2018 Mock Draft: Picks 1-10
Callis and Mayo make early predictions
There are still nearly six months to go before the 2018 Draft, and a lot will change between now and June 4. Nevertheless, we'll take our best guess at projecting how the top 10 picks will unfold with what looks like the best crop of talent since 2011. Jim foresees four of the first five selections coming from the prep ranks, while Jonathan envisions six high schoolers going in the top 10, neither of which has happened since 2002.
• 2018 Draft order | Top 50 Draft prospects | 2018 Draft: June 4-6 | All-time Draft picks
1. Tigers
Callis: Brady Singer, RHP, Florida. He has everything teams look for in a college pitcher: stuff, polish, makeup and a track record of excelling on the biggest stages (College World Series, Cape Cod League).
Mayo: Singer. Alex Faedo and A.J. Puk are former Gators who looked like potential No. 1 overall picks and didn't quite get there, but Singer might be a better all-around pitcher than they were in college.
2. Giants
Callis: Ethan Hankins, RHP, Forsyth Cental HS (Cumming, Ga.). Let's make it two years in a row that a high school right-hander with the best fastball in the Draft goes No. 2 overall, with Hankins following in the footsteps of Hunter Greene to the Reds.
Mayo: Nander de Sedas, SS, Montverde (Fla.) Academy. De Sedas has some serious tools and can stay up the middle, and the Giants don't shy away from high school bats (Heliot Ramos in 2017, Christian Arroyo in '13) when the right one comes their way.
3. Phillies
Callis: Matt Liberatore, LHP, Mountain Ridge HS (Glendale, Ariz.). In two years under general manager Matt Klentak, the Phillies have spent early first-round choices on players who were highly advanced for their level (Adam Haseley in 2017, Mickey Moniak in '16). Liberatore, a crafty three-pitch lefty, fits that mold.
Mayo: Hankins. Seeing him go in the top two picks is certainly reasonable, but seeing the top prep arm drop further than this is not.
4. White Sox
Callis: de Sedas. He draws some Francisco Lindor comps because they're switch-hitting shortstops from the same school, with de Sedas offering more offensive upside and Lindor showing superior defensive ability at the same stage of their careers.
Mayo: Jackson Kowar, RHP, Florida. He's a rare college arm with projection and scouts report that Kowar threw as well as, if not better than, Singer this fall, albeit in a very small sample size.
5. Reds
Callis: Brice Turang, SS, Santiago HS (Corona, Calif.). Though his stock fell slightly during the summer, he's still a quality shortstop with a promising bat and speed, not to mention big league genes (father Brian).
Mayo: Nick Madrigal, 2B/SS, Oregon State. Gone are the days where smaller guys get overlooked, and Madrigal is the best college bat available with a track record of performance.
6. Mets
Callis: Shane McClanahan, LHP, South Florida. He does have Tommy John surgery in his past, but he also has the most electric arm among this Draft's left-handers.
Mayo: Turang. Once thought to be the top guy in the class, Turang saw his star fade a tiny bit, but his overall tools up the middle won't let him drop far.
7. Padres
Callis: Nolan Gorman, 3B, O'Connor HS (Phoenix). The best power hitter in the Draft, high school or college, he made a habit of winning high-profile home run derbies during the summer and also has the strong arm for third base.
Mayo: Liberatore. His combination of pitchability and stuff likely means he goes higher than this as a lefty with the potential of having three plus pitches.
8. Braves
Callis: Kowar. Another College World Series hero for the Gators, Kowar has more arm strength than Singer, but isn't as refined.
Mayo: McClanahan. After elbow reconstruction, he's had just one (very strong) season for the Bulls before taking the summer off, so the scouting industry will watch his encore performance very closely this spring.
9. Athletics
Callis: Madrigal. He's just 5-foot-7, but his instincts are off the charts, he may be the safest bet to hit in the entire Draft and he also has plus speed.
Mayo: Gorman. He has as much raw power as anyone in the Draft class and the A's have gone bat first in five of the past six years, with three of those position players coming from the high school ranks.
10. Pirates
Callis: Ryan Rolison, LHP, Mississippi. Pittsburgh failed to sign a premium high school lefty (supplemental first-rounder Nick Lodolo) out of the 2016 Draft, but gets another one in Rolison, now a sophomore-eligible with one of the better fastball/curveball combinations on the board.
Mayo: Jarred Kelenic, OF, Waukesha (Wis.) West HS. The best pure bat among high schoolers and perhaps the entire class, he'd be a good addition to first-round prep hitters taken by the Pirates this decade (Austin Meadows, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Cole Tucker).