Mack – 2019 Mock Draft v2.0

Good morning.

The following mock draft is a compilation of all the mock drafts published in the fourth quarter of 2018. The results from the previous mock have changed.

A few general observations before I show the ranking.

There are five ballplayers that will be long gone before the Mets pick at #12. 

They are, in no particular order, Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers, Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, Colleyville Heritage HS (TX) shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Blessed Trinity Catholic HS (GA) shortstop C.J. Abrams, and Hagerty HS (FL) outfielder Riley Greene. Everyone agrees that these will the early picks in round one.

The distance between these top five and the rest of the field is huge.

Rutschman was the odds- on favorite to be the first pick.

The general consensus is that this draft is rich with shortstops and short on right handed pitching.

Getting late play are Cal 1B Andrew Vaughn, Texas Tech 3B Josh Jung, and Southern Miss OF Matt Wallner.

Falling from the sky is The Bolles School (FL) LHP Hunter Barco,

So, without further ado…

1.      C               Adley Rutschman                 Oregon State            

2.      SS             Bobby Witt Jr.                        Colleyville HS (TX)   

3.      OF             Riley Greene                         Hagerty HS FL)

4.      C               Shea Langgeliers                 Baylor                        

5.      SS             C.J. Abrams                           Blessed Trinity HS (GA) 

6.      3B             Josh Jung                              Texas Tech                           

7.      LHP           Nick Lodolo                           TCU                                       

8.      3B-SS       Rece Hinds                            Niceville HS (FL)                  

9.      LHP           Zack Thompson                    Kentucky                              

10.  LHP           Hunter Barco                         The Bolles School (FL)        

11.  1B             Andrew Vaughn                    Cal                                         

12.  RHP           Brennan Malone                   Porter Ridge HS (NC)          

13.   OF            Matt Wallner                          Southern Miss                      

14.  RHP           Tyler Dyson                           Florida                                   

15.  SS             Logan Davidson                    Clemson                               

16.  RHP           Matthew Thompson             Cypress Ranch HS (TX)       

17.  3B-SS       Bryson Stott                          UNLV                                     

18.  RHP           Daniel Espino                        Bulloch HS (GA)                   

19.  LHP           Graeme Stinson                    Duke              

20.   2B            Braden Shewmake               TAMU                                    

21.   1B            Michael Busch                       North Carolina                      

22.   3B            Drew Mendoza                      Florida State                         

23.   OF            Jerrion Ealy                           Jackson Prep (MS)               

24.   OF            Mike Toglia                            UCLA                                     

25.   SS            Nick Quintana                        Arizona                                 

26.   SS            Will Holland                           Auburn                                  

27.  RHP           Alex Manoah                         West Virginia                        

28.   OF            JJ Bledsay                             Vanderbilt                             

29.   RHP          Matthew Allen                       Seminole HS (FL)                 

30.   SS            Greg Jones                            UNC Wilmington                  

Remember… this isn’t MY mock draft. It’s a compilation of other mocks from places like 24/7 and MLB Pipeline.

Most of my more frequent readers out there want another bat in the pipeline to replace the loss of Jarred Kelenic.

Anybody below those top five names could fall down (or up) to the 12^th pick. We’ve talked about slugging infielder Rece Hinds before and I would be dancing in the hall if he was still around at twelve and we picked him, but I want to use this posting to highlight two other players you want to hope are still around when umber twelve comes around:

The 6-4 slugging LHH OF Matt Wallner has already done his fair share of damage at Southern University. In his freshman year (2017), he hit .336/.463/.655/1.118 while slugging 19 home runs and 63 runs batted in in 235 at-bats. His sophomore year (2018) brought more of the same: 228 at-bats, .351/.474/.618/1.092, 16-HR, 67-RBIs. If this was one season of 463 at bats, it would add up to .343/.468/.637/1.105, 35-HR, 130-RBI. He doubled as the team closer, but that’s not going to happen when he is drafted. This is a premium bat.

3B Josh Jung has been moving up the mock rankings, but as we have learned in the past, some come back to earth once the season starts. That being said, the 6-2 junior has put up two great seasons… .306/.395/.453 as a Freshman, and .384 batting average and incredible .490 OBP. He does have limitations though. He doesn’t run well which limits his mobility at third as well, but his fielding and + arm make up the difference. Also, there is only limited projection left for him to become a home run hitter, but he’s a pure gap to gap hitter whose bat is projected to be major league ready.