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Seattle Mariners’ newest player shares promotion with family<\/p>\n
Cole Young announces his move to the big leagues playing for Seattle Mariners during an emotional phone call with his family.<\/p>\n
With Major League Baseball<\/a>\u2019s draft looming in a little more than a month, it\u2019s evident that selection Sunday will be volatile right up to the point commissioner Rob Manfred<\/a> officially marries player with team from the dais of Atlanta\u2019s Roxy Theater<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the lack of a consensus No. 1 \u2013 let alone a top 5, 10, 20 \u2013 will rob the proceedings of a Paul Skenes<\/a>-like anointment, the Choose Your Own Adventure element of this selection meeting should be evident throughout the first round.<\/p>\n With only the College World Series<\/a> remaining among amateur competition and MLB\u2019s Draft League revving up, USA TODAY Sports takes aim its second mock draft<\/a>:<\/p>\n 1. Washington Nationals: Ethan Holliday, INF, Stillwater (Okla.) HS<\/p>\n He\u2019s not No. 1 with a bullet. Yet it\u2019s difficult to justify moving Holliday<\/a> off here even as there\u2019s plenty of smoke around 1\/1 alternatives. The crop of majors-ready arms did little to harm their stock in the postseason. Seth Hernandez<\/a> may possess the dudeliest arm out there. Eli Willits visited Nationals Park last week. But we\u2019re not yet prepared to envision a world where someone other than Holliday kicks off this chain reaction. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n 2. Los Angeles Angels: Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State<\/p>\n In the name of consistency, we\u2019re keeping Arnold<\/a> at 2, even as fellow college lefties Liam Doyle and Kade Anderson lurk. While both may possess greater upside and miss more bats, Arnold has shown an ability to get deep in games against elite competition, and better fits the \u201cnow\u201d ethos of the Angels\u2019 recent draft history.<\/p>\n 3. Seattle Mariners: Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State<\/p>\n At the risk of getting too static, it\u2019s nonetheless tough to move this 6-foot-5, 220-pound shortstop specimen out of the three hole, particularly with plenty of elite college arms the Mariners develop so well available. But it\u2019s also tough to pass on a potential 10-year cog in a lineup that needs one.<\/p>\n 4. Colorado Rockies: Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton (Okla.) HS<\/p>\n Kinda wild that two legacy players who squared off throughout high school will affect the other\u2019s fate so much. It\u2019s not that the Rockies face a Holliday\/Willits binary when they\u2019re on the clock, but in this simulation, taking a potential cornerstone who doesn\u2019t turn 18 until December will be too tough for the need-everything Rockies to bypass.<\/p>\n 5. St. Louis Cardinals: Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU<\/p>\n The Cardinals are almost guaranteed to get one of the elite college lefties and in this universe, it\u2019s Anderson<\/a>, who has sparred with Doyle for the NCAA strikeout lead all year and will take his 163 punchouts in 103 innings into at least one more start, in Omaha.<\/p>\n 6. Pittsburgh Pirates: Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona (Calif.) HS<\/p>\n Volatility, thy name is Seth. Who wouldn\u2019t want a 6-foot-4 high schooler<\/a> whose fastball sits in the high 90s with advanced secondary offerings and has dominated against elite prep competition? Yet the trepidation of \u201chigh school right-hander draft history\u201d may be a headwind all the way up to Manfred\u2019s stroll to the podium. Still, this figures to be the floor, or close to it, for a fireballer on the periphery of the 1\/1 conversation.<\/p>\n 7. Miami Marlins: Billy Carlson, SS, Corona (Calif.) HS<\/p>\n It\u2019s the 909\u2019s time to shine, with a pair of Panthers popped in succession. The Marlins stumble upon a nice building block here, as Carlson\u2019s elite arm and bat speed will get him to Miami\u2019s infield quicker than most prep draftees.<\/p>\n 8. Toronto Blue Jays: Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee<\/p>\n While there are a few spoilers out there, this looks like the top eight, in one order or another. In this scenario, Doyle tumbles a bit; like Hernandez, his wait could be much shorter on July 13.<\/p>\n 9. Cincinnati Reds: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma<\/p>\n Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns\u2026 Witherspoon? Sounds like the makings of a nice rotation thanks to draft capital spent on advanced college arms. The math checks out that an arm of that ilk will be available. Witherspoon cut his walk rate nearly in half \u2013 from 14.2% to 7.2% – making his high-upside and unpredictive repertoire even more effective.<\/p>\n 10. Chicago White Sox: Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M<\/p>\n From 1\/1 favorite to who knows, LaViolette\u2019s slide stops with the White Sox, whose revamped hitting program could be the panacea for a slugger whose platform junior year fizzled. LaViolette regressed from .305, 29 homers, 1.175 OPS to .257, 18 and 1.003, and his K rate nudged upward, to 25.2.<\/p>\n 11. Athletics: Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest<\/p>\n The glut of prep shortstops are all still on this board, but the Athletics opt for a guy who can impact their lineup before they depart Yolo County for Las Vegas. A nice infield complement to shoo-in Rookie of the Year Jacob Wilson.<\/p>\n 12. Texas Rangers: Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson (Texas) HS<\/p>\n The Rangers amble down I-35 for their choice, a mature high school bat with solid Team USA bona fides and a commitment to Texas. Let the run on prep shortstops begin.<\/p>\n 13. San Francisco Giants: JoJo Parker, SS, Purvis (Miss.) HS<\/p>\n Parker could easily be gone by now, but his power from a premier position at a young age is too much for the Giants to bypass here in the first draft overseen by the Buster Posey regime.<\/p>\n 14. Tampa Bay Rays: Steele Hall, SS, Hewitt-Trussville (Ala.) HS<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t turn 18 until a week after the draft and has significant power potential and all-around athletic ability that guarantees he\u2019ll play somewhere up the middle, a versatile skill set the Rays value.<\/p>\n 15. Boston Red Sox: Gavin Kilen, INF, Tennessee<\/p>\n A 13th-round Red Sox draftee out of high school, Kilen leveled up at Louisville and then with the Vols, with whom he slugged 15 homers with a 1.112 OPS this season. Struck out just 27 times in 245 plate appearances, a solid K rate given the elite level of pitching in the SEC.<\/p>\n 16. Minnesota Twins: Tyler Bremner, LHP, UC Santa Barbara<\/p>\n Bremner probably shouldn\u2019t be slept on to this extent; a consensus top five pick a few months ago, he started slowly but posted double-digit strikeout games in six of his final seven starts, and is a nice value here.<\/p>\n 17. Chicago Cubs: Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas<\/p>\n Sure, Arquette owns the title of \u201cBest Hawaiian Shortstop In the College World Series,\u201d but Aloy looks up to few of his peers. The SEC player of the year slugged 20 home runs and is sound enough defensively to stick at shortstop.<\/p>\n 18. Arizona Diamondbacks: Daniel Pierce, SS, Mill Creek (Ga.) HS<\/p>\n The Georgia commit is advanced in both age \u2013 he turns 19 in August \u2013 and acumen, though there remains some power upside.<\/p>\n 19. Baltimore Orioles: Ethan Conrad, OF, Wake Forest<\/p>\n Until proven otherwise, the Orioles stick with their advanced college bat template in the first round, with Conrad flying under the radar thanks to season-ending shoulder injury after an outfield dive. Before he got hurt, Conrad was raking (.372\/.495\/.744 in 97 plate appearances) for the Demon Deacons.<\/p>\n 20. Milwaukee Brewers: Ike Irish, C\/OF, Auburn<\/p>\n Another club that tends to lean college bat, the Brewers get a nice piece in Irish, whose .364, 19-homer platform season looks even better if he sticks at catcher professionally. But Irish caught just 12 games for the Tigers this year, spending 45 games in the outfield.<\/p>\n 21. Houston Astros: Andrew Fischer, INF, Tennessee<\/p>\n This is perhaps too much helium for Fischer, whose physical profile may not support the sort of power to slug as a first baseman might be expected at the big league level. But there\u2019s still onramp for Fischer to establish himself at another infield position and the Astros can figure that out as he builds off his exuberant <\/a>25-homer, 1.205 OPS platform year on Rocky Top.<\/p>\n 22. Atlanta Braves: Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset (Ore.) HS<\/p>\n A lefty with Schoolcraft\u2019s big arm should slot much higher, but the current industry lean toward collegiate talent in the top of the first round drops him in Atlanta\u2019s lap. At 6-8 and with a 97-mph fastball, Schoolcraft has a significant floor that the Braves can work with.<\/p>\n 23. Kansas City Royals: Gavin Fien, INF, Great Oak (Calif.) HS<\/p>\n A Texas commit whose future position is subject to change, Fien\u2019s bat stands up against the prep shortstops projected to go ahead of him.<\/p>\n 24. Detroit Tigers: Xavier Neyens, INF, Mt. Vernon (Wash.) HS<\/p>\n We\u2019ll keep Neyens right here, even as his tantalizing upside and 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame could inspire clubs to jump sooner. There are worse players to dream on than a potential left-handed swinging Austin Riley.<\/p>\n 25. San Diego Padres: Sean Gamble, INF\/OF, IMG (Fla.) Academy<\/p>\n Should add plenty of power and could end up playing anywhere on the diamond \u2013 in a good way. Gamble took his talents from Iowa to Bradenton and developed a strong baseball IQ at<\/a> IMG, and possesses several traits the Padres value.<\/p>\n 26. Philadelphia Phillies: Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina<\/p>\n Does not possess the current offensive profile that Irish offers, but Stevenson is a pure catcher, with an athletic 6-foot-1, 210-pound frame that hit 19 homers for the Tar Heels this season.<\/p>\n 27. Cleveland Guardians: Brendan Summerhill, OF, Arizona<\/p>\n A nice value this deep in the first round, Summerhill offers the ability to play all three outfield positions and takes a .358\/.477\/.585 line into the CWS.<\/p>\n 28. Kansas City Royals*: Anthony Eyanson, RHP, LSU<\/p>\n You came to Baton Rouge for Kade Anderson, but stick around for Eyanson, who transferred from UC San Diego and struck out 135 in 93 \u2154 innings with a 2.50 ERA in his only season in the SEC. Not an overwhelming repertoire but would benefit in the Royals\u2019 burgeoning pitching program.<\/p>\n 29. Arizona Diamondbacks**: Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State<\/p>\n More glue guy than toolbox, Lodise nonetheless produced a .394\/.462\/.705 line in his second year in Tallahassee, earning ACC player of the year<\/a> honors. Hit 17 homers and has potential to add more power, but has value with his ability to play virtually anywhere.<\/p>\n 30. Baltimore Orioles**: Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson<\/p>\n We\u2019ll keep slotting ACC outfielders to Camden Yards until they tell us differently. Yet with his superior defensive ability, speed and extra-base pop, Cannarella fits the Orioles ethos, and a .453 career OBP doesn\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n 31. Baltimore Orioles**: Dean Curley, INF, Tennessee<\/p>\n