2019 MLB Mock Draft: Final Edition

Here is my final edition of my 2019 MLB Mock Draft.

1. Baltimore Orioles- Adley Rutschman, Catcher, Oregon State: Rutschman is the heavy favorite to go first overall according to many people in the industry. He would immediately become the Orioles catcher of the future and he could get to the big leagues faster than a lot of folks due to his switch hitting ability and he provides a lot of power.

2. Kansas City Royals- Bobby Witt Jr., Shortstop, Colleyville Heritage HS (Texas): The Royals are a team that wants top tier talent to build around and in their system. Enter Witt, who is a five-tool prospect that hits for a ton of power and projects to be a shortstop long term would immediately become the Royals top prospect.

3. Chicago White Sox- Andrew Vaughn, First Baseman, California: The White Sox have options with this choice. They decide to go with the highly touted first baseman in Vaughn. He is arguably the best all-around hitter in this draft and he would be a fine long term replacement for Jose Abreu, if they choose to move on from him.

4. Miami Marlins- J. J. Bleday, Outfielder, Vanderbilt: The Marlins are a team that lacks college position players in their system. Bleday is someone that scouts thought had some power to go with his bat and he's displayed it this year in college. The front office apparently love Bleday although shortstop CJ Abrams can't be ruled out either.

5. Detroit Tigers- Riley Greene, Outfielder, Hagerty HS (Florida): Greene is the best high school hitter in this draft and the Tigers snag him here. They could go with a college hitter here, but they settle on Greene here, who is a below average defensive player that could end up a longterm DH.

6. San Diego Padres- CJ Abrams, Shortstop, Blessed Trinity HS (California): The Padres are getting a steal here with Abrams falling to them at six and he's someone I had slotted third to Chicago two weeks ago. He is one of the best hitters and athletes in this draft. If it doesn't work out for him as a middle infielder, than he could work out in center field.

7. Cincinnati Reds- Nick Lodolo, LHP, TCU: The Reds have a farm system that's loaded with hitters and high school pitchers, but it lacks collegiate arms. Lodolo is the first pitcher taken off the board as he's the best pitcher in the draft and he's someone that has three good pitches.

8. Texas Rangers- Brett Baty, Third Baseman, Lake Travis HS (Texas): This selection would be a reach for me. Baty is somebody with tremendous upside and possibly could go higher than this. Some scouts believe he's the best high school hitter and not Riley Greene as he's also shown to hit for average and power. There are teams that won't touch him in the first round because of his age while others don't think he'll last 20 picks.

9. Atlanta Braves (compensation pick)- Jackson Rutledge, RHP, San Jacinto (Texas): The Braves have some option here and they opt to take the high school pitcher. Rutledge has shown high velocity and is an analytics darling and that's something the Braves would like.

10. San Francisco Giants- Hunter Bishop, Outfielder, Arizona State: The Rangers and Braves pass on Bishop and it gives the Giants an opportunity here to snag him. Bishop is somebody who's stock has risen from the start of the season to put him in this position.

11. Toronto Blue Jays- Alek Manoah, RHP, West Virginia: The Jays are a team that needs more pitching as they have some young great hitters. Manoah is the best college righty pitcher in the draft and he's somebody that has improved his walk rate from last year to this year.

12. New York Mets- Zach Thompson, LHP, Kentucky: Many folks are linking Thompson to the Mets and it would be a solid draft choice here. If it weren't for injury concerns, he'd go in the top ten of this draft, but he has put together a great season.

13. Minnesota Twins- Shea Langeliers, Catcher, Baylor: If it weren't for Adley Rutschman, Langeliers would have been the best catcher in this draft. He doesn't have Rutschman's offensive upside, but he's one of the best defensive catchers of the last decade and is hitting better this spring despite a broken hamate that sidelined him for just three weeks.

14. Philadelphia Phillies- Bryson Stott, Shortstop, UNLV: The Phillies land themselves a steal as they take the highly touted shortstop in Stott. He is the best college infielder in the draft class and he projects to be an impact hitter with enough defense to stick at short.

15. Los Angeles Angels- Matthew Allan, RHP, Seminole HS (Florida): The Angels have drafted a lot of position players in the first round the past few seasons, but this time around they take a high school arm in Allan. Scouts love his curveball and his fastball, but if he falls far, he may be heading to college rather than the pros.

16. Arizona Diamondbacks- Corbin Carroll, Outfielder, Lakwood HS (California): The Diamondbacks have options here with this selection as they can opt for a high school arm here. Carroll is somebody that can rake and makes great contact with a nice left-handed swing, has a ton of
speed that works on offense and defense.

17. Washington Nationals- Josh Jung, Third Baseman, Texas Tech: Jung is somebody that was thought out to be a top ten or even top five pick prior to this season. He's having a down season, but is still producing solid numbers and he's worth a first round choice due to his past success.

18. Pittsburgh Pirates- Brennan Malone, RHP, IMG Academy (Florida): The Pirates could go in a number of directions here whether that could be a high school or a college position player, but here I have them taking a fast riser in Malone. Malone is somebody that displays four good pitches and I wouldn't rule out him going in the top ten.

19. St. Louis Cardinals- George Kirby, RHP, Elon: The lack of college arms that are first round worthy will push guys like Kirby up the draft boards. He is someone that is a great strike thrower and he lead the country in strikeout-walk ratio to back it up.

20. Seattle Mariners- Anthony Volpe, Shortstop, Delbarton HS (New Jersey): The latest rumors are linking the Mariners and Volpe and that would be a major reach. He's a top of the line makeup guy whose whole is greater than the sum of the parts. He's a good hitter, a good defender, and a good runner, and it all plays up.

21. Atlanta Braves- Kody Hoese, Third Baseman, Tulane: There is a lot of smoke here regarding Hoese and the Braves. He made some swing changes in summer ball last year that unlocked his natural strength and turned him into a big time power threat.

22. Tampa Bay Rays- Gunnar Henderson, Shortstop, John T. Morgan Academy (Alabama): Henderson is someone who's stock is rising to the point that he's in the conversation for best shortstop in the draft. He can hit at a high rate and has some power that has emerged this year.

23. Colorado Rockies- Quinn Priester, RHP, Cary-Grove HS (Illinois): After having college position players mocked in this spot, I have the Rockies going with the high school arm in Priester. He is somebody that is one of the fastest risers of the spring and has a great curveball.

24. Cleveland Indians- Michael Busch, First Baseman/Outfielder, North Carolina: Busch is someone that is very polished and mature as a hitter, but he doesn't have a clear position. He hits for a ton of power and many folks he's a first baseman long term.

25. Los Angeles Dodgers- Daniel Espino, RHP, Georgia Premier Academy: With the first of two first round picks, the Dodgers go with a high school righty with a ton of upside in Espino. He offers plenty of good pitches and has big velocity and spin rate.

26. Arizona Diamondbacks (compensation pick)- Will Wilson, Shortstop/Second Baseman, North Carolina State: Wilson is solid across the board, with a nice swing, decent pop and the arm and quickness to potentially land at short long-term. He has below-average speed, which means he may wind up at second, but he’ll likely hit.

27. Chicago Cubs- Logan Davidson, Shortstop, Clemson: The Cubs have a small budget in terms of bonus pool money for the draft so they under-slot a college position player. Davidson is a switch-hitting shortstop that plays good defense and runs the bases well too.

28. Milwaukee Brewers- Kameron Misner, Outfielder, Missouri: Misner is the college prospect with the best tools package among college position players. He has a good lefty swing and significant power potential, plus he draws praise for his makeup and worth ethic, but there are lingering concerns about his ability to make consistent contact at the upper levels.

29. Oakland Athletics- Greg Jones, Shortstop, UNC Wilmington: Here's another possibility that is gaining momentum. Jones is a player that is among the fastest in the draft and he has intriguing offensive upside.

30. New York Yankees- Tyler Callihan, Third Baseman, Providence HS (Florida): Callihan profiles similar to Brett Bady due to his being old for the high school class. He is someone else that's worth a first round pick due to the fact he can flat out hit.

31. Los Angeles Dodgers (compensation pick)- Braden Shewmake, Shortstop, Texas A&M: The Dodgers decide to go with the college position player in Shewmake. He's a grinder whose whole is greater than the sum of the parts and has outstanding hand-eye coordination and rarely strikes out, and he'll pepper the ball to all fields.

32. Houston Astros- J. J. Goss, RHP, Cypress Ranch HS (Texas): Goss is one of the more underrated high school arms in this class. He is somebody that has raw tools and he has a great curveball and slider.