2013 MLB Mock Draft 3.0 – First Round Prospects and Projections

2013 MLB draftThe 2013 MLB Amateur Draft is upon us as all 30 big league clubs ready themselves for tomorrow’s first-year player draft, which will commence at 6:00 PM (EST). For the most part, the majority of the top 15 selections remain unchanged from our last mock draft with the occasional one or two spot deviation.

Whether teams are not following through in the appropriate manner regarding draft-day planning or they are generally smitten with their respective draft boards is up for debate, as relatively few changes or definitive rumors/trades have surfaced in recent weeks.

MLB mock draftRumors have circulated within the past week that North Carolina third baseman Colin Moran will be selected first-overall by the Houston Astros.

Although such a selection may prove economically sound for the Astros, as they could free up money for other picks by signing Moran for a price similar to that of Carlos Correa’s bonus last year, selecting Moran first-overall would not be sound in terms of impact and talent.

While Moran is one of the better college bats in the draft, he is not quite at the same level in terms of impact and talent that Mark Appel, Jonathan Gray, and even Kris Bryant currently reside at. Houston has been slotted a signing bonus of $7.8 million, which should be within reason in selecting either Appel or Gray (even if Boras demands $8-plus million, Gray or Bryant are sure bets).

While draft rumors and changes in projected selections have been relatively minimal, we may witness multiple draft-day surprises as is typically expected. Until tomorrow night, we can only make conjecture as to how and who will be selected, as draft-day should bring plenty sighs of relief, mixed emotions, and of course, fun surprises.

Below we have provisionally projected each of the first-round selections, including statistics for each respective draft prospect and the provisional projection at each spot that was included in our previous mock draft.

1. Houston Astros: Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford University

2013 Stats: GS: 14, W-L: 10-4, ERA: 2.12, IP: 106.2, ER: 25, BB: 23, K: 130, AVG: .203

Previous Projection: Jonathan Gray

2. Chicago Cubs: Jonathan Gray, RHP, University of Oklahoma

2013 Stats: GS: 16, W-L: 10-2, ERA: 1.59, IP: 119.0, ER: 21, BB: 22, K: 138, AVG: .188

Previous Projection: Mark Appel

3. Colorado Rockies: Kris Bryant, 3B, University of San Diego

2013 Stats: G: 58, R: 78, H: 73, 2B: 13, HR: 31, RBI: 62, AVG: .340, OBP: .500, SLG: .860

Previous Projection: Kris Bryant

4. Minnesota Twins: Kohl Stewart, RHP, St. Pius X HS (TX)

2013 Stats: GS: 7, W-L: 6-1, ERA: 2.50, IP: 47.2, ER: 17, BB: 31. K: 42, AVG: .218

Previous Projection: Sean Manaea

5. Cleveland Indians: Braden Shipley, RHP, University of Nevada

2013 Stats: GS: 15, W-L: 7-3, ERA: 2.77, IP: 107.3, ER: 33, BB: 34, K: 102, AVG: .218

Previous Projection: Kohl Stewart

6. Miami Marlins: Colin Moran, 3B, University of North Carolina

2013 Stats: G: 60, R: 69, H: 84, 2B: 9, HR: 13, RBI: 84, AVG: .357, OBP: .485, SLG: .579

Previous Projection: Clint Frazier

7. Boston Red Sox: Clint Frazier, OF, Loganville HS (GA)

2013 Stats: G: 32, R: 56, H: 47, 2B: 4, HR: 17, RBI: 45, AVG: .485, OBP: .561, SLG: 1.134

Previous Projection: Ryne Stanek

8. Kansas City Royals: Ryne Stanek, RHP, University of Arkansas

2013 Stats: GS: 16, W-L: 10-2, ERA: 1.39, IP: 97.3, ER: 15, BB: 41, K: 79, AVG: .207

Previous Projection: Colin Moran

9. Pittsburgh Pirates: D.J. Peterson, 1B/3B, University of New Mexico

2013 Stats: G: 53, R: 68, H: 86, 2B: 24, HR: 18, RBI: 70, AVG: .411, OBP: .525, SLG: .823

Previous Projection: Braden Shipley

10. Toronto Blue Jays: Austin Meadows, OF, Grayson HS (GA)

2013 Stats: G: 24, R: 29, H: 38, 2B: 14, HR: 4, RBI: 28, AVG: .535, OBP: .633, SLG: .930

Previous Projection: Austin Meadows

11. New York Mets: Reese McGuire, C, Kentwood HS (WA)

2013 Stats: G: 27, R: 26, H: 31, 2B: 7: HR: 4, RBI: 34, AVG: .388, OBP: .510, SLG: .675

Previous Projection: Reese McGuire

12. Seattle Mariners: Hunter Renfroe, OF, Mississippi State University

2013 Stats: G: 58, R: 50, H: 77, 2B: 15, HR: 15, RBI: 56, AVG: .345, OBP: .435, SLG: .632

Previous Projection: Hunter Renfroe

13. San Diego Padres: Ian Clarkin, LHP, Madison HS (CA)

2013 Stats: GS: 10, W-L: 8-2, ERA: 0.62, IP: 68.0, ER: 6, BB: 27, K: 108, AVG: .118

Previous Projection: Ian Clarkin

14. Pittsburgh Pirates: Trey Ball, LHP, New Castle HS (IN)

2013 Stats: GS: N/A, W-L: 3-0, ERA: 0.88, IP: 24.0, ER: 3, BB: 6, K: 53, AVG: N/A

Previous Projection: D.J. Peterson

15. Arizona Diamondbacks: Chris Anderson, RHP, Jacksonville University

2013 Stats: GS: 14, W-L: 7-5, ERA: 2.49, IP: 104.7, ER: 29, BB: 27, K: 107, AVG: .231

Previous Projection: Trey Ball

16. Philadelphia Phillies: Dominic Smith, 1B, Serra HS (CA)

2013 Stats: G: 26, R: 31, H: 32, 2B: 6, HR: 7, RBI: 37, AVG: .485, OBP: .620, SLG: 1.015

Previous Projection: Phil Bickford

17. Chicago White Sox: Alex Gonzalez, RHP, Oral Roberts University

2013 Stats: GS: 15, W-L: 9-5, ERA: 1.83, IP: 113.1, ER: 23, BB: 27, K: 126, AVG: .204

Previous Projection: Dominic Smith

18. Los Angeles Dodgers: Phil Bickford, RHP, Oaks Christian HS (CA)

2013 Stats: GS: 3, W-L: 3-2, ERA: 2.59, IP: 27.0, ER: 10, BB: 7, K: 19, AVG: .231

Previous Projection: Chris Anderson

19. St. Louis Cardinals: Phillip Ervin, OF, Samford University

2013 Stats: G: 55, R: 58, H: 66, 2B: 14, HR: 11, RBI: 40, AVG: .337, OBP: .459, SLG: .597

Previous Projection: Hunter Harvey

20. Detroit Tigers: Marco Gonzales, LHP, Gonzaga University

2013 Stats: GS: 16, W-L: 7-3, ERA: 2.80, IP: 106.0, ER: 33, BB: 25, K: 96, AVG: .256

Previous Projection: Jonathon Crawford

21. Tampa Bay Rays: Jon Denney, C, Yukon HS (OK)

2013 Stats: G: 42, R: 17, H: 51, 2B: 14, HR: 11, RBI: 46, AVG: .459, OBP: .600, SLG: .991

Previous Projection: Jon Denney

22. Baltimore Orioles: Jonathon Crawford, RHP, University of Florida

2013 Stats: GS: 15, W-L: 3-6, ERA: 3.84, IP: 86.2, ER: 37, BB: 37, K: 69: AVG: .244

Previous Projection: Marco Gonzales

23. Texas Rangers: Nick Ciuffo, C, Lexington HS (SC)

2013 Stats: G: 33, R: 8, H: 37, 2B: 7, HR: 4, RBI: 25, AVG: .507, OBP: .600, SLG: .795

Previous Projection: Nick Ciuffo

24. Oakland Athletics: Aaron Judge, OF, Fresno State University

2013 Stats: G: 56, R: 45, H: 76, 2B: 15, HR: 12, RBI: 36, AVG: .369, OBP: .461, SLG: .655

Previous Projection: Phillip Ervin

25. San Francisco Giants: Alex Balog, RHP, University of San Francisco

2013 Stats: GS: 14, W-L: 3-4, ERA: 3.63, IP: 91.7, ER: 37, BB: 33, K: 67, AVG: .274

Previous Projection: Trevor Williams

26. New York Yankees: Robert Kaminsky, LHP, St. Joseph Regional HS (NY)

2013 Stats: GS: 8, W-L: 8-0, ERA: 0.14, IP: 51.0, ER: 1, BB: 4, K: 107, AVG: N/A

Previous Projection: Robert Kaminsky

27. Cincinnati Reds: Billy McKinney, OF, Plano West HS (TX)

2013 Stats: G: 29, R: 30, H: 33, 2B: 9, HR: 4, RBI: 25, AVG: .446, OBP: .604, SLG: .757

Previous Projection: Aaron Blair

28. St. Louis Cardinals: Austin Wilson, OF, Stanford University

2013 Stats: G: 31, R: 26, H: 34, 2B: 7, HR: 5, RBI: 26, AVG: .288, OBP: .387, SLG: .475

Previous Projection: Austin Wilson

29. Tampa Bay Rays: Sean Manaea, LHP, Indiana State University

2013 Stats: GS: 13, W-L: 5-4, ERA: 1.47, IP: 73.1, ER: 12, BB: 27, K: 93, AVG: .190

Previous Projection: Tom Windle

30. Texas Rangers: Hunter Harvey, RHP, Bandys HS (NC)

2013 Stats: GS: 8, W-L: 8-0, ERA: 0.38, IP: 54.2, ER: 3, BB: 17, K: 116, AVG: .120

Previous Projection: Billy McKinney

31. Atlanta Braves: Eric Jagielo, 3B, University of Notre Dame

2013 Stats: G: 56, R: 47, H: 76, 2B: 19, HR: 9, RBI: 53, AVG: .388, OBP: .500, SLG: .633

Previous Projection: Eric Jagielo

32. New York Yankees: J.P. Crawford, SS, East Central Community College

2013 Stats: G: 32, R: 37, H: 45, 2B: 8, HR: 1, RBI: 31, AVG: .459, OBP: .554, SLG: .735

Previous Projection: Bobby Wahl

33. New York Yankees: Aaron Blair, RHP, Marshall University

2013 Stats: GS: 13, W-L: 5-5, ERA: 2.85, IP: 82.0, ER: 26, BB: 36, K: 84, AVG: .198

Previous Projection: J.P. Crawford