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MLB Draft: Law and McDaniel Update Mock and Rankings

By Sam Lebowitz

June 4, 2020 No comments

Justin Foscue

The 2020 MLB draft is just a week away and final projections and rankings are starting to take shape. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel updated his top 150 players ranking while the Athletic’s Keith Law released a new mock draft detailing how he feels the first 29 picks will go.

McDaniel’s top 150 is an update from a top 100 ranking he gave back on April 8th. The new ranking sees Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy jump into the top three behind Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson and Vanderbilt swiss army knife Austin Martin, who both held ground as essentially the consensus 1-A and 1-B of the class. Lacy leapfrogs New Mexico State’s Keston Hiura clone Nick Gonzales and the top prep talent of the class, Zac Veen, sliding them down to the fourth and fifth ranked positions.

McDaniel continues to rank top prep catcher Tyler Soderstrom ahead of his top college catcher counterpart Patrick Bailey. Soderstrom is difficult to truly pin down because he has an uncertain future behind home plate, and may be a third baseman moving forward. Soderstrom is ranked tenth best on the ESPN list, with the switch-hitting Bailey one spot behind. Most mock drafts have Bailey settling right around that 11th spot, where the White Sox will pick, whereas Soderstrom usually falls closer to the 20th pick.

McDaniel’s updated list also has Texas prep right-hander Jared Kelley sliding from seven all the way down to 26. In any event, the hard-throwing Kelley is likely the third high school arm off the board behind Mick Abel and Nick Bitsko, and has had some connection to the Mets in the 19th slot.

Speaking of the Mets, if McDaniel’s rankings were to be translated as a mock draft, the Mets would be taking Mississippi State infielder Justin Foscue. Foscue has risen in the recent weeks to become a possible top-15 pick. McDaniel previously ranked him 34th in April. He’s a second baseman with solid tools including decent raw power that translated into 14 home runs last year. His double play partner, Jordan Westburg, is ranked 25th, making them the best collegiate middle infield combo in the nation.

Of course, McDaniel’s rankings are not a mock. Bonuses and team preference can create a lot of separation from these lists. However, Keith Law did release a mock over at the Athletic, and there is some fairly interesting stuff to cover within it.

Law’s draft starts out how basically every mock draft starts these days: Torkelson to the Tigers followed by Martin to the Orioles followed by Lacy to the Marlins. However, Law notes he’s heard rumblings that Baltimore could be interesting cutting an underslot deal with powerful Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who McDaniel ranks 9th and Law instead mocks to the Reds at 12.

The biggest shock in Law’s top ten is the Pirates snagging Abel at seven, as he has primarily been mocked to go in the 12-to-18 range from what I’ve seen. He says the Pirates have been keeping an eye on Abel and that they’re enticed by a pick with some upside and risk rather than playing it safe.

For the Mets, Law has Pennsylvania prep outfielder Austin Hendrick falling into the Mets lap. Hendrick is the consensus third best prep outfielder in the class, behind Veen and Robert Hassell III. McDaniel has him ranked as the 13th best prospect in the class, and the Mets could do well to get such a talent at 19. There are a couple of concerns regarding Hendrick, however. Namely, he’s old for the class. He would be eligible to be drafted as a sophomore if he winds up honoring his commitment to Mississippi State. As a result, he may ask whatever team that drafts him to sign him at an overslot price. His season was also canceled before he even got on the field, so scouts haven’t seen him since his strong summer.

However, if the Mets do take Hendrick and give him the money he asks for, they would add a high-upside bat to a system in desperate need of good outfield prospects. He has elite bat speed that has produced some of the top exit velocities among his class, topping in at over 105 MPH. He won the UnderArmour All-American Home Run Derby at Wrigley Field back in July.

Hendrick turns 19 less than a week after the draft. His advanced age would make him the third consecutive advanced prep bat the Mets have taken with their first pick. Both Jarred Kelenic and Brett Baty were older than their prep-aged peers. The raw power is his best tool, but he’s athletic enough to profile as a solid defensive corner outfielder with a strong arm. Law also notes that the Mets seem hopeful that one of the top high school bats falls to them. Though Veen likely gets picked up within the first handful of selections, the Mets might be inclined to take Hendrick, Hassell, Soderstrom, or even Pete Crow-Armstrong if one is available.

The Mets have also been connected to college pitching, perhaps as a back-up plan if the top high school bats are off the board when they pick. This draft class is loaded with college pitching, and the Mets would have tons to pick from if they go that route. Some names to keep an eye on include Tennessee lefty Garrett Crochet, Duke righty Bryce Jarvis, Georgia right-hander Cole Wilcox, and Florida State righty CJ Van Eyk, who the Mets previously picked out of high school in 2017.

The 2020 MLB Draft will be just five rounds and will start on June 10th at 7 p.m., ET on MLB Network and ESPN.