Article: Brewer Fanatic/Twins Daily Mock Draft v. 1.0

[Jeremy Nygaard]

The draft will take place just over 50 days from now. Unlike most other drafts, seven-plus weeks is just too far away to forecast with any certainty how the draft is going to go. 

But that doesn’t mean we can’t try!

Here’s the unveiling of Brewer Fanatic/Twins Daily Mock Draft #1. I’ve had some success in the past - the internet is a powerful place, so you can do your own research to prove me right or wrong - but haven’t put a mock draft together in a handful of years. Plus this is the first version of 2022, so go easy on me if you hate it!

1.) Orioles - Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly - This just seems like the most Orioles-type pick they could make. A college talent who can hit and plays a premium position. Oh, and he’s probably more likely to save them a few dollars for later than the higher-profile prospects.

2.) Diamondbacks - Druw Jones, OF, Georgia HS - I would imagine this is the ideal scenario for the Diamondbacks and their fans.

3.) Rangers - Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma HS - My mind says “college bat,” but this is too early to go there (with the exception of Lee). My heart says “Jackson Holliday is just a four-hour trip up I-35” and that’s fun for Rangers fans. I do think Holliday to Colorado or St. Louis would be a great story… that’s not getting written.

4.) Pirates - Cole Young, SS, Pennsylvania HS - If you’ve only been following the draft here, this is a new name. If you saw Law’s last mock, you saw Young to the Twins at 8. The Pirates need help and maybe going the local route can help eventually ignite a spark between Ke’Bryan Hayes and Nick Gonzales.

5.) Nationals - Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech - Where there is smoke, there is fire. And there’s plenty of smoke with the Nationals and Parada.

6.) Marlins - Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy - Green could certainly go earlier, but the swing-and-miss in his game has his trajectory going the wrong way. There’s still time to turn it around.

7.) Cubs - Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia HS - The fifth prep bat to go is largely considered the best hitter in this class. If only he had a true defensive position.

8.) Twins - Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC - The Twins love a few things more than others: bloodlines, analytics and advanced hitters. The son of a former major leaguer, Collier’s young for JC and impressing with the bat. It seems to just make a lot of sense.

9.) Royals - Brock Porter, RHP, Michigan Prep - The first pitcher off the board. I think there are a couple of names that we’ll see later that could push their way up into this spot

10.) Rockies - Jacob Berry, DH, LSU - Berry dropping to 10 might have more to do with my personal preference to have him not be a Twin than any industry sentiment. I guess if I was running a team, I’d be less inclined to draft a guy without a defensive home. But there’s a reason I’m not running a team.

11.) Mets - Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech - Jung, for me, is similar to Berry, but does have some flexibility in that he could maybe man a corner if not second base. 

12.) Tigers - Daniel Susac, C, Arizona - Susac or Gavin Cross is where I have the Tigers if the board played out like it has. Either would be good gets for Detroit.

13.) Angels - Connor Prielipp, RHP, Alabama - Fresh off his first bullpen, I think Prielipp keeps moving up the board. The Angels are all-in on pitching.

14.) Mets - Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech - Ultimately, I think the Mets take one hitter and one pitcher with their two high picks. And they could get creative with their bonus pool to get someone to drop to 11. (Green?) But Cross just seems like too good of value to pass on at this point.

15.) Padres - Dylan Lesko, P, Georgia HS - The Padres aren’t averse to taking a risk or spending money, so this just makes a ton of sense.

16.) Guardians - Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison - DeLauter is injured, but would be a good value pick by Cleveland. DeLauter’s value has dropped some in the last couple of months.

17.) Phillies - Brandon Berriera, RHP, Florida prep - The Phillies are a team considered most-likely to draft a prep pitcher and Berriera had improved his stock before shutting it down for the season.

18.) Reds - Justin Crawford, OF, Nevada HS - Carl’s kid is a high-ceiling prospect and the Reds fan base can use some excitement.

19.) A’s - Zach Neto, SS, Campbell - Sometimes when you fill out a mock you see a team and a prospect and just say, “Yep, that makes sense.”

20.) Braves - Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga - Hughes could go earlier for sure, but the Braves have gone college pitching for a few years, so Hughes’ slide ends here.

21.) Mariners - Blake Tidwell, RHP, Tennessee - Mariners go the right-handed college pitching route for the fourth time in five years.

22.) Cardinals - Robby Snelling, LHP, Nevada HS - Prep pitchers always have a huge range of possibilities. Snelling has a LSU commitment and helium, so who knows what his price tag will be.

23.) Blue Jays - Sterlin Thompson, OF, Florida - Thompson has been impressive this year and if there’s one thing the Blue Jays need it’s more hitters. (Please sense the heavy sarcasm.)

24.) Red Sox - Jett Williams, SS, Texas Prep - The Red Sox have had success with tiny infieders before, haven’t they?

25.) Yankees - Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State - Which stud will the Yankees acquire when they trade Hjerpe?

26.) White Sox - Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee - When an AL Central team comes on the clock, I mostly follow the “which player would I least like to see them pick?” pattern. Beck seems like a player would could take off in pro ball.

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27.) Brewers - Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt/Indy ball - Rocker could make a lot of sense for almost any team. I debated between Brock Jones and Carson Whisenhunt at this point, but considering how creative the Brewers are in using their pitchers, drafting Rocker and putting him on the fast-track makes a lot of sense.

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28.) Astros - Jud Fabian, OF, Florida - This is another one of those fits that just seems to make too much sense.

29.) Rays - Carson Whisenhunt, LHP, East Carolina - The Rays have a way and Whisenhunt, who is suspended for the year, would be a perfect fit for them and their way with pitchers.

30.) Giants - Peyton Pallette, RHP, Arkansas - Pallette would be off the board already if it weren’t for January Tommy John surgery. Compared a lot to Walker Buehler, the Giants look to get their own version of the current Dodger stud.

 

MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS

Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) /  v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22)

MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) /  Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22)

The Athletic - Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) /  Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22)

ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22)

Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) 

Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) 

Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22)

My MLB Draft (1/18/22)

 

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