Extremely Early 2012 Mock Draft

I originally posted this at MLBBONUSBABY but I thought I might as well post it here as well. I was looking forward to doing one, then all this CBA stuff threw me way off. I just decided to go straight down the order, no FA comp, no nothing included for now.

Sorry about the lack of commentary, I planned on doing more, then school work became a lot in a short period of time. If I find time, I may add some commentary.

1. Houston Astros - Marc Appel - RHP - I think Appel comes out this year and does very well and the Astros end up picking him up as a high end guy who will move fast and get the job done.

2. Minnesota Twins - Mike Zunino - C - Zunino proved this year that his bat has come a long ways, and did it with the new bats that many struggled with. First time I saw him he stood out to me, and I think Minnesota uses this pick to pick up a quick moving catcher who is good on D and can hit. Gives them another year or two of Mauer behind the plate and then they can afford to move him off the position.

3. Seattle Mariners - Byron Buxton - OF - Buxton burst onto the scene this summer with some great performances at some showcases. I like him a lot, by draft time maybe more than Starling. He has absolutely tremendous speed, easy range for CF, and his speed along with his arm are already ML plus tools. Power could also develop into a plus tool as he has the frame that naturally puts on muscle well.

4. Baltimore Orioles - Luc Giolito - RHP - Went back and forth on whether the Orioles would use their high 1st rounder on a high school pitcher in back to back years. In the end I went with Giolito over Gausman.

5. Kansas City Royals - Kevin Gausman - RHP - I don't know if this could work out better for KC as they get a top notch college pitcher right out of the gate. Could move fast and work well with what they are putting together down there.

6. Chicago Cubs - Hunter Virant - LHP - Maybe a little bit of a risky reach here, but as a high school lefty to be sitting in the low 90's he isn't quite the norm. This could be an interesting convo between the new front office, and I almost put Marrero here, but even though you almost never draft based ML needs or non-needs, I just can't bring myself to put Marrero here.

7. San Diego Padres - Deven Marrero - SS - I don't have a problem putting Marrero here though. The biggest question for Marrero is his power, but really that is the only big question. You know what he brings to the table for the most part, and it's basically all good.

8. Pittsburgh Pirates - Carlos Correa - SS - With a simple yet hard swing, Correa has good offensive potential coming out of Puerto Rico. He may eventually move to 3B but for now he is fine at SS

9. Florida Marlins - Chris Beck - RHP - If they make even 2 of these moves they act like they are trying to pull off this Winter, good quick rising college pitching may be something they can't pass up with that group they may have

10. Colorado Rockies - David Dahl - OF - A very solid high school hitter, Dahl has great swing mechanics and top notch athleticism with a good chance to develop good power and good base running instincts

11. Oakland Athletics - Victor Roache - OF

12. New York Mets - Lance McCullers - RHP

13. Chicago White Sox - Gavin Cechinni - SS

14. Cincinnati Reds - Kyle Zimmer - RHP

15. Cleveland Indians - Trey Williams - 3B

16. Washington Nationals - Max Fried - LHP

17. Toronto Blue Jays - Jesmuel Valentine - SS

18. Los Angeles Dodgers - Freddy Avis - RHP

19. Angels - Alex Bregman - C/INF

20. San Francisco Giants - Kenny Diekroger - SS

21. Atlanta Braves - Matt Smoral - LHP

22. Toronto Blue Jays - Brandon Thomas - OF

23. St. Louis Cardinals - Taylor Cherry - RHP

24. Boston Red Sox - Walker Weikel - RHP

25. Tampa Bay Rays - Travis Jankowski - OF

26. Arizona Diamondbacks - Stryker Trahan - C

27. Detroit Tigers - Brandon Thompson - OF

28. Milwaukee Brewers - Tom Murphy - C

29. Texas Rangers - Lucas Sims - RHP

30. New York Yankees - Michael Wacha - RHP

31. Philadelphia Phillies - Josh Elander - C