Jonathan Mayo from MLB Pipeline posted his first round projections for the 2018 amateur draft, which starts in 34 days. The Pittsburgh Pirates will have the tenth overall selection on day one of the draft and Mayo has them taking Wisconsin high school outfielder Jarred Kelenic.
We covered Kelenic in depth here back in February during our first week of draft coverage. That’s because he was consistently ranked around the tenth spot for everyone who was doing early rankings for this draft class. Kelenic has maintained that high spot for everyone this spring, recently going 13th overall in the latest Baseball America mock draft. BA had the Pirates taking high school shortstop Brice Turang in that mock. He is projected to go 16th on this new Pipeline list.
Mayo calls Kelenic “the best prep bat in the country, with solid all-around tools”. He’s a lefty bat, listed at 6’1″, 196 pounds. Kelenic rates at least average in all five tools, with hitting, speed and arm all being above average. He has a chance to stick in center field, or be an above average corner outfielder. Kelenic has an advanced approach at the plate and makes consistent hard contact. He also gets a lot of praise for his work ethic.
Here’s a video of him batting at a scouting event earlier this year.
