Last Friday, I posted my Mock Draft 2.0 where I felt it was a toss-up between Florida's SP Brady Singer and Oregon State's Nick Madrigal. This week both MLBPipeline and Baseball America posted their updated mocks.
Our good friend, Jim Callis, posted a mock covering the entire first round which spans from pick 1 to pick 35. We both agreed on the first four picks with Casey Mize going to Detroit, Joey Bart selected by San Francisco, and Alec Bohm picked by Philadelphia. I always love having Callis coming on the show not only because he's such a pleasure to speak with, but he has a good rapport with the White Sox and a finger on the pulse of what they are trying to accomplish in the draft.
That's why it's important to pay attention to the other names he lists that could also be selected at this spot.
- Jonathan India
- Travis Swaggerty
- Shane McClanahan
- Jarred Kelenic
Jarred Kelenic caught my attention because I have been putting off writing a report on him because I don't think the White Sox would go the high school route. Again, the last two years in the Top 10 rounds the White Sox have draft 19 college players and two high schoolers. Kelenic does possess some impressive skills which are rare from a kid out of Wisconsin. He's been on the White Sox Area Code team, so it's not like they don't understand what Kelenic can or can't do. It's just a matter of draft philosophy is all. Selecting a prep bat could take five to six years to develop where the hope is a college bat may only take three to four years. Can the White Sox wait that long on an investment? Or, is whoever they select at #4 going to come with the expectation to be ready in the majors by 2021?
I think it's the latter of the two and why I haven't seriously considered prep players at this slot for the White Sox. Kelenic could also be used as leverage when negotiating with potential picks to avoid having to sign the first pick to full slot value and give them the opportunity to go over slot later in the draft.
Baseball America: Jonathan India
I wrote about Jonathan India on Thursday, and while I like his skills, I like Madrigal and his teammate Singer more. Baseball America has India slotted to the Sox at #4 with Madrigal and Singer going in order at #5 and #6. India had a good night on Friday against a tough Georgia team where he went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two strikeouts. Much better than his outing against South Florida which I had learned that India was enduring a cold streak going 5-for-28 the past two weeks.
Oh, and yesterday he did this:
All the runs from the grand slam were unearned, but the final line wasn't as pretty as it should have been: 7 IP 8 H 5 R 1 ER 1 BB 6 K.
Casey Mize faced a tough Ole Miss squad that should provide good bats to choose from in the 2019 MLB Draft. Giving up three runs early, Mize never could get into a rhythm, and this was the worst I have seen him pitch. His final line was 5 IP 8 H 6 ER 1 BB 5 K.
Yes. I'd say the vast majority of teams won't take Heimlich, but five or so are have him in their sights. @MLBDraft https://t.co/PtPakLMvjK
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) May 11, 2018
