The 2017 MLB Draft starts Monday and the collaboration between D1 Baseball and Prep Baseball Report continues with our “experts’ draft.” Frankie Piliere and Nathan Rode alternated taking picks in the first round, as if they were the scouting directors of the teams. This is not a mock draft, forecasting what teams will do based on intel. Rather, it’s what our experts would do if given the reigns of the respective organizations. We will be releasing our latest mock draft on Friday morning.
1. TWINS (Frankie): I waited half the spring for Kyle Wright (Vanderbilt) to look like the number one pick he was destined to be. Down the stretch, he caught fire and made this pick much easier to make. Hunter Greene (Notre Dame HS, CA) is a gifted talent, but is not the polished product I’d want for this level of investment. Wright is the perfect balance of professional-readiness and electric stuff. PICK: KYLE WRIGHT
2. REDS (Nathan): This is a tough year to be picking number one, with little separation between several choices. The number two choice isn’t much easier, but there is obviously one less option on the board. LHP/1B Brendan McKay (Louisville), LHP MacKenzie Gore (Whiteville HS, NC) and SS Royce Lewis (JSerra HS, CA) are worthy choices here, but I’m having a hard time ignoring the athleticism and upside of Hunter Greene. The track record for high school arms with an 80 fastball is poor, but I’ll gamble on Greene’s athleticism allowing him to be the exception as opposed to the rule. PICK: HUNTER GREENE
3. PADRES (Frankie): I’m going against the grain a little on this one and taking Lewis. I think he has the most dynamic, ready-to-turn-pro tools in the high school class. In other words, he’s the impact talent on the board that excites me the most. Gore is tempting and it could be what San Diego actually will do, but Lewis’ tools are just too dynamic to pass up. PICK: ROYCE LEWIS
4. RAYS (Nathan): Two of the top five guys on the board are left. I was holding my breath to see who Frankie would take third and exhaled a little when he picked Lewis. He’s one of my favorite players in the class, but I was targeting Gore. His floor isn’t as high as McKay’s, but I like Gore’s ceiling more. He’s athletic with four pitches that all look to be at least average down the road. PICK: MACKENZIE GORE
5. BRAVES (Frankie): It’s time to stop the McKay slide. And seeing that I’m picking with a National League team, I’d try to let McKay stick as a two-way player for as long as possible. I thought for a moment about Pavin Smith (Virginia) here because, to me, he’s still the best hitter in the class. However, McKay’s two-way value, and easy to project lefty profile on the mound is just too enticing to pass on. PICK: BRENDAN MCKAY
6. ATHLETICS (Nathan): For this pick, it really came down to two names—Smith and RHP J.B. Bukauskas (North Carolina)—and I went back and forth, arguing with myself. I also had a long consultation with my special advisor, Shooter Hunt. Bukauskas is the best college arm available at this point and you can never have enough pitching. However, I’m also a believer in drafting for need is permissible if that need reasonably crosses with best available. The A’s have some young pitching in the big leagues and more in the minor leagues. You can certainly defend Smith being best available here and it’s hard to fi