BF.net Mock Draft - 2014 MLB Draft 1st Round - COMPLETED

[reillymcshane]

Eye Black, I know you said that each person will have up to a day to make their pick. Will we stick to a one pick - and only one pick - per day schedule (first pick is on May 1, second pick on May 2, third pick on My 3, etc.)? Or can we have multiple picks in a day if people are ready and make their submissions (such as first pick is submitted at 9:00 am on May 1. 2nd pick submits their selection an hour later. Pick three is done a few hours - still on May 1. So now pick #4 needs to be submitted by May 2.)?

 

Just curious. If the latter, I just want to make sure I'm checking on how fast things happening so I can be ready.

[Eye Black]

Good Question. Posters can make their pick earlier if they are ready. The one day limit isn't strict, but is more of a guide. I am planning to message those who are "on the clock" when I can since I figure not everyone will immediately notice they are up. I figure it will have some ebbs and flows in that a few picks may be made in a single day, and then a day or two goes by until the next pick. Quite honestly it is all kind of an experiment this year, and hoping we can continue it and improve on it for future years. If anyone has suggestions before we start on Thursday or as we go, I am certainly open to them.

[Eye Black]

Well it is May 1st, and officially time to begin our BF.net Mock Draft. As we make selections I will update the original post to reflect the results. At the minimum post your pick selection when your pick comes up. Try to post your selection within a day after the pick before you being made, but we won't skip anyone ("auto-pick") unless it has been a full 2-3 days since the previous selection. Any brief description of reasons why you made a specific selection are certainly welcome also. Comments on picks are ok as well, but the in-depth 1st round prospect discussion should still take place in the dedicated thread, Brewers 1st Rd Speculation & Draft Prospects.

 

And now lets begin the 2014 BF.net MLB Mock Draft.

[Eye Black]

Selection #1 - Houston Astros

Carlos Rodon, LHP, North Carolina State

 

Selection Breakdown: I felt a lot more confident in this selection two months ago. But while Rodon has certainly struggled at times this Spring, he still flashes the ability to be a top of the rotation arm (see 15 SO effort last Friday vs. Georgia Tech). When on, Rodon still possesses a mid-90s fastball, and a slider that looks at times like it belongs on a MLB mound right now. I do really like HS guys like Aiken and Kolek, but ultimately if Rodon maintains his health he still appears to be the best bet of the group right now to be a major league starter. That isn't to say those other guys won't eventually pass him, but they are simply too far away right now to justify passing up on Carlos Rodon.

[reillymcshane]

Selection #1 - Houston Astros

Carlos Rodon, LHP, North Carolina State

 

Selection Breakdown: I felt a lot more confident in this selection two months ago. But while Rodon has certainly struggled at times this Spring, he still flashes the ability to be a top of the rotation arm (see 15 SO effort last Friday vs. Georgia Tech). When on, Rodon still possesses a mid-90s fastball, and a slider that looks at times like it belongs on a MLB mound right now. I do really like HS guys like Aiken and Kolek, but ultimately if Rodon maintains his health he still appears to be the best bet of the group right now to be a major league starter. That isn't to say those other guys won't eventually pass him, but they are simply too far away right now to justify passing up on Carlos Rodon.

 

I think it's the right choice. He should progress fairly quickly through the system. The Astros have a nice group of arms - Appel, McCullers, Foltynewicz - that should (hopefully for them) mature around 2016. Rodon could easily be right there with them.

[nate82]

Selection #2 - Miami Marlins

Jeff Hoffman, RHP, East Carolina

 

With Rodon off the board the next best college pitcher is Hoffman. I actually like Hoffman better than Rodon. I could see Hoffman joining Fernandez in the rotation for the Marlins in 2 or 3-years. Hoffman already has a plus fastball and a plus plus curveball. If Hoffman can refine his change up more he will have 2 plus pitches and 1 plus plus pitch.

 

I like the high school arms but the temptation to have a pitcher who could be fast tracked through the minors is too good to pass up.

[jjkoestler]

Selection #3 - Chicago White Sox

Brady Aiken - LHP - Cathedral Catholic HS

 

I was tempted to pick Jackson here until I watched Aiken and Kolek. Its probably a coin flip between the two, but I'll take the lefty who is now touching 97.

[reillymcshane]

Selection #4 - Chicago Cubs

Tyler Kolek - RHP - Shepherd HS (Texas), Senior

 

Organizational need dovetails nicely with best available talent. The Cubs, who have a wealth of offensive talent in the minors (Baez, Solar, Almora, Bryant), add the hard throwing Kolek, giving them a potential top-of-the-rotation pitcher.

 

Kolek is pretty much everything you want in a pitcher. He's big and strong and should be a workhorse. He has talent that you simply can't teach. His fastball tops out at 100 mph, and sits comfortably in the mid-90s.

 

Kolek boosts a Cubs systems that lacks big arms (outside of C.J. Edwards). The only downside to Kolek is he'll likely take longer to reach the big leagues than the more polished college pitchers, such as Rodon and Hoffman. The Cubs would have liked a pitcher that could arrive in the majors with their positional talent (2015-16). But Kolek is too talented to pass up - even if it takes him a couple of more years to reach Chicago than some of the older draftees.

[And That]

Selection #5 - Minnesota Twins

Alex Jackson - C/OF - Rancho Bernadino HS (CA)

 

The Twins have been rumored to be in love with Kolek and Aiken, but with both of them off the board, they turn to the best bat in the draft in the form of Alex Jackson. The Twins do not have an immediate need at catcher, so they can be patient with Jackson and see if he develops as a defensively-viable MLB backstop. Or, they could put him right field straight away. The pairing with Byron Buxton would give the Twins a highly enviable prospect outfield tandem. And outside of Buxton, OF is probably the weakest area of the Twins' system.

 

The only other possibility here is a college pitcher, and given the Twins' lack of pitching in the big leagues it could be tempting to draft Beede, Freeland or Nola. I don't think they make that leap, though.

[IndyCrew]

Selection #6--Seattle Mariners

Aaron Nola, RHP, Louisiana State

 

I had five players in my top tier, and all five are off the board. This pick came down to Nola and Zimmer. With King Felix in the rotation, a complete tear down and rebuild would waste prime years, so I'm looking for fast risers to the show. Nod to the polished pitcher.

[Kelbysdaddy]

Selection #7 - Philadelphia Phillies

Tyler Beede, RHP, Vanderbilt

Nice size at 6'4-215. Three solid pitches with a fastball that'll get up to 96-97, nice downward curve ball, and a plus-plus change up.

[BallFour]

Selection #8 - Colorado Rockies

Kyle Freeland, LHP, Evansville

 

A very safe pick, but a safe pick that is trending upward with his dominance this season. Besides Jonathan Gray and Eddie Butler the lack of impact arms in the systems is why I think Freeland is a good fit.

[hyerbro1]

Selection #9-- Toronto Blue Jays

Grant Holmes, RHP, Conway, SC High School

 

The Blue Jays seem to like high school pitching and Holmes looks to be the highest rated HS pitcher left at this point.

[brewcrewdue80]

Well the news of Hoffman needing TJ makes this mock not realistic unfortunately. Wonder just how far down he'd fall knowing what we know today.

[jjkoestler]

I just shot Molitor Fan a PM. Hopefully he will be able to make his pick so we can keep this rolling.

[Eye Black]

I just shot Molitor Fan a PM. Hopefully he will be able to make his pick so we can keep this rolling.

I have done the same and haven't heard back in a few days. I am going to make a selection on his behalf and hope he can join us for his next pick.

[Eye Black]

Selection #10 - New York Mets

Nick Gordon, SS, Olympia HS (Florida)

 

Gordon slid a little here, and he is just too talented (not to mention good bloodlines) for the Mets to pass up at 10. He fills their system with a rare HS kid that may actually stick at SS. If he doesn't, he has a potential career on the mound to fall back on.

 

Other enticing selections here were Bradley Zimmer and Touki Toussaint. I have been down on Toussaint until recently when the latest reports have his control improving on what is possibly the top three pitch repertoire (fastball, curveball, change) in the draft.

[sheetskout]

Selection #11 - Toronto Blue Jays

Trea Turner - SS - NC State

 

The Blue Jays have an abundance of of young arms at the top of their prospect sheets, but besides uber-young Franklin Barreto no real candidate to man SS when Jose Reyes can't do it anymore - which is looking to be sooner than later. Turner would replace Reyes leadoff capability fairly soon while also replacing his position. I also think the Blue Jays will start to shy away from the riskier picks they have been known for.

[narwhalattack]

Selection #12- Milwaukee Brewers

 

Touki Toussaint- RHP- Coral Springs Christian Academy (Florida)

 

The past couple of draft, the Brewers have selected high-risk, high-reward players (Coulter, Roache, D. Williams) and Toussaint is about as high-risk, high-reward as they come. He's still very raw, but has the potential to be a top of the rotation starter. Like all raw high school players, there's a chance that he may never reach the majors, but the potential reward is just too high to pass on.

[sheetskout]

Selection #13 - San Diego Padres

Brandon Finnegan - LHP - TCU

 

The Padres have a couple of higher-end pitching prospects in Fried and Wisler and a very deep system. On the offensive side they also have a few power OF candidates in Dickerson, Renfroe and Medica who's already seen time. It's almost time for them to "pull the trigger" on their core group. I see them going college pitching here. Another lefty makes their pitching depth very attractive.

[brewcrewdue80]

Selection #14-San Francisco Giants

Bradley Zimmer-OF- San Francisco

 

 

With 10 of the first 13 picks being Pitching, San Fran goes Bradley Zimmer. A College OF bat, the organization has a need for and Zimmer they will gladly take falling to their pick. He was a 6th-14th pick projection depending you ask and getting Zimmer 14th is of great value.

Left Handed Bat so that also bolds well when he reaches the Bigs and plays those home games with the chance to deposit balls in to the McCovey Cove. Having played College ball at San Fran will also make fans happy to follow him through the minors in to the Majors. There will be added ticket sales from this kid and if/when he pans out that is all bonus to what appears to be a solid selection for 14.

[reillymcshane]

Selection #15 - Los Angeles Angels

Sean Newcomb - LHP - Hartford

 

The Angels have the worst minor league system in all of baseball. The team desperately needs youth and athleticism all around the diamond. In Newcomb, the Angels get a big, imposing starting pitcher who can throw in the upper 90s. He doesn't have a lot of holes in his game, and should progress rather quickly through the system.

 

The Angels would have loved to have gotten one of the 2nd tier bats (after Jackson), such as Zimmer, Gordon or Turner, but are more than happy with Newcomb. The southpaw immediately becomes the club's top minor league prospect.

[nate82]

Selection #16 - Arizona Diamondbacks

 

3B Michael Chavis, Sprayberry HS (GA).

 

After trading Davidson to the White Sox the Dbacks have a hole at 3B and Chavis fills this hole rather well.

[brewcrewdue80]

Selection #17- Kansas City Royals

 

Kyle Schwarber C/OF Indiana

 

This pick just fits for KC. The success of Billy Butler for their team and the batting projection Schwarber has fits Butler's Mold. Sure, it could be great if he stuck at C, but Schwarber isn't the most athletic behind the dish or fleet of foot and a 1b/DH seems destined for Kyle. One who hits 25+HRs a year with a high BA. KC can't go wrong with that. His Bat will fly through the Minors and Schwarber just may be the first Position Player to graduate in to Majors. Good thing too, Billy Butler's Contract ends after 2015. And the door will be open for Schwarber for 2016.

[narwhalattack]

Selection 18- Washington Nationals

 

Max Pentecost- C