Best Names in the 2012 MLB Draft

The 2012 MLB Draft concluded Wednesday, and every organization added around 40 players to its system. Many of these prospects will never make it to the big leagues, but a select few have the chance to earn another special honor…

Entrance into Minor League Baseball’s Moniker Madness tournament.

In a few weeks, 64 of the best names in the minors will battle for the honor of MiLB’s best “moniker.”

Last season, Seth Schwindenhammer took home the championship. In years past, awesomely-named prospects Rowdy Hardy, Dusty Napoleon, Will Startup and Houston Summers have claimed the crown.

Every draft brings with it some great names. Here are my top 20 in order of selection:

Stryker Trahan – Arizona’s 1st-round pick (26th overall)
Teddy Stankiewicz – New York Mets’s 2nd-round pick (75th overall)
Kenny Diekroeger – Kansas City’s 4th-round pick (133rd overall)
Spencer Kieboom – Washington’s 5th-round pick (174th overall)
Damien Magnifico – Milwaukee’s 5th-round pick (185th overall)
Seth Streich (pr: “strike”) – Oakland’s 6th-round pick (199th overall)
Nick Halamandaris – Seattle’s 8th-round pick (251st overall)
Jamodrick McGruder – Seattle’s 9th-round pick (281st overall)
Maxx Tissenbaum – San Diego’s 11th-round pick (345th overall)
Phildrick Llewellyn – Arizona’s 13th-round pick (423rd overall)
Chase Anselment – Atlanta’s 17th-round pick (539th overall)
Shaq Green-Thompson – Boston’s 18th-round pick (571st overall)
Brock Dykxhoorn – Cincinnati’s 20th-round pick (622nd overall)
Kayvon Bahramzadeh – Oakland’s 24th-round pick (739th overall)
Jason Leblebijian – Toronto’s 25th-round pick (775th overall)
Daniel Oh – New York Yankees’ 27th-round pick (847th overall)
John Bushyhead – Los Angeles Angels’ 29th-round pick (897th overall)
Rusty Shellhorn – Seattle’s 31st-round pick (941st overall)
Jacob Waguespack – Pittsburgh’s 37th-round pick (1126th overall)
Daniel Poncedeleon – Cincinnati’s 38th-round pick (1162th overall)

Based on my last name, I am obviously going to pick John Bushyhead as my favorite name in this year’s draft. From second to fifth, I choose Rusty Shellhorn, Daniel Poncedeleon, Jamodrick McCruder and Spencer Kieboom.

Who are your favorites? Let us know in the comments.

- Brian