Moving forward with the Mock Draft reviews brings us to the NL Central.
National League Central Mock Draft Review:
Chicago Cubs
1-9) Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt
2) Charlie Tilson, OF, Illinois HS
3) Dante Bichette, Jr, OF-3B, Florida HS
COMMENT: Here we have a near-ready major league arm with Sonny Gray, a local high school outfielder, and a bloodline Florida prep. I am lukewarm towards Tilson, but I love Bichette in the third round. The Cubs often march to their own drummer in the first round, but it would be hard to see them passing on someone like Gray to make a more unique choice that early in the round.
Cincinnati Reds
1-27) Henry Owens, LHP, California HS
2) Ryan Carpenter, LHP, Gonzaga
3) Tyler Gibson, SS, Georgia HS
COMMENT: Owens is extremely polished for a high school guy and I think he's a sound pick at 27th overall. Carpenter in the second round may be a stretch by a round or two, but you can make a case for him. Gibson doesn't get as much attention as he deserves, but he has a good bat from the left side and solid power potential. He might be expensive to buy away from Georgia Tech.
Houston Astros
1-11) Taylor Jungmann, RHP, Texas
2) Bryan Brickhouse, RHP, Texas HS
3) Brett Austin, C, North Carolina HS
COMMENT: Two home-state power arms headline the Astros choices, one who should advance quickly and one who will need more time. Then you pick up someone to catch their pitches with Austin, though there is some concern that his defense won't develop sufficiently and he'll end up at another position.
Milwaukee Brewers
1-12) Matt Barnes, RHP, Connecticut
1-15) Javier Baez, SS, Florida HS
2) Larry Greene, OF, Georgia HS
3) Joe Musgrove, RHP, California HS
COMMENT: Barnes and Baez are solid picks at 12 and 15, with a good balance of affordability and upside in both cases. Greene draws a lot of mixed opinions; he's very raw but has huge power upside, and I think he fits better here in the second round than in the first, where he was rumored to go a week ago. Musgrove is a fine pick in the third round and would have been a first round choice in some draft classes.
Pittsburgh Pirates
1-1) Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA
2) Chris Reed, LHP, Stanford
3) Navery Moore, RHP, Vanderbilt
COMMENTS: Current rumor has Cole going to the Pirates at 1-1, so this makes perfect sense as the Pirates seek to build their future pitching staff. Reed relieved in college but has the arsenal to start. The Pirates scouting director left before the third round. I wasn't sure what he was interested in, but I felt that Navery Moore, Vanderbilt closer, continued the college power arm theme and you could then fill in with position players in later rounds.
St. Louis Cardinals
1-22) Josh Bell, OF, Texas HS
2) Andrew Gagnon, RHP, Long Beach State
3) Tyler Greene, 3B-SS, Florida HS
COMMENTS: Bell will be very expensive to sign, if you can sign him at all, but the Cardinals have taken similar risks in the past. Andrew Gagnon is a perfect Cards pick in the second round, an efficiency college strike-thrower. Tyler Greene in the third has strong tools but polish questions, plus the Cardinals already have a Tyler Greene! It would all come down to if you can sign Bell or not.
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