Powered by On3

ESPN releases 2023 MLB Mock Draft 1.0

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•05/30/23•

griffin_mcveigh

Major League Baseball MLB logo
Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

Most leagues hold their draft during the offseason but baseball does things differently. The 2023 MLB Draft will be held this summer, with the first round taking place on Sunday, July 9. For the first time in league history, a lottery system was used to determine who earned the first overall pick as the Pittsburgh Pirates won out.

To prepare, ESPN released their first mock of the 2023 MLB Draft on Tuesday. While high school talent is where teams seem to be focused this cycle, there are plenty of college names thrown in there as well. Some will participate in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

At the top, there are a ton of SEC names, with five being selected in the top 10. Two others are filtered throughout the first round, proving the conference is full of the best talent in the country.

  1. Pittsburgh Pirates: Max Clark, CF, Franklin Community HS (IN)
  2. Washington Nationals: Dylan Crews, RF, LSU
  3. Detroit Tigers: Wyatt Langford, LF, Florida
  4. Texas Rangers: Walker Jenkins, RF, South Brunswick HS (NC)
  5. Minnesota Twins: Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU
  6. Oakland Athletics: Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Ole Miss
  7. Cincinnati Reds: Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee
  8. Kansas City Royals: Kyle Teel, C, Virginia
  9. Colorado Rockies: Rhett Lowder, RHP, Wake Forest
  10. Miami Marlins: Matt Shaw, 2B, Maryland
  11. Los Angeles Angels: Enrique Bradfield Jr., CF, Vanderbilt
  12. Arizona Diamondbacks: Arjun Nimmala, SS, Strawberry Crest HS (FL)
  13. Chicago Cubs: Noble Meyer, RHP, Jesuit HS (OR)
  14. Boston Red Sox: Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon
  15. Chicago White Sox: Colin Houck, 3B, Parkview HS (GA)
  16. San Francisco Giants: Tommy Troy, 3B, Stanford
  17. Baltimore Orioles: Bryce Eldridge, 1B/RHP, James Madison HS (VA)
  18. Milwaukee Brewers: Brayden Taylor, 3B, TCU
  19. Tampa Bay Rays: Aidan Miller, 3B, Mitchell HS (FL)
  20. Toronto Blue Jays: Blake Mitchell, C, Sinton HS (TX)
  21. St. Louis Cardinals: Nolan Schanuel, 1B, Florida Atlantic
  22. Seattle Mariners: Kevin McGonigle, 2B, Monsignor Bonner HS (PA)
  23. Cleveland Guardians: Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Florida
  24. Atlanta Braves: Chase Davis, LF, Arizona
  25. San Diego Padres: Dillon Head, CF, Homewood Flossmoor HS (IL)
  26. New York Yankees: Sammy Stafura, SS, Walter Panas HS (NY)
  27. Philadelphia Phillies: Steven Echavarria, RHP, Millburn HS (NJ)
  28. Houston Astros: Walker Martin, SS, Eaton HS (CO)

Notable Competitive Balance Round selections

31. Tampa Bay Rays: Jack Hurley, CF, Virginia Tech

32. New York Mets: Yohandy Morales, 3B, Miami

LSU has two players selected in top five of 2023 MLB Draft

Heading into the season, everyone knew LSU was going to have two players selected at the top of the MLB Draft. Crews has been considered the best college bat while Skenes owns the same title but as a pitcher. For a while, many thought they would go with the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks.

Both are still considered the best at their position at the college level but Skenes is lower in ESPN’s Mock Draft. He is fifth overall to the Minnesota Twins and is still the first pitcher off the board. Crews falls behind a high school player, leaving him to the Washington Nationals.