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The Major League Baseball draft is officially a month away, so it’s time to start stepping up the draft coverage. Jimmy and Josh have provided initial looks at the draft class, but the top 10 seems to shift weekly.
All three of the standard outlets agree at the very top. Baseball America, MLB.com and Keith Law have Louisville pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay going to the Twins at the top, and prep righty Hunter Greene going to Cincinnati at No. 2.
After that, it’s some combination of California prep shortstop Royce Lewis, Vanderbilt righty Kyle Right and North Carolina prep lefty MacKenzie Gore. And after that, it opens up quite a bit.
We’ll have a better sense over the coming weeks of who might be available when the White Sox pick at No. 11, but the most current drafts at a month out will help provide a baseline of sorts.
Baseball America
Jordon Adell OF, Ballard HS, Louisville
The toolsy outfielder Adell is one of the more divisive top prospects on the list — especially if you’re a Patreon supporter who heard friend of the podcast Jim Callis talk about him a couple weeks ago. He’s No. 6 on Keith Law’s list, No. 8 on BA’s top draft prospect list, and 22nd on the MLB Pipeline list, although part of that may be due to a slow start to his spring.
BA says the Sox would go for Gore if he were available. In this scenario, the Diamondbacks selected Gore at No. 7. But this draft is from April 21, so that kind of intel may not be all that fresh.
Keith Law
Pavin Smith, 1B, Virginia
Law posted his first draft on Thursday, so this is fresher. In a draft short on collegiate stars, Law calls Smith “the safest of the safe guys. He has been among the hardest Division I hitters to strike out, with just seven strikeouts through 47 games and 183 at-bats through May 2. He also makes hard contact and shows some power.”
There isn’t a whole lot of argument about Smith’s bat, as he’s either seventh or eighth on the prospect lists. In this scenario, Adell went to the Angels a pick earlier.
MLB.com
Adam Haseley, OF, Virginia
And Callis’ draft is the most recent of them all, as his went up early this morning. He says the Sox seem “destined to wind up with an outfielder,” citing North Carolina prep prospect Austin Beck (ninth to Brewers) and Vanderbilt outfielder Jeren Kendall (14th to Royals) as possibilities. Haseley ranks 11th to 14th on the list, but has some upside as a college outfielder because he’s still a two-way player, and he has an inside-out swing due to Virginia’s home ballpark.