With two months and one day left until the 2018 amateur draft begins, Baseball America posted their first mock draft. They only went to ten spots, but that was exactly enough to get in the first pick for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In our draft coverage on Saturday, we took a look at Wichita State third baseman Alec Bohm. We noted that he has been moving up the draft charts and Baseball America has him going to the Pirates with the tenth pick. Bohm is a huge player with above average power and the ability to get on base. The defense is average at best and he’s a slow runner, but the bat is a legit weapon and can carry him to a pick this high in the draft. Check the link above for a full report and video on him.
BA also mentioned three other names who are apparently trending up in the draft. They are prep right-handed pitchers Mason Denaburg and Carter Stewart, along with prep outfielder Connor Scott. Denaburg and Stewart would be slight jumps from their early rankings, but BA had them rising in their last update. Scott was ranked 41st in the class coming into the year by MLB Pipeline and BA had him 37th in their last update, which was actually 14 spots higher than his preseason ranking. Scott is a 6’4″, lanky lefty, who has tremendous defense already in center field and an above average arm. Once he fills out, there is the potential for a five-tool player with speed/defense/arm all being plus tools.
The power is below average now, but should develop as he fills out. Here’s a video from Perfect Game taken last month of Scott. He actually might be showing more power this year, which could be the reason he is moving up. His swing last year was quieter, as he was more upright and his feet barely moved, so it was an all arms swing with no load. This video below looks like a better swing. We will have more on the two prep pitchers this weekend.
