Guest mock: A scouting director's top 10 picks

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Who has Draft fever? You know we do.

With our Draft Top 150 now out in the world and the calendar flipping to May, it feels like we really are into Draft season in earnest (Scouts, don’t worry -- I know your work on this year’s Draft started much earlier!). We’ll have so much more Draft content in the coming weeks, starting with my colleague Jim Callis’ first stab at a full first-round mock later this week.

Now, no one on Earth has more industry contacts than Mr. Callis, which makes his work on first round projections the gold standard. Trust me when I tell you that I have not fared well in our annual head-to-head competition. So don’t consider the following as a way to one-up him. Quite the contrary: My goal is for this to be a tease, an amuse-bouche if you will, for Jim’s main course.

I didn’t want to just give my thoughts on how the top of the Draft will go, so I reached out to a scouting director of a team that does not pick in the top 10 and asked him to do the exercise of projecting the top of the first round with me. With the caveat that this is May 2, more than two months before the Draft starts, and with the understanding that neither he nor I contacted other teams as he made selections, here’s his top 10 mock, with his comments beneath:

1. Pirates: Dylan Crews, OF, LSU
I don’t see how you don’t take Dylan Crews. I know a lot of people think they’re going to cut a deal, but there hasn’t been a college bat like him in recent memory. He compares to Adley Rutschman from a performance standpoint.

2. Nationals: Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU
It’s hard to pass on the college starter who has done what he’s done this year.

3. Tigers: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick HS (NC)
I think they go with the high school player, with a similar offensive profile, over a guy like Wyatt Langford. Plus he’s a left-handed hitter.

4. Rangers: Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida
Back to back years of performance in the SEC. It’s hard to pass on that.

5. Twins: Max Clark, OF, Franklin HS (Ind.)
They’re the team that moved up big time in the lottery and they get to take advantage of it by taking the guy who’s been one of the top high school talents in this class for two years.

6. A’s: Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon
I think the hitters will go before some of these pitchers go.

7. Reds: Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Mississippi
In the past, they’ve taken the college or junior college performing bat with strong approaches.

8. Royals: Thomas White, LHP, Phillips Academy (Mass.)
They took Frank Mozzicato and this guy is better.

9. Rockies: Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee
I think this is an arm and they took Gabe Hughes last year.

10. Marlins: Arjun Nimmala, SS, Strawberry Crest HS (Fla.)
He’s the youngest player with the most upside at this point in the Draft and there’s buzz about him going in the top 10.