OK, lots of mock drafts are coming out now and I have a few thoughts:
- If we take a contact first HS hitter in the first round who MIGHT develop power later (e.g., Slater de Brun), I will puke. I mean, Bo Naylor and even Ralphy Velasquez haven't shown them that can't develop HS hitters.
- If they pick Tate Southisene as that HS hitter I will double puke.
Alright, that being said, here is my second mock draft, refined by what I saw in the CWS and read about the MLB draft combine. The good news is that a number of guys from my first mock draft (Barr, Taylor) showed up and showed out at the combine and that none of the rest of the guys appeared to increase their value at the CWS or the combine.
NOTE: I have only included alternates for the pick a couple of the picks in this mock. I will include more alternates for the rest of the top 10 rounds in my final mock draft that will be posted the night before the draft.
Pick 27 - I am still on Andrew Fischer - 1B/3B, Tennessee or Tyler Bremner RHP, UC Santa Barbara. My two premises in this draft are college power hitters and college pitchers so why would I change that.
ALTERNATES: Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M (if, somehow, he would fall to us) or, more likely, a solid (@ #27) college pitching prospect JB Middleton, RHP, Southern Miss, Patrick Forbes, RHP, Louisville or Riley Quick, RHP, Alabama.
Pick 64 - Joseph Dzierwa - LHP - Michigan St. I am still on this guy at this point. I think he is there and I think he might be gone much later.
Pick 66 - AJ Russell - RHP - Tennessee - I think his market did not heat up at all during the college playoffs so I think he is available at this point and I pop him due to his extreme fastball. This guy is the perfect high risk, high reward college guy who has a high floor.
Pick 70 - Gavin Turley - OF - Oregon State - I think it is unlikely that if he is still there at 64 that he won't be there at 70. Could be wrong, as I often am, but that's my though. I think he was just OK in the CWS meaining that his draft stock didn't rise that much.
Pick 101 - Matt Barr - RHP - Niagara CC - Barr was my 5th round pick in my 1.0 mock draft but I want him so much that, with the buzz he generated at the combine, I think he moves up boards. I think to get him I have to go 3rd round and I am OK with that as a number of college pitchers will be available at 4 and 5 that I would want.
ALTERNATES: If Barr is gone I will revert back to my original premise of getting college power hitters in this draft and get Nolan Schubart, OF, Oklahoma St. While he, like Fischer and Turley, are marginal defenders, he has shown big power this year. Another option is to revert back to my Mock 1.0 pick at this slot and grab Sean Youngerman, RHP, Oklahoma St.
Pick 132 - Zane Taylor - RHP - UNC Wilmington - Just like Barr, I want Taylor and I think his fastball at the MLB Draft Combine means that the only sure way to get him is to pop him in the 4th round so I have moved him up from pick 192 where I had him in my first mock.
Pick 162 - Caden Hunter - RHP - USC - I had him as my slot 132 pick in my first draft. Hoping he lasts to 162 is a stretch to get him here but that's the point. Whoever we draft in the 5th round should be an above budget guy. who fits our development strategy. I would really like another college power hitter here but a good college pitcher works for me, too, as long as he is someone who fell from where he was projected to be.
Pick 192 - Antoine Jean - LHP - Houston - Like Taylor, another senior sign to save us money who I have bumped up a round (6th) from the round (7th) I had him.
Pick 222 - Nolan Schubart - OF - Oklahoma State - Obviously I expect him to be gone by this time and if I pick him in the 3rd round because Barr was taken then I take a college pitcher here although I wouldn't be averse to signing a HS pitcher who has dropped significantly since I should have the money to go over slot. I won't know about the HS pitchers until day 2 of the draft so I will reserve comment on them. Instead, if I have to, I will go with a college pitcher with great control (see below) and let the Guardians' pitching development group work their magic.
ALTERNATES: Jack Anker, RHP Fresno State, Pierce Coppola, LHP, Florida
Pick 252 - Henry Allen - IF - NW Florida JC - I want another power hitter, this one maybe a longer term development project. No Will Brennan types, please. I want a boom or bust guy here whose bonus won't break the bank.
Pick 282 - Jake Knapp - RHP - UNC - Again, a soft-tossing college senior, like Austin Peterson a couple of years ago, and the guy has to be a winner. In 2025, that's Knapp.
Pick 312 - Marcelo Harsch - RHP - Seton Hall Prep - As I said the first time around, Harsch is just a placeholder for a HS pitcher who has dropped, like Mobley last year.
Pick 342 - ??? - This is my first pick on the 3rd day and I won't name him until I see who is available but this pick will be an overslot bonus guy who I would want to be the top talent who gets drafted in the 11th round who signs. Money saved from the first and 2nd day goes here. A HS catcher who has dropped or a college pitcher who was hurt and so dropped or another HS pitcher who dropped due to bonus demands, I don't care. I want to make a big splash for a guy I can sign on the first pick of day 3. We'll have all night after day 2 to get our ducks in a row on this one so the Guardians should be able to use this pick for what it is really for...essentially a redo of the first round of draft, just with a lot of the top college players having been drafted already. There should be plenty of talent available here...if we make this pick a priority in the evening after day 2.
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