Friday MLB Draft Rumor Roundup and Look Ahead

The first round of the draft is Monday starting at 7pm. The Phillies have the #3 pick and then no picks until the 4th round. This should be their last draft for a while picking in the single digits so not missing on the pick is a big deal. Jeff will have some more previews over the weekend, and we both will have final thoughts on Monday. Additionally the draft tracker will be up on the main page with rankings and mocks from around the internet as well as quick links to Jeff and Dan Cormican of the The Good Phights previews.

Mock drafts are not great real predictors for baseball because one pick can screw up everything, but for the Phillies at #3, they are actually not bad. Instead they give us a look at some scenarios that could play out. So here is what is coming out of recent mock drafts.

The Everything Goes To Chalk (Literally everywhere last week, BA for now)

#1 – Casey Mize
#2 – Joey Bart
#3 – Alec Bohm

For a while the rumor has been that the Phillies had zeroed in on Wichita State third baseman Alec Bohm. Bohm is considered to be the best all around college hitter in the draft class (the best pure hit tool would be Nick Madrigal), and he also comes with a track record of hitting with a wood bat. The knocks against Bohm are his college competition, and his defensive home. Right now he is an ok third baseman and some people think he will stick there, but other think his size will move him to first base eventually. His offensive tools may be louder than anyone else in the draft, but he isn’t Kris Bryant and he doesn’t have the defensive versatility of Nick Senzel.

The Giants Get Weird and The Phillies Get Bart (ESPN)

#1 – Case Mize
#2 – Cole Winn
#3 – Joey Bart

There are rumors swirling that the Tigers and Giants might try to cut a deal with their pick, and it looks like the Giants are more likely than the Tigers to do that. That what drop Georgia Tech Joey Bart to the Phillies. There is a reasonable argument that Bart is in the same group as Bohm talent wise, but the position could cause the Phillies to go with Bart here. Bart is an athletic catcher with a big arm and big power. His raw tools are below the Phillies’ current catcher, and he might have as much swing and miss. Bart has a better approach than Alfaro and just put up a 1.103 OPS in the ACC. Even if he is just Alfaro 2.0 that has a lot value on the trade market for if Jorge stumbles.

Phillies Go Small (MLB)

#1 – Casey Mize
#2 – Joey Bart
#3 – Nick Madrigal

This comes to us from Jonathan Mayo, but there was also apparently a radio hit with Jayson Stark that indicated that even with Bohm on the board the Phillies will go with the Oregon State second baseman. Madrigal is the best pure hitter in the draft and he has 5 strikeouts in 135 PA this year to go with an injury shorten season line of .395/.459/.563. The worries about Madrigal are his power (both from his size and frame) and his position (possibly second base only). He could probably be in the majors by early 2019 and could be a pretty good major leaguer fairly quickly. The problem is that the ceiling might not be there to get the kind of impact a team might want at the top of the draft.

Phillies Go With An Arm (Slightly Hinted)

#1 – Casey Mize
#2 – Joey Bart
#3 – Brady Singer

No mock has the Phillies taking Singer, he is always mentioned as their 3rd or 4th choice. Singer has the size you want from a top pitcher, and he has dominated the highest level of college competition. The worry about Singer is that while polished, his stuff is more average than special. If you see it right, he has a plus fastball and plus slider, but the fastball can be more average. He has shown some changeup development this year, and he has good command of his stuff. Some scouts also worry that his delivery will lead to large platoon splits. Unlike Aaron Nola at the same level, Singer has not flashed a plus changeup in the past or shown an innate feel for pitch manipulation. More evaluators think that that Singer will be a starter long term, but he might be a #3 or #4 starter, even if he might be that quickly.