Here are some of the names that stand out to me and how I'd like to see things unfold today. I'll treat the first pick on its own and then throw some names up by player type for the next two picks, since they are reasonably close together (36 and 44). This kind of thing isn't much more than throwing stuff at the wall, though I guess last year, this resulted in me liking Solometo just fine, really wanting White, and having no idea about Chandler this year.
Pick #4 (in order): Termarr Johnson, Elijah Green, Cam Collier
Johnson just seems to be the nicest all-around option, as I've said in a lot of recent posts. I trust the elite approach and hit tool, everything else will work out. Green would be the bold move, but I can only see it if he's also taking a slight shave. Collier works just fine, but I've cooled a little on him as more of a longer-term developmental project (in that case, I'd just as soon go with Green's upside and premium position).
Prep pitchers (in order): RHP Dylan Lesko, RHP Brock Porter, LHP Noah Schultz, RHP Walter Ford, RHP Ian Ritchie Jr., LHP Jackson Ferris, LHP Caden Dana, LHP Cade Obermuller
This is the type of player that seems to be a favorite for our second and third picks, and there's lot to like here. I think Lesko and Porter will both be gone, but perhaps not if we liked one well enough to promise a high bonus to force him down. Lots of mocks have had us taking Ferris, who seems nice, but I like the seemingly more aggressive move for the huge LHP in Schultz that's committed to Vandy. I also like Walter Ford a whole lot.
College pitchers (in order): RHP Cade Horton, LHP Connor Prielipp, LHP Carson Whisenhunt, LHP Cooper Hjerpe, RHP Drew Thorpe, LHP Reggie Crawford, RHP Adam Mazur, RHP Peyton Pallette, RHP Landon Sims, LHP Hunter Barco, RHP Thomas Harrington, RHP Trystan Vrieling
Another group where there's a lot to like and a good bit of depth. In this case I would not expect any of the first four I've listed here to be available, but it's possible one is. Horton seems like the kind of guy that you could buy away from most of the first round teams but also someone you could still get sniped on in doing so. Whisenhunt will be divisive because of the suspension, Hjerpe just would take a weirdly surprising run of things to be there and isn't quite the kind of profile you force to yourself, but I'd love it if he fell into our lap. I really like all of Thorpe, Crawford, and Mazur, so I hope we end up with one of them, and I'm intrigued with Sims if the opportunity is there. I also quite like Harrington and Vrieling, and they might even be possible at our third round pick if we have some muscle and they fall a little.
Prep bats (in order): SS Cole Young, SS Jett Williams, SS/RHP Owen Murphy, SS Max Martin
I've done less reading here, but the first two are very consistently 1st round guys. I think this type of player might be one of the surprising options we end up with for pick #36, based a little on the board and gut feeling. At some point in the first round, I think there's actually going to be a run on pitching, so in theory if there's a guy we like a decent bit and he starts sliding a little bit, then I can see us heavily targeting him for our second pick. That seems possible for the local kid in Young, and Williams is a real gamer who would be a fun prospect. Murphy is a legit two-way guy and would represent an exciting pick to pair in the system right behind Chandler.
College bats (in order): OF Chase DeLauter, OF Spencer Jones, 1B Tyler Locklear, OF Dylan Beavers, OF Jud Fabian, OF Brock Jones, C Daulton Rushing, SS Josh Kasevich
I think there's a lot of sneaky value as well as upside in this type of player, but it also depends on how things break. It's possible teams stay away from pitchers with their first pick, in which case more college bats are gonna get snatched up, but most mocks seem to have a fair number start coming off the board in the latter half of the first round. I would be surprised if DeLauter or Jones fell, but there are scenarios where it seems possible. Kiley had us getting DeLauter in his recent mock, and Jones just might not quite be the right fit for the teams who have the chance to take him with their first pick. I still like Fabian just fine for the upside, and some of the others are mega-power guys with hit tool questions, or safer profile types in Rushing and Kasevich that might pair nicely with higher risk guys.
Overall, this barely scratches the surface, as even a cursory glance shows how deep the options are in the draft. What's hard to tell given the nature of how many players there are and the information that's available before the draft is which players have higher bonus demands and what kind of upside they have relative to how worth it it is to take those shots. I think that's one reason why it was hard to take a look last year and see Chandler as a possibility, even as we had some sense that we were keen on an underslot strategy.
So without knowing who those players could be, it's hard to make any kind of big wish list, because if we go that strategy, then that Chandler type player is obviously the main prize out there. With that said, though, my initial sense is more that the depth of the draft should be something that rewards us no matter what, and we shouldn't need to do any extreme slot maneuvering in order to tap into it.
So if I were to call my shots entirely for the first three picks, then I think it would be Termarr Johnson, Chase DeLauter, and Walter Ford.
