5/25/12

Jonathan Mayo - Mock

1. Houston Astros: Mark Appel, RHP, StanfordThere is still a strong belief that Houston will go with a college pitcher here, with an outside chance of Florida catcher Mike Zunino getting consideration. Appel, while not running away and hiding as the top guy most of the year, has been pretty outstanding over his past four starts, allowing just five earned runs on 27 hits over 31 innings (1.45 ERA) while striking out 37 and walking just two.
2. Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton, OF, Appling County HS (Ga.)
The Twins could go with a college pitcher, with LSU's Kevin Gausman and San Francisco's Kyle Zimmer in the mix, but Buxton's tools should be too much to pass up here.
3. Seattle Mariners: Mike Zunino, C, Florida
There have been some whispers about Zunino sliding, but it's not quite time to make it happen in the projections. The college pitchers, as well as high school shortstop Carlos Correa, could get consideration here.
4. Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman, RHP, LSU
The thinking is still that the O's will go with the best college arm available. With Appel gone, that'll be either Gausman or Zimmer.
5. Kansas City Royals: Kyle Zimmer, RHP, San Francisco
College pitchers still seem to be the focus for the Royals. If Appel, Gausman and Zimmer are all gone, Kansas City could change course and look at Fried.
6. Chicago Cubs: Albert Almora, OF, Mater Academy (Fla.)
Early talk involved high school hitters, with Almora and Correa very much in play, with the edge going to this toolsy outfielder right now. There also seems to be strong interest in Fried.
7. San Diego Padres: Carlos Correa, SS, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
This connection still seems to be a strong one, with the Padres interested in the high-ceiling shortstop. They'd also consider Almora should he still be here, with the resurgent Fried figuring into the mix as well. College pitchers could also still come into play.
8. Pittsburgh Pirates: Max Fried, LHP, Harvard Westlake HS (Calif.)
The talk about the Pirates and Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero hasn't gone away and Marrero did have a good weekend with the bat. But his offensive struggles this season have some concerned and the Pirates certainly have shown they like good young arms in the Draft. Fried is one of the best, bouncing back from two shaky starts with a playoff shutout last week.
9. Miami Marlins: Courtney Hawkins, OF, Carroll HS (Texas)
The Marlins don't shy away from taking high school hitters, and they wouldn't mind if Almora were to fall to them. Another choice could be Alabama prep outfielder David Dahl. But the Marlins' decision-makers have been watching Hawkins and his plus raw power very closely.
10. Colorado Rockies: Stephen Piscotty, 3B, Stanford
The Rockies are likely still looking at a number of options, from high school hitters like Hawkins, Dahl and Gavin Cecchini to college arms like any of those above or perhaps Michael Wacha. They also could go the college-bat route, deciding between the power of Clemson's Richie Shaffer or the pure hit-abilitiy of Piscotty. The Stanford product gets the nod for now.
11. Oakland A's: Michael Wacha, RHP, Texas A&M
The A's certainly aren't a college-only team in the Draft anymore, but for all the talk about them selecting a high school player in the first round, they've taken a college guy in each of the past 10 years. Sure, they'll consider Fried and there's been talk about prep shortstop Addison Russell, but with some good college pitchers on the board, the thinking is they'll go with who they believe is best among Wacha, Marcus Stroman, Chris Stratton or Andrew Heaney.
12. New York Mets: Gavin Cecchini, SS, Barbe HS (La.)
Will the Mets go with two straight high school hitters in the first round? The buzz is that they really like Cecchini's tools and makeup, and he is more advanced than last year's pick, outfielder Brandon Nimmo. If they go with a more advanced type, any of the above pitchers would come into play, as could Marrero and Shaffer from the college-hitter ranks.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120524&content_id=32149024&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

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