MLB Draft: Mock Draft, Version 1.0
It is time to start preparing for the MLB draft! We kick off our mock drafts with our first go today!
The MLB Draft will be held June 4th through the 6th. It can be viewed on MLB Network and online on MLB.com. However, pre-draft, one of the most exciting parts of preparing for the draft is putting together mock drafts of just how things could break down.
Our mock MLB draft work is done by Benjamin Chase, one of our editors here with Call To The Pen. Ben works with contacts around the game to attempt to find out if there are teams and players getting connected together or players rising that could surprise us by going earlier or later than selected. We will have a new mock MLB draft each Monday all the way until June 4, with each mock being through the CBA selections between the first and second round until that last mock, when Ben drinks some extra coffee and goes all the way through the second batch of competitive balance picks between rounds 2 and 3 on draft day.
We’ll start right at the top:
1. Detroit Tigers
Auburn. Casey Mize. 1. player. 63. This is basically academic at this point unless something catastrophic happens to Mize happens. It has been a number of years since we’ve seen a consensus top overall selection, but Mize is the top guy across all boards at this point, and it will take an injury of some variety for him to fall. Mize has always had the stuff, with three plus pitches, including a double plus split-finger, but health has held back his projection. Showing consistent health in 2018 has kept him #1 and should keep him here as a projection as a future #1/2 rotation piece with an impressive competitive streak.. RHP
2. San Francisco Giants
Wichita State. Alec Bohm. 2. player. 31. In the eyes of many scouts, if anyone were to move Mize, it’d be Bohm. He has the offensive profile for third base, has shown a tick up in his defense, and he’s a hard worker at the position, which should serve him very well as a pro. The bat is special, however, with plus contact and raw double-plus power abilities that could allow him to be a future home run champion. The Giants just acquired <strong><a rel=. 3B
3. Philadelphia Phillies
Really the one top high school arm coming into the spring that has held his spot all spring, Liberatore was the definite top of a shallow left-handed high school crop at the end o last summer, and he’s shown well enough that he has even led many to argue him as high as #2 overall. Liberatore does not bring any one double-plus pitch to the mix, but he throws four above-average pitches with impressive command for a high school arm, and he’s already showing the ability to manipulate his mix on the second time around to keep hitters off base. He’ll end up in the “next <strong><a rel=. LHP. Mountain Ridge HS (AZ). Matthew Liberatore. 3. player. 6
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Cincinnati Reds
While there could be a legit argument that Madrigal is the best overall player in the draft, a player listed at a generous 5’7″ tall and weighing in at a generous 160 pounds isn’t going to be the type of guy who would go 1-1, even without Mize. As much progress as scouting has made to look beyond just body type to the player, that much bias still exists, much like the “no HS RHP will go 1-1” bias. If he makes it to 5, the Reds would be sprinting to the podium with visions of Madrigal and <strong><a rel=. SS/2B. Oregon State. Nick Madrigal. 5. player. 61
Next: #6-15