MLB 2026 Draft ~ Mocks, Rankings, Discussions and More

[craviduce]

second try at the 10 round mock sim...I picked the first 6 picks....I went underslot with the first 3 college players with great hit tools, then used the next picks to take hard to sign HS players with tremendous upside...surprising myself, I landed what I thought were 3 really good picks with legit potential

Ruiz ~ firecracker in the box, no power, but excellent swing decisions from both sides of the plate. Better as a LHB, though. Dynamic SS/2B...very fast

Holloway ~ LHP, mid to upper 90's fastball...both 2 and 4 seamer. Change and Slider are a work in progress, but probably a smidge below average. At his age, you take that upside profile.

Santarelli ~ 1B/OF LHB....big power, big man...6'2" 230lbs.... advertised as close to 70grade power, probably will get a 60-65 rating when all said and done.... looks like his pitch selection is pretty good. Some swing and miss, but that's offset with a really good walk rate. So the hit tool projects to by good once he's fully developed as a player.

Ace Reese....big bat, Power and Average all 3 years in college. 3B, may need to move to 1B

Curiel can hit, he did so last year for LSU in the Regionals and CWS. He won't hit for much power, but gets comped to Yelich quite a bit. If he's available at 32 (which I don't think he will be), then you have to snag him.

Rembert...good hitting INF from Auburn last year, battling back from early season injury now. Probably a steal in the 2nd round. You hope he's just nursing a injury with his performance so far this year..


After Round 3, I let the AI take over. I liked my strat for this one.... the players after the 3rd round were a result of my OVER SLOT binge from pick 4-6. So we got (bleep) after the 3rd round

https://overslotbaseball.com/my-mock-dr ... 3dc0ca424/

[craviduce]

My 3rd mock...I tried a strategy of Best college player available at 13...AJ Gracia...dream pick, can't wrong.

Then I wanted the BPA highschool, I thought 1 or 2 might drop from Top 10 HS to 32nd....and 5 of them did. 4 of the 5 I knew were flexible on their contract demands, but apparently Booth, Jr (possible 5 tool athlete) was firm on his Top 10 draft monetary demands, I didn't know this...and I drafted and signed Booth, Jr to a $6.7 million bonus....3.7million over the slot for the 32nd pick....

it destroyed my draft...obviously.

I did get an injured Wiggins from Arkansas, he's huge upside pitching talent recovering from TJ. He should be able to rehab before the draft.

And this mock has Tre Phelps too far down their draft board, so I was able to get him rather cheap in the 4th round. Advincula from GaTech I got with one of our Donovan trade picks.

Had to take the L on the other...$150K min. on a no name senior for a $944K slot pick

https://overslotbaseball.com/my-mock-dr ... 5cd75d728/

[82birds]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/485 ... -prospects

[craviduce]

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/Vi ... icle=24279

Perfect Game put out their new Draft Board....expanding it to Top 400. Great tool for you use and follow whose stock has risen and whose stock has fallen.

-----

My take on the coming and going in college/hs baseball.

Falling Stars

~ Liam Peterson out of the Top 10, to maybe out of the 1st round? Another LIAM that is a PROJECT...stay away, Chaim, stay away.
~ Derek Curiel...the power never developed, but the hit tool did recover, I think a team will take him higher than he's rated at the moment. Hopefully not the Cards. There's much better options @13, imo.
~ Cameron Flukey stock is starting to drop across all boards and mocks, but that's due to injury....he returns tomorrow for Coast Carolina after missing 2 months with a rib injury. Flukey and Flora were thought to be the best pitchers in the NCAA entering the season. Flukey dueled famously with Kade Anderson in the College World Series championship series. If he's healthy and pitching well enough, he'll shed the mid 1st round ratings and push himself back into the Top 6 or 7.
~ Tyler Spangler...was looking like the 3rd best Prep player in the draft in February and March, but has fallen out of favor. As to why? I'm not sure. I know his team self-suspended themselves for 6 or 7 games, but I haven't heard much about him since I read that 2 months ago.
~ Justin Lebron and he's probably still falling.... the knock on him last year was he struggled mightily vs. SEC pitching. He's even worse this year....he's stealing bases, more than last year, but he can't hit or average or power against SEC pitching....I think he's going the way of Vance Honeycutt (2024) and Jace LaViolette (2025)..... 4 Tool player, but he's missing the important one, HIT....and his draft stock will suffer for it. I expect he's late 1st round now.
~ Gabe Gaeckle...lost his starting job (Arkansas friday night ace) and is now a piggy backer on Sundays/Saturdays....that'll cost him several million in signing bonus.

--------------

Rising Stars

There's is some GREAT PITCHING Happening out west.

~ Mason Edwards (USC) ~ destroying the Big10
~ Logan Reddemann (UCLA) ~ destroying the Big10 and Big West and all the early season tourney opponents.
~ Jackson Flora (UCSB) ~ he could legit go #1 if the White Sox are looking to save some money for later in the draft?
~ Cole Carlon (ASU) ~ biggest riser for pitching....all the way to #15 on the PG board.
~ Cade Townsend (Ole Miss)~ 4 to 5 pitch mix. Quality stuff.

Hitters rising

~ Aiden Robbins (Texas)...on fire all year. Successful transition from Seton Hall to SEC play. CF....smashing the ball.
~ Caden Sorrell (A&M)...on fire all year, too. CF.
~ Logan Hughes (Texas Tech)...LF/1B...he has 2 things going for him, not many people are hotter than him with the bat and he hits for power. Sucks in the field, but big bats play in LF.
~ Ryder Helfrick...pundits love catchers that can hit. I don't know if he can hit, but pundits seem to think he can hit better than had been. .290 average is better than his previous years, but that doesn't knock my knees, nor drop the drawers. Hard pass, but he's a name to be familiar with....pundits are loving him.
~ Jarren Advincula ...I think it helps and inflates your standing when you're batting between Drew Buress and Vahn Lackey on the #1 offense in the nation...Georgia Tech. The Cal transfer is batting well over .400 and he may take All-American honors, and maybe a few other hitting awards.


Prep on the rise

Trevor Condon, CF, Etowah HS (GA).... Kiley McDaniels (ESPN) describes as the hottest hitter in recent weeks in HS. And links the Cardinals to him. Word is he's probably vaulting even higher than PG's #30 ranking. Expect to see his name more as more mocks come forth over the next few weeks.

Blake Bowen, CF/OF, Jesuit HS (CA)...same as Condon...stock rising rapidly, and the Cardinals have scouted him extensively.

[craviduce]

I'm a fan of Robbins and Sorrell...would love the Cards to underslot pick them at #13, then use the savings to get the likes of Boleman or Condon or Bowen...whatever HS drops to 32nd. There's going to be plenty of tough to sign HS players that we can throw money at at 50 or the 2 trade picks in the late 60's


If Flukey were to drop to the Cards at #13, I would seriously think about drafting him. A TRUE ace with a TRUE arsenal that's well above average. There's not much fear to him being a bad reliever.

If Gracia drops, I take him...one of the best pitch selections while in the box you'll ever see....could stick in CF...probably moves to RF or LF eventually

If Burress drops, I take him....even with his power down....he's going to hit enough doubles and for average....he'll be fine, and a great CF.

but my game plan is what I said above.... Robbins/Sorrell...save yourself some $$$, splurge the next 3 picks on HS signees.

[Talkin' Baseball]

Do you think this draft is deep enough that adding additional Comp A or B picks would be a good thing?

[craviduce]

Do you think this draft is deep enough that adding additional Comp A or B picks would be a good thing?

heck yeah. If we snag a Borthwick, a Rembert from Auburn, Hirschkorn...even Kuhns from Tennessee, he has good arsenal of pitches...start slow with him at Palm Beach. Dietz from Arkansas is finally healthy and having a terrific season. His teammate Wiggins is out for the year, but his arsenal is actually pretty (bleep) good. Think Franklin but with starting experience. I'm not sure why Phelps and Jackson from Georgia are rated so low...yes, there's questions on the hit tool in pro ball, but the miss/chase questions seem to have been nullfied.

There's the kid from Cincy who is murdering the ball this year, not sure of the name...I think he's draft eligible. We could snag the Missouri State kid, Bogenpoul? Spell Check on that one.

On and On and On

the trick is this....we could, and I want to, draft 7 or 8 HS kids....sign 5 of them. BUT we need to identify the ones that are DEVELOPAL, and then we need to have the staff to DEVELOP them. The Brewers and Tampa do this all the time, and they do it well. We NEED to be that. And we need to mix in average to good (50 value) College players.

[BleedingBleu]

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/Vi ... icle=24279

Perfect Game put out their new Draft Board....expanding it to Top 400. Great tool for you use and follow whose stock has risen and whose stock has fallen.

-----

My take on the coming and going in college/hs baseball.

Falling Stars

~ Liam Peterson out of the Top 10, to maybe out of the 1st round? Another LIAM that is a PROJECT...stay away, Chaim, stay away.
~ Derek Curiel...the power never developed, but the hit tool did recover, I think a team will take him higher than he's rated at the moment. Hopefully not the Cards. There's much better options @13, imo.
~ Cameron Flukey stock is starting to drop across all boards and mocks, but that's due to injury....he returns tomorrow for Coast Carolina after missing 2 months with a rib injury. Flukey and Flora were thought to be the best pitchers in the NCAA entering the season. Flukey dueled famously with Kade Anderson in the College World Series championship series. If he's healthy and pitching well enough, he'll shed the mid 1st round ratings and push himself back into the Top 6 or 7.
~ Tyler Spangler...was looking like the 3rd best Prep player in the draft in February and March, but has fallen out of favor. As to why? I'm not sure. I know his team self-suspended themselves for 6 or 7 games, but I haven't heard much about him since I read that 2 months ago.
~ Justin Lebron and he's probably still falling.... the knock on him last year was he struggled mightily vs. SEC pitching. He's even worse this year....he's stealing bases, more than last year, but he can't hit or average or power against SEC pitching....I think he's going the way of Vance Honeycutt (2024) and Jace LaViolette (2025)..... 4 Tool player, but he's missing the important one, HIT....and his draft stock will suffer for it. I expect he's late 1st round now.
~ Gabe Gaeckle...lost his starting job (Arkansas friday night ace) and is now a piggy backer on Sundays/Saturdays....that'll cost him several million in signing bonus.

--------------

Rising Stars

There's is some GREAT PITCHING Happening out west.

~ Mason Edwards (USC) ~ destroying the Big10
~ Logan Reddemann (UCLA) ~ destroying the Big10 and Big West and all the early season tourney opponents.
~ Jackson Flora (UCSB) ~ he could legit go #1 if the White Sox are looking to save some money for later in the draft?
~ Cole Carlon (ASU) ~ biggest riser for pitching....all the way to #15 on the PG board.
~ Cade Townsend (Ole Miss)~ 4 to 5 pitch mix. Quality stuff.

Hitters rising

~ Aiden Robbins (Texas)...on fire all year. Successful transition from Seton Hall to SEC play. CF....smashing the ball.
~ Caden Sorrell (A&M)...on fire all year, too. CF.
~ Logan Hughes (Texas Tech)...LF/1B...he has 2 things going for him, not many people are hotter than him with the bat and he hits for power. Sucks in the field, but big bats play in LF.
~ Ryder Helfrick...pundits love catchers that can hit. I don't know if he can hit, but pundits seem to think he can hit better than had been. .290 average is better than his previous years, but that doesn't knock my knees, nor drop the drawers. Hard pass, but he's a name to be familiar with....pundits are loving him.
~ Jarren Advincula ...I think it helps and inflates your standing when you're batting between Drew Buress and Vahn Lackey on the #1 offense in the nation...Georgia Tech. The Cal transfer is batting well over .400 and he may take All-American honors, and maybe a few other hitting awards.


Prep on the rise

Trevor Condon, CF, Etowah HS (GA).... Kiley McDaniels (ESPN) describes as the hottest hitter in recent weeks in HS. And links the Cardinals to him. Word is he's probably vaulting even higher than PG's #30 ranking. Expect to see his name more as more mocks come forth over the next few weeks.

Blake Bowen, CF/OF, Jesuit HS (CA)...same as Condon...stock rising rapidly, and the Cardinals have scouted him extensively.

If Cameron Flukey falls to us, it’s because the Pope is a White Sox fan and hates the Cubs

[craviduce]

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/Vi ... icle=24279

Perfect Game put out their new Draft Board....expanding it to Top 400. Great tool for you use and follow whose stock has risen and whose stock has fallen.

-----

My take on the coming and going in college/hs baseball.

Falling Stars

~ Liam Peterson out of the Top 10, to maybe out of the 1st round? Another LIAM that is a PROJECT...stay away, Chaim, stay away.
~ Derek Curiel...the power never developed, but the hit tool did recover, I think a team will take him higher than he's rated at the moment. Hopefully not the Cards. There's much better options @13, imo.
~ Cameron Flukey stock is starting to drop across all boards and mocks, but that's due to injury....he returns tomorrow for Coast Carolina after missing 2 months with a rib injury. Flukey and Flora were thought to be the best pitchers in the NCAA entering the season. Flukey dueled famously with Kade Anderson in the College World Series championship series. If he's healthy and pitching well enough, he'll shed the mid 1st round ratings and push himself back into the Top 6 or 7.
~ Tyler Spangler...was looking like the 3rd best Prep player in the draft in February and March, but has fallen out of favor. As to why? I'm not sure. I know his team self-suspended themselves for 6 or 7 games, but I haven't heard much about him since I read that 2 months ago.
~ Justin Lebron and he's probably still falling.... the knock on him last year was he struggled mightily vs. SEC pitching. He's even worse this year....he's stealing bases, more than last year, but he can't hit or average or power against SEC pitching....I think he's going the way of Vance Honeycutt (2024) and Jace LaViolette (2025)..... 4 Tool player, but he's missing the important one, HIT....and his draft stock will suffer for it. I expect he's late 1st round now.
~ Gabe Gaeckle...lost his starting job (Arkansas friday night ace) and is now a piggy backer on Sundays/Saturdays....that'll cost him several million in signing bonus.

--------------

Rising Stars

There's is some GREAT PITCHING Happening out west.

~ Mason Edwards (USC) ~ destroying the Big10
~ Logan Reddemann (UCLA) ~ destroying the Big10 and Big West and all the early season tourney opponents.
~ Jackson Flora (UCSB) ~ he could legit go #1 if the White Sox are looking to save some money for later in the draft?
~ Cole Carlon (ASU) ~ biggest riser for pitching....all the way to #15 on the PG board.
~ Cade Townsend (Ole Miss)~ 4 to 5 pitch mix. Quality stuff.

Hitters rising

~ Aiden Robbins (Texas)...on fire all year. Successful transition from Seton Hall to SEC play. CF....smashing the ball.
~ Caden Sorrell (A&M)...on fire all year, too. CF.
~ Logan Hughes (Texas Tech)...LF/1B...he has 2 things going for him, not many people are hotter than him with the bat and he hits for power. Sucks in the field, but big bats play in LF.
~ Ryder Helfrick...pundits love catchers that can hit. I don't know if he can hit, but pundits seem to think he can hit better than had been. .290 average is better than his previous years, but that doesn't knock my knees, nor drop the drawers. Hard pass, but he's a name to be familiar with....pundits are loving him.
~ Jarren Advincula ...I think it helps and inflates your standing when you're batting between Drew Buress and Vahn Lackey on the #1 offense in the nation...Georgia Tech. The Cal transfer is batting well over .400 and he may take All-American honors, and maybe a few other hitting awards.


Prep on the rise

Trevor Condon, CF, Etowah HS (GA).... Kiley McDaniels (ESPN) describes as the hottest hitter in recent weeks in HS. And links the Cardinals to him. Word is he's probably vaulting even higher than PG's #30 ranking. Expect to see his name more as more mocks come forth over the next few weeks.

Blake Bowen, CF/OF, Jesuit HS (CA)...same as Condon...stock rising rapidly, and the Cardinals have scouted him extensively.

If Cameron Flukey falls to us, it’s because the Pope is a White Sox fan and hates the Cubs

Flukey with a successful return outing after 2 months on the mend with a rib injury. 2 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. And I agree if he wouldn't fall to us.

Someone (college player) will fall to us, maybe more than one someone.

I was just commenting on the recent draft boards/mocks having him either out of the Top 10 or just inside it. He's Top 5 pick, imo...now will the draft fall that way? I'm not sure. Lombard's stock should've fallen, but he's held tight in the Top 10. Seems to be gaining more traction. Buress isn't hitting for power after 2 stellar seasons with plenty of power, but he's hitting really well otherwise and he's staying Top 10, too...while Curiel has plummeted (strange b/c he's got an excellent hit tool)

Anyways, CC has their Friday Ace back, will he get the spot back? Or stay on Sunday duty? Now if they can get their Saturday Ace back, they'd be a favorite again in the CWS. They have 4 or 5 starting pitchers that can compete with any team.

[Talkin' Baseball]

Here's my theory: We all know the Cardinals already have 6 of the top 86 picks in the draft- what if they could add 2 more Comp A and 2 more Comp B's and have 10 the top 86 picks? We could just call the whole thing "The Cardinal Draft". Don't get too hung up on the names, concentrate on the concept. It could look something like this

Teams with Comp A picks: Guardians (29), Royals (30), Diamondbacks (31), Orioles (33), and Pirates (34). I'm assuming the Guardians won't trade their pick no matter what. The others could.
-The Royals may decide they aren't in it enough to trade, but for now let's assume the would consider it. What do they need? 2B, and an offensive OF at any position. Saggese (9.1) for the pick + a minor player or Nootbaar (9.2) for the pick and a player, or Gorman (a 2B?) for the pick and a player.
- The Orioles and Diamondbacks both need relief pitching and especially left handed relief pitching. Offer them each Romero for the pick.
-The Pirates need a catcher, 3B, and a defensive CF. Offer Scott (12.1) for the pick (5) Kristian Curtis (4,2), and Tony Blanco Jr (3.1) or Gorman for the pick and player(s). If they got Scott they could move their butcher (Cruz) out of CF and Scott could back their excellent pitching with his excellent defense. Cruz could replace Ozuna (who has been awful) as DH.

The Comp B picks belong to the Red Sox (67), Tigers (69), Reds (70), Marlins (71), A's (72), and Twins (73). I'm going to assume the Reds won't trade us their pick.
- The Red Sox would trade their pick. but it's hard to say right now what they will need, or if they will be out of the race by July.
- The Tigers will have lots of needs by the deadline. Their pitching already looks thin (they will also lose 4 starting pitchers to free agency. Their bullpen is thin already as well. As a minor deal you could send Pallante (6.1) for the pick and a minor player, or if you wanted to go bigger, you could offer Liberatore (12.6) and O'Brien (7.9 and growing) for Josue Briceno (21.3) and the pick.
- The Marlins would be hard to deal with. They are prospect hoarders. If they are in the race, they need a 1B.
- The A's need a 3B, starting pitching, and bullpen help. Offer Gorman (8.1) and Pallante (6.1) for Devin Taylor (8.4) and their pick.
- The Twins may not be in it enough to make a trade like this. If they are, they need a 1B and bullpen help. If they are not, perhaps they would entertain a trade for a catcher, as Ryan Jeffers will be headed to free agency for them and this trade might allow them to move him.

Any trades like these would need to be made by early July, as the draft is at least 3 weeks before the trade deadline. Two A's and two B's would be a tall order.

[craviduce]

Prepbaseball's May Mock is out....they give the free-falling Vance Honeycutt, Jace LaViolette, Justin Lebron to the Cardinals.

Basically.... the best tooled player in the draft missing that 1 important tool .... HIT. Honeycutt (2024) and LaViolette (2025) eventually went in the late 1st round, but both were early 1st round mock darlings entering their respective draft seasons, with LaViolette mock 1a for much of the Spring.

Honeycutt is hitting .188 in his 3rd stint in High A ball in the Orioles organization. Top defense in CF, around 30 SB a year and a 40-50% K rate.

LaViolette is hitting .203 in High A ball in the Guardians organization with a 44% K rate. Good defense in the OF, speed to boot.

Lebron is enjoying his 2nd year in a row of anemic play vs. SEC pitching. Midweek and earlier in the season, he hit well vs. non-SEC teams....but his poor conference play has dropped him to a .260 average on the season....12 HR, 30 SB, excellent defense at SS.

HARD PASS on Lebron...we can do much better. Same with Lombard if he drops like I think he will.

[craviduce]

Prepbaseball complete mock....multiple pictures, sorry

[craviduce]

Prepbaseball does mock us Jarren Advincula. Middle infielder from Georgia Tech. He's had the honor of batting between Vahn Lackey and Drew Burress all season...both of those players will likely go Top 10 in the draft, with Lackey a likely Top 5 pick.

Advincula is batting a robust .422 on the year, and an OPS just over 1.100. good for a 144 wRC+. Superior protection sandwiched between those 2 studs.

He's going to hit in the majors...he was superb contact hitter with Cal-Berkley in 2024 and 2025 before transferring to GA Tech.

I wouldn't be disappointed at all with Advincula.

[Strummer Jones]

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/Vi ... icle=24279

Perfect Game put out their new Draft Board....expanding it to Top 400. Great tool for you use and follow whose stock has risen and whose stock has fallen.

-----

My take on the coming and going in college/hs baseball.

Falling Stars

~ Liam Peterson out of the Top 10, to maybe out of the 1st round? Another LIAM that is a PROJECT...stay away, Chaim, stay away.
~ Derek Curiel...the power never developed, but the hit tool did recover, I think a team will take him higher than he's rated at the moment. Hopefully not the Cards. There's much better options @13, imo.
~ Cameron Flukey stock is starting to drop across all boards and mocks, but that's due to injury....he returns tomorrow for Coast Carolina after missing 2 months with a rib injury. Flukey and Flora were thought to be the best pitchers in the NCAA entering the season. Flukey dueled famously with Kade Anderson in the College World Series championship series. If he's healthy and pitching well enough, he'll shed the mid 1st round ratings and push himself back into the Top 6 or 7.
~ Tyler Spangler...was looking like the 3rd best Prep player in the draft in February and March, but has fallen out of favor. As to why? I'm not sure. I know his team self-suspended themselves for 6 or 7 games, but I haven't heard much about him since I read that 2 months ago.
~ Justin Lebron and he's probably still falling.... the knock on him last year was he struggled mightily vs. SEC pitching. He's even worse this year....he's stealing bases, more than last year, but he can't hit or average or power against SEC pitching....I think he's going the way of Vance Honeycutt (2024) and Jace LaViolette (2025)..... 4 Tool player, but he's missing the important one, HIT....and his draft stock will suffer for it. I expect he's late 1st round now.
~ Gabe Gaeckle...lost his starting job (Arkansas friday night ace) and is now a piggy backer on Sundays/Saturdays....that'll cost him several million in signing bonus.

--------------

Rising Stars

There's is some GREAT PITCHING Happening out west.

~ Mason Edwards (USC) ~ destroying the Big10
~ Logan Reddemann (UCLA) ~ destroying the Big10 and Big West and all the early season tourney opponents.
~ Jackson Flora (UCSB) ~ he could legit go #1 if the White Sox are looking to save some money for later in the draft?
~ Cole Carlon (ASU) ~ biggest riser for pitching....all the way to #15 on the PG board.
~ Cade Townsend (Ole Miss)~ 4 to 5 pitch mix. Quality stuff.

Hitters rising

~ Aiden Robbins (Texas)...on fire all year. Successful transition from Seton Hall to SEC play. CF....smashing the ball.
~ Caden Sorrell (A&M)...on fire all year, too. CF.
~ Logan Hughes (Texas Tech)...LF/1B...he has 2 things going for him, not many people are hotter than him with the bat and he hits for power. Sucks in the field, but big bats play in LF.
~ Ryder Helfrick...pundits love catchers that can hit. I don't know if he can hit, but pundits seem to think he can hit better than had been. .290 average is better than his previous years, but that doesn't knock my knees, nor drop the drawers. Hard pass, but he's a name to be familiar with....pundits are loving him.
~ Jarren Advincula ...I think it helps and inflates your standing when you're batting between Drew Buress and Vahn Lackey on the #1 offense in the nation...Georgia Tech. The Cal transfer is batting well over .400 and he may take All-American honors, and maybe a few other hitting awards.


Prep on the rise

Trevor Condon, CF, Etowah HS (GA).... Kiley McDaniels (ESPN) describes as the hottest hitter in recent weeks in HS. And links the Cardinals to him. Word is he's probably vaulting even higher than PG's #30 ranking. Expect to see his name more as more mocks come forth over the next few weeks.

Blake Bowen, CF/OF, Jesuit HS (CA)...same as Condon...stock rising rapidly, and the Cardinals have scouted him extensively.

If Cameron Flukey falls to us, it’s because the Pope is a White Sox fan and hates the Cubs

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

I like those prep CF's at the bottom. I want to go upside with this draft. I've got a lot of faith in the new system down on the farm, so I feel much more comfortable swinging big at least once or twice.

[craviduce]

mlb.com updated their Draft Board Rankings to 200 players, and adjusted their rankings with March and April results in mind.

enjoy...good tool to see who we could be targeting. A lot of Prep Pitchers are forcing their way into the Top 30. And college OF pool is deep, and the College pitching pool is getting crowded in the 1st round and Competitive Balance Round through #40.

we "Should" do well on day 1 of the draft (first 4 rounds)

Callis and Mayo didn't drop Lebron and Peterson like they should've...but the rest of their rankings resembles this Spring and Fall/Winter.

Zion Rose is on fire, was hurt twice entering the season with Louisville, but is now healthy and has shot up every new draft board. Gone are my fantasies of snagging him with the Donovan picks (68/72). Logan Hughes is gaining major traction as an elite hitter in the OF/1B with Texas Tech. So is his teammate, Caden Ferraro. MLB.com doesn't list either right now, but other publications do.

I'll link their fangraphs page

Advincula : https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jarre ... ts/batting

Hughes : https://www.fangraphs.com/players/logan ... ts/batting

Ferraro : https://www.fangraphs.com/players/caden ... ts/batting

[craviduce]

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/Vi ... icle=24279

Perfect Game put out their new Draft Board....expanding it to Top 400. Great tool for you use and follow whose stock has risen and whose stock has fallen.

-----

My take on the coming and going in college/hs baseball.

Falling Stars

~ Liam Peterson out of the Top 10, to maybe out of the 1st round? Another LIAM that is a PROJECT...stay away, Chaim, stay away.
~ Derek Curiel...the power never developed, but the hit tool did recover, I think a team will take him higher than he's rated at the moment. Hopefully not the Cards. There's much better options @13, imo.
~ Cameron Flukey stock is starting to drop across all boards and mocks, but that's due to injury....he returns tomorrow for Coast Carolina after missing 2 months with a rib injury. Flukey and Flora were thought to be the best pitchers in the NCAA entering the season. Flukey dueled famously with Kade Anderson in the College World Series championship series. If he's healthy and pitching well enough, he'll shed the mid 1st round ratings and push himself back into the Top 6 or 7.
~ Tyler Spangler...was looking like the 3rd best Prep player in the draft in February and March, but has fallen out of favor. As to why? I'm not sure. I know his team self-suspended themselves for 6 or 7 games, but I haven't heard much about him since I read that 2 months ago.
~ Justin Lebron and he's probably still falling.... the knock on him last year was he struggled mightily vs. SEC pitching. He's even worse this year....he's stealing bases, more than last year, but he can't hit or average or power against SEC pitching....I think he's going the way of Vance Honeycutt (2024) and Jace LaViolette (2025)..... 4 Tool player, but he's missing the important one, HIT....and his draft stock will suffer for it. I expect he's late 1st round now.
~ Gabe Gaeckle...lost his starting job (Arkansas friday night ace) and is now a piggy backer on Sundays/Saturdays....that'll cost him several million in signing bonus.

--------------

Rising Stars

There's is some GREAT PITCHING Happening out west.

~ Mason Edwards (USC) ~ destroying the Big10
~ Logan Reddemann (UCLA) ~ destroying the Big10 and Big West and all the early season tourney opponents.
~ Jackson Flora (UCSB) ~ he could legit go #1 if the White Sox are looking to save some money for later in the draft?
~ Cole Carlon (ASU) ~ biggest riser for pitching....all the way to #15 on the PG board.
~ Cade Townsend (Ole Miss)~ 4 to 5 pitch mix. Quality stuff.

Hitters rising

~ Aiden Robbins (Texas)...on fire all year. Successful transition from Seton Hall to SEC play. CF....smashing the ball.
~ Caden Sorrell (A&M)...on fire all year, too. CF.
~ Logan Hughes (Texas Tech)...LF/1B...he has 2 things going for him, not many people are hotter than him with the bat and he hits for power. Sucks in the field, but big bats play in LF.
~ Ryder Helfrick...pundits love catchers that can hit. I don't know if he can hit, but pundits seem to think he can hit better than had been. .290 average is better than his previous years, but that doesn't knock my knees, nor drop the drawers. Hard pass, but he's a name to be familiar with....pundits are loving him.
~ Jarren Advincula ...I think it helps and inflates your standing when you're batting between Drew Buress and Vahn Lackey on the #1 offense in the nation...Georgia Tech. The Cal transfer is batting well over .400 and he may take All-American honors, and maybe a few other hitting awards.


Prep on the rise

Trevor Condon, CF, Etowah HS (GA).... Kiley McDaniels (ESPN) describes as the hottest hitter in recent weeks in HS. And links the Cardinals to him. Word is he's probably vaulting even higher than PG's #30 ranking. Expect to see his name more as more mocks come forth over the next few weeks.

Blake Bowen, CF/OF, Jesuit HS (CA)...same as Condon...stock rising rapidly, and the Cardinals have scouted him extensively.

If Cameron Flukey falls to us, it’s because the Pope is a White Sox fan and hates the Cubs

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

I like those prep CF's at the bottom. I want to go upside with this draft. I've got a lot of faith in the new system down on the farm, so I feel much more comfortable swinging big at least once or twice.

yessir...I've become Condon and Bowen fans this spring. Upside with Bats and Pitching...I wouldn't mind