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We’re in a little bit of a limbo period with the Draft a week and a half away. There isn’t much amateur baseball still being played with the conclusion of the College World Series on Wednesday night and teams are just now starting to get into Draft meetings to really set up their boards.
So this week’s mock will have a number of similar projections to the last few editions and changes are based on things that are being considered and discussed across the industry, not necessarily anything set in stone. As we get closer and teams have had their meetings, both Jim Callis and I hope to come closer to nailing the first round in the days leading up to the Draft.
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The College World Series is in full swing and teams are scouting those games more than ever now that the Draft has been moved to July. It s difficult to move the needle much this late in the calendar, but there have been several pitching performances of note.
Jack Leiter reinforced his status as the best college arm available by striking out 15 in eight innings in a 1-0 loss to North Carolina State, but fellow Vanderbilt right-hander Kumar Rocker created some uncertainty by topping out at 94 mph and getting just three swings and misses with his fastball in the Commodores opener against Arizona. Mississippi State righty Will Bednar (15 whiffs in six scoreless innings versus Texas) and Virginia left-hander Andrew Abbott (10 strikeouts in six shutout innings against Tennessee) bolstered their cases for possibly going in the first round. Texas righty Ty Madden solidified his place as the third-best college arm behind the Vanderbilt duo, losing to Bednar but working
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Normally at this time of year, with college conference tournaments just completed and high school seasons nearly over, we’d be in full-on Draft fever/panic mode, trying to get one of our last mocks correct right before the Draft started.
So it’s been hard to tell that muscle memory to take