The following is an early prediction of the 2011 draft. I am creating this way too early considering the draft order and supplemental picks will not be decided for at least another six months. There is no way to make any kind of accurate prediction regarding who teams will actually pick at this point (or on draft day, usually), so rather than a mock draft, the following is just a ranking of the draft’s top players appearing alongside an early prediction of next year’s draft order excluding supplemental picks.
In other words, this might the last time you read several of these names. Nevertheless, I had so much fun creating the 2010 profiles that I wanted to provide a quick overview of some of the top players in the 2011 draft. This draft class looks to be RIDICULOUSLY deep, especially with pitching. I really like Jackie Bradley, and to a lesser degree, B.A. Vollmuth, but it should be noted Bradley is generally seen as a mid-first rounder and Vollmuth at #6 might be a little high. We’ll create a “2011 mock draft” tab after signing day, and at some point, we’ll start creating profiles earlier to cover next year’s draft in greater detail.
1. Baltimore Orioles Anthony Rendon 3B, Rice University
2. Pittsburgh Pirates Jackie Bradley, Jr. OF, South Carolina
3. Houston Astros Gerrit Cole P, UCLA
4. Seattle Mariners Matthew Purke P, TCU
5. Arizona Diamondbacks Travis Harrison 1B, Orange County, CA
6. Cleveland Indians B.A. Vollmuth SS, Southern Mississippi
7. Kansas City Royals Daniel Norris P, Johnson City, Tennessee
8. Milwaukee Brewers Sonny Gray P, Vanderbilt University
9. Chicago Cubs Taylor Jungmann P, University of Texas
10. Chicago White Sox Dylan Bundy P/IF, Tulsa, Oklahoma
11.Washington Nationals Levi Michael INF, Univ. of North Carolina
12. Florida Marlins Alex Meyer P, Univ. of Kentucky
13. Oakland Athletics Archie Bradley P, Muskogee, Oklahoma
14. Colorado Rockies Dwight Smith OF, Peachtree City, Georgia
15. Detroit Tigers Jack Armstrong P, Vanderbilt University
16. Toronto Blue Jays Danny Hultzen P, Univ. of Virginia
17. New York Mets Preston Tucker 1B, Univ. of Florida
18. Philadelphia Phillies Jett Bandy C, University of Arizona
19. Los Angeles Angels Ryan Carpenter P, Gonzaga
20. San Francisco Giants Logan Verrett P, Baylor
21. Texas Rangers Nick Delmonico C, Knoxville, Tennessee
22. Los Angeles Dodgers Mickie Mahtook OF, LSU
23. St. Louis Cardinals Deshorn Lake P, Mechville, Virginia
24. Cincinnati Reds Zach Cone OF, University of Georgia
25. San Diego Padres Zack MacPhee 2B, Arizona State
26. Boston Red Sox Trevor Bauer P, UCLA
27. Minnesota Twins Deion Williams SS, Stone Mountain, GA
28. Tampa Bay Rays Matt Barnes P, Connecticut
29. Atlanta Braves Dante Bichette 3B, Orlando Florida
30. New York Yankees Chase Davidson 1B, Georgia