Dylan Crews was the No.1 overall pick in our previous mock draft, is he still the best pick?
Thanks to the MLB Draft Lottery, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals have the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in next year’s MLB Draft.
While we have to wait until July for the official event to take place, the internet is full of mock drafts and predictions for the draft.
Dylan Crews to the Pirates and Chase Dollander to the Washington Nationals were the easy choices for the top two picks in our last mock draft. Will they remain in those spots?
MLB Mock Draft No. 10 — Miami Marlins select Brayden Taylor
It’s hard to deviate from this pick because Taylor just seems to be such a solid fit for the Marlins.
A collegiate player at Texas Christian, Taylor showed off his exceptional talent at the plate and on the bases. In 117 games over the course of two seasons, he walked 117 times while striking out just 86 times.
He also managed to hit 25 home runs, drive in 103 runs and steal 25 bags. He seems to be a well-rounded player that can do it all on the field, including possessing the ability to bounce around all over the diamond.
MLB Mock Draft No. 9 — Colorado Rockies select infielder Aidan Miller
Miller would be the third high school bat taken by the Rockies in the past four seasons (Veen in 2020, Montgomery in 2021) and seems to fit the mold of the type of player they like.
He is said to play a “really good third base” and possesses some huge power, which the Rockies would definitely love thanks to Coors Field being their home.
A defensive-minded, power-hitting third baseman would give the Rockies brass flashbacks to the Nolan Arenado days. There doesn’t appear to be a better fit than Miller would be at this point.
MLB Mock Draft No. 8 — Kansas City Royals select Rhett Lowder
I’m going to have to stick to this one as Lowder fits the mold that the Royals love to look for in draft classes: a flame-throwing starting pitcher.
A Wake Forest product, Lowder pairs his 97mph fastball with some wipeout secondary pitches and is widely considered to be the second-best pitcher in the entire class (we’ll find No. 1 soon).
His second season in college saw him go 11-3 with a 3.08 ERA. In 99 innings that season, Lowder struck out 105 batters and walked just 26, showing off some impressive control and ability to miss bats.
Lowder still appears to be another pitcher that could pair with the Royals’ exciting young core of position players that are at or near the big leagues.
MLB Mock Draft No. 7 — Cincinnati Reds select outfielder Enrique Bradfield
Coming out of Vanderbilt, Bradfield would give the Reds their most athletic center fielder since the Billy Hamilton days.
Commonly tabbed as a “Juan Pierre clone”, Bradfield has quite a bit of thump in his bat compared to Pierre’s total lack of power he displayed over the course of his career.
Bradfield’s solid defense in the outfield has scouts drooling over him and he pairs his defense with some of the best baserunning instincts in the class.
Over the course of his two seasons at Vanderbilt, Bradfield stole 93 bases and walked more than he struck out. His combined batting average in those two seasons? .327. He is the real deal and will fly through the system of whatever team grabs him.
MLB Mock Draft No. 6 — Oakland A’s select outfielder Walker Jenkins
Jenkins, fresh out of high school, has huge home run potential that the Oakland A’s are going to be lucky enough to have develop in their minor league system.
The South Brunswick, North Carolina native has a huge build for someone that’s just 18 (6’3″, 210lb) and is said to have impressive bat speed and solid instincts at the plate.
An above-average baserunner as well, Jenkins has been labeled as “a future five-tool talent” and routinely draws comparisons to Austin Meadows in his prospect days, who currently plays for the Detroit Tigers.
MLB Mock Draft No. 5 — Minnesota Twins select outfielder Max Clark
While Clark is already committed to Vanderbilt, it’s worth wondering if a top-five selection in the MLB Draft would be enough to get him to sign.
Clark is said by one source to have the best all-around set of tools in the entire draft class. His power needs some work but he made massive strides during his senior year in high school and is looking like the real deal.
In center, where he’ll undoubtedly stay in the majors, he has an absolute cannon of an arm and has some serious speed both in the outfield and on the base paths.
If he’s available this late in the game, the Twins will surely strike and do everything in their power to bring this kid aboard because he seems to be legit.
MLB Mock Draft No. 4 — Texas Rangers select infielder Jacob Gonzalez
Gonzalez, a product of Mississippi, is said to be quiet and efficient in his performances on and off the field. He’s not loud, he’s not flashy, but damn is he a good ball player.
Over 132 games during his collegiate career, Gonzalez hit 30 home runs with 107 RBI. As if that wasn’t enough to prove he’s a dynamic player, he also walked 88 times and struck out just 66 times. His batting average in college was a cool. 316 as well.
Defense appears to be the one spot in Gonzalez’s game that could use work. He’s not a bad defender by any means, but some scouts are already pegging his future defensive home to be at third instead of his natural shortstop.
MLB Mock Draft No. 3 — Detroit Tigers select outfielder Wyatt Langford
Langford, a former Florida Gator, is a catcher-turned-outfielder that has taken to the grass in a big way. Deemed an above-average defender at all three outfield spots, Langford is an insanely athletic player that has seen his stock rise quite a bit recently.
Last year, Langford hit an SEC-leading 26 home runs with a slash line of .356/.447/.719. During that stretch, his OPS was sky-high at 1.166.
After seeing how Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene flew through the minor leagues but failed to produce at the big league level, the Tigers will undoubtedly be wary about bringing aboard another promising offensive prospect. However, Gonzalez has the tools and the ability to be a superstar at his position and is absolutely deserving of this pick.
MLB Mock Draft No. 2 — Washington Nationals select Chase Dollander
At this present moment, it’s hard to see the top two choices in the draft changing. Chase Dollander just seems like the perfect fit for a Washington Nationals team that looooooves young, ace-caliber pitching.
He has the pitching motion of Jacob deGrom and has been routinely tabbed as “the best college pitcher since Cole and Strasburg”.
Possessing a fastball that can hit 99-100mph in games, Dollander pairs it with a nasty curveball and a slider that is reportedly above-average against both righties and lefties which is an important aspect of his game.
In the past, the Nationals jumped all over Strasburg and there’s little reason to believe that they’ll pass on Dollander in favor of anyone else. That is, if the Pirates don’t snag him first.
MLB Mock Draft No. 1 — Pittsburgh Pirates select outfielder Dylan Crews
It can really go either way here. I don’t see any reality in which Crews and Dollander are not one and two in the draft.
Crews, an LSU product, is already on the fast path to stardom and has been regularly labeled as a future five-tool superstar.
The Pirates are always on the hunt for franchise outfielders (see McCutchen, Marte, Reynolds) and Crews could easily be the next guy to step up.
In 125 collegiate games, Crews hit 40 home runs and drove in 114 with a .356 batting average. On the bases, he stole 17 bags and showed an impressive instinct on when to run on opposing pitchers.
On defense, Crews plays an above-average center field and right field and will find a long-term home in one of these positions, depending on how the Pirates are looking when he’s ready to come up.