MLB Mock Draft, Version 2.1

6. player. 96. Smith is in legit consideration for the Twins at #1 due to just how elite his bat is at the collegiate level this season. Smith is incredibly difficult to strike out, and he has very good control through the zone. While he doesn’t show big power now, he’s got the bat speed and physical power to project as a guy who could provide high average and 20+ home runs as a quick mover through the system. This is beginning to look like a floor for Smith as well, as he could go #1, #2, #4, or #6 for sure.. 1B. University of Virginia. Pavin Smith

JSerra Catholic HS (CA). Royce Lewis . 7. player. 8. The Diamondbacks love a raw athlete, and there may not be more raw athleticism in the draft this season than Lewis. He is a guy who has struggled compared to what some were expecting out of him this spring, but he does have a ton of talent that should play up the middle, whether that’s at SS, 2B, or CF in the end with his elite speed and power potential to go with it.. IF/OF

1B. Huntington Beach HS (CA). Nick Pratto . 8. player. 6. Pratto is a guy who has been getting a ton of buzz lately from scouts, some who view him as the absolute safest bat in the entire draft. While he’s only played 1B this season, much of that has been attributed to his team focusing on his arm and not wanting to get him hurt defensively by playing any more demanding a position defensively. Multiple scouts I’ve talked with have asserted that Pratto would handle a corner outfield spot very well, and his elite contact skills will certainly play no matter what position he’s playing.

With a number of teams seemingly backing off of Bukauskas because of his smaller stature, the Brewers would love to see him fall to this spot as he fits a development model they’ve worked with frequently as far as his raw stuff is concerned. Bukauskas certainly has the ability to develop as an elite reliever if he cannot start, as his best two pitches may be the best two-pitch mix of anyone in the draft.. RHP. University of North Carolina. J.B. Bukauskas . 9. player. 76

102. On a team with multiple pitchers that were picked in the first two rounds of the draft last season at Florida, Faedo was the guy most scouts raved about after sitting on a series for the Gators. He’s not put together the same level of season this year, but for the Angels, his college experience and possible double-plus slider along with a plus fastball will be enough to slot here.. RHP. University of Florida. Alex Faedo . 10. player

Shane Baz . 12. player. 4. Baz is a guy who keeps getting more and more buzz, with even the Twins considering him at #1 (though likely in a financial deal). Baz manipulates his fastball, using a four-seam, two-seam, and cutter, along with a slider and a curve. His depth of arsenal is very attractive to future teams, as is his athleticism on the mound.. RHP. Concordia Lutheran HS (TX)

82. Kendall was widely considered the best college bat coming into the season, and now he very well may be passed by at least Smith, if not Haseley as well by the time draft day comes around. Kendall is a very impressive physical specimen, but he also have some severe swing and mess.. OF. Vanderbilt University. Jeren Kendall . 13. player

Haseley has been leaping forward this spring with his performance and as scouts have seen the improvement in his pitch recognition. Some have talked about Haseley as a possibility to leapfrog even his teammate Smith and be the first college bat selected in the draft.. OF. University of Virginia. Adam Haseley . 14. player. 7

135. Romero has had off-field issues this spring that have led to a suspension from his team that was just recently lifted. While he has dropped from a possible top-10 or even top-5 selection due to those off-field red flags, Romero’s high level of talent as the likely best stuff of any lefty in the draft class, high school or college, will keep him in the teens at least.. LHP. University of Houston. Seth Romero . 15. player

University of California at Los Angeles. Griffin Canning . 16. player. 43. Canning has been one of the best performing starters this spring with some pop up performance in velocity and break of his pitches, and that fits the profile that the Yankees have had excellent success with recently. Canning does have a deeper arsenal of pitches, but he’s been compared positively to fellow UCLA alum and current Yankee prospect <strong><a rel=. RHP

17. player. 62. In the 2017 season, Oregon’s Peterson has probably improved his draft stock as much as any player in the country in this year’s college class. He was a likely 3rd round candidate before the season, but he’s shown polish on his pitches with improved velocity and a perfect big frame for a starter at 6’6″ and 240ish pounds.. LHP. University of Oregon. David Peterson

63. Minnesota’s high school season began later than most, so Carlson was off the radar for many early on, but he’s climbed fast in the eyes of many scouts, and it’d not surprise at all if he was a guy who rose into the early part of the round the way that <strong><a rel=. RHP. Burnsville HS (MN). Sam Carlson . 18. player

31. The Giants typically like their collegiate picks early, but they once took a high school lefty that’s worked out well for the organization after he led the organization to three World Series titles. While Hall has nowhere near the build of a Bumgarner, he has all the natural boxes of a successful lefty without the elite ceiling, though he has a fairly high floor and could move quickly for a high school left-hander.. LHP. Valdosta HS (GA). DL Hall . 19. player

Missouri State University. Jake Burger . 20. player. 3. Burger has been the college hitter that has made the biggest impression on scouts this spring with his impressive improvement in strike zone recognition this spring with still-present power. He has some work to do on his pitch recognition and his defensive instincts, but the raw skills are certainly there. The Mets could use the likely quick-moving bat.. 3B

Logan Warmoth . 21. player. 11. The Orioles have been looking for middle infield depth in their organization for some time, and Warmoth is arguably the best middle infield prospect in the high school or college class that projects to stay in the infield and up the middle. While he may not project to major offensive numbers, he’ll be a consistent hitter with good zone judgement.. SS. University of North Carolina

71. Ramos has been one of the biggest variance players this spring as some teams see him as a guy who could creep as high as the top 10, and others don’t have him as a first round guy simply due to his lack of polish. Ramos is one of the youngest players in this entire draft class, and with just one pick in the first round, the Dodgers will likely go for the highest ceiling player in this role.. OF. Leadership Christian Academy HS (PR). Heliot Ramos . 23. player

90. The Nationals will have multiple opportunities to go to their wheelhouse of the <strong><a rel=. RHP. Ernest Righetti HS (CA). Matt Sauer . 25. player

Thompson is a two-sport elite athlete that had legit D1 interest in college football as an athletic quarterback that accounted for over 40 touchdowns in his senior season. He entertained two-sport offers from some SEC schools to play both football and baseball, which speaks to his athleticism. The Rangers love to pursue athleticism, and there’s not much more athletic in this draft than Thompson, plus how can you argue with a match up of a Texas team and a guy named Bubba?!. OF. McGill-Thoolen Catholic HS (AL). Bubba Thompson . 26. player. 95

9. Many expect that every draft of the Cubs will be a college hitter, in spite of evidence to the contrary. In fact, without the Astros making the decision for them, the Cubs were heavily split in-house over whether to take <strong><a rel=. LHP. State Junior College of Florida. Brendon Little . 27. player

Carlsbad HS (NM). Trevor Rogers . 29. player. 95. This pick could end up being a college player as the Rangers balance the money they’d have to shell out for Thompson, but if they can make it work, pairing Thompson and Rogers would be a home run at the top of the draft. Rogers seems to miss heavy press like many of the prep pitchers of his same caliber, but scouts certainly know about his skills from the left side and his projectable 6’6″ frame as well.. LHP

3B. American Heritage HS (FL). Mark Vientos . 30. player. 9. Vientos seems to be falling, and that would play right into the hands of a team like the Cubs, who would put Vientos’ skills to use. Multiple sources have viewed Vientos as one of the two-three best pure hitters in the entire class, with his future defensive position being the only question. After struggles this spring, especially on the defensive end, Vientos has raised even more questions on that front, but many view him as a future high-end defensive third baseman and passable shortstop. Versatility defensively could actually play well for the Cubs system.

Danner is a guy that is tough to place. Teams love the performance he’s had this spring on the mound and give him a back end of the first round grade as a pitcher. Other teams loved him as a catcher and projectable infielder in the showcase circuit last summer and had a late first round/early second round grade on him there. The combination of both could actually move him up significantly as this was similar conversation to what Josh Lowe had going on last year before the draft, and he ended up with the Rays at 13. Really, it was coincidence that I told a Josh Lowe story on the Rays pick, I swear.. RHP/C. Huntington Beach HS (CA). Hagen Danner . 31. player. 21

University of Missouri. Tanner Houck . 32. player. 61. Houck is a guy who was considered among the top arms in the draft coming into the season, but a tick drop in his velocity plus some issues in location with his secondary stuff has led to him plummeting on some teams’ boards. The Reds would love to end that drop here.. RHP

Hans Crouse . 33. player. 96. After taking multiple college pitchers high in 2016, the A’s will have a chance in this scenario to grab arguably the best college bat in the entire draft along with a local pitcher who just seems to keep popping up in the recaps of major showcase events due to his performances against the best HS hitters. With a “bulldog mentality” on the mound, Crouse is a guy who works with a fastball that doesn’t ever sit still along with secondary stuff that is still a work in progress, but his attitude and attacking mentality on the mound has been his highest-graded attribute this spring. RHP. Dana Hills HS (CA)

Allen could end up rising much higher than this as the top HS player projected to stay at SS is much like the top-rated quarterback in the NFL draft – they tend to get picked ahead of where they are graded. The San Diego native has elite defensive skills along with raw offensive skills that some say could translate to a bit of power along with plus speed in a compact frame.. SS. Francis Parker School (CA). Nick Allen . 34. player. 76

Two mock drafts, twice I’ve had the Twins selecting a two-way player with #1 and a HS righty with #35. Enlow has one of the best curve balls in the entire draft, and he offers up a fastball that can range into the mid-90s at peak velocity as well.. RHP. St. Amant HS (LA). Blayne Enlow . 35. player. 2

82. The Marlins are hard to gauge, but scoring Kendall and Crowe both could give them an infusion of high-ceiling college talent that would move fairly quick through their system, making this a draft their fans would enjoy signifiantly. I could definitely see the team being in the market for a high school player in this spot, however, which would allow the big arm of Crowe to fall to a lucky team in the second round.. RHP. University of South Carolina. Wil Crowe . 36. player