*EDITORIAL NOTE* – Mock Drafts are exciting, but mocks released prior to mid-April should not be used or seen as accurate reporting for teams and players they are/may be pursuing. The information below is based on teams’ past history and the current draft status of said players. Read and consider carefully before considering this a report on any team’s direct plans or strategy for the upcoming draft. Player draft order is not indicative of their current ranking by Whos On First.

For any questions regarding this Mock Draft, feel free to contact Taylor Blake Ward via email (taylorblakeward@yahoo.com) or Twitter (@TaylorBlakeWard).

1. Baltimore Orioles – Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon State

Though it’s not written in stone, something may have to go completely amiss for anyone but Rutschman to lead the way in this draft class. He’s a plus defender at the most premium defensive position with a plus bat and above-average power. A new Front Office with an eye towards analytics and fairly weak top of the draft class, everything matches up for Rutschman to be an Oriole come June.

2. Kansas City Royals – Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Colleyville Heritage HS (TX)

A year after drafting an entire rotation of college arms for their mid-level affiliates, expect Kansas City to draw back to taking athletic guys with big tools. Bobby Witt Jr. has the loudest tools of anyone in this draft and has a chance to be one of the few five-tool players. He’s a premier athlete who has both bloodlines and track record to go with being one of the most well-known prospects in this class. For a team in full rebuild, they can either hope Baltimore pops Witt at 1-1 where his uncle is a scout and they can snag Rutschman, or hope they don’t and get back to a player similar to the group that won them a World Series in the recent half decade.

3. Chicago White Sox – Andrew Vaughn, 1B, California

There has only ever been one first baseman taken in the first 10 picks who was listed under six-feet tall (Prince Fielder, 2002), but Andrew Vaughn is going to become the second. When it comes to Chicago, you may want to hit the “duh” button if Vaughn is available. Yes, he’s short for a first baseman at five-foot-11, but there’s no denying he is the best hitter in this class. Chicago lives and breaths by college performers, and no one, including last year, has outperformed Vaughn offensively. If taken here, you could see a White Sox lineup with the 2-4 order being Madrigal, Vaughn, Jimenez. That’s pretty thrilling.

4. Miami Marlins – C.J. Abrams, SS, Blessed Trinity Catholic HS (GA)

The new regime in Miami flashed a bit of what they’re targeting when attaining amateur (and professional) talent with recent trades and draft picks. Up-the-middle athletes are the primary focus, and the top talent in these regards outside of Witt is Abrams, and you could argue it’s the other way around. One of the best athletes in the draft, Abrams has game-changing 70-grade speed to go along with major upside.

5. Detroit Tigers – Kameron Misner, OF, Missouri

Outside of Nick Castellanos in 2010, the Tigers have strictly taken pitchers and outfielders with every first round pick since 2003, which includes a similar run in the second round since 2008 with one catcher (James McCann, 2011) being the exclusion. Along with their tendencies are SEC or other big school arms. In this draft class, there are no arms who merit top-five draft talk at the moment. That leaves you with some upside outfielders, and the one with the biggest upside can be argued, but it falls on Misner at this point who may not be available when all is said and done.

6. San Diego Padres – Michael Busch, 1B, North Carolina

No one in baseball has amassed more quantity of quality than the Padres. They have the best farm system in baseball along with star talent – and depth – that is nearing a stage of greatness San Diego baseball hasn’t yet seen. A.J. Preller and staff have loaded up on arms and it may still be their direction, but they’ve also drafted hitters who can get on base at a higher eclipse than their counterparts. Busch is among the most disciplined hitters in college baseball and has the ability to impact the ball with authority. He is going to play a corner in pro ball, either in the outfield or at first base, but the bat profiles well at either and the Padres can go a bit under slot to garner multiple young projects through the rest of day one and into day two.

7. Cincinnati Reds – J.J. Bleday, OF, Vanderbilt

Cincinnati loves their athletes, but have also shown a track record of conservation and high floor selections. Improving his overall athleticism, Bleday has shown the ability to patrol center but his arm will play up well in right. He’s off to a hot start on offense and shows an above-average hit tool and power which give him a high floor. If the Reds were to continue building their infield, Josh Jung comes with a similar offensive skill set and Bryson Stott gives them another high floor hitter who can man shortstop.

8. Texas Rangers – Daniel Espino, RHP, Georgia Premier Academy (GA)

Texas has drawn themselves to upside and tools, particularly in young arms. There is no arm in this class with as much upside as Espino, and though he’s a smaller statured prep righty, what he brings to the table is more than captivating. The size and delivery may draw some teams away at first, but if anyone is willing to ignore that, it’s Texas, who may find a big arm to match fellow Panamanian, Ariel Jurado.

9. Atlanta Braves – Bryson Stott, SS, Nevada-Las Vegas

Though Carter Stewart slipped through their fingers, Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves stayed on a consistent path on acquiring amateur talents, which includes what he did in Toronto for over a half decade earlier in his career. Upside was vital to their building process. Despite being a college hitter, Stott is one of the bigger upside prospects with plenty to desire in his raw skillset to go along with his already polished hitting and fielding skills.

10. San Francisco Giants – Corbin Carroll, OF, Lakeside HS (WA)

With a new General Manager, things could alter for San Francisco on the amateur front, but a focus they’ve kept through the years is up-the-middle players with loud hit tools. Though Carroll may not be the hitter that his prep outfield counterpart Riley Greene is, Carroll has a much better defensive profile and wouldn’t struggle to find the gaps in the AL West over his physical growth and baseball development. He’s a plus-plus runner who will man center field with ease and profile well at leadoff in the long run.

12. Toronto Blue Jays – Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Tech

A bit conservative on the draft front, many were surprised to see the Blue Jays take Jordan Groshans with their first pick last year, but it did expose a trend on hitters and that is ability to impact the baseball and reach base. Jung has excellent bat control and pull power to his advantage and is one of the top college bats available. There are plenty of potential suitors for Jung ahead of this, and he has merited top-10 talk for some time. Toronto has shied away from preps in the past and do love bloodlines, so this could be a spot to go under slot for Jack Leiter – son of Al – who is rumored to demand a large signing bonus to lure him away from Vanderbilt.

12. New York Mets – Will Wilson, SS, North Carolina State

There are plenty of questions revolving around the Mets when it comes to the draft. It’s a new office and they parted ways with their first-round pick, the first prep selected by the team in the first round in five years. Tendency has been college performers for the Mets, and Wilson has both performed and shown average or better tools across the board giving him a high floor.

13. Minnesota Twins – Riley Greene, OF, Hagerty HS (FL)

Minnesota has done well with athletic up-the-middle targets, but before targeting that, the Twins have been drawn to hit tools and upside. The best prep hitter in the class, Greene has an excellent track record – including wood bat – of offensive success giving him nearly unlimited offensive upside. There is a strong chance Greene doesn’t fall this far in the draft, and if that’s the case, Minnesota could key in on big velocity arms such as Jackson Rutledge or Brennan Malone.

14. Philadelphia Phillies – Nick Lodolo, LHP, Texas Christian

An analytically driven team, TrackMan data will be a large aid to the Phillies direction. Of the few simplistic analytics made publicly available, strike-throwing and the ability to miss bats have been on Philadelphia’s short list, and Nick Lodolo brings a high spinning curveball and electric fastball making him the best of the college pitching crop this spring. He’s been on the map for quite some time – including the Southern California ranks as a prep where Philadelphia has plucked five of their last 10 top-three round picks and have a dominant presence – and is starting to show to ability to miss bats at a premium. Lodolo is going to go much higher than his original drafting at the 41st pick in 2016.

15. Los Angeles Angels – Greg Jones, SS, UNC-Wilmington

The Angels farm system has improved mightily thanks to the efforts of Billy Eppler and Matt Swanson who have built the farm from the ground up with premium athletes. Though he’s very raw as a draft-eligible sophomore, Jones is one of the best athletes in this draft with explosive speed and power projection on both sides of the plate while playing at a premium position where he should stick. When it comes to pitchers, spinability and velocity have been the focal points, where someone like Jackson Rutledge or Alek Manoah (who has a brother in the Angels system) could profile.

16. Arizona Diamondbacks – Hunter Bishop, OF, Arizona State

Man oh man, what will the Diamondbacks do with all of these picks? Though the draft order isn’t locked in just yet because of Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, Arizona will have four first round picks and seven total on the first day of the draft. They’ve been conservative over the years but they could pounce on some high dollar players with major upside. With their first pick though, keep it conservative and go for one of the biggest risers of the spring in the power-slugging, Hunter Bishop, who still offers some raw upside and is only a 15-minute drive away.

17. Washington Nationals – Shea Langeliers, C, Baylor

The Nats are conservative drafters and usually look at long track records of success. This could include players with minor injuries, large bonus demands, or poor character traits. That said, there is only one standout with one of those aforementioned knocks on their resumes. Shea Langeliers could still likely land inside the top-10 with ease, but a broken hamate has limited him to one game in the field this spring. One of the best amateur defensive catchers in recent memory, Langeliers has enough of a hit tool to make him an easy first rounder.

18. Pittsburgh Pirates – Carter Stewart, RHP, Eastern Florida JC

Last year’s eighth overall pick may take a tumble this year after hitting the spring with regression in arsenal and physical, but the upside is still there to make him one of the most coveted arms in this draft. Pittsburgh loves tall and lean pitchers with raw stuff they hope can convert long term. Stewart is the perfect project who could turn the corner in pro ball and become the top pitcher from this class.

19. St. Louis Cardinals – Matthew Allan, RHP, Seminole HS (FL)

St. Louis has done a fantastic job of developing arms – and developing players in general – who have loud raw tools. Mike Girsch started his career in baseball due to draft valuation, and he has a strong focus on getting the most of his draft picks. This class isn’t particularly strong in peak talent and depth, so you can expect them to be big spenders early and key in on impact players. With an arsenal equipped with above-average to plus offerings, Allan is a strong physical pitcher who may be the right prep righty to go big on.

20. Seattle Mariners – George Kirby, RHP, Elon

Want a unique draft statistic to monitor? Jerry Dipoto has held five first round picks in his General Manager career – all five have been college players. He’s had six second round picks – five have been preps. It’s apropos to suspect much of the same, and look for one of the top college players (and performers) remaining. Three pitchers take that title at this point of the mock in Alek Manoah, Jackson Rutledge and the more analytically friendly, George Kirby. Dipoto has never shied from small school players in the first round, taking players from Stetson, Mercer, Fresno State and Hartford.

21. Atlanta Braves – Maurice Hampton, OF, Memphis University HS (TN)

One of the most sought after prep athletes in the nation, Hampton has made a name for himself among high school sports fans due to his two-way talents. The four-star recruit in football should be staring a seven-digit signing bonus come June, just two months before his 18th birthday. He may be better at football currently, but his feel for hitting and intangibles in regards to baseball are good enough to merit first round talk with ease. Staying on rhythm with Atlanta desiring upside, youth and raw talent, Hampton hits those marks. The only limit to his upside is that he’s currently built like an SEC ready defensive back, which he actually could be come fall.

22. Tampa Bay Rays – Alek Manoah, RHP, West Virginia

Erik Neander is possibly the most underrated executive in baseball. Though he’s fairly fresh to the Front Office, he’s been a member of the Rays for over a decade now and has been a strong asset to building winning teams with limited funding and most of that has come from acquiring amateur talent. With three consecutive drafts that have looked brilliant from the outset, look for Tampa to go once again to the top talent in the draft and try to attain a player they couldn’t find on the open market. Alek Manoah has some relief risk to him, but if any team is willing to move past the stereotype of not drafting potential future relievers, it’s a team who is trying to reinvent the relief pitcher profile.

23. Colorado Rockies – Brett Baty, 3B, Lake Travis HS (TX)

Power sinkers or big raw power? Colorado plays well to their home park metric factors. Baty can hit and put a real thud behind the ball due to explosive bat speed. There are questions defensively and he is near a year older than his prep counterparts, but his offensive upside can’t go ignored. There are other options for power on both sides of the ball here such as Jackson Rutledge, Logan Davidson and Erik Miller.

24. Cleveland Indians – Kyren Paris, SS, Freedom HS (CA)

Cleveland’s modus operandi is youth, ceiling and up-the-middle athletes. Paris might be the youngest player taken in this draft and has improved his draft stock wildly due to physical growth and improvements to all of his tools which grade out as average-or-better already. It may be an under slot pick at this moment as Paris is more likely to go in the 40-50 range.

25. Los Angeles Dodgers – Zack Thompson, LHP, Kentucky

The Dodgers have built strong relationships within the SEC, and if history has shown anything it’s success in developing players from baseball’s top conference programs. It’d be a disservice to not mention Jim Belanger’s influence on the Kentucky program and his ability to develop arms into pro-ready pitchers, something the Dodgers and others across baseball have taken notice of. Thompson offers mid-rotation upside, and could be developed into more, a pro team’s ideal project college starter with a high floor.

26. Arizona Diamondbacks – Braden Shewmake, SS, Texas A&M

Staying conservative, Arizona will have the advantage of jumping on any falling talents due to what should be a record bonus pool. No big fallers here, but one that may be a top-20 draftee is Shewmake. Arizona has shown a focus on the hit tool and Shewmake has one of the top hit tools across the college ranks. He’ll need to pick up on performance to solidify himself into the first round but it’s sensible this could be a place he fits well.

27. Chicago Cubs – Erik Miller, LHP, Stanford

Theo Epstein and crew have gone college heavy with Chicago, which if you look back, goes back to his Boston days. Big breaking balls that show plus have been a consistent tool, as well as players from major programs. Erik Miller has established as one of the top arms in the draft and has a wipeout slider that shows above-average consistency, and comes from a program with a nice resume for arms.

28. Milwaukee Brewers – Chase Strumpf, 2B, UCLA

Hit tool, hit tool, hit tool. Has hit tool been mentioned yet? Milwaukee is likely going to go after the player with the best hit tool, and can fall back on pitchers with a loud arsenal. Strumpf has outperformed his Bruin teammate, Michael Toglia -who was seen as a first rounder coming into the spring – and did so last spring as well. The peripherals on Strumpf, along with a track record with wood bats, are putting him into first round talk. He has surpassed Toglia along with others in the Pac-12. Conference play will be vital to his draft status.

29. Oakland Athletics – Nasim Nunez, SS, Collins Hill HS (GA)

Who would have figured that Kyler Murray would launch into the top college football player in the nation and possibly be a higher football draftee than baseball draftee? Oakland has to move past losing a big tooled athlete they couldn’t get on the open market and focus on what’s built their farm system into one of the tops in baseball. Up-the-middle athletes and high-ceiling arms. What he lacks in power, Nunez makes up for in speed, hitability and defense. Of course, advanced data from TrackMan and colleges could have them move on to someone like Logan Wyatt or Matt Wallner.

30. New York Yankees – Jackson Rutledge, RHP, San Jacinto JC

New York has surpassed the White Sox as the top develop program in developing pitchers. There’s a lot of refinement needed for Rutledge, but the arsenal will be tough to match with two above-average breaking balls and near triple digit velocity on the fastball. Rutledge’s tools alone may not allow him to land this far down the draft, but if he’s available, he’d be an ideal piece for the Yankees development staff.

31. Los Angeles Dodgers – Tyler Callihan, 3B, Providence HS (FL)

The Dodgers continue to grab multi-use players in the draft, and Callihan has the ability to play multiple positions. He had a strong summer, showing the ability to hit for average and power and despite a bit of advanced age for a prep, he performed against top talent.

32. Houston Astros – Hunter Barco, LHP, Bolles HS (FL)

Houston has shown their cards when it comes to acquiring amateur talent. College performers who fit the analytical bill and athletic pitchers with multiple weapons in their arsenal. Barco has started spring strong in front of large audiences with an above-average breaking ball and ever improving changeup. His velocity has picked up but still hovers around average.