Below is our first version of a “mock draft” for 2011. It’s worth noting it’s way too early to create a mock draft because most teams have not yet begun considering who they will pick and the draft order has not even been finalized. Therefore, the list really reads like a very preliminary list of the “top 50” players to help keeper league teams taking advantage of a deep 2011 draft class. I still haven’t done much research, so I am sure many deserving players are not listed. Feedback is appreciated regarding who should (or should not) be here. Special thanks to Rivera Blues, which has been updating the draft-order, and Mack’s Mets, which does a terrific job compiling various draft-related information from across the web.
First Round
1. Pittsburgh Pirates Anthony Rendon—3B, Rice Univ.
2. Seattle Mariners Gerrit Cole—P, UCLA
3. Arizona D’backs Matthew Purke—P, TCU
4. Baltimore Orioles Bubba Starling—OF, HS (Kan)
5. Kansas City Royals Jackie Bradley, Jr.—OF, Univ. of South Carolina
6. Washington Nationals Sonny Gray—P, Vanderbilt
7. Arizona Diamondbacks Archie Bradley—P, HS (Ok.)
8. Cleveland Indians George Springer—OF, Univ. of Connecticut
9. Chicago Cubs Daniel Norris—P, HS (Tenn)
10. San Diego Padres Matt Barnes—P, Univ. of Connecticut
11. Houston Astros Taylor Jungmann—P, Univ. of Texas
12. Milwaukee Brewers Travis Harrison—OF, HS (Cal)
13. New York Mets Jack Armstrong—P, Vanderbilt
14. Florida Marlins Dylan Bundy—P, HS (Ok.)
15. Milwaukee Brewers Phil Evans—SS, HS (Cal.)
16. Los Angeles Dodgers Blake Swihart—C, HS (N.M.)
17. Los Angeles Angels Trevor Bauer—P, UCLA
18. Oakland Athletics Ricky Oporesa—1B, USC
19. Boston Red Sox Michael Kelly—P, HS (Fla.)
20. Colorado Rockies Josh Tobias—2B/OF, HS (S.C.)
21. Toronto Blue Jays Preston Tucker—1B, Univ. of Florida
22. St. Louis Cardinals Christian Lopes—SS, HS (Cal.)
23. Washington Nationals Mickie Mahtook—OF, LSU
24. Tampa Bay Rays Francisco Linder—SS, HS (Fla.)
25. San Diego Padres Henry Owens—P, HS (Cal.)
26. Texas Rangers Levi Michael—INF, Univ. of North Carolina
27. Cincinnati Reds Harold Martinez—3B, Univ. of Miami
28. Atlanta Braves Jason Esposito—INF, Vanderbilt
29. San Francisco Giants Austin Woods—P, USC
30. Minnesota Twins Dillon Howard—P, HS (Ark.)
31. New York Yankees Zach Cone—OF, Univ. of Georgia
32. Tampa Bay Rays Jose Fernandez—P, HS (Fla.)
33. Texas Rangers Matt Skole—3B, HS (Ga.)
First Round (Supplemental)
34. Washington Nationals Dwight Smith—OF, HS (Ga.)
35. Toronto Blue Jays Jed Bradley—P, Georgia Tech
36. Boston Red Sox Tyler Beede—P, HS (Mass.)
37. Texas Rangers Danny Hultzen—P, Univ. of Virginia
38. Tampa Bay Rays Alex Dickerson—OF, Univ. of Indiana
39. Philadelphia Phillies Austin Hedges—C, HS (Cal.)
40. Toronto Blue Jays Brett Mooneyham—P, Stanford
41. Chicago White Sox Alex Meyer—P, Univ. of Kentucky
42. San Diego Padres Dylan Maples—P, HS (N.C.)
43. San Francisco Giants Shawon Dunston, Jr.—OF, HS (Cal.)
44. Minnesota Twins Will Lamb—P, Clemson Univ.
45. New York Yankees Phillip Pfeifer—P, HS (Tn.)
46. Tampa Bay Rays Ryan Carpenter—P, Gonzaga Univ.
47. San Diego Padres Jake Cave—OF, HS (Va.)
48. Minnesota Twins Zach McPhee—2B, Arizona State
49. Tampa Bay Rays BA Vollmuth—SS, Southern Miss
50. San Diego Padres Peter O’Brien—C, Bethune-Cookman Univ.
In terms of potential major league talent, it is tough to beat Vanderbilt and Stanford. Both teams placed as many prospects on our top 250 list as several major league teams! It wasn’t based on bias because each school had a few more arguably deserving players who we didn’t list (Grayson Garvin, Jake Stewart, etc). One ranking I’m moderately concerned about is Jack Armstrong (we listed him about #110 on the 250 list). Aaron Fitt wrote a great college preview for BA that caused me to look at Armstrong more closely. He’s a great talent but I think the mid-90′s fastball and intriguing background caused an overly-aggressive ranking.
The 2011 draft class is unbelievable for both its talent and depth, especially considering this list (already stacked) missed an amazing number of great players. At this point, I would say the “big three” are Rendon, Cole, and Purke. But then, you have guys like Gray, Bubba Starling, Brian Goodwin (interesting sleeper), Barnes, Springer, Jungmann, etc. It’s scary to think Tampa now has about 8 first round picks!
I’d totally agree.. I’m picking Vanderbilt to reign supreme in this years College World Series.. not that I’m a fan or anything but they are loaded with top notch pitching talent.. and Esposito is no slouch at the plate for them either. Florida and UCLA will be tough outs.. but I think if anyone can knock them off its Vandy!
Brad, do you think this years draft is much deeper with talent than last years or the year before that? I think hitting-wise there is much more talent to choose from. Last years prize hitter seemed to Michael Choice, and if he were in this years class I dont think he goes mid-to-late first round if not until the Comp round. Out of this years class who are the top 2 or 3 guys to be the cream of the crop? If I were to choose I’d say Springer, Starling, and either Armstrong (based on size and athleticism, not production) or Purke.
Thanks!
I’m not particularly familiar w/ the name, but that’s not a knock on the player. We follow the draft mainly for fun and to help fantasy teams, and there were guys who went first round (Hayden Simpson, Jesse Biddle, Cito Culver, etc) I hadn’t heard of at this point last season. It’s always encouraging the Braves thought highly enough of him to draft him.
From what I can tell, the four corners area is loaded w/ catchers this year /w Blake Swihart (HS kid from New Mexico), CJ and Kevin Cron, and Bandy from the University of Arizona. As always, Arizona State has a few solid players (Zach McPhee). One random OF sleeper from the four corners I sorta like is an outfielder named Jarod Berggen from Northern Colorado. I don’t know enough to offer any conclusion, but the local stuff I’ve read about him (plus last year’s stats minus the k/bb) was impressive.
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/b/jarod-berggren.shtml
Bradley,
There was an OF player from the Dallas area that played last season out in New Mexico, Jordan Buckley. Several mlb scouts identified him as a player with huge tools and a high ceiling. He was drafted by the Braves last June but decided to play one more season I believe in Louisiana. He has a big arm an may be one of the fastest players in the updoming draft. Where does he rank on your board? He was projected as a 6th – 10th rounder last season. Where do you project him to go in this draft?
UT baseball games are always fun and it’s hard to find a team w/ more prospects than Vandy. I definitely need to learn more about Garvin. I know he rated high in the Cape League, but I’ve never seen him pitch.
Bradley is definitely the player I’ve tried to learn about the most. To me, what’s really intriguing is his defense. Most reports mention his arm strength in passing, but I’ve also seen stuff claiming he’s been clocked throwing 103 from the outfield. I don’t know much about throwing velocities from the OF (or if the report is accurate), but the only person I’ve ever heard of clocked that high throwing from the OF was Jarred Cosart. Combining that much arm strength w/ his athleticism is a pretty unbelievable, especially considering he posts an awesome k/bb ratio w/ decent power potential. He would be a perfect fit for the Astros in Minute Maid, so hopefully, he’ll still be around w/ the 11th pick.
Bradley’s athleticism still helps him stay close to where you have him. I did see the same thing about Brian Goodwin and from all accounts, he should be in the mix in the top half of the first round.Toolsy…
I went down to Austin a couple of months ago to watch the UT/Vandy scrimmage and although it was most definitely a small sample size, boy is that Vandy team loaded with talents. Gray was the real deal(gas, movement, nasty deuce) and I was very impressed with both Grayson Garvin(pitcher) and also Aaron Westlake(1b)..Armstrong did not pitch…Esposito should be a good one also…Good times
Great input on Holaday. Even with the concerns, he definitely did tons to help his team win games. Objectively, my guess is he’ll make the majors as backup catcher. But I think Detroit will end up really happy w/ the pick.
For me, one of the toughest parts about ranking the college players is trying not to overvalue the well-known guys. In this draft, I probably have Jackie Bradley, Jr. a few spots too high for the same reason I think the Tigers got a great deal drafting Holaday. Springer probably has the higher ceiling, but I’d have a difficult time not taking Bradley.
Bradley,
Holaday is everything that’s right with baseball.He single-handedly was the leader of that squad. I honestly don’t know how well he will do with a wooden bat though.There seems to me a reason he stayed thru his senior year; but I really am rooting for him and his stats indicate he still had a good eye at high A in Lakeland…This article really speaks to his “intangibles”..
http://yourhometeamsucks.blogspot.com/2010/06/tcu-baseball-why-bryan-holoday-is.html
He has some good skills that translate well to the MLB level, plus arm, good gap power. I think there is a great possibility that he could be a serviceable starting candidate in the Show…especially in Detroit.His ceiling is somewhat limited imo…
Great input and thanks for stopping by! TCU will definitely be fun to watch this year. They’ve done an amazing job building up their program. I’ll definitely watch out for Coats. From watching TCU games, what is your opinion of Bryan Holaday? He’s a guy who always impressed me, but I only watched a few of their games. Do you think the Tigers got a good deal drafting him in the middle rounds?
FYI, there’s another great sleeper who just became eligible for the 2011 draft: Brian Goodwin. Goodwin was a freshman at UNC, but he just announced he’s transferring to a JUCO to become draft-eligible. Saw something that said he’s a prospect on the same level as Starling, Springer, and Jackie Bradley, so he’s definitely worth considering in the deep keeper leagues.
Bradley,
I attend TCU games and Coates imo should be a top 3 round pick. He has an excellent bat and considering how well he hits, I could even see him surpassing Winkler…They should be a fun team to watch this year…Coats will be one of the better corner OFs in this draft.Just stumbled on to this site…hope to be back!! Hook em!
I wish I was more familiar w/ those players than I am, but my research is still pretty preliminary. I’m familiar w/ Coats from watching TCU baseball. I think Purke and Winkler will be the two highest-picked players on that team, but Coats should definitely get drafted. I’m not familiar w/ Hinson. I googled him and saw he’s a RS sophomore who missed last season w/ an injury. I’ll definitely watch out for him.
I also googled Cole Kraft. Last season’s #’s looked really solid. He’s going into his senior year and I’m not sure he got picked last year. From what I could tell, his numbers looked good so maybe he’ll get some additional attention his senior year if his team performs well.
I know maybe he isnt known to many people… but this UW-Milwaukee team is on the rise.. what do you think about SS – Cole Kraft? He was a small town product from a neighboring town near to where I live.. kid was a stud in high school. Any chance of being drafted?
Nice!! Thanks for the post guys!
Where would you see guys like 3B – John Hinson, Clemson and OF – Jason Coats, TCU going in the draft? 6th maybe 7th rounds?
Out of all the guys you have listed does Travis Harrison have the most power potential??