Weekly MLB Draft 2014 Discussion: It's the First Mock Draft!

The biggest thing on the plate this week in relation to the draft was that Matt Garrioch of Minor League Ball posted his first mock draft recently.

Brooks

Anything jump out to anyone?

What do y'all think of another pitcher getting drafted early with the combination of Rodon at 1-1?

Thoughts on Justus Sheffield?

Alex:

My 2 cents on this:
I really like the fact that Sheffield lasted all the way down there. It shows depth, and a top prospect could definitely fall that far. I'm hoping for a college hitter there, but anything could happen.
Luke Weaver is a personal favorite of mine, I'm surprised he lasted that long.
Reading the comments, it seems like everyone is in love with Gettys, and for good reason.

Brooks:

This mock does show a lot of the depth in this draft. I'm not sold on Sheffield yet. I wasn't really high on his brother last year before his TJ surgery, so that could be influencing my opinion. We'll see as we get further into the season.

Anthony:

No Mike Papi in the first round. First base profile or not, that's just silly.

I think there are some good indications that Luhnow likes to go pitcher-heavy at the top of the draft - the top three picks in 2013 and two of the top four in 2012 - but with the pitching depth in this draft, I'd be surprised to see two pitchers in the first round... if that should happen, I'd expect to see two college guys... he mentions Karsten Whitson and Daniel Mengden as also-rans, and I would see either of them before Sheffield.

Whitson was a presumptive first-rounder before last year's injury, and could be a good buy-low candidate. Mengden fares very well in a lot of "Luhnow stats."

That said, there isn't always a glut of good college hitters, but there are several available in this draft, and I'd expect to see one with either the CBL pick or 2-1.

My only other real note is that if the Rockies get Jackson at eighth overall, you'll be able to hear the whooping from Denver in your own living room.

We never fully know how a draft is going to play out, but on paper, this class looks really deep.

Alex:

I meant to comment on Jackson. Obviously, this mock is based on the assumption he'll play right. Five-tool catcher would be top-3 over Gatewood and possibly over Hoffman.

Brooks:

Surprised that Tim hasn't popped in on this one. Grayson Greiner was mocked after the Astros and I think Tim might pass out on the live podcast if the Astros would in fact draft Greiner in the comp round.

But, in all seriousness, I think Greiner gets drafter earlier than that. There are some nice bats in this class, but because there are more arms that can be had later, bats like Greiners will come at a premium and lead to being selected a little sooner.

Right now, I'm with you guys in thinking that someone like Daniel Mengden is a more likely candidate than Sheffield in the comp round.

Anthony:

Agreed re: Greiner. Great college hitters don't come around every year, and when you have a chance to take one that plays a premium position, you have to think twice before passing it up.

I do think it bears mentioning that I think this is a great early mock by Matt. A lot will change over the next few months, and it's easy to sit back and criticize or question individual picks, but it's an entirely-reasonable mock, and gives a really good look at the depth of this class.

Tim:

I agree I would love Greiner to fall that far, but I doubt that happens. Greiner is the complete package. He can hit and can hit with power, he's got a good approach at the plate, he's good defensively behind the plate and has a cannon for an arm. His receiving needs work, but it's nothing that can't be fixed and is already pretty good and continuing to improve. Right now he's got some movement with his head when he receives the ball, but again that's nothing that a team can't fix.

Wow Garrioch has Pankake above Greiner?

I like Pankake, but Greiner is easily the better player and at a more premium position. If Pankake had stayed at shortstop I think there's a case to be made, but he's playing a little left, a little third and a little second. He essentially has no position at this point which is going to make it tough for teams to justify taking Pankake over Greiner.

Greiner: .377/.446/.528, 59 PA, 3 HR, 8 BB, 8 SO

Pankake: .255/.381/.373 58 PA, 1 HR, 7 BB, 5 SO

At this point, just based on offensive numbers, I'll take Greiner.

Brooks:

Garrioch gets a hard time about his early mock last year, but Anthony is right. This is a really good early mock.

Here's a less than stellar report on Carlos Rodon.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/mlb-draft/post?id=1343?ex_cid=InsiderTwitter_CrawfordGatewood

Still really early in the season, but Crawford expressed some concern about the level of Rodon's stuff so far. He says "Rodon has shown consistency, but consistently above-average wasn't what everyone was expecting."

Tim:

Could this indicate some kind of injury?

Brooks:

Absolutely could indicate that there is an injury. But doesn't mean there is one.