{"id":14460,"date":"2018-06-01T15:10:12","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T19:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=14460"},"modified":"2018-06-05T09:05:05","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T13:05:05","slug":"2018-draft-coverage-mock-draft-mania-plus-my-projected-top-5-and-nats-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=14460","title":{"rendered":"2018 Draft coverage; Mock Draft mania plus my projected top-5 and Nats picks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_14842\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MizeCasey-Auburn-via-d1baseball.com_.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14842\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14842\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14842\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MizeCasey-Auburn-via-d1baseball.com_-300x150.jpg\" alt=\"Casey Mize has been the consensus 1-1 for 2018 for most of the season. Photo d1baseball.com\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MizeCasey-Auburn-via-d1baseball.com_-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MizeCasey-Auburn-via-d1baseball.com_-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MizeCasey-Auburn-via-d1baseball.com_.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14842\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casey Mize has been the consensus 1-1 for 2018 for most of the season. Photo d1baseball.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mock Draft mania!\u00a0 Since the draft is Monday i&#8217;ll publish this now to talk about it and talk about who we&#8217;d like to see the Nats pick.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll keep adding mocks as they get published and update this post all the way til gametime.<\/p>\n<p>First, here&#8217;s a preview of the names we&#8217;re talking about for the upper end of the first round.\u00a0 This is an evolving list, with names who were prominently mentioned last fall falling by the way-side and helium guys rising up.\u00a0 At publication, i&#8217;ve separated those who have fallen as indicated below.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>College Upper 1st round names in the mix<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Casey Mize<\/strong>\u00a0RHP, Auburn. 2017 USA Nat\u2019l team star, quickly rising to be the consensus 1-1 pick in 2018.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Joey Bart<\/strong>, C, Georgia Tech.\u00a0 Helium candidate in spring 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alec Bohm<\/strong>, 3B Wichita State.\u00a0 Helium guy with strong 2018.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Brady Singer<\/strong>\u00a0RHP, Florida. Dominant in 2016 CWS. 2017 USA Nat\u2019l team.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nick Madrigal<\/strong>\u00a02B, Oregon State: Golden spikes semi-finalist 2017 as sophomore. All-american as Soph. 2017 USA Nat\u2019l team.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jonathan India<\/strong>, 3B, Florida. another Helium guy in spring 2018; was always solid but now hitting .400 in the SEC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>College Candidates who have fallen to mid-1st round status<\/strong><\/span>: basically i&#8217;d be happy with nearly any pick on this list dropping to the Nats at #27.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Logan Gilbert<\/strong>, RHP Stetson; top Cape Code league prospect 2017<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ryan Rolison<\/strong>, LHP from Ole Miss; #1 pitching prospect from Cape 2017 league.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Travis Swaggerty<\/strong>, CF, South Alabama; has not hit well in 2018, lowering stock slightly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tristan Beck<\/strong>, RHP Stanford.\u00a0 solid starter who missed significant time with back injury.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sean Hjelle<\/strong>, RHP Kentucky: huge guy (6&#8217;11&#8221;) who doesn&#8217;t throw hard, but it appears so b\/c of his reach.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Griffin Conine<\/strong>\u00a0OF, Duke.\u00a0<strong>Jeff Conine<\/strong>\u2018s son. Exploded in Cape Cod League 2017, All-Cape 2017, named top prospect, but has fallen\u00a0precipitously in 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong>Luken Baker<\/strong>, 1B TCU; more &#8220;famous&#8221; than draft prospect thanks to lack of defensive value.\u00a0 Suffered broke leg Apr 2018 after an arm injury in 2017, lowering stock.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Seth Beer<\/strong>, 1B Clemson: another &#8220;famous&#8221; name in the draft; his OBP skills may push him to 1st round.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jackson Kowar<\/strong>, RHP Florida; U-Florida&#8217;s saturday starter who has scuffled a bit this spring but still should be a 1st rounder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>High School<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Carter Stewart<\/strong>, RHP,\u00a0Eau Gallie HS, Melbourne, FL.\u00a0 Mississippi State commit, highest spin rate ever recorded?\u00a0 helium guy spring 2018, jumping up over many names to be first prep player taken.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Matt Liberatore<\/strong> LHP, Mountain Ridge (AZ) (Arizona commit).\u00a0 18U team, Gold Medal game starter, but has had inconsistent spring 2018, not consistently showing 96-97.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jared Kelenic<\/strong>\u00a0OF, Waukesha (WI) (Louisville commit). 18U team.\u00a0 Considered best prep hit tool in the class.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nolan Gorman<\/strong>, 3B Sandra Day O&#8217;conner HS (AZ): (Arizona commit).\u00a0 18U team.\u00a0 best power bat in the class, struggling spring 2018 b\/c of being walked all the time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cole Winn<\/strong>, RHP, Orange Lutheran HS (CA).\u00a0 Mississippi State commit, helium guy spring 2018.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>High School guys whose stock has fallen:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brice Turang<\/strong>\u00a0SS, Santiago (CA) (LSU commit). 18U team.\u00a0 Questions on hit took spring 2018; polarizing player among scouts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ethan Hankins<\/strong>\u00a0RHP, Forsyth Central (GA): (Vanderbilt commit). 18U team.\u00a0 Shoulder injury has lowered his stock.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kumar Rocker<\/strong>\u00a0RHP, North Oconee (GA) (Vanderbilt commit). 18U team.\u00a0 Has lost velocity this spring, lowering his stock.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nander de Sedas<\/strong>, SS, Montverde FL (Florida State commit): great 2017 summer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Mock draft collection.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>I&#8217;ve generally listed their top-5 and then who they project the Nats to take at #27 (if they project out that far).\u00a0\u00a0I got the first Mock draft link here just after the end of the 2017 season, when the BA guys did a mock once we knew the draft order.\u00a0\u00a0I&#8217;ll continue to add in mocks as they get published post-posting up until the draft.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Baseball America (<strong>John Manuel<\/strong>) 2018\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseballamerica.com\/draft\/mlb-mock-draft-2018\/?_wcsid=0642F331649BE48BAB74003610640D76B9D33E297C5CF116&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=100417#qa0ZC1wjW3u08kfT.97\">Mock Draft v1.0<\/a>\u00a0dated 10\/6\/17: Singer, Hankins, Turang, de Sedas, Gorman.\u00a0 Nats taking prep RHP\u00a0<strong>Slade Cecconi\u00a0<\/strong>from a FL HS who can hit 97 with 3 pitches.<\/li>\n<li>Baseball America (<strong>Carlos Collazo<\/strong>) 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseballamerica.com\/stories\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-picks-1-35\/?utm_source=180511_newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email\">Mock Draft v1.0<\/a> dated 5\/11\/18: <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">(behind a pay wall)<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Baseball America (<strong>Carlos Collazo<\/strong>) 2018\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseballamerica.com\/stories\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-updated-for-may-18-2018\/?utm_source=180518_newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email\">Mock Draft v2.0<\/a>\u00a0dated 5\/18\/18:\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">(behind a pay wall)<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Baseball Draft Report (<strong>Rob Ozga<\/strong>) 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/baseballdraftreport.com\/2017\/10\/06\/2018-mlb-mock-draft\/\">Mock Draft v1.0<\/a> dated 10\/7\/17: Gilbert, Madrigal, Singer, Hankins, Rolison. \u00a0Nats taking LHP\u00a0<strong>Konnor Pilkington\u00a0<\/strong>from Mississippi State, a\u00a02017 USA Nat&#8217;l team member.<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jim Callis<\/strong>) 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-first-10-picks\/c-262843418\">Early Mock Draft<\/a> dated 12\/5\/17: Singer, Hankins, Liberatore, de Sedas, Turang.\u00a0\u00a0Only projected top 10 so no Nats pick.<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jim Callis<\/strong>) 2018\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/college-players-lead-in-mlb-mock-draft\/c-276190214\">Mock Draft\u00a0<\/a>dated 5\/11\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, Singer.\u00a0 \u00a0Nats taking prep RHP\u00a0<b>Cole Wilcox, RHP<\/b>, Heritage HS (Ringgold, Ga.)<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jim Callis<\/strong>) 2018\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/college-players-lead-in-mlb-mock-draft\/c-276190214\">Mock Draft\u00a0<\/a>dated 5\/24\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0\u00a0 Has Nats on\u00a0<strong>Mason Denaburg<\/strong>, a prep RHP from Florida (with a Florida commit) who is someone i hadn&#8217;t heard of prior to seeing it in print\u00a0 here.\u00a0 He was projected higher until shut down with biceps tendinitis; this could be a classic Nats move of taking a top-10 talent later in the 1st thanks to a slight injury issue.<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jim Callis<\/strong>) 2018 Final\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/mock-draft-for-first-round-of-2018-mlb-draft\/c-279699234\">Mock Draft\u00a0dated 6\/4\/18<\/a>: Mize, Bart, Madrigal, Singer, India.\u00a0 Still has Nats on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jonathan Mayo<\/strong>):\u00a02018\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-first-10-picks\/c-262843418\">Early Mock Draft<\/a>\u00a0dated 12\/5\/17:\u00a0 Singer, de Sedas, Hankins, Kowar, Madrigal.\u00a0 Only projected top 10 so no Nats pick.<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jonathan Mayo<\/strong>):\u00a02018\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-first-10-picks\/c-262843418\">Mock Draft<\/a>\u00a0projection dated 4\/30\/18:\u00a0 Mize, Singer, Madrigal, Bohm, Stewart.\u00a0 has Nats on\u00a0<b>Xavier Edwards, <\/b>SS, North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek, Fla.), an undersized but good prospect with a strong Vanderbilt commitment.<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jonathan Mayo<\/strong>):\u00a02018\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/high-school-pitchers-rise-in-mlb-mock-draft\/c-277173920\">Mock Draft<\/a>\u00a0projection dated 5\/17\/18:\u00a0 Mize, Bart, Bohm, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 Has Nats on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jonathan Mayo<\/strong>):\u00a02018\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/mock-draft-jonathan-mayo-predicts-1st-round\/c-279050910\">Mock Draft<\/a>\u00a0projection dated 5\/31\/18:\u00a0 Mize, Bart, Madrigal, Singer, India.\u00a0 Nats again on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li>MLBPipeline (<strong>Jonathan Mayo<\/strong>) 2018 Final\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/mock-draft-for-first-round-of-2018-mlb-draft\/c-279699234\">Mock Draft\u00a0dated 6\/4\/18<\/a>:\u00a0Mize, Bart, Madrigal, Singer, India.\u00a0 now has Nats on<strong> Xavier Edwards<\/strong>, a prep SS from Florida.<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<li>Fangraphs (<strong>Eric Longenhagen\/Kiley McDaniel):\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/blogs\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-v-1-0\/\">2018 Mock Draft v1.<\/a>0 dated 4\/19\/18: Mize, Bohm, Madrigal, Swaggerty, Kelenic.\u00a0 Only projected top 10, but notes that Washington wants a &#8220;quick moving&#8221; college pitcher (just like every year) and is tied to either\u00a0<strong>Tristan Beck<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Sean Hjelle<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Fangraphs (<strong>Eric Longenhagen\/Kiley McDaniel):\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/blogs\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-v-2-0\/\">2018 Mock Draft v2.0<\/a> dated 5\/15\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohn, Madrigal, Singer.\u00a0 Also has Nats on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li>Fangraphs (<strong>Eric Longenhagen\/Kiley McDaniel):\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/blogs\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-v-3-0\/\">2018 Mock Draft v3.0<\/a>\u00a0dated 6\/1\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 Now has Nats on Wilcox.<\/li>\n<li>Seedlings to the Stars\/Calltothepen.com (<strong>Benjamin Chase<\/strong>) <a href=\"https:\/\/calltothepen.com\/2018\/04\/30\/mlb-draft-mock-draft-version-1-0\/\">Mock draft v1.0<\/a> 4\/30\/18: Mize, Bohm, Libratadore, Kelenic, Madrigal.\u00a0 Has the Nats on\u00a0<strong>Mike Vasil<\/strong>, a HS RHP pitcher from a Boston, MA high school\u00a0 (with a commit to UVA\/Virginia) with some possible arm issues so could be following their pattern of buying low in injured guys.<\/li>\n<li>Seedlings to the Stars\/Calltothepen.com (<strong>Benjamin Chase<\/strong>)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/calltothepen.com\/2018\/05\/07\/mlb-draft-mock-draft-version-2-0\/\">Mock draft v2.0<\/a>\u00a05\/7\/18: Mize, Madrigal, Bohm, Winn, Libratadore.\u00a0 Has Nats on de Sedas, which would fit the Nats&#8217; predilection of taking &#8220;famous&#8221; names.<\/li>\n<li>Seedlings to the Stars\/Calltothepen.com (<strong>Benjamin Chase<\/strong>)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/calltothepen.com\/2018\/05\/14\/mlb-draft-mock-draft-monday-version-3-0\/\">Mock draft v3.0<\/a>\u00a05\/15\/18: Mize, Bart, India, Bohm, Singer.\u00a0 Also has Nats on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li>Seedlings to the Stars\/Calltothepen.com (<strong>Benjamin Chase<\/strong>)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/calltothepen.com\/2018\/05\/21\/mlb-draft-mock-draft-monday-4-0\/\">Mock draft v4.0<\/a>\u00a05\/21\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, Singer.\u00a0 \u00a0Has Nats now on\u00a0Wilcox instead of Denaburg now.<\/li>\n<li>Seedlings to the Stars\/Calltothepen.com (<strong>Benjamin Chase<\/strong>)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/calltothepen.com\/2018\/05\/21\/mlb-draft-mock-draft-monday-4-0\/\">Mock draft v<\/a>5.1\u00a05\/28\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 Has Nats back on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li>Seedlings to the Stars\/Calltothepen.com (<strong>Benjamin Chase<\/strong>)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/calltothepen.com\/2018\/06\/04\/mlb-draft-mock-draft-monday-version-6-2\/\">Mock draft v6.2<\/a> 6\/4\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 Same top 5 as last few iterations.\u00a0 Has Nats back on Wilcox.<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<li>ESPN\/<strong>Keith Law<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/blog\/keith-law\/insider\/post?id=8328\">Mock draft v1.0<\/a> 5\/2\/18: Mize, Singer, Bohm, Bart, Madrigal.\u00a0 Has the Nats taking a prep RHP named\u00a0<strong>J.T. Ginn<\/strong> from Mississippi, or perhaps taking one of the more &#8220;famous&#8221; prep arms if they fall (Hankins, Turang).<\/li>\n<li>ESPN\/<strong>Keith Law<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/insider.espn.com\/mlb\/insider\/story\/_\/id\/23522324\/keith-law-2018-mock-draft-20\">Mock draft v2.0<\/a>\u00a05\/17\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, Singer.\u00a0 Has the Nats on Rocker, or perhaps one of the other prep guys who are &#8220;famous&#8221; but who are falling this spring, looking for value.<\/li>\n<li>ESPN\/<strong>Keith Law<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/insider\/story\/_\/id\/23652515\/keith-law-2018-mock-draft-30\">Mock draft v3.0<\/a>\u00a05\/31\/18: Mize, Winn, Bart, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 Has the Nats on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li>ESPN\/<strong>Keith Law<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/insider\/story\/_\/id\/23689410\/keith-law-2018-mock-draft-40\">Mock draft v4.0<\/a>\u00a06\/4\/18: Bart, Winn, Mize, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 Still has\u00a0the Nats on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<li>Sporting News <a href=\"https:\/\/ca.sports.yahoo.com\/news\/mlb-mock-draft-2018-tigers-172808339.html\">Mock Draft v1.0<\/a> 5\/17\/18: Mize, Libratadore, Singer, Madrigal, Stewart.\u00a0 Has the Nats taking Seth Beer, which I wouldn&#8217;t be totally against.<\/li>\n<li>TheBigLead.com (<strong>Ryan Phillips<\/strong>) <a href=\"https:\/\/thebiglead.com\/2018\/05\/17\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-projecting-the-top-10\/\">Mock Draft v1.0<\/a> 5\/17\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, Singer (same as Law).\u00a0 Only projects top 10, so no Nats pick.<\/li>\n<li>TheBigLead.com (<strong>Ryan Phillips<\/strong>)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thebiglead.com\/2018\/05\/30\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-college-players-fly-off-the-board-early\/\">Mock Draft v2.0<\/a>\u00a05\/30\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, Singer (same as his first mock).\u00a0 Has Nats on Wilcox.<\/li>\n<li>TheBigLead.com (<strong>Ryan Phillips<\/strong>)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thebiglead.com\/2018\/06\/04\/2018-mlb-mock-draft-final-edition-before-the-big-night\/\">Mock Draft v3.0<\/a>\u00a06\/3\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, Singer (same as his first two mocks).\u00a0 Has Nats on <strong>Ethan Hankins<\/strong> now.<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<li>PerfectGame.org (<strong>Brian Sakowski)\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.perfectgame.org\/Articles\/View.aspx?article=15110\">Mock Draft v1.0<\/a>: 4\/20\/18: Mize, Kelenic, Madrigal, McClanahan, Hankins.\u00a0 has Nats on\u00a0<strong>Grayson Rodriguez<\/strong>, prep RHP from Texas HS.<\/li>\n<li>PerfectGame.org (<strong>Brian Sakowski)\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.perfectgame.org\/Articles\/View.aspx?article=15176\">Mock Draft v2.0<\/a>: 5\/10\/18: Mize, Stewart, Bohm, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 Nats on Kumar Rocker as well; I&#8217;d love this pick if it happened.<\/li>\n<li>PerfectGame.org (<strong>Brian Sakowski)<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.perfectgame.org\/Articles\/View.aspx?article=15237\">Mock Draft v3.0<\/a> 5\/24\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, Singer.\u00a0 Nats on\u00a0<strong>Jackson Kowar<\/strong>, RHP weekend starter for Florida.\u00a0 Um, if Kowar makes it here, i&#8217;d be ecstatic and it&#8217;d be a great pick.<\/li>\n<li>PerfectGame.org (<strong>Brian Sakowski)<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.perfectgame.org\/Articles\/View.aspx?article=15237\">Mock Draft v4.0<\/a>\u00a06\/4\/18: Mize, Bart, Bohm, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 Nats on Denaburg.<\/li>\n<li>Prospect Digest (<strong>Joseph Werner<\/strong>) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prospectdigest.com\/2018\/06\/04\/2018-mlb-mock-draft\/\">Mock Draft<\/a> 6\/4\/18: Mize, Liberatore, Madrigal, McClanahan, Stewart.\u00a0 Nats picking Stanford&#8217;s Tristan Beck.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mock draft posters from 2017 who didn&#8217;t seem to do one this year.:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>D1Baseball (<strong>Frankie Piliere<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>HeroSports.com (<strong>Chris Crawford\/<\/strong><strong>Jason Crawford<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>MinorleagueBall.com (<strong>John Sickels<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>SI.com (<strong>Jay Jaffe<\/strong>), now with Fangraphs, so probably not doing prospect work anymore.<\/li>\n<li>CBSsports (<strong>Mike Axisa<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Todd Boss&#8217; Mock draft top-5 prediction?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>My top 5:\u00a0Mize, Bart, Bohm, Singer, Madrigal.\u00a0 \u00a0It seems like most all the pundits have arrived at this as a top 5 and it seems to make sense.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/draft\/tracker\">ACTUAL DRAFT Results<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(added after the draft): top 5 went Mize, Bart, Bohm, Madrigal, India.\u00a0 First four no surprise &#8230; India at #5 a surprise.\u00a0 So was\u00a0<strong>Kyler Murray<\/strong> at #9 to Oakland &#8230; that came out of nowhere.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Who are the Nats going to take at #27<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">:\u00a0\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mason Denaburg<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Its really, really difficult to project to the 27th pick; you just have no idea who will be there.\u00a0 Just consider the 2011 draft; the Nats sat at the #6 spot and figured they&#8217;d have zero shot at\u00a0<strong>Anthony Rendon<\/strong>, who for most of his college career was considered a 1-1 guy.\u00a0 Suddenly Rendon has a slight injury, the first few teams pass on him &#8230; and he falls into the Nat&#8217;s lap.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, Mike Rizzo drafts college guys.\u00a0 And historically, he drafts college arms up high.\u00a0 However, most of the mocks above have the Nats taking prep arms in the first.<\/p>\n<p>The clear &#8220;word on the street&#8221; out of the Nats camp this year is prep arm.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 I have no idea.\u00a0 How many high school arms have you ever seen\u00a0<strong>Mike Rizzo<\/strong> draft at the top of the draft?\u00a0 How about in the top 10 rounds altogether?\u00a0 \u00a0I&#8217;ll give you the answer to the latter question: Three: Rizzo has drafted exactly three prep arms in the top 10 rounds in the entirety of his Nats career, dating to 2009.\u00a0\u00a0<strong>Jesus Luzardo<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Lucas Giolito<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>A.J. Cole<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0That&#8217;s it.\u00a0 Cole was under the prior bonus rules, when they threw 1st round money at him in the 4th.\u00a0 Giolito was a case where he dropped precipitously thanks to an arm injury and the Nats snagged him mid 1st (which kind of fits the Denaburg projection this year) &#8230; and Luzardo was a 3rd rounder with 1st round talent but a TJ surgery on his resume who they got great value on.\u00a0 So why would anyone think Rizzo is going to pick a prep arm unless its a Giolito situation where a top-5 projected guy suddenly falls?<\/p>\n<p>Normally, i&#8217;d firmly in the camp that the Nats will follow their typical pattern here for later 1st round picks: college arm.\u00a0 I like the mocks that project guys like Beck or Hjelle, or any one of several solid college arms who might drop down because of a crummy regional performance.\u00a0 Ole Miss&#8217; Ryan Rolison fits the bill here as a guy who might be available at 27, as does Jackson Kowar.<\/p>\n<p>What about one of the famous &#8220;bats&#8221; in this draft?\u00a0 Namely, Seth Beer or Luken Baker or Griffen Conine?\u00a0 All seem like no-position\/defensive liability sluggers, which may end up being tweeners between Late 1st round and mid 2nd round &#8230; so they&#8217;d be reaches for the Nats in the 1st but gone by our 2nd round pick.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Actual Nats #27 Pick<\/strong>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/draft\/tracker\">added after the draft<\/a>):\u00a0<strong>Mason Denaburg.\u00a0<\/strong> For the second year in a row, the Nats tip their hand and have their first round pick predicted by every major pundit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mock Draft mania!\u00a0 Since the draft is Monday i&#8217;ll publish this now to talk about it and talk about who we&#8217;d like to see the Nats pick.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll keep adding mocks as they get published and update this post all the way til gametime. First, here&#8217;s a preview of the names we&#8217;re talking about for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[17,3775,3202,185,3587,3653,3702,3783,3778,3696,2242,3787,3780,3457,3781,3792,3698,3767,3704,3793,658,3699,3327,440,3774,530,590,3768,475,3791,110,2273,3786,3701,3706,852,3221,3788,3779,1397,129,3790,3782,3697,3708,3784,3592,3707,3777,3174,3785,3776,3562,3789],"class_list":["post-14460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-draft","tag-aj-cole","tag-alec-bohm","tag-alex-faedo","tag-anthony-rendon","tag-benjamin-chase","tag-brady-singer","tag-brice-turang","tag-carlos-collazo","tag-carter-stewart","tag-casey-mize","tag-chris-crawford","tag-cole-wilcox","tag-cole-winn","tag-eric-longenhagen","tag-ethan-hankings","tag-grayson-rodriguez","tag-griffin-conine","tag-jackson-kowar","tag-jared-kelenic","tag-jason-crawford","tag-jay-jaffe","tag-jeff-conine","tag-jesus-luzardo","tag-jim-callis","tag-joey-bart","tag-john-manuel","tag-john-sickels","tag-jonathan-india","tag-jonathan-mayo","tag-jt-ginn","tag-keith-law","tag-kiley-mcdaniel","tag-konner-plikington","tag-kumar-rocker","tag-logan-gilbert","tag-lucas-giolito","tag-luken-baker","tag-mason-denaburg","tag-matt-liberatore","tag-mike-axisa","tag-mike-rizzo","tag-mike-vasil","tag-nander-de-sedas","tag-nick-madrigal","tag-nolan-gorman","tag-rob-ozga","tag-ryan-phillips","tag-ryan-rolison","tag-sean-hjelle","tag-seth-beer","tag-slade-cecconi","tag-travis-swaggerty","tag-tristan-beck","tag-xavier-edwards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14460"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15016,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14460\/revisions\/15016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}