Thanks, John, for hosting this community mock draft, and thanks to everyone for participating. I looking forward to reading all the reviews that are sure to follow.

Between John, Fla-Giant and me the San Francisco Giants now have a power hitting OF, a middle infielder who is a Pedroia clone and the next Lincecum

1. Bryce Brentz OF (Sickels)
2. Tony Wolters SS/2b (wilriv21)
3. Cody Buckell RHP (Fla-Giant)

I think Colon is a great fit on that team. He should move through their system fast and be a great piece for their major league team. He may not have start potential, but if he’s an above average all around shortstop, that will fit well with their powerful offense.

The 3rd round pick of Taijuan Walker sort of goes well with the Colon back, as its the riskier pick with the big upside for the team. Walker is a really good athlete with a live arm, but his delivery and mechanics certainly have their issues.

Marcus Knecht, who I took in the 2nd round, is personally a guy I like a lot. His combination of speed and power makes him pretty unique, and I could see him becoming similar to a recent Reds pick in Drew Stubbs.

1 (15) Michael Choice, of, Texas-Arlington
1 (22) Asher Wojciechowski, rhp, The Citadel
1 (45) Jarrett Parker, of, Virginia
1 (49) Chance Ruffin, rhp, Texas-Austin
2 (72) Micah Gibbs, c, LSU
3 (103) Daniel Gibson, lhp, Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit HS

Here’s what we got, with the thought process that led to each pick:

1.10: Karsten Whitson, Chipley HS, FL (Law rank - 5, BA rank - 15)

It was either him or Michael Choice, and I went with the high upside arm. I think the system needs another talent who should hit the bigs around the same time as Ynoa, and Whitson fits.

2.60: Mel Rojas, Jr., OF, Wabash Valley CC (Law - 37, BA - 135)

Was ready to take Ryan LaMarre here but he went four picks earlier. It came down to Rojas, Minnesota catcher Michael Kvasnicka and Indiana State Righty Jacob Petricka. The latter two were guys I thought the A’s would pick at that point. I went with Rojas’s tools and pedigree. I’ve seen enough of him to really like the possibilities. And also that it isn’t a likely A’s pick, so I get to have a little fun before the inevitable frustration on Monday.

3.92: Christian Yelich, 1B, Westlake HS, Thousand Oaks, CA (Law - 26, BA - 52)

At this point I wanted Tulane 3B Rob Segedin, prep 3B Kris Bryant or possibly Virginia Tech righty Mathew Price. Segedin went 12 picks before our spot and Bryant went three picks before. Yelich was ranked just before Price on my board, and I quickly re-read scouting reports on both to figure out who was a more realistic pick for Oakland. It turned out to be a tossup - Yelich is a great HS bat who Keith Law ranked 26th overall and BA ranked 52nd. I’d ranked him lower based on his defensive limitations (smooth at 1B and athletic enough for the OF, but a terrible arm), but he has a legit sandwich round bat at the least, and getting him at 92 broke the tie with Price, who is a 3rd-4th rounder but nothing more. The reactions from teams picking after me convinced me I made the right choice.

1.04: Yasmani Grandal, C, Miami
2.04: A.J. Vanegas, RHP, Redwood Christian HS (CA)
3.04: Jason Adam, RHP, Blue Valley Northwest HS (KS)

1. Was my pick from the start. Does a lot of things well — hits for average, some power, good discipline at plate, nice defense, and leader behind the plate. I wonder if he could have a career like Jason Varitek, who had a real nice offensive peak. (BA rank #13)

2. Will be tough sign, but I like his upside a lot. Nice fastball with life and curve looks like future ML out pitch to me. Will need to develop changeup, but I like his chances. Fits what Royals look for in HS pitcher. Like said, will be tough sign as Stanford commit, but that hasn’t stopped Royals in recent years. (BA rank #47)

3. This was my target in this round all along. Adam is a local kid out of Blue Springs, just outside of Kansas City. Not as much projection as Vanegas, but similar pitcher. Fastball up to 95 and nice curve. Good delivery that he repeats. Not sure how strong commit to Missouri is, but local team should be able to sign him. (BA rank #54)

Very excited about my draft overall. Would be outstanding if this is the way it went.

1 (20): Matt Harvey
1S (36): James Paxton
1S (39) Zach Lee
2 (57): Neon Leon Landry
3 (110): Sir Gauntlett Eldemire, Esquire (the name pays)

Sorry.

Either here or at Bless You Boys- probably both depending on what the community thinks is kosher.

1.44: Jedd Gyorko, SS, West Virginia: A fast moving third baseman with some reasonable upside and a good floor to replace Brandon Inge in a few years. Wasn’t really looking for need, but he was the best player available, which was pretty convenient.
1.48: Kevin Gausman, RHP, CO HS: The goal here was to split the supplementals between bat and pitcher and then draft Garin Cecchini in the 3rd. It didn’t work out that way, but I’m still happy to get Gausman- he’s got 5 good pitches and projectablity working for him. He’ll be expensive but Gyorko should sign at slot, so that helps.
2.68: DeAndre Smelter, RHP, GA HS: Great fastball, potential plus splitter and slider (if he brings it back) are all great signs. Control’s a bit wacky, but he’s a great pick, especially since we have the budget to sign him to an above slot bonus.
3.100: Todd Cunningham, CF, Jacksonville State: I didn’t really want a CF prospect this high, but Cunningham is a good college bat with a good floor and a pretty good ceiling. Reminds me a bit of a Johnny Damon-type (though probably not that good) insofar as he’s got a well-rounded game. Would make a great #2 hitter in a few years, though if he makes it, he may have to move to LF.

1-21 Brandon Workman RHP Texas
Took Workman over Eibner and Wojo basically because he’s the best bet out of those guys to be a quality MLB starter. Should sign quickly and this guy’s a horse who should devour innings and throw strikes, prototypical Twins pitcher

2-71 Matt Lipka, SS, McKinney HS, Frisco, TX
Was looking at Dietrich, Wates, Petricka, Kvasnicka but they got scooped before I could get to them so I decided to go with an athletic HS player. I also considered Simmons or Wolters in this spot but Lipka’s elite athleticism sets him apart. He has some raw parts to his game, but committing full time to baseball could polish him up quickly. It will take a little more to get him signed but with the Twins new revenue streams, they will be in the market to go overslot on guys like Lipka.

3-121 Kellen Sweeney, SS, Jefferson HS, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
I had targeted Sweeney in this spot, he is a mid-western kid with good bloodlines and athleticism and the Twins like those kinds of players. I’m thinking that he is going to be moved off SS, either to 2nd or the OF but I wouldn’t do it until he show’s he can’t hang. I really like the combination I got here of Lipka and Sweeney, they compliment each other very well.

4. Pat Dean LHP Toledo
I was looking for a college pitcher here and was hoping that Cooper or Kickham were available, but they both got snatched up. Basically, the reason I took Dean was on the BA page they said he had recieved comps to Glen Perkins and had an insanely low BB rate, definition of a Twins kind of guy. The hope is here is that I could save a little bit to throw at Lipka and still get a lefty SP prospect who is a polished guy with 3 pitches pitches.

1.14 Alex Wimmers, RHP, Ohio State. Athletic right hander with tons of polish. Low 90s fastball, average curveball, with amazing plus plus changeup. I think Wimmers would be a solid pick for the Brewers in reality, and he has been linked to them for this draft. But I personally did not want to select him. I posted a poll over on BCB, giving fans a selection of about 8 players (7 of them being pitchers) and the fans were evenly split between Wimmers, Workman, AJ Cole and Matt Harvey. Cole was my personal pick, the reason being that I would much have preferred his upside as a future ace, to that of Wimmers, who is probably more of a #3.

2.64 Perci Garner, RHP, Ball State. Another athletic right hander, Garner came to BSU to play both football and baseball. 92 to 94 mph fastball with power curve with average slider and change up. If he can refine the slider or change profiles as a #2 or #1 starter. Probably was available because this is his first year focusing on baseball and is still a bit raw. As with hard throwing raw pitchers, control and command is an issue.

3.69 Andrelton Simmons, SS, Western Oklahoma State JC Amazing defender at shortstop who will most likely stay at the position. Great arm and footwork, could also pitch, as he has thrown 95 mph this year in limited use. His bat isnt necessarily a question mark, but he has gold glove potential at a defensive minded position, so I’m not worried about the bat. Also considered at this spot were Christian Yelich and Devin Lohman, big bat prospects. Alex Livsky was also a possibility here, but was concerned about the bat, and didnt want to draft a backup catcher this early.

Overall I’m not horribly impressed with what I had to play with for the first round, and in the 3rd after Yelich was gone, had to dig deep for a replacement. And even though my second rounder is a bit of a project, if it pans out it will have been a bargain.