. The best-case scenario for Tate to reach the majors is late-2017, but until he starts to turn the corner, it may be two years before he arrives in Texas.

Round 1, Pick 5: Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros

Age: 19

2015 Stats (Rookie League): .246/.294/.353, 3 HR, 33 RBIs, 18 SB

2016 Stats (Single-A): .293/.370/.397, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 22 SB

Tucker is the brother of Astros outfielder Preston Tucker and is, without question, the better player of the two. He was a standout player in high school, hitting nine, nine, and 10 home runs, respectively, during his final three seasons. His power has yet to translate to the minor leagues, but the rest of his game has been stellar. Tucker’s low average last season can be attributed to a .219 BABIP during his first stop. That number has risen to .357 this season and the results have been clear. While Tucker’s has racked up plenty of stolen bases, fantasy owners will be looking to see if he can make inroads with the power portion of his game. If everything goes right, Tucker could be a 15/25 player in the majors, but it will be several years before the Astros bring him up.

Round 1, Pick 6: Tyler Jay, LHP, Minnesota Twins

Age: 22

2015 Stats (High-A): 18.1 IP, 3.93 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 10.8 K/9

2016 Stats (High-A): 51.2 IP, 2.44 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 9.6 K/9

After making only relief appearances for the High-A Fort Myers down the stretch last season, the Twins sent Jay back to Fort Myers, only this time as a starter. He has completely dominated for the Miracle and should receive a promotion to Double-A very soon.

Many scouts graded Jay’s fastball and curveball, along with his command, at 65. Being a lefty, there is going to be a spot for Jay, even if that ends up being in the bullpen. The Twins will do everything to assure that Jay lands in their rotation at some point and with his repertoire and command; there is surely a good chance that it will happen. Prior to the start of the season, there were rumblings that Jay could be late-season help in the bullpen, but with Minnesota out of contention, that plan is likely on hold.

Round 1, Pick 7: Andrew Benintendi, OF, Boston Red Sox

Age: 21

2015 Stats (Short Season-A & Single-A): .313/.416/.556, 11 HR, 31 RBI, 10 SB

2016 Stats (High-A & Single-A): .308/.374/.489, 1 HR, 39 RBI, 11 SB

If his first 445 minor league plate appearances are any indication, it appears that the Red Sox lucked out grabbing Benintendi at number seven overall. Since signing with Boston, Benintendi has hit well at every level sans his current short stint at Double-A. At all three Single-A levels, Benintendi has had a higher walk percentage (16.3%, 11.6%, 9.7%) than strikeout percentage (9.8%, 10.5%, and 5.8%).

Benintendi is a natural center fielder, but he could shift to left once he reaches the majors. The Red Sox are currently using Blake Swihart and Chris Young as a platoon, and even though Benintendi won’t be called up to the active roster this season, it appears as though the team will have a clear opening in 2017.

Round 1, Pick 8: Carson Fulmer, RHP, Chicago White Sox

Age: 22

2015 Stats (Rookie League & High-A): 23.0 IP, 1.96 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 10.2 K/9

2016 Stats (Double-A): 46.0 IP, 5.87 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 7.0 K/9

Fulmer was considered one of the top college arms in the draft and he made only one start at the Rookie level before being promoted to High-A. He found plenty of success last season, breezing through the Carolina League with ease, but has hit a brick wall so far this season at Double-A. These woes are fueled mostly by a dramatic increase in walks and a noticeable dip in strikeouts. Fulmer has walked 34 batters in 46 innings pitched, giving him a BB/9 of 6.65. It is downright impossible to succeed with numbers so poor. The White Sox are going to keep him in Double-A until he’s able to get straightened out and show consistency going forward.

Round 1, Pick 9: Ian Happ, OF, Chicago Cubs

Age: 21

2015 Stats (Short-Season A & Single-A): .259/.356/.466, 9 HR, 33 RBIs, 10 SB

2016 Stats (High-A): .273/.392/.426, 5 HR, 28 RBIs, 7 SB

Outside of Swanson and Bregman, Happ could be considered one of the safer picks in the first round of the 2015 Draft. He’s not excelling in any unusual way, but his progression through the minors has been consistent. By most accounts, the Cubs are deeper than every team at basically every level, so there may be a logjam when Happ is ultimately ready to break into the major leagues. Happ should reach Double-A by season’s end and could reach the majors by late-2017 or early-2018.

Round 1, Pick 10: Cornelius Randolph, SS, Philadelphia Phillies

Age: 19

2015 Stats (Rookie League): .302/.425/.442, 1 HR, 24 RBIs, 7 SB

2016 Stats (Single-A): .240/.321/.340, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 SB

Randolph is exactly the type of player that the Phillies are rebuilding their franchise around. He is young with a ton of upside and they can bring him through the minor leagues slowly so he can gain some polish along the way. After performing well in the Rookie League last season, Randolph struggled out of the gate this year. He has been out of action since April 21 due to a hamstring injury, though the three games prior to that, he raised his average from .190 to .240. Though he was drafted as a shortstop, the Phillies moved Randolph to left field and that’s likely where he will stay for the majority of his career.