North Side Bound and Next Year in Cleveland Collaborative Mock 2023 MLB Draft Part 1
Selections 1-30
As the 2023 MLB Draft approaches (July 9-11 in Seattle, WA) draft content will continue to uptick here at Next Year in Cleveland. Watch for our Guardians Type pieces, multiple mock drafts, player write-ups, and various other draft content as the draft draws nearer.
This mock is our second of the season and a unique collaboration with our friends at North Side Bound. Representing North Side Bound for this mock draft is co-founder and draft writer Greg Zumach. Representing Next Year in Cleveland is draft writer Willie Hood.
This mock will be released in two parts with 70 draft selections and write-ups to follow. For full draft results and their content check-out North Side Bound’s full site here:
(check out their draft tab). Write-ups for picks 1-15 can be found in full at the aforementioned site. Selections 31-70 will be released with full write-ups on Friday, June 2nd at 11 AM ET.
Pittsburgh Pirates – Dylan Crews – OF, LSU (Greg)
Washington Nationals – Paul Skenes – RHP, LSU (Willie)
Detroit Tigers – Wyatt Langford- OF, Florida (Willie)
Texas Rangers – Kyle Teel – C, Virginia Max Clark – OF Franklin HS, IN (Greg)
Minnesota Twins – Max Clark- OF HS, IN (Greg)
Oakland A’s – Walker Jenkins- OF HS, NC (Willie)
Cincinnati Reds – Chase Dollander- RHSP Tennessee (Greg)
Kansas City Royals – Jacob Gonzalez- OF Ole Miss (Greg)
Colorado Rockies – Rhett Lowder- RHSP Wake Forest (Greg)
Miami Marlins – Jacob Wilson – SS, Grand Canyon (Greg)
Anaheim Angels – Colton Ledbetter- OF Mississippi State (Willie)
Arizona Diamondbacks – Hurston Waldrep- RHSP Florida (Willie)
Chicago Cubs – Arjun Nimmala– SS (Greg)
Boston Red Sox – Tommy Troy – SS, Stanford (Greg)
Chicago White Sox – Noble Meyer- RHP Jesuit HS, OR (Greg)
San Francisco Giants – Enrique Bradfield- OF Vanderbilt (Willie)
Previous 1st round selections: Hunter Bishop- OF, Patrick Bailey- C, Will Bednar- RHP, Reggie Crawford- LHP
Bonus slot: $4,326,600
Willie: Bradfield has been one of this draft writer's favorites for some time. The Commodores' outfielder boasts game-changing top-of-the-scale speed and elite defense. It’s an old-school approach to baseball with defense, speed, and on-base skills all plus or well over assets. The Giants have been tied to college bats in early rumors and this fits their demographic.
Baltimore Orioles – Jack Hurley- OF Virginia
Previous 1st round selections: Adley Rutschman- C, Heston Kjerstad- OF, Colton Cowser- OF, Jackson Holliday- SS
Bonus Slot: $4,169,700
How the Orioles draft: Upper-tier batted ball numbers and hitters early. They aren’t afraid of whiffs and are an organization that appears to improve swing-and-miss from hitters during development. This is an organization that shows a willingness to sub-slot players early especially if they can get a similar tier of player.
Willie: The Orioles haven’t drafted this low in some time. That’s a good thing if you are an Orioles fan. Popping Hurley here allows the O’s to add a toolsy outfielder with speed, defense, a strong throwing arm, and a solid bat with average to above-average raw power. The Hokies outfielder can man all three spots defensively giving him the versatility teams love. This is a likely sub-slot pick giving Baltimore a little flexibility later.
Milwaukee Brewers – Matt Shaw- 3b/2b Maryland
Previous 1st round selections: Ethan Small- LHP, Garrett Mitchell- OF, Sal Frelick- OF, Eric Brown Jr.- SS
Bonus Slot: $4,021,400
How the Brewers draft: The Brewers have emphasized contact skills early. All of Mitchell, Frelick, and Brown Jr. boasted strong bat-to-ball skills. They’ve been the beneficiaries of players who have fallen in the first round several times.
Willie: The Brewers have been beneficiaries of “low-hanging fruit” in recent years and it is no different with this mock. Matt Shaw plays shortstop but lacks the tools to stick there in pro ball. That said, it’s the combination of power, contact skills, and speed that will intrigue teams in the Terps infielder.
Tampa Bay Rays – Chase Davis- OF Arizona
Previous 1st round selections: Greg Jones- SS, Nick Bitsko- RHP, Carson Williams- SS, Xavier Isaac- 1B
Greg: Chase Davis is a metrically appealing player. He hits the ball hard, he doesn’t chase, and he’s improved his contact a lot better than I was projecting to begin the year. The Rays know what they’re doing. They make some off the wall selections, but it’s still an organization that garners respect from the rest of the baseball world.
Toronto Blue Jays – Colin Houck
Previous 1st round selections: Alek Manoah- RHP, Austin Martin- SS, Gunnar Hoglund- RHP, Brandon Barriera- LHP
Greg: It just feels like the Jays are a team that scoops up falling talents. That’s hard to truly describe here with Houck, but he has suitors much higher in the draft. If he happens to get squeezed out among other prep shortstops, I wouldn’t anticipate he’d fall much further. Brayden Taylor, Tommy Troy, Tanner Witt could all fit the Jays here.
St. Louis Cardinals – Blake Mitchell- C HS
Previous 1st round selections: Zack Thompson- LHP, Jordan Walker- 3B, Michael McGreevy- RHP, Cooper Hjerpe- LHP
Greg: The Cardinals have shown they’re willing to bet on upside in the top few rounds of the draft. In general it’s worked out just fine for the St. Louis club. Mitchell combines attributes that should make organizations notice. The tools are LOUD. He’s an excellent hitter and defensively may be the rare prep catcher who progresses behind the plate in the pros.
Seattle Mariners – Bryce Eldridge- RHSP/1B
Previous 1st round selections: George Kirby- RHP, Emerson Hancock- RHP, Harry Ford- C, Cole Young- SS
How the Mariners draft: The past few seasons, Seattle has focused on high school talent, and with three selections in the top 30 the Mariners have a lot of juice to move money around in the draft. Seattle is in a unique position.
Greg: The Mariners are the ultimate intrigue organization towards the back half of the first round. Seattle has three selections (22, 29, and 30) due to the prospect promotion incentive and a competitive balance selection. They can move money around and there are many theories for what the mariners will do with the bonus pool. Here in this mock, they target an upside play by buying down Bryce Eldridge.
23. Cleveland Guardians – Colt Emerson- SS John Glenn HS, OH
Previous 1st round selections: Daniel Espino- RHP, Carson Tucker- SS, Gavin Williams- RHP, Chase DeLauter- OF
How the Guardians draft: “Cleveland is a model-driven club- they look for specific traits in hitting and pitching prospects. Age, athleticism, ‘famous’ (PG, Team USA, Cape Cod League, etc.) game exposure, and cold weather/underdeveloped talent are traits that cross over both demographics. In hitters, the club targets middle-of-the-diamond talent with above-average orbetter speed, clean hitting mechanics, advanced contact skills, and advanced zone awareness. With pitchers, it is a similar approach: advanced pitch-ability; pitch sequencing, command, ease of delivery/clean mechanics, multiple pitches (more is better), high spin rates, above-average extension, and unique release points.”
–Willie Hood
Willie: Early rumors are pointing the Guardians toward college and prep bats. This writer has heard, read, and seen those rumors before and watched as the organization popped talented prep arm Daniel Espino 23rd overall. That being said, the Guardians are a model-driven team that has alternated pitching and hitting year-to-year in the first round for several years. If Cleveland follows the same trend they will go pitcher here after drafting Chase DeLauter in the first round last year.
Colt Emerson is a young for the class shortstop from a cold-weather state. The lefty-swinging Ohio native has plus contact skills and average power. Emerson uses the whole field and should add pop as he ages. Defensively, he doesn't have the speed to stick at shortstop so a move to second base or third base is in order. Fortunately for Emerson, there’s plenty of arm strength and he has experience with Team USA where he showed off quick hands at the hot corner.
Other names to know: Chase Davis- OF Arizona, Brock Wilken- 3b/1b Wake Forest, Nolan Schanuel- 1b/OF Florida Atlantic, Charlee Soto- RHSP HS, FL, Cade Kuehler- RHSP Campbell, Tanner Witt- RHSP Texas, Matt Shaw- 3b/2b Maryland, Brayden Taylor- 3b TCU, Sammy Stafura- SS HS, NY, Adrian Santana- SS HS, FL, Ralphy Velazquez- C/1b HS, CA, BlakeWolters- RHSP IL HS, Alex Clemmey- LHSP NJ HS, George Lombard Jr- SS FL
Atlanta Braves – Charlee Soto- RHSP HS, FL
Previous 1st round selections: Shea Langeliers- C, Jared Shuster- LHP, Ryan Cusick- RHP, Owen Murphy- RHP
How the Braves draft: mix of college and prep and while they’ve leaned pitchers the last several years I’m not sure if that’s an organizational preference.
Willie:
San Diego Padres – Walker Martin- SS HS, CO
Previous 1st round selections: C.J. Abrams- SS, Robert Hassell- OF, Jackson Merrill- SS, (not a first-rounder, but James Wood received a $3 million bonus), Dylan Lesko- RHP
How the Padres draft: The Padres are a club that puts a premium on batted ball data, and prep upside, and are not afraid of late-rising players.
Willie: The Padres are no stranger to prep upside and talented prep shortstops. That’s the mode of operation for the Friars. Other talented prep shortstops like Adrian Santana, Colt Emerson, and Samuel Stafura could make sense as could prep backstop Ralphy Velazquez. While prep arms like Charlee Soto, Cam Johnson, Bryce Eldridge, Blake Wolters, and Alex Clemmey could hear their names popped here.
New York Yankees – Nolan Schanuel- 1B/OF Florida AtlanticPrevious 1st round selections: Anthony Volpe- SS, Austin Wells- C, Trey Sweeney- SS, Spencer Jones- OF
How the Yankees draft: When you evaluate Yankees picks they almost always feature positive batted ball or pitching metrics.
Willie: Schanuel has hammered the ball all season long hitting well over .400 for the season and smashing more than 20 home runs. He fell flat last year in the Cape Cod League with a wooden bat. So there are some questions, but the pinstripes of New York aren’t afraid of taking on risk, and if there’s any team to covet the left-handed masher it could be the team from the Bronx.
Philadelphia Phillies – Brayden Taylor- SS TCU
Previous 1st round selections: Bryson Stott- SS, Mick Abel- RHP, Andrew Painter- RHP, Justin Crawford- CF
Bonus Slot: $2,968,800How the Phillies draft: Recent seasons have seen the Phillies put a heavy focus on prep talent from risky demographics (prep pitchers and center fielders waiting on projection).
Willie: This is truly a value play by the Phillies in this mock. Recent years have brought an aggressive approach to drafting upside early. It would be no shock to see the Phillies grab one of the prepsters mentioned above with the Padres. As for Taylor, he got off to a slow start making less contact but hitting for more power. He’s since curbed the poor start and has rebounded well over the season increasing his contact rates into the mid-80’s.
Houston Astros—Sammy Stafura- SS HS, NY
Previous 1st round selections: Korey Lee- C, (No 1st round picks in 2020 and 2021 because of cheating scandal punishments), Drew Gilbert- CF
Bonus Slot: $2,880,700Greg: Stafura had a huge Showcase at “Jupiter” this past fall, but there wasn’t as much buzz about him entering the spring. In the past few weeks it’s becoming clear that he is a favorite of several clubs in the back third of the first round, including Houston and the Yankees.
Seattle Mariners – Adrian Santana, SS
Bonus Slot:Greg: I’ve heard Santana could go much higher but it’s a deep prep SS class and Seattle has cash to move around. Santana, in particular, offers a sure bet to be a switch-hitting SS in pro ball.
Seattle Mariners – Jackson Baumeister - RHP, Florida State
Bonus Slot: $2,800,700Greg: it’s a tough college pitching class, but even outside the top four, there’s talented arms. Baumeister is a talented arm that should go in the top 50 picks. He boasts multiple interesting weapons with a mid 90s fastball with some natural run and a big curveball. He’ll flash a changeup. It’s a starters package and ending up with Seattle would give him a great foundation to reach his upside. This pick could conceivably save a bit of cash after buying down both Eldridge and Santana. The Mariners pick again at 58.