MLB Draft: The Final Mock Draft of 2016

lhp. Florida. A.J. Puk . 1. player. 6. The Phillies are getting a lot of publicity for who they are visiting with over the last week before the draft, but remember that Puk is still actively playing, so he cannot be part of the typical visit process, so his absence from these visits is no indicator of a lack of interest by any means. Puk is still the guy that makes the most sense, and frankly, pairing Puk with Aaron Nola at the top of the Phillies long-term rotation makes so much sense. Other possible options: Mickey Moniak, Kyle Lewis

61. The Reds are looking to work their draft pool and also get a very safe pick at the same time. That took them out of the Delvin Perez market even before his announced failed drug test on Tuesday. The Reds have been tied heavy to Senzel all season long as a high-floor college bat that likely will take less money than other options in order to sign, allowing the Reds to use their pool at 35 and 43. All that said, this is as low as Puk goes, as if the Phillies pass on him, the Reds absolutely will grab him. Others in play: Kyle Lewis, Corey Ray, Zack Collins. 3b. Tennessee. Nick Senzel . 2. player

Atlanta has been tied heavily to Kyle Lewis for a long time, and everything I’ve heard has said that he is the Braves #1 on their board. However, the Braves are working hard to set up deals with #3, #40, and #44 to get deals that get the best player package for the three picks. Lewis may end up being part of that, but the biggest and most heavily stated rumor regarding Atlanta package deals include Pint and one of his good friends from Kansas that you’ll see later at #40. In play: Kyle Lewis, Mickey Moniak, Jason Groome. rhp. St. Thomas Aquinas High, Overland Park, Kan.. Riley Pint . 3. player. 17

Mickey Moniak . 4. player. 108. Moniak would seem to be perfectly crafted to be an All-Star in Colorado. He is a gap hitter that can cover ground for days in the outfield. He could seriously hit double digit triples for multiple seasons in Colorado’s spacious outfield along with playing tremendous defense. He’s the rare high school player that could be considered to have a fairly high floor. In play: Kyle Lewis, Corey Ray, Jason Groome, Braxton Garrett. of. La Costa Canyon High, Carldbad, Calif.

player. 76. The Brewers were highly tied to Delvin Perez before his failed drug test, which makes their second-most tied player the most obvious selection in the top 5 outside of #1 to me. Corey Ray and the Brewers seem like a perfect match as his skills seem to be the type of player that fit exactly what the Brewers love in their system. Also looking at: Jason Groome, Riley Pint, Kyle Lewis, Gavin Lux. of. Louisville. Corey Ray . 5

Barnegat (N.J.) High. Jason Groome . 6. player. 96. While many will say this doesn’t fit the typical “Moneyball” sort of pick, it actually very well could as the widely-considered top talent in the draft ends up being the Athletics selection at #6. Groome would instantly become the Athletics most impressive arm in their system, which says something in a system with some fairly solid arms. This would be as low as I can see Senzel falling if he’s not picked by this point, however. Also considering: Senzel, Ray, Garrett, Collins, Rutherford.. lhp

player. 82. The Marlins were the team I had heard a lot of tie to Delvin Perez coming into this last week of the draft, but the positive drug test drops him out of consideration. They would love to see Groome or Pint fall here, but Garrett would be a tremendous fall back to those two. Considering: Moniak, Rutherford, Pint, Groome. lhp. Florence (Ala.) High. Braxton Garrett . 7

127. The Padres have all sorts of money to use with 3 of the first 25 picks, and their first round grouping should be a pretty nice haul. I would almost pencil in whomever falls from the top 3-5 consensus players into this slot as the Padres will likely pay for a big player and use their other picks well to allow them to get three good picks. Lewis would allow them to have a power bat to the majors fairly quick to plug into the lineup. In play: Groome, Pint, Moniak, Ray, HS arms. of. Mercer. Kyle Lewis . 8. player

Miami. Zack Collins . 9. player. 63. The Tigers are reportedly going hard after a bat, and the way this fell, they’d have to choose between two solid options that they’re reported to have a lot of interest and in this situation, I could see them ponying up the money to bring in the solid bat of Collins, who is reported to be looking for big money. Other options: Rutherford, Craig, Ray, HS arm.. c

Boston College. Justin Dunn . 22. player. 4. The Pirates would be in heaven here. They would love to get their hands on local product Zeuch, but if he’s off the board, they’ll go after the pitcher that most fits their pitching philosophy, pitching strongly off of his fastball, and that would be Dunn. Also considered: Sheffield, Hansen, Zeuch, HS arms. rhp

32. Lauer is one of two guys that I think are prototype Cardinals picks. He’s the highest-rated of the two on the board here, so I’m putting him with the Cardinals here. He should move quickly, and while he may not be a #1 starter, he should have a long career in the major leagues as a starting pitcher. The Cardinals have three picks between 23-34, and they’ll likely go after one tough sign, and they could choose to go after that guy here if they really like someone, but there’s no one on the board here that they’ve been tied to heavily beyond the college pitchers, so they’ll take the top guy they’ve been tied to in order to ensure they get that guy. Possible picks: Sheffield, Trammell, Nolan Jones, Marsh, Benson, Connor Jones, Anthony Kay. lhp. Kent State. Eric Lauer . 23. player

Mount Paran Christian School, Kennesaw, Ga.. Taylor Trammell . 24. player. 127. The Padres are reported to have a deal with a Georgia prep player, and many have assumed for a long time that it was Atlanta metro outfielder Will Benson, but that has recently been strongly denied, which could be draft speak, but the sources weren’t the types that are prone to such draft speak stuff. So, in leiu of Benson, it would seem that Lowe would cost too much to move down to 24/25 and be an overdraft at 8, so then you get to guys like Trammell, Kieboom, and Marsh. Trammell had a workout with the Padres this last week and left very pleased from all reports. I’ll put my educated guess that their Georgia prep guy ends up being the speedy Trammell to eventually roam spacious Petco center field. Also in play: Kieboom, Marsh, Benson, Lowe. of

Jordan Sheffield . 25. player. 127. San Diego will want to ensure they have the money to make all three top picks work, and that will require a college player. In this situation, they couldn’t ask for much better with a college bat in Lewis and college arm in Sheffield that are both highly thought of and yet should be somewhat affordable in order to make Trammell also workable. Also in consideration: College arms. rhp. Vanderbilt

ss. Holy Ghost Prep, Langhorne, Pa.. Nolan Jones . 27. player. 11. With one selection in the first 41 picks, the Orioles will want ot hit a home run. They would love to have one of the top college hitters fall, but at this point, the best college guys on the board are known more for their defense and upside than their present bats. If they’re going to go for an upside bat, they’ll pursue the bigger upside of a high school bat. Jones is the best of those left on the board. Also in consideration: Benson, Kieboom, Marsh, Reynolds, HS arm

90. The Nationals seem set to make a splash with back to back picks. They’re known for taking injured pitchers, but this seems early for Daulton Jefferies, though he did pitch very well at the end of the season and could be the guy they choose rather than Jones in order to save money. Jones did nothing wrong all season, but he really didn’t have that “dominant” season that one of the top college starters entering the season is expected to have, so now he’s dropped down a number of draft boards. The Nationals would enjoy having the “local” guy be their low-cost guy that should have a fairly high floor. Also in play: Jefferies, Quantrill, Tyler, Burnes. rhp. Virginia. Connor Jones . 28. player

90. This could go a number of ways, but I just think it’s too perfect a match to see the Nationals take the guy with the blistering fastball in college and working him with Stephen Strasburg to develop him into an incredible piece of the rotation or a dominant back-end reliever. Others in consideration: Drew Mendoza, Joe Rizzo, Kieboom, Marsh. rhp. Oklahoma. Alec Hansen . 29. player

95. The Rangers have one selection, and they tend to go for the high-upside, higher-risk guy in the international market, so this could be the opportunity, especially in this draft to grab a solid, safe, high-floor sort of guy that should provide a ton of stability in the organization as he moves up to the majors. Reynolds is just a solid player all around, solid on offense, excellent on defense, but neither so much so to be “elite”. Others in play: Okey, Reed, HS arms. of. Vanderbilt. Bryan Reynolds . 30. player

Anthony Kay . 31. player. 3. The Mets will likely have to go over slot to get Craig at 19, so they’ll need to have some money. Kay may not have elite upside, but his performance at the end of the season has really shown teams that he’s a higher floor option than even he was considered before. Others considered: Logan Shore, Connor Jones, Tyler, Sedlock. lhp. Connecticut

32. player. 71. The Dodgers would need some college picks in order to make the Manning selection work, and likely need to overdraft to some degree. Tyler takes care of the first consideration as he’s a guy that could move very quickly in the bullpen but has the size, stamina, and potential repertoire to be a mid rotation starter for many years. Also considered: Kay, Connor Jones, Jefferies, Shore. rhp. Georgia. Robert Tyler

32. Okey is the type of college guy that fits the Cardinals well. He doesn’t seem to profile as a major leaguer with any tool on offense or defense, but he has an extremely high baseball IQ and leadership skills that have had him on the Team USA squad for three years now. He’ll be a financially cheap sign here, but he’s more in play as a great fit than for mere money reasons. Also considered: Reed, Heath Quinn, Will Smith. c. Clemson. Chris Okey . 33. player

34. player. 32. The Cardinals are reputed to grab these baseball rat sort of guys that grind their way to being tremendous ball players. While the organization certainly appreciates high baseball IQ, they also love when it’s paired with high talent. Kieboom is that type. He’s got the family bloodlines with a brother in the minor leagues and another in high-level college, and yet he’s got a very solid power bat that could be very impactful as well. Also considered: Dawson, Marsh, Benson, Rizzo, Bo Bichette. ss/3b. Walton High, Marietta, Ga.. Carter Kieboom

rhp. Shenendohowa High, Clifton Park, N.Y.. Ian Anderson . 35. player. 61. Grabbing Senzel at #2 was set up to grab one of the signability issue high school players, and this worked out perfectly for the Reds in this draft as Anderson falls right in their lap. Anderson’s reported $3-4M number has scared away a lot of teams, so he could fall to this area if he doesn’t work out a deal to go very under slot in the top end of the draft, which is also feasible. Also considered: Wentz, Kyle Muller, Jared Horn, Kevin Gowdy

36. player. 71. This is the Dodgers overdraft, though more and more, Burnes is working his way into the top 35-40 discussion based on his skills this season, but he is a guy who hasn’t had the same level of competition and probably needs more time than the average college arm if you want him to start. He could move quickly as a reliever, though. Also considered: Jefferies, Jon Duplantier, Dane Dunning. rhp. St. Mary’s. Corbin Burnes

of. Florida. Buddy Reed . 37. player. 96. This would be a great fit for the A’s, with a highly skilled defensive outfielder with a ton of raw offensive skills going to a team that will likely need a center fielder in 2017 and going forward. That said, his skill set also is very odd for the Athletics to pursue, so he may be passed here. Also in play: Dawson, Austin Hays, College arm

Ronnie Dawson . 38. player. 108. The Rockies would go for some upside here as they would likely get Moniak with some room in their #4 draft pool, so they could go for upside here. Dawson really shot up boards with his end of season performance and would fit well. Also considered: Benson, Marsh, Anfernee Grier, Bo Bichette. of. Ohio State

of. The Westminster Schools, Atlanta. Will Benson . 39. player. 8. The Diamondbacks have just one pick in the first 50 picks, so they’ll want to make an impact here. They could go for a high-end high school arm here as well, but Benson is a tremendous talent that was tied to the Padres for so long that he seemingly didn’t get the tie-in with other teams that many other players in this area did. Also considered: Horn, Muller, Gowdy, Marsh, Kieboom

Joey Wentz . 40. player. 17. The Braves are working to get a set of players before the draft even takes place for 3, 40, and 44 with deals in place for all three. There are heavy rumors that good friends Pint and Wentz want to play together and are willing to work with a team to sign together, and this would absolutely entice the Braves, who tremendously love Pint as it is, and getting arguably the second-best high school lefty along with him would be a great haul. Considered: Benson, Kieboom, Marsh, Heath Quinn, Akil Baddoo, HS arms. lhp. Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, KS

4. With a college arm at 22, the Pirates could take a risk here, and Marsh offers as much power as any high school bat out there. They’re stacked long-term in the outfield for sure, but Marsh may take some time to develop, which would mean that they’d have a spot by the time Marsh was ready. Also considered: HS arm, Rizzo, Mendoza, Dawson, Grier. of. Buford (Ga.) High. Brandon Marsh . 41. player