1st Round Mock Draft #2

Michael gave you a mock draft earlier today, and this one was supposed to be up on Wednesday, but WordPress decided to screw me over.  Mine’s got some notes about picks in it, but doesn’t have the fancy template Michael has.  Keep in mind, most of the picks are based on the best player available, but also based on other mocks I’ve seen and signability.  I might update this again before the 9th if there are any major changes.  This is a very pitcher-heavy 1st round, and you will definitely find that out with the first 15 or so picks.

1. Washington Nationals- Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State
2. Seattle Mariners-Dustin Ackley, OF/1B, North Carolina
3. San Diego Padres-Donovan Tate, OF, Cartersville HS (GA)
4. Pittsburgh Pirates-Aaron Crow, RHP, Independent (College: Missouri)
5. Baltimore Orioles-Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Independent (College: Fresno State)
6. San Francisco Giants-Tyler Matzek, LHP, Capistrano Valley HS (CA)
7. Atlanta Braves-Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri
8. Cincinnati Reds-Zach Wheeler, RHP, East Paulding HS (GA)
9. Detroit Tigers-Shelby Miller, RHP, Brownwood HS (TX)
10. Washington Nationals (comp.)-Grant Green, SS, USC
11. Colorado Rockies-Alex White, RHP, North Carolina
12. Kansas City Royals-Rex Brothers, LHP, Lipscomb
13. Oakland Athletics-Mike Leake, RHP, Arizona State
14. Texas Rangers-Chad James, RHP, Oklahoma City HS (OK)
15. Cleveland Indians-Matt Purke, LHP, Klein HS (TX)
16. Arizona Diamondbacks-Mike Minor, LHP, Vanderbilt
17. Arizona Diamondbacks (comp.)-Bobby Borchering, 3B, Bishop Verot HS (FL)
18. Florida Marlins-Jacob Turner, RHP, Westminster Christian Academy (MO)
19. St. Louis Cardinals-Evert Williams, OF
20. Toronto Blue Jays-Eric Arnett, RHP, Indiana
21. Houston Astros-Matt Hobgood, RHP, Norco HS (CA)
22. Minnesota Twins-Drew Storen, RHP, Stanford
23. Chicago White Sox-Reymond Fuentes, OF, Puerto Rico (HS)
24. Los Angeles Angels (comp.)-Tim Wheeler, OF, Sacramento State
25. Los Angeles Angels (comp.)-Max Stassi, C, Yuba City HS (CA)
26. Milwaukee Brewers-A.J. Pollock, OF, Notre Dame
27. Seattle Mariners (comp.)-Matt Davidson, 3B, Yucaipa HS (CA)
28. Boston Red Sox-Josh Phegley, C, Indiana
29. New York Yankees (comp.)-Kyle Heckathorn, RHP, Kennessaw State
30. Tampa Bay Rays-Wil Myers, C/3B, Wesleyan Christian Academy
31. Chicago Cubs (comp.)-Kendall Volz, RHP, Baylor
32. Colorado Rockies (comp.)-Ben Paulsen, 1B, Clemson

Here’s a bit of analysis of some picks.

• Strasburg than Ackley you can bet on, and Tate is a solid choice at #3, but from the Pirates, no one knows what to expect.  Could be Crow, Scheppers, Matzek, Turner or even White.
• The Braves might go after a high school arm like Miller, Turner or Wheeler, but need a college arm who could strengthen their system immediately.  That’s why they take Gibson, even though he just got a stress fracture in his arm and won’t be able to pitch for 6 weeks.  Not like he’d even be signed by then, though.
• At #12, the Royals need a college pitcher.  Brothers could be a reach, so they’re hoping a Gibson or White falls, but they’ve drafted two high school power hitters the last two years (Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer) and need to nab a more experienced pitcher
• Jacob Turner could go in the top 8, most likely to Detroit at #9, but is a signability pick guy, and I had him fall all the way to #18 because of that.  Very similar situation to Rick Porcello, who’s now tearing it up for the Tigers’ rotation.
• At #17, Borchering might be one of the best, if not the best, high school hitter in this draft.
• The Angels love Tim Wheeler.  He’s one of those pesky guys the Angels have so much success with, while still being a very good  prospect
• The Red Sox take Phegley at #28 to eventually replace Varitek.  He’s got great power, and was second in the Big Ten in both home runs and RBIs.
• At #29, Heckathorn is the tall (6-6), hard-throwing guy the Yanks like so much.  Could take on a Joba role as early as his second season, and eventually start.  Projects well out of the bullpen and in the rotation.
• Paulsen at #32 is a wild card pick, but Helton is getting old, and drawing trade interest.  The Rockies also have a lack of top-class power in their system, but they do have a group of great pitchers.  
• The final breakdown:  10 college pitchers, 6 college position players, 7 high school pitchers, 7 high school position players, 2 independent league pitchers.  19 pitchers, 12 position players, but only 3 position players drafted in the top 15.  As for the teams with multiple picks in this year’s draft, the mock showed that Washington was going after more college experience instead of very risky high school picks.  The Diamondbacks went after best players available, and the Angels stuck with their usual style of hitter, the versatile guy who can do almost everything.  There were two high school catchers drafted, but the draft class at that position for the HS level is very deep.  You could see 5 or more of them going in the 1st compensatory round and the draft’s 2nd round.

During the draft on June 9th, I will be hosting a live draft chat on this site.  It will start at 5:50 and go on as long as it needs to.