Winners
1. Rockies: The Rockies were the team to most benefit from the Orioles taking Heston Kjerstad #2 causing top 5 talent Zac Veen to fall to them at pick #9. With their second pick on day 1 the Rockies took Drew Romo. Romo is a switch hitting defensive minded cacther with sneeky pop.
2. Blue Jays: In my final mock draft I had the Blue Jays taking Max Meyer. Since the Orioles opted to take Kjerstad and the Marlins opted to taking Meyer. Asa Lacy fell right in the Royals lap. Leaving the Blue Jays to take Austin Martin who is considered the #2 prospect in this draft class by most.
3. Royals: Even though they passed on a top talent in Austin Martin for Asa Lacy they still got a very good value at pick #4. Lacy was linked to the Marlins and was considerd the consensus top pitcher in the draft. With their second pick they selected Baylor shortstop Nick Loftin. He has a bat that will be able to play as he rises through the minors the question is what kind of power output will he bring to the table. Loftin also is a very advanced defender that will likely stick at shortstop.
4. Pirates: The Pirates got a value at pick #7 with Nick Gonzales an offensive minded second baseman out of New Mexico state. He fell due to the fact that teams above the Pirates had pitchers ranked higher than Gonzales due to his defensive issues. With their second pick on day one they opted for right handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski. He struggled in his first two college seasons but after his stuff ticked up in the summer he still has some questions. The cancellation of the college season hurt him a lot and possibly would have been a top 20 pick if he had played a full college season.
5. Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks drafted two advanced college starting pitchers that will be able to rise through the minor leagues quickly. Jarvis isn’t far from being in my top 100 prospects if he can just show that the the uptick in velocity wasn’t a fluke. Cecconi has a solid Fastball/Slider combo but has some control questions which also lead to some reliever risk.
6. Rays: The Rays landed Nick Bitsko with pick #24. Bitsko was considered a top 5 overall talent in the 2021 draft class until he reclassified. Since he reclassified scouts weren’t able to get good looks on him before the cancellation of his season which caused some teams to pull him off their boards. Bitsko has a ton of risk involved with him but has one of the highest ceilings in the class. They also took Alika Williams with their second pick on day one. Alika is a very sound defender with good actions and average hit tool that can improve with time.
7. Padres: The Padres drafted the best pure hitter in the draft class in Robert Hassell with their first pick. Hassell has the chance to be a very valuable player with his fielding and advanced hit tool. The Padres also drafted Justin Lange who has one of the best fastballs in the draft with a slider that flashed plus at times. His control is the biggest concern but he has huge potential and the Padres have been very good at developing pitching prospects.
Losers
1. Red Sox: Although Nick Yorke has a very advanced hit tool and would’ve been a riser if there was a season it was a bit of a reach. He likely ends up at second base and not shortstop but this could’ve been a pick to save money. With that being said this pick surprised a lot of people.
2. Rangers: Although Justin Foscue was underrated I still like Aaron Sabato in this spot more. He has more offensive potential and although Foscue could end up at shortstop he likely ends up as a offensive minded second baseman.
