2023 MLB Mock Draft: Merry Mockmas: The Return
Yes, I have returned. No, Minor League Madhouse isn’t dead. It’s been a busy year for me, so mocking kind of fell to the wayside, and in all honesty, I kind of needed the refresh. With that said, we are exactly one year removed from my last mock draft, and in that time, the structure of the draft has changed. What has changed exactly?
We have a Draft Lottery. Yep, a draft lottery. As you can probably guess, this does change things in terms of mock scheduling. End of Season and Mock 2.0 are likely gone, meaning #MockSZN officially begins when the lottery concludes and the competitive balance picks are locked in. I really don’t feel like getting into speculating how the lottery plays out because I already have enough on my plate in trying to figure out picks.
Playoff Finish, not Best Record, determines the back half. Even if the lottery had not made it in, the Playoff Finish addition to the draft definitely pushed back the first mock of the season. But in my opinion, it’s long overdue.
The New Compensatory Picks: If a top prospect promoted on Opening Day wins a major award, like Rookie of the Year, the team gets a compensatory pick. The Mariners cashed in on that on the back of Julio Rodriguez and his amazing rookie year and therefore get the 29th pick. Honestly, I think this is a great incentive to deal with the constant accusations of teams prioritizing the extra year of control over winning. It definitely makes for an interesting case next year with the candidates for ROY.
Anyway, moving on. Same rules apply, Teams in this mock draft based on organizational depth or best prospect available. MLB Pipeline will serve as backbone for this mock, and the picks will go to the end of CB1, so Mets and Dodgers fans can see their first picks. As is tradition with the first mock draft, there will be no write-ups, just names and pictures.
And with that, here we go.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Dylan Crews, OF, LSU
Washington Nationals: Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee
Detroit Tigers: Max Clark, OF, Franklin Community HS, Indiana
Texas Rangers: Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida
Minnesota Twins: Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU
Oakland A’s: Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Ole Miss
Cincinnati Reds: Enrique Bradfield, OF, Vanderbilt
Kansas City Royals: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick HS, North Carolina
Colorado Rockies: Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Florida
Miami Marlins: Brayden Taylor, 3B, TCU
Los Angeles Angels: Rhett Lowder, RHP, Wake Forest
Arizona Diamondbacks: Blake Mitchell, C, Sinton HS, Texas
Chicago Cubs: Aidan Miller, 3B, Mitchell HS, Florida
Boston Red Sox: Thomas White, LHP, Phillips Andover Academy, Massachusetts
Chicago White Sox: Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon
San Francisco Giants: Noble Meyer, RHP, Jesuit HS, Oregon
Baltimore Orioles: Will Sanders, RHP, South Carolina
Milwaukee Brewers: Charlee Soto, RHP, Reborn Christian HS, Florida
Tampa Bay Rays: Travis Honeyman, OF, Boston College
Toronto Blue Jays: Brock Wilken, 3B, Wake Forest
St. Louis Cardinals: Kevin McGonigle, 2B, Monsignor Bonner HS, Pennsylvania
Seattle Mariners: Tanner Witt, RHP, Texas
Cleveland Guardians: Yohandy Morales, 3B, Miami
Atlanta Braves: Matt Shaw, SS, Maryland
San Diego Padres: Kyle Teel, C, Virginia
New York Yankees: Bryce Eldredge, RHP/1B, Madison HS, Virginia
Philadelphia Phillies: Cole Carrigg, C/SS/OF, San Diego State
Houston Astros: Maui Ahuna, SS, Tennessee
COMPENSATION PICK
Seattle Mariners: Roch Cholowsky, SS, Hamilton HS, Arizona
COMPETITIVE BALANCE PICKS
Seattle Mariners: Travis Sykora, RHP, Round Rock HS, Texas
Tampa Bay Rays: Cole Schoenwetter, RHP, San Marcos HS, California
New York Mets: Juaron Watts-Brown, RHP, Oklahoma State
Milwaukee Brewers: Grayson Hitt, LHP, Alabama
Minnesota Twins: Cade Kuehler, RHP, Campbell
Miami Marlins: Jack Hurley, OF, Virginia Tech
Los Angeles Dodgers: Colin Houck, SS, Parkview HS, Georgia
Detroit Tigers: Adam Hachman, LHP, Timberland HS, Missouri
Cincinnati Reds: Cameron Johnson, LHP, IMG Academy, Florida
Oakland Athletics: Jake Gelof, 3B, Virginia
