MLB Pipeline released their latest weekly mock draft, this time going with selections made by Jonathan Mayo. For the first time in a long time, the Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t taking Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee with the fourth overall pick. Mayo doesn’t have the Pirates passing on him though, he actually goes first overall in the draft to the Baltimore Orioles.
After Lee, Mayo has three high school bats off the board in a row. He has Druw Jones going second overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jackson Holliday goes third to the Texas Rangers, and then the Pirates select second baseman Termarr Johnson with the fourth pick. It’s not a new name for the Pirates overall, but it feels like it has been well over a month since the selection wasn’t Lee.
Mayo’s explanation of the picks says that the Orioles might want to go for some savings with the first pick, then spread it around later, which is basically what the Pirates did so well in 2021. He then says that with Lee gone, the Pirates could go towards the strong bat of Johnson, which is more advanced than the bat of Elijah Green, who has both more upside and risk to his pick.
Here’s our latest Draft Prospect Watch, which includes links that cover all of the players mentioned above, as well as the first three names on Mayo’s board after Johnson. We are just over a month away from the start of the draft. Our next Draft Prospect Watch article will be up on the site on Sunday morning.
