It’s never too early for mock drafts, and Carlos Collazo over at Baseball America broke out a final mock to end the year.
Surprise, surprise! Adley Rutschman is still the favorite to go #1 right now. Rutschman is a pretty special player and it’s gonna take a lot to knock him off the top spot. The first HS player to go is Bobby Witt Jr at pick 2 (Royals). This is would be an interesting pick since there are difinite question marks on Witt’s bat right now.
Other players to note is Carter Stewart, who is being mocked to the Nationals at 17. Talk about taking a rivalry to a whole new level. Daniel Espino has been getting a lot of love from his coaches on Twitter due to their disagreement with MLB Pipeline’s write-up for him. BA has Espino being mocked to the Phillies at 14.
Daniel Espino has a 80 grade FB w/ more in the tank. Maybe we are all missing something. Kid consistently pounds the strike zone. He did all summer @MLBPipeline @jimcallisMLB @JonathanMayo FB-80, SL-65, CB-60, CH-45, Control-65 Overall- 65@jensen_juicy @MattPowers31 @premier_sox https://t.co/Ae5mSU8G5d
— GBSA RAYS BASEBALL (@GBSARays) December 11, 2018
I’m a fan of Kameron Misner and BA has him going 27th overall to the Cubs.
As for the Braves, here’s what BA has mocked right now:
9. Graeme Stinson, 6’5”, LHP (Duke)
No team develops and drafts arms like the Braves, so let’s give them the first pitcher off the board. There are a pair of big-time prep righthanders who could make sense in Brennan Malone and Daniel Espino, but it also seems hard for a college lefthander with Stinson’s size and stuff to not go inside the top 10 of this draft. Atlanta’s last five first-round selections have all been pitchers, and going back to 2009 the Braves have had 10 first-round picks—nine of which were pitchers.
21. Matthew Allen, 6’3”, RHP (Seminole, FL HS)
The Braves have two picks in the first round, so one has to be a high school righthander, right? Allan has a big fastball that’s reached the mid-90s and a hammer, 12-to-6 curveball. Both offerings project as future plus pitches, and Allan also has a physical, 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame that Atlanta could find appealing.
Before anyone gets upset, it is just a mock draft and it’s still very early in the process. Now there’s likely no way the Braves take 2 pitchers in the first round. I rather like Stinson a lot. If the Braves can get Stinson and float Misner down to 21, that could be a huge win. So much can happen though.
Now let’s have a fun end of the year discussion. Go Braves!