While it’s always draft season here at North Side Bound, things have heated up at the start of NCAA conference play. In this mock I explore what the draft may look like this July, not necessarily where things stand right now. It features players that I’ve identified as possible risers so there will be players mocked to teams below who are currently ranked in the 30-100 range by respected outlets. While that might differ from other mocks, I believe it’s a fun way to evaluate players this early in the draft cycle. You’ll also find verbiage about how each team prioritized previous first round selections. These are broad generalizations and we don’t want to take any to the bank, but they can be interesting as we look at how organizational tendencies can impact future selections. So with that said, let’s get to the mock.

  1. Cleveland Guardians – Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State

Previous 1st round selections: Daniel Espino- RHP, Carson Tucker- SS, Gavin Williams- RHP, Chase DeLauter- OF, Ralphy Velazquez, C
Bonus slot: TBD

How the Guardians draft: According to Willie Hood, who follows the Guardians draft process as closely as anyone, “Cleveland is a model-driven club- they look for specific traits in hitting and pitching prospects. Age, athleticism, ‘famous’ (PG, Team USA, Cape Cod League, etc) game exposure, and cold weather/underdeveloped talent are traits that crossover both demographics. In hitters, the club targets middle-of-the-diamond talent with above-average or better speed, clean hitting mechanics, advanced contact skills, and advanced zone awareness. With pitchers, it is a similar approach: advanced pitch-ability; pitch sequencing, command, ease of delivery/clean mechanics, multiple pitches (more is better), high spin rates, above-average extension, and unique release points.”

Mock 1.0: The Guardians could go in a multitude of different directions and they could be right. This is a huge year to evaluate the impact of the MLB Draft lottery. Cleveland was slated to pick 9th in the draft, but this win supplies them with access to an entirely different tier of player. I still think any of Bazzana, Charlie Condon, Chase Burns, or Konnor Griffin could make sense here with a lean towards the first three college players. I still believe it’s too early to be saying a team is zeroing in on any specific players, but you better believe the Guardians are already excited about several players up top in this draft class.

From a purely meta perspective, it’ll be fascinating how Cleveland builds the upper part of their draft class. With picks 1, 36, and 48, the Guardians are in a dominant position to “buy down” first round caliber players to their next few selections.

  1. Cincinnati Reds – Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest

Previous 1st round selections: Austin Hendrick- OF, Matt McLain- SS, Cam Collier- 3B, Rhett Lowder, RHP
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Reds draft: It’s a mixed bag for Cincinnati, but they’ve been an organization that’s been willing to pay up for talents that fall.

Mock 1.0: The Reds don’t need a player to “fall” in this scenario, but we should still expect Cincinnati to prioritize a 1.1 type of talent. Like with the Guardians above, there are several players who could fit here. In Mock 1.0 I have Cinci taking Chase Burns who is in the running for top pitcher in the draft class. Burns showed premier stuff last year for Tennessee, but he’s taken it up a notch or two for Wake Forest. It’s an arsenal led with a plus or better fastball and a plus or better slider. He also shows a good changeup and occasional curveball.

One note: How teams value pitchers this high varies significantly. We could see Burns 1.1 or 1.7 and it wouldn’t reflect his talent.

  1. Colorado Rockies – Charlie Condon, INF/OF, Georgia

Previous 1st round selections: Zac Veen- OF, Benny Montgomery- OF, Gabriel Hughes- RHP, Chase Dollander, RHP
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Rockies draft: It’s hard to track any sort of discernible traits the Rockies prioritize early. They’ve targeted multiple bats in the first and raw toosly outfielders. The past two drafts they targeted arms, but with very different profiles. I’d look at loud tools at this spot, especially power and velocity.

Mock 1.0: Did I say “power”? Charlie Condon has it in spades. He’s also played all over the field, showing athleticism in the outfield and at 3B. For my money I’d look hard at Condon 1.1, but anywhere in the top few picks is perfectly justified. This is shaping up to be a very good top of the draft.

  1. Oakland A’s – Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas

Previous 1st round selections: Tyler Soderstrom- C, Maxwell Muncy- SS, Daniel Susac- C, Jacob Wilson – IF
Bonus Slot: $TBD

How the A’s draft: Up the middle contributors. They’ve balanced between prep and college talents.

Mock 1.0: This won’t fit the description above, but Hagen Smith is such a high upside opportunity at 4th overall, that it feels right. Hagen Smith might have the best one-two punch out of pitchers in this class. He feels like a quick mover.

  1. Chicago White Sox – Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest

Previous 1st round selections: Garrett Crochet- LHP, Colson Montgomery- SS, Noah Schultz- LHP, Jacob Gonzalez – SS
Bonus slot: TBD

How the White Sox draft: White Sox have been willing to bet on upside despite risk. It’s paid off with Montgomery and Schultz is one of my favorite 2022 selections. They also have a new regime, though Mike Shirley continues in his current role as Amateur Scouting Director.

Mock 1.0: Kurtz has dealt with some injuries and the production hasn’t been up to his prior levels. This is a bet that he rights the ship. Kurtz offers the type of profile where he is ready to step in as the 2026 starting first baseman with defense, power, and hit tools to match.

  1. Kansas City Royals – Konnor Griffin, SS, Jackson Prep (MS)

Previous 1st round selections: Asa Lacy- LHP, Frank Mozzicato- LHP, Gavin Cross – OF, Blake Mitchell -C
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Royals draft: The Royals have used multiple strategies to bring in top selections. They’ve subslotted heavily (Mozzicato) and stuck to slot with Mitchell, Lacy, and Cross. The Royals also are one of the few teams to have all four major demographics (HS hitter, college hitter, prep pitcher, prep hitter) in their last four. This isn’t an organization afraid of risk. Brian Bridges from the Braves and Giants will be their scouting director. Those are organizations with a lot of draft success. How Bridges steers the ship will be something to monitor in 2024.

Mock 1.0: I listed Griffin as a 1.1 candidate and I believe that could be the case. But if the Guardians, Reds, and Rockies pivot, Griffin could start making sense for a few clubs like the White Sox and the Royals. Kansas City has a ton of cash to spread around and they aren’t shy about making selections on high school players.

Reminder: I have no knowledge of the relative asking prices for players. This is purely for this mock.

Consider a scenario where Griffin’s camp has an asking price similar to Max Clark’s signing figure ($7,697,500), the Royals could be a legitimate candidate to move money around with picks 39 and 41. “Punting” one of those selections via a player agreeing to sign for a figure far under the slot value at 39/41 could cover the money needed to offer that figure. The best opportunity for Kansas City to acquire superstars is via the draft and international free agency.

  1. St. Louis Cardinals – Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida

Previous 1st round selections: Jordan Walker- 3B, Michael McGreevy- RHP, Cooper Hjerpe- LHP, Chase Davis – OF
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Cardinals draft: Not mentioned above, but the Cardinals have identified two-way players and developed them well. They aren’t afraid to take risky selections either. The Cardinals place a premium on height early in the draft. Every single pitcher (eight out of eight) drafted in the first five rounds in 2021, 2022, and 2023 was 6’2” or taller.

Mock 1.0: The Cardinals haven’t been shy to take players with significant development steps ahead of them, but in recent seasons they’ve also gravitated towards college performers. All of McGreevy (impeccable control), Hjerpe (unique arm angle and fastball movement), and Davis (batted ball data) represent players with particular standout qualities. Jac Caglianone boasts standout tools on both sides of the diamond. Despite looking elite at certain times on the mound and at the dish there are still significant development steps that lie ahead for him.

  1. Los Angeles Angels – JJ Wetherholt, 2B/SS, West Virginia

Previous 1st round selections: Reid Detmers- LHP, Sam Bachman- RHP, Zach Neto- SS, Nolan Schanuel -1B
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Angels draft: Fast moving college performers and pitchers are the primary first-round targets by the Angels.

Mock 1.0: The Angels prioritize players that can contribute now. Yesterday would be better, if possible. Wetherholt has been slowed by hamstring injury and could easily be in the top 3 conversation depending on how teams feel about his medicals. The Angels haven’t been shy about taking players with some injury risk and they’ve largely been correct in their assessment. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Wetherholt get healthy and zoom through the lower minors.

  1. Pittsburgh Pirates – Seaver King, SS/CF, Wake Forest

Previous 1st round selections: Nick Gonzales-2B, Henry Davis- C, Termarr Johnson- 2B, Paul Skenes -RHP
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Pirates draft: Pittsburgh has leaned towards safe future projections the past three seasons. Gonzales, Davis, and Johnson all look like solid bets to progress through the system and be MLB-performers. They’ve prioritized strong contact rates (hit tools). Even Paul Skenes has a relatively high-floor as a near-ready MLB arm.

Mock 1.0: I’ll save any associated monarchy-related pun for future mocks. King has ascended rankings in the past twelve months. After raking at DII Wingate and during the summer, he landed at Wake Forest. Since that time, King has adapted to the competition. He will show good contact ability, but his aggressive approach may need to be toned down in professional ball. King looks like he could man the middle of the diamond either on the dirt at SS or 2B or in centerfield.

  1. Washington Nationals – Vance Honeycutt, CF, North CarolinaPrevious 1st round selections: Cade Cavalli- RHP, Brady House- 3B, Elijah Green, OF, Dylan Crews, OF
    Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Nationals draft: Not afraid to go for upside despite risk. Ultimate ceiling appears to drive decision-making.

Mock 1.0: Scouting circles describe Vance Honeycutt as a “toolshed”. The raw ability is immense. He still has some swing and miss to his game and he will chase the ball out of the zone, but you can see the overall progress. The Nationals love to target upside plays and Honeycutt here at tenth overall, fits that model.

  1. Detroit Tigers – Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M

Previous 1st round selections: Spencer Torkelson- 1B, Jackson Jobe- RHP, Jace Jung- 2B, Max Clark -OF
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Tigers draft: The Tigers employed a new scouting director, Mark Conner ,in 2023. After a decade with the Padres, Conner took the reins of drafts in Detroit. They went after preps early in 2023 (not a surprise based on Padres prior drafting). Both Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle showed good batted-ball data, especially if you weigh hit-tool heavily.

Mock 1.0: Full transparency, I looked at a lot of prep players for this slot. I also thought it’s hard to justify Braden Montgomery falling any further and so I went that route. Montgomery does some special things on the diamond and while I believe his future is as an outfielder, it’s easy to imagine a scouting staff drawn to tools be impressed with the overall package.

  1. Boston Red Sox – Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State

Previous 1st round selections: Nick Yorke- 2B, Marcelo Meyer- SS, Mikey Romero- SS, Kyle Teel -C
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Red Sox draft: Athletic up-the-middle players, especially on the infield. It’s a great demographic to pull from.

Mock 1.0: Culpepper has been impressive to begin the season and looks like a strong candidate to play SS at the next level. The Red Sox have drilled in on this demographic in recent seasons. What remains to be seen will be how new lead voice, Craig Breslow, oversees drafting and scouting. Will he take a firm hand on the upper round selections or trust Director of Amateur Scouting Devin Pearson’s team. There is an appropriate justification for both strategies (and plenty of room in-between). All that to say, we don’t know how Boston will draft, but I’ll take the view that Pearson and his staff will take the lead on the decision-making. Culpepper fits here.

  1. San Francisco Giants – Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke

Previous 1st round selections: Hunter Bishop- OF, Patrick Bailey- C, Will Bednar- RHP, Reggie Crawford- LHP, Bryce Eldridge – OF/RHP
Bonus slot: TBD

How the Giants draft: Loud tools and not afraid to tackle development challenges. Back-to-back two way players in the first round with Crawford and Eldridge.

Mock 1.0: I’m curious if the Giants target Bryce Rainer here, but with how the mock has lined up, I went with Santucci. The Duke lefty features a supremely impressive slider and he’ll get swing and miss with the fastball. I have developmental questions with Santucci, but him landing with a strong pitching development team like San Francisco would help provide answers.

  1. Chicago Cubs – Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina

Previous 1st round selections: Ed Howard- SS, Jordan Wicks- LHP, Cade Horton- RHP, Matt Shaw -SS
Bonus Slot: $4,848,500

How the Cubs draft: we saw the Cubs prioritize players who the organization viewed as falling to them in Howard and Wicks, but unless something really crazy happened in 2022, they were very into the profile of Horton. This is an organization that has been willing to target upside with their top few selections over the past few years. In 2023, the Cubs effectively sat back and waited for a top talent to fall. It’s an excellent strategy that many of the best organizations employ. That plan resulted in Matt Shaw, who looked like an impact player in his brief pro debut.

Mock 1.0: I think highly of Trey Yesavage. From a pitching development setup, he will showcase three pitches that could be plus at the next level. The arsenal includes a mid-90s fastball with downhill plane and carry at the top of the zone, a cutter/slider hybrid in the mid-80s, a split-change in the low 80s, and a curveball. I love the curveball; I believe it’s been his best pitch at various points. But he’s rarely used it this year. Yesavage feels like an easy development in professional ball and a great fit for the Cubs.

What if it wasn’t Yesavage, however? Last year I stumped for Colt Emerson, the high school shortstop who went to Seattle. This year I’ve been following high school shortstops Carter Johnson and Tyson (Ty) Lewis. You don’t draft for need in the early rounds of the MLB Draft so that wouldn’t be a reflection of the Cubs organizational system. I am very intrigued about both players. I am also a big fan of Cameron (Cam) Smith out of FSU. He’s made meaningful changes to his approach last summer on the Cape and he’s carried it over so far this season.

  1. Seattle Mariners – Slade Caldwell, Valley View HS (AR)

Previous 1st round selections: Emerson Hancock- RHP, Harry Ford- C, Cole Young- SS, Colt Emerson – SS, Jonny Farmelo -OF, Tai Peete -SS
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Mariners draft: The past few seasons, Seattle has focused on high school talent and 2023 was a perfect encapsulation of that.

Mock 1.0: Caldwell gives off shades of Drew Gilbert and Jett Williams with his approach. Seattle has targeted prep players early, which has allowed them to build a robust pipeline of talent coming up through the minor leagues. Caldwell could add to that pipeline.

  1. Miami Marlins – Carter Johnson, SS, Oxford HS (AL)

Previous 1st round selections: Max Meyer- RHP, Khalil Watson- SS, Jacob Berry- 3B, Noble Meyer -RHP
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Marlins draft: It’s a new regime in Miami so I’m borrowing shades of both the Marlins and Rays (since Bendix came from Tampa Bay).

Mock 1.0: Carter Johnson gives off the look of a first-rounder and I believe sits right in that 14-32 range. He already shows off a strong hit tool and a projectable frame capable of growing into more power.

  1. Milwaukee Brewers – Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford

Previous 1st round selections: Garrett Mitchell- OF, Sal Frelick- OF, Eric Brown Jr.- SS, Brock Wilken – 3B
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Brewers draft: The Brewers have put an emphasis on contact skills early. All of Mitchell, Frelick, and Brown Jr. boasted strong bat-to-ball skills. They’ve been the beneficiaries of players who have fallen in the first round several times. Brock Wilken is a different profile, but stood out for his power and low chase rates.

Mock 1.0: It’s a unique setup, and he hasn’t had a strong start to the season, but Moore fits qualities Milwaukee has sought after. He makes contact and minimizes chase. His general issue is that he could stand to grow in the receiving department. I don’t know what they have in the water in Milwaukee (Miller Lites?), but the Brewers consistently can improve their catchers’ framing and receiving abilities.

  1. Tampa Bay Rays – Tyson Lewis, SS, Millard West (NE)

Previous 1st round selections: Greg Jones- SS, Nick Bitsko- RHP, Carson Williams- SS, Xavier Isaac- 1B
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Rays draft: Can we say to the beat of their own drum? Bitsko, Williams. And Isaac were gambles that not every team was comfortable with (though Bitsko was a hot name in 2020). Look, you doubt the Rays at your own risk, but it’ll be fascinating to see what they do in 2023.

Mock 1.0: This is an aggressive ranking here from a cold weather bat, but Lewis has impressed me. He boasts impressive data points and showed out at premier events such as the Super60 in Chicago this February.

  1. New York Mets – Bryce Rainer, SS/RHP, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)

Previous 1st round selections: Pete Crow-Armstrong – OF, Kumar Rocker – RHP (Did not sign), Kevin Parada -C, Jett Williams- SS, Colin Houck – SS
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Mets draft: The Mets since Cohen took over have made big swings in the draft. The aggressive spending dropped their first draft selection this year, and I’d expect that to continue in subsequent drafts.

Mock 1.0: Bryce Rainer is a top 15 talent and would have easily been in the range the Mets would have selected had they not been dropped ten spots in the draft due to luxury tax penalties. I don’t know where Rainer ultimately ends up (SS or RHP), but he’s a talented player that fits in the middle of the first round. In this scenario, the Mets “buy him down” to their selection.

  1. Toronto Blue Jays – PJ Morlando 1B/OF, Summerville HS (SC)

Previous 1st round selections: Austin Martin- SS, Gunnar Hoglund- RHP, Brandon Barriera- LHP, Arjun Nimmala – SS
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Blue Jays draft: You have to respect the Blue Jays for just taking the guys that fall to them. They’ve been one of the few organizations willing to take an arm who had Tommy John surgery and didn’t come back yet.

Mock 1.0: Morlando came into the year with talk that he may be the top prep in the class. Questions surrounding his ultimate defensive home have crept into conversations. He’s still a first-round caliber player. Here the Blue Jays do what they do best, take a player who shouldn’t be on the board when they select.

  1. Minnesota Twins – William Schmidt, RHP, Catholic HS

Previous 1st round selections: Aaron Sabato- 1B, Chase Petty- RHP, Brooks Lee- SS, Walker Jenkins -OF
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Twins draft: The Twins balance prep and college, but players fall into safer demographics. Chase Petty is the exception, but they traded him before the end of the year.

Mock 1.0: William Schmidt has looked dominant so far this spring season. The LSU commit appears to have separated himself from the rest of the prep pitching group. He’s showing velocity and swing and miss with offspeed all from a projectable frame. The top prep arm in a class often falls right in this range. He’ll likely need a significant offer to forgo his LSU commitment.

  1. Baltimore Orioles – Billy Amick, 3B, Tennessee

Previous 1st round selections: Adley Rutschman- C, Heston Kjerstad- OF, Colton Cowser- OF, Jackson Holliday- SS
Bonus Slot: $4,169,700

How the Orioles draft: Upper-tier batted ball numbers and hitters early. They aren’t afraid of whiffs and are an organization that appears to improve swing and miss from hitters during development. This is an organization that shows a willingness to sub-slot players early, especially if they can get a similar tier of player.

Mock 1.0: Amick has been on fire this season. He looks solid at third base and has boasted impressive batted ball data. Plug Amick into that Orioles machine. Also, a reminder that teams shouldn’t draft for organizational need so no sense in worrying about the Orioles current infield logjam full of talent hitters.

It’s at this point in the mock where I’ve realized that Cam Smith sure would make sense for the Orioles based on prior drafting tendencies. I think Smith is falling too far in this mock for his talent level.

  1. Los Angeles Dodgers – Carson Benge, RF, Oklahoma State

Previous top organizational selections: Bobby Miller RHP, Maddux Bruns – LHP, Dalton Rushing – C, Kendall George – OF

How the Dodgers draft: The Dodgers receive a tremendous benefit of the doubt for their drafting based on their track record for player development. Sometimes that means taking a player higher than expected.

Mock 1.0: Benge just hits and hits and hits. He makes above-average to plus contact in the zone and can reach above-average or better power, especially to his pull side. The Dodgers take some powerful hitters and Benge would be another in the line.

  1. Atlanta Braves – Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa

Previous 1st round selections: Jared Shuster- LHP, Ryan Cusick- RHP, Owen Murphy- RHP, Hurston Waldrep -RHP

How the Braves draft: mix of college and prep and while they’ve leaned pitchers the last several years I’m not sure that’s an organizational preference.

Mock 1.0: Brecht falling this far might surprise, but he has significant development questions to answer. Teams will have significantly distinct steps outlined for what they would do with Brecht’s development. He has a wide variance of outcomes. The biggest questions surround his fastball, namely both shape and control/command. The “shape” of his fastball refers to the type of movement (vertical and horizontal) it shows. Brecht doesn’t get a lot of carry or ride to his fastball, leaving it a tad flat. Now the velocity touching triple digits certainly helps, but it still leaves questions about its projection long term. Having a relatively flat fastball would be fine at this velo if he could command it, but Brecht has serious fastball command concerns. Last year the Braves took a pitcher with wipeout offspeed and fastball command issues. I don’t believe they regret taking Hurston Waldrep and Brecht could offer similar upside.

  1. San Diego Padres – Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro HS (AZ)

Previous 1st round selections: Robert Hassell- OF, Jackson Merrill- SS, (not a first rounder, but James Wood received a $3 million bonus), Dylan Lesko- RHP, Dillon Head -OF

How the Padres draft: The Padres are a club that puts a premium on batted ball data, prep upside, and are not afraid of late-rising players

Mock 1.0: Caminiti reclassified to the 2024 draft and sits as one of the younger players in the class. He won’t turn 18 until August. He is a two-way player, but he projects better long term on the mound. Caminiti should appeal to a Padres team that invests heavily in prep talent, especially those with a longer developmental path (not time, but specific development progression). While Caminiti has four pitches that he’ll use and is already touching the mid-90s, his fastballs don’t generate a ton of spin. That lack of spin spills over to the breaking balls, which presents the clearest development steps he needs to progress.

  1. New York Yankees – James Tibbs III, OF, FSU

Previous 1st round selections: Austin Wells- C, Trey Sweeney- SS, Spencer Jones- OF, George Lombard Jr -OF

How the Yankees draft: When you evaluate Yankees picks they almost always feature positive batted ball or pitching metrics.

Mock 1.0: Tibbs III is likely a left fielder long term but the bat has been impressive showing off a good eye at the plate with impressive power tailor made for Yankee stadium.

  1. Philadelphia Phillies – Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk City HS (OK)

Previous 1st round selections: Mick Abel- RHP, Andrew Painter- RHP, Justin Crawford- CF, Aidan Miller -3B
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Phillies draft: Recent seasons have seen the Phillies put a heavy focus on prep talent from risky demographics (prep pitchers and center fielders waiting on projection).

Mock 1.0: High School riser! Mayfield has looked good this spring and could be pitching his way into this range of the draft. The left hander has a prototypical starters frame, low 90s velocity that touches higher, and a pair of offspeed offerings. Phillies haven’t been shy to target high school talent.

  1. Houston Astros – Cam Smith, 3B, FSU

Previous 1st round selections: (No 1st round picks in 2020 and 2021 because of cheating scandal punishments), Drew Gilbert- CF, Brice Matthews -SS
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Astros draft: The Astros have leaned very model-heavy with an emphasis on batted-ball and pitching metrics.

Mock 1.0: Okay finally Cam Smith is off the board. He probably should have gone 10-15 picks before this, but I said the same thing about Drew Gilbert in 2022 and he went… 28th! Houston just makes good selections in the draft. No sense in giving them anything but that in this mock. Smith is the real deal after making meaningful changes on the Cape and carrying them over to the spring season.

  1. Arizona Diamondbacks – Tommy White, 3B, LSU

Previous 1st round selections: Bryce Jarvis- RHP, Jordan Lawler- SS, Druw Jones- CF, Tommy Troy -2B

How the Diamondbacks draft: We’ve seen the Diamondbacks target higher ceiling prep talent early, but Troy was a pivot to loud college baseball hitter impact with questions about defensive projection.

Mock 1.0: Hard to discount Tommy Tanks for what he’s done at the dish and he’s showed off some impressive work at times at the hot corner. He still has a history of chasing out of the zone and might be a first baseman long term. It’s great value at pick 29.

My next mock will explore the PPI and Comp rounds as well. Arizona picks 29, 31, and 35 so buying a player down to this pick is certainly possible. We’ll explore what Arizona could do in greater detail soon.

  1. Texas Rangers – Anthony Silva, SS, TCU

Previous 1st round selections: Josh Jung- 3B, Justin Foscue- 2B, Jack Leiter- RHP, Kumar Rocker- RHP, Wyatt Langford -OF
Bonus Slot: TBD

How the Rangers draft: Target college performers and ones from large conferences (mostly SEC). Established performers. This is the first time the Rangers are drafting this late in the draft with the current regime.

Mock 1.0: Reminder teams shouldn’t draft for need. Silva hasn’t shown the power he did last year so far this season, but he’s still showed the defensive chops that made him stand out. College SS who figure to stick at the position do well for themselves.

WHERE IS THAT GUY?

I don’t know where Mike Sirota or the college catching duo, Jacob Cozart and Caleb Lomavita ultimately fit. Sirota hasn’t looked amazing so far and he’ll need to really hit to justify being drafted high. College catching is a demographic that teams feel very differently about. Some feel comfortable taking catchers high and others have very specific foundational skills they would need to see to devote the first-round bonus necessary to take them. Drew Beam is the type of accomplished college starter that typically goes in the first or Comp rounds.

And I love following Josh Hartle and Thatcher Hurd, but both have a lot of questions right now on their projections.