Mock MLB Draft: Projecting the First 41 Picks, Version 2

A.J. Puk . 1. player. 6. Puk had a shortened game in the final weekend this weekend, but pitched well. He’ll have postseason games now to stake his claim to this spot, but all indications are that he’s the one pitcher in consideration here.. lhp. Florida

2. player. 61. The Reds have been trying to work a deal to get some extra money to use in their later selections, and that’s led them to likely passing on Lewis, and focusing on Perez, who they really like, and Nick Senzel.. ss. Professional Educational High School, Carolina, P.R.. Delvin Perez

3. player. 17. This would be a dream scenario for the Braves, and with the acquired pick from the Orioles, it’d be a scenario that’d have no issue being affordable as well. They love Lewis’ power, and from all accounts, he’s #1 on their board.. of. Mercer. Kyle Lewis

108. Colorado wants a lefty pitcher badly, and this would be a coup for them, but it would be interesting to see what sort of number Groome would want to sign with the Rockies.. lhp. Barnegat (N.J.) High. Jason Groome . 4. player

Louisville. Corey Ray . 5. player. 76. The Brewers are linked heavily with two guys right now – Perez and Ray. With Perez off the board, the choice here is Ray. There is some talk of one of the helium high school pitchers moving to this spot.. of

The Athletics would love to have a regional guy with one of the prettiest swings in the entire draft fall into their lap at #6. Moniak is the type of guy who should move quickly in spite of being a high school guy.. of. La Costa Canyon High, Carldbad, Calif.. Mickey Moniak . 6. player. 96

82. Senzel has lots of risks in his defensive profile and his future profile as a power hitter, but he can certainly make contact, and the Marlins have regretted trading away a guy just like that in Colin Moran.. 3b. Tennessee. Nick Senzel . 7. player

rhp. St. Thomas Aquinas High, Overland Park, Kan.. Riley Pint . 8. player. 127. With multiple picks in the top 25, the Padres can shoot high here, and Pint will likely be wanting fairly big money, so they’re a very feasible landing point for him.

player. 63. Manning has a ton of helium coming into the draft, and he really fits the Tigers profile of pitcher.. rhp. Sheldon High, Sacramento. Matt Manning . 9

Wake Forest. Will Craig . 11. player. 62. Craig is a guy who on pure skills and talent shouldn’t be this high, but he’ll get a lot of push as the top pure hitter in the college ranks this year, and the Mariners could be a solid fit for his skill set.. 3b

of. Chaminade College Prep, Canoga Park, Calif.. Blake Rutherford . 13. player. 21. Rutherford keeps falling, and I could absolutely see him becoming this year’s Daz Cameron, making a deal with someone and ending up more in the 25-40 range and getting a big over-slot bonus.

rhp. Alamo Heights High, San Antonio, Texas. Forrest Whitley . 15. player. 2. Whitley has a solid frame and a very live arm that would profile nicely into the Twins system as they are looking hard into the high school right-handers in this draft.

player. 102. Hudson may be one of the few college guys in play for the Twins, but if he’s there, the Angels will gobble him up and he’ll likely move quickly through their bereft system.. rhp. Mississippi State. Dakota Hudson . 16

Vanderbilt. Jordan Sheffield . 17. player. 135. Sheffield has a brother with the Indians organization and a high pedigree of his own. The Astros would jump over adding a high-end arm like this into their system as he could move very quickly and bring a steady arm to a system with some very high-upside, low-floor guys.. rhp

Anderson’s local for the Yankees and he’d add in a high-upside arm that the system could truly use. Anderson is receiving mention as someone who may be asking for a pretty penny to sign, and while at the major league level, that’d not be an issue for the Yankees, their draft pool may not allow that.. rhp. Shenendohowa High, Clifton Park, N.Y.. Ian Anderson . 18. player. 43

19. player. 3. I’ve had the Mets linked to Kirilloff for a while, but I could see him also working his way earlier in the draft. I don’t see him getting beyond the Mets, however.. of/1b. Plum High, New Kensington, Pa.. Alex Kirilloff

Nolan Jones . 20. player. 71. With three picks in the top 40, the Dodgers will want to be able to work their money well, and Jones is a guy who they could likely get for a bit lower than the 20 slot to save some money later while still getting a high-end talent.. ss. Holy Ghost Prep, Langhorne, Pa.

Justin Dunn . 22. player. 4. Pittsburgh loves their guys that pitch off their fastball, and no one in the draft does that better than Dunn. While they’ve been highly linked to local product Zeuch, you’ll see later why I may have them going for a possible cheaper option in Dunn.. rhp. Boston College

If Zeuch gets by the Pirates, he won’t last for long, and I could definitely see the Cardinals grabbing him as their type of fast-moving pitcher with highly projectable stuff.. rhp. Pittsburgh. T.J. Zeuch . 23. player. 32

24. player. 127. Jones had a very solid season at Virginia, but the reputation of Virginia pitchers in the pros may be playing against him right now, so the Padres could use this pick as a way to save some money for their earlier Pint selection.. rhp. Virginia. Connor Jones

The Westminster Schools, Atlanta. Will Benson . 25. player. 127. It’s been strongly reported that the Padres have a deal in place with a Georgia prep player for one of their 24/25 picks, and many believe it’s Benson. He’d be a solid get here, as he’s probably a bit under-slot in this spot.. of

11. Thaiss has been jumping up earlier into the first round in many mocks as some teams believe that he could end up sticking behind the plate, which would definitely raise his value as he has the bat to be first-round worthy if he’s able to catch.. c. Virginia. Matt Thaiss . 27. player

90. This is just too perfect a fit. The team known for handling injured pitchers well and drafting them early, and an injured starter looking for a chance with a good repertoire once he returns.. rhp. Stanford. Cal Quantrill . 28. player

player. 90. Lux has firmly moved behind only Perez among high school shortstops in the draft, and he may not even last this long depending on how his pre-draft workouts go.. ss. Indian Trail Academy, Kenosha, Wisc.. Gavin Lux . 29

player. 95. Mendoza has very good skills, and a lot of teams like the raw skills, but he’s a guy that will likely take a long time to develop. He seems to be the sort of high-skills, high-upside sort of guy that the Rangers love.. 3B. Lake Minneola (Fla.) High. Drew Mendoza . 30