2017 MLB Mock Draft: Third Edition

Here is my third edition of my 2017 MLB Mock draft.

1. Minnesota Twins- Kyle Wright, Pitcher, Vanderbilt: Wright’s draft stock plummeted through the first month and a half of the season but has flown up recently after he has put together a string of impressive performances. There have still been some inconsistencies but Wright is a good high-floor prospect with a higher ceiling as a pitcher than Brendan McCay.

2. Cincinnati Reds- Brendan McKay, Pitcher/First Baseman, Louisville: On the mound McKay’s velocity has dipped a bit over the last month but he has also unveiled a cutter that has a ton of potential so teams may be able to look past the velocity issue. As a hitter, McKay has been on fire all season and has sparked a healthy debate about his eventual role in pro ball. Either way, McKay is a pretty sure bet to get to the big leagues quickly.

3. San Diego Padres- Hunter Greene, Pitcher, Notre Dame HS (CA): The Padres are heavily linked to Greene and all the research about their previous draft strategy is pretty much moot at this point. This would be the perfect situation for both parties so if Greene slips this far they are taking him.

4. Tampa Bay Rays- Royce Lewis, Shortstop/Outfielder, JSerra Catholic HS (CA): Lewis does everything well, his best tool being his speed. He is a good hitter with a feel for the barrel and has solid power upside. Defensively he is a good athlete with great range but scouts feel his arm may not be strong enough to stay at short. I think he will be just fine and I’m willing to bet he’ll stay on the
infield in the long run, but even if he doesn’t he would be an excellent center fielder in pro ball.

5. Atlanta Braves- MacKenzie Gore, Pitcher, Whiteville HS (NC): Gore has shot up the boards this season and is now widely regarded as the best high school left hander available. Some scouts have even put him ahead of Hunter Greene as a prospect. Gore’s fastball sits in the mid-90’s and he has a nasty curveball that grades as a plus pitch.

6. Oakland Athletics- Pavin Smith, First Baseman, Virginia: The A’s apparently really like Gore, but he’s gone in this scenario. They could go with a toolsy high school outfielder like Austin Beck, or hard-throwing college righty JB Bukauskas, but Billy Beane loves polished college hitters. Virginia’s Smtith is exactly that. He could be the first bat from this class to reach the big leagues.

7. Arizona Diamondbacks- JB Bukauskas, Pitcher, North Carolina: The Diamondbacks are in a nice position to sit tight and see who falls to them. Arizona drafted Bukauskas out of high school, so the organization knows him well along with scouting him recently. Bukauskas could be a quick riser in the Diamondbacks' system.

8. Philadelphia Phillies- Adam Haseley, Outfielder, Virginia: One of the biggest jumpers this spring in the college ranks, Haseley has benefitted from a less-than-stellar college hitting crop, and he’s definitely shown well at the end of the season as well to help bump up his stock. Philadelphia is strong on college prospects, whether pitching or hitting, this season, and with the top three guys they’d probably prefer off the mound in the college class off the board, they’ll go with a college bat that can help in what is a fairly weak point in their system.

9. Milwaukee Brewers- Jordan Adell, Outfielder, Ballard HS (KY): Adell has excellent speed on the base paths and in the outfield with a plus arm and great instincts. He has big time raw power and the ability to hit the ball hard to all fields. The concern with Adell is whether or not he can cut down the strikeouts; many think he can.

10. Los Angeles Angels- Austin Beck, Outfielder, North Davidson HS (NC): Beck has made a lot of loud contact this season and is likely the biggest riser on draft boards since the start of 2017. There is a lot of raw power and speed that does come with some risk. But he also has a busy swing, lack of track record, and previous knee injury.

11. Chicago White Sox- Jeren Kendall, Outfielder, Vanderbilt: If Kendall didn't swing and miss as much as he does, we'd likely be calling him a slam-dunk 1:1 selection--the other tools are just that good. He's got plus raw power from the left side with plus-plus speed, a plus arm, and a chance to be plus in center field. The only question is just how much the whiffs will impact his hit tool.

12. Pittsburgh Pirates- Keston Hiura, Second Baseman/Outfielder, UC Irvine: Hiura in the preseason was considered a sure-fire top 10 selection before concerns about his defensive position came up due to his elbow injury that has limited him to DH this spring. Hiura profiles very similar to the Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ, albeit more of a hit over power profile, though plenty of both. Hiura should be able to handle second base once his elbow is healthy, and that would be a big addition into a depleted Pirates system.

13. Miami Marlins- Shane Baz, Pitcher, Concordia Lutheran HS (TX): If Baz lasts this long he should be the pick. At 6’3″ and 190 pounds, the Texas prep righty has good size with some projection left. He throws hard, touching 98 mph this spring and sitting in the 92-96 range. The TCU commit is a great athlete who also has a really nice cutter and a good curveball, with a developing changeup. He has ace upside.

14. Kansas City Royals- Trevor Rogers, Pitcher, Carlsbad HS (TX): Rogers has been rumored as high as No. 3 overall to the Padres, though that smoke died down quickly. He's also been tied to a bunch of other places, but it's well-known in the industry that the Royals are very heavy on the prep lefty from New Mexico, who has drawn comparisons to a young Andrew Miller.

15. Houston Astros- Nate Pearson, Pitcher, UCF: Pearson is A mountain of a right-hander flamethrower. With a fastball that has touched 101-102, Pearson pitches at 93-98 mph and will show an above average curveball along with delivery components to start.

16. New York Yankees- DL Hall, Pitcher, Valdosta HS (GA): The Yankees have been closely linked to California prep first baseman Nick Pratto and Georgia prep lefty Hall. I think they’ll go with Hall, who can hit the mid-90s with his fastball, has a really nice curve and the mechanics to continue his development. He’s not a big kid at 6’0″ and 190 pounds, but there’s still a bit of room for growth.

17. Seattle Mariners- Alex Faedo, Pitcher, Florida: Faedo easily could go higher. He entered the 2017 process as a candidate to go No. 1, but his season was a bit of downer compared to the year before. The Mariners need an ace in their farm system, and it wouldn't be surprising if he ends up being a
steal who rises quickly to the majors.

18. Detroit Tigers- Nick Pratto, First Baseman, Huntington Beach HS (CA): The Tigers have been tied to their typical collection of hard-throwing righthanded arms, but we've also heard them linked with prep outfielder Drew Waters, Oregon's David Peterson, and Pratto. Considered by some to be the best prep bat in the class, Pratto would provide a significant boost to the Detroit farm system, which is really lacking in pure hitters at the moment.

19. San Francisco Giants- Evan White, First Baseman/Outfielder, Kentucky: The Giants could go best player available and land an intriguing talent like White as he could easily go higher. He has a well-rounded approach at the plate with the athletic ability to move to the outfield if necessary. White could go near the top 10, so this is a nice value for San Francisco.

20. New York Mets- Logan Warmorth, Shortstop, North Carolina: The Mets could go in a number of
ways here, but I think they continue to stack their organizational depth up the middle with North Carolina’s Warmoth, who plays shortstop for the Tar Heels and could stick there long-term, but has the athleticism to move around the diamond. He had a great showing in the Cape Cod league last summer and has solidified himself as the top college middle infielder on the board. Warmoth doesn’t have big power, a huge arm or top speed, but he does everything well with almost no real weaknesses.

21. Baltimore Orioles- Tanner Houck, Pitcher, Missouri: Houck has the big fastball and the durable frame to develop into an impact starter. There are also questions about his secondary stuff and his mechanics, though, leaving the Missouri ace as an intriguing upside play here toward the back of the first round.

22. Toronto Blue Jays- David Peterson, Pitcher, Oregon: "Dominant" doesn't even begin to describe how Peterson has been for Oregon this spring; as the huge lefthander has had no trouble whatsoever in the PAC-12. He works 90-94 mph on most nights with a potentially plus slider and plus command, and looks to be a pretty safe mid-rotation piece at this point.

23. Los Angeles Dodgers- Bubba Thompson, Outfielder, McGill-Toolen Catholic HS (CA): The Dodgers have been continually linked with the dual-sport superstar who is committed to Alabama to play strictly baseball. Thompson offers the type of high-impact athletic upside that few others in this class can, with the chops to be plus in the outfield long term and seriously advanced hitting tools.

24. Boston Red Sox- Griffin Canning, Pitcher, UCLA: Canning is one of the toughest players to peg in this year's draft. As a high-floor college arm with advanced pitchability and a four-pitch repertoire headlined by one of the better changeups in the class, he has a very similar profile to former Florida right-hander Logan Shore.

25. Washington Nationals- Sam Carlson, Pitcher, Burnsville HS (TN): Carlson had a decent showing over the Summer showing three good pitches, but most scouts felt he needed quite a bit of work before being ready to pitch at the professional level. Then this Spring happened and Carlson has flown up the boards. His fastball has added velocity, his slider has been sharper, he’s been locating his pitches well and his changeup is advanced for a prep pitcher.

26. Texas Rangers- Alex Lange, Pitcher, LSU:  In the two years since, Lange has refined his overall command and improved his changeup to the point that it's a passable third pitching alongside his mid-90s fastball and a hammer curve that ranks as one of the better breaking pitches in the class. That being said, he's prone to overthrowing at times and has some effort to his delivery, so there's a chance that strong two-pitch mix is utilized out of the bullpen before all is said and done.

27. Chicago Cubs- Nick Allen, Shortstop, Francis W. Parker HS (CL): The undersized shortstop is the best defender overall in the class with a headiness for the game not seen often from a prep player. He's not going to offer much power, but he can hit, run, and will be a premium defender for years at shortstop.

28. Toronto Blue Jays- Matt Sauer, Pitcher, Righetti HS (CA): Sauer is a big kid with a big arm. He has a lot of projection remaining which makes for an exciting profile. Sauer works with a four-pitch mix, highlighted by a good fastball/slider combo. The slider is an out pitch and has a lot of late life while the fastball sits in the low 90s with a lot of room for more as he fills out and gains more experience. He also owns a changeup and a curveball but they are works in progress at this point.

29. Texas Rangers- Seth Romero, Pitcher, Houston: The Nationals are sitting here near the bottom of the first round and if Romero falls into their laps, I don’t see a situation where they don’t take him. Romero did the damage to his own reputation with suspensions and being dismissed from his squad at the University of Houston so there is absolutely risk in taking him, but there is also very real upside if they can get a handle on him as he was a probably a top-15 selection or better before he got kicked off the team.

30. Chicago Cubs- Brendon Little, Pitcher, State College of Florida-Manatee (JC): Little is the second of the two-headed Florida JuCo pitcher monster with Nate Pearson; though more concerns about a future bullpen move have pushed him back a bit from his JC counterpart. Little works with a plus fastball and curveball from the left side, and could pitch in the majors quickly if moved to the 'pen immediately.

Supplemental First Round
31. Tampa Bay Rays- Jeter Downs, Shortstop, Pace HS (FL): Downs has had a fantastic spring, pushing him up boards by showing more power than he'd shown on the circuit along with the tools to stay at shortstop.

32. Cincinnati Reds- Tristen Lutz, Outfielder, Martin HS (TX): There may not be a more powerful high school bat in the 2017 draft than Lutz. While he may not stick in center field as a pro, he has the athleticism to play there initially, which leads to just how well he should handle defense at the corner when he does move there. Lutz does have the traditional right field profile with a power arm and power bat. At 6’3″ and 220 pounds, he looks like he has been working with professional training for years already, and adding that pro coaching to his possible double-plus future power could allow him to be a very special bat indeed.

33. Oakland Athletics- Corbin Martin, Pitcher, Texas A&M: The draft gets awful light on college bats at this point; so the A's go for a college arm here in Martin of Texas A&M, who has really flourished since joining the Aggie rotation at the start of conference play.

34. Milwaukee Brewers- Clarke Schmidt, Pitcher, South Carolina: Schmidt had been cruising through the first half of the season and rising up draft boards with eye popping stuff when he found out he would need Tommy John surgery. Schmidt brings a lot to the table including a plus fastball and off speed stuff that was greatly improved from years past before going down with the injury.

35. Minnesota Twins- Heliot Ramos, Outfielder, Leadership Christian Academy (PR): Ramos is an outfielder from Puerto Rico with a lot of tools. There are lots of plus grades on Ramos' scouting report; though the rawness is pretty severe and makes him a boom-or-bust type of selection.

36. Miami Marlins- Drew Waters, Outfielder, Etowah HS (GA): Waters can hit from both sides with the tools to stay in center field long term. I don't see Waters dropping beyond here.