With Selection Monday right around the corner, college baseball’s finest get ready to make a run not just for Omaha, but also up MLB Draft boards. Just two weeks ago, FanSided engaged in its first MLB mock draft of the season. The results were—unsurprisingly—somewhat unpredictable beyond the top 5. Yes, Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson remain the best players in this class. College bats like Vahn Lackey of Georgia Tech and Ryder Helfrick of Arkansas are on the rise. Prep pitchers, unproven by nature, could fall in a familiar pattern dating back a few years now.
If there’s one player I’ve learned not to count out in this class, it’s Justin Lebron. The Alabama standout entered the season as one of the top players on most boards right alongside Cholowsky. However, a tough spring has forced scouts to reconsider. The same can be said of many young players, most of whom have yet to become household names but will soon serve as beacons of hope for every MLB fanbase. For this mock, we had some help from FanSided MLB prospect expert Eric Cole, whose opinion you’ll find littered throughout the piece. Let’s get right to it.
1. Chicago White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 202 pounds
- Age: 21
There’s little doubt that Cholowsky, the consensus top player available, should be the first-overall pick. However, as FanSided’s Eric Cole notes, what the White Sox must consider is whether they’ll be able to afford him. This is where matters could get a bit difficult. Cholowsky is this draft’s version of Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg before him. There are few consensus No. 1 MLB Draft picks. However, Cholowsky has five-tool potential and should be considered among the elite players at his position.
The White Sox have a solid farm system thanks to three-straight 100-loss seasons. Braden Montgomery will be called up soon, and the big-league team is ahead of schedule, competing with the Guardians in the Central. By adding Cholowsky, they’d have their shortstop of the future in tow.
-Mark Powell, FanSided.com MLB content director
2. Tampa Bay Rays: Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth Christian (TX)
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 180 pounds
- Age: 18
It’s about as close as you can get to a foregone conclusion that Grady Emerson will be off the board right after Cholowsky (or maybe they flip-flop). In any case, his Fort Worth background as a high school prospect might conjure thoughts of Bobby Witt Jr. That’s probably a touch too far, if we’re being honest. However, Emerson has maturity beyond his years at the dish and scouts project him with potential 25-homer power, which is immensely valuable at the shortstop position.
For a Rays organization that has tried time and again to find a consistent answer at shortstop in the wake of the Wander Franco debacle, they might have to wait some time for the young Emerson to develop, but he certainly looks the part of a long-term answer for Tampa.
-Cody Williams, FanSided.com content director
3. Minnesota Twins: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 215 pounds
- Age: 20
The battle between Lackey and Ryder Helfrick for the top catcher in this class is well-documented. There’s a good chance both players go in the top 10. In addition to hitting the cover off the ball at Georgia Tech, he’s also a stout defender and offers everything at one of the more challenging positions in baseball. Lackey can manage a pitching staff at his young age. While the Twins don’t necessarily need a catcher thanks to Ryan Jeffers and Eduardo Tait on the farm, Lackey is undoubtedly the best player available at No. 3.
-MP
4. San Francisco Giants: Jackson Fiora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
- Height: 6-5
- Weight: 205 pounds
- Age: 20
It’d be a relative shock, per FanSided’s Eric Cole, if Fiora fell out of the top 5. He is considered the top starting pitcher in this class. That being said, the Giants are well within play for Cholowsky, whose value could force him down the board if he’d like. It’s rare that MLB teams will draft for need alone, but in this case Fiora fits need and he is the best player available at No. 4. San Francisco doesn’t have a single pitcher ranked in their top 7 prospects per MLB Pipeline.
-MP
5. Pittsburgh Pirates: Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep (FL)
- Height: 6-3
- Weight: 185 pounds
- Age: 18
As we mentioned just a few weeks ago, Lombard has some of the highest upside in this class. Were it not for Cholowsky and Emerson, he’d be the best shortstop available in a league that values middle infield depth above all else in the draft. Per Eric Cole, the Royals value what Lombard brings to the table and would certainly be interested in him if on the board. However, he fits what the Pirates are looking for as well. In the years to come, Lombard could slide in next to Konnor Griffin, which has the makings of an electric double-play combination.
-MP
6. Kansas City Royals: Eric Booth Jr., OF, Oak Grove (MS)
- Height: 6-0
- Weight: 207 pounds
- Age: 17
Assuming the Royals can’t get their hands on Lombard, Eric Booth Jr. isn’t a bad backup plan. Booth Jr. is more of a sure thing than Lombard, and should everything click—meaning his power and speed combination provides the Royals with the outfield of their dreams—he has All-Star-level upside. But while Booth Jr. is worth drooling over as an athlete alone, the question is whether he’ll be able to hit big-league pitching consistently. My money (and the Royals in this scenario) is that Booth Jr. can figure that all out with the right seasoning in KC’s minor-league system.
-MP
7. Baltimore Orioles: Sawyer Strosnider, OF, Texas Christian
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 200 pounds
- Age: 20
Stop me if you heard this one before, but the Baltimore Orioles could select a college outfielder with a ton of power from the left side. More fated than Romeo and Juliet, Sawyer Strosnider just feels like Mike Elias’ cup of tea, and that’s meant in a complimentary manner.
Not only does Strosnider have legit power from the left side, he’s a tremendous overall athlete and has put that on display throughout his collegiate career. He’s reached double-digit steals in a season and can play a solid outfield with the glove as well. While there’s still room to grow, namely when it comes to his platoon splits (which, it should be said, have been improving), the fit and the value of a high-end prospect like Strosnider make a ton of sense in this spot.
-CW
8. Athletics: Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech
- Height: 5-9
- Weight: 185 pounds
- Age: 21
Burress does everything you want for a college-aged hitter, and he’s often dwarfed in both the literal sense and production considering he plays on the same team as Lackey at Georgia Tech. But Burress is knocking the cover off the ball as the Yellow Jackets look like they’ll be a tough out in the College World Series should they make it that far. Burress is a 60-grade player in most of his tools and offers plenty of power to an A’s farm system that is also thriving in that department. On paper, it’s a solid match.
-MP
9. Atlanta Braves: Logan Reddemann, RHP, UCLA
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 185 pounds
- Age: 21
A starting pitcher makes sense for the Braves here in terms of system fit and immediate need. Reddemann has dealt with some arm fatigue of late at UCLA, and he will be tested in the postseason, where pitch count is often disregarded in the pursuit of a team goal of reaching Omaha. If Atlanta does select Reddemann, it could come at a discount, and the Braves would surely be far more careful than the Bruins have been with him of late.
-MP
10. Colorado Rockies: Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 180 pounds
- Age: 21
The Rockies should be in the business of taking the best player available, much like they were last year with Ethan Holliday. Lebron entered the calendar year as a threat to go No. 1 overall. He’s struggled at times with Alabama thanks to a poor spring. Lebron has elite power, run, arm and field tools, but often chases pitches out of the zone. If the Rockies can sure up that aspect of his game, he can become a complete player and thrive in a ballpark that ought to reward his positive tools.
-MP
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